My experience to William Holland

 

I visited William Holland during federation week 05'. We traveled through Georgia's farmlands, and fields of flowers. We passed by the beautiful city of Atlanta, and the twisty mountain roads between Dahlonega and Young Harris.  The retreat was peaceful as the rain ended.

        That night at dinner I was introduced to my silversmithing instructor, Mr. Allen Jewel. It seemed to me that he and his wife were very nice. After dinner we went outside. The stars were beautiful. Mostly because there were no city lights to block them out. I really enjoyed watching and then catching the fireflies.

On Monday morning we woke up bright and early and went down to breakfast. We sat down at the table and quickly made friends. I rushed through breakfast because I was eager to get to class. When class started our instructor sat us down and began explaining the basics of silversmithing and the rules of the classroom. Our first project was using the jewelers saw to cut out the insides of a penny leaving Lincolns bust, which turned out to be a challenge. We continued on to make two pairs of earrings and then we made a bracelet. When class was over we ate dinner and made a few more friends.

Tuesday, we finished our bracelets, made earrings out of the extra bracelet scraps and then I started making a ring. That night my dad and I went to the weekly auction. I donated fossils to the auction from Ft. Drum that I collected. I was the highest bidder on four items which each sold for a dollar.

On Wednesday I finished my ring and then started on a pendant to match it. Wednesdays are half days and with nothing scheduled we met up with a group of people in the parking lot. An impromptu field trip was quickly organized and we all went to the Chunky Gal mine to search for corundum. We had a lot of fun even though I didn't find one. Mr. Dolezal gave me one he found. The mountains and streams were beautiful. The trees formed a canopy of shade letting in small beams of sunlight that poked through all around us while we were looking through the rocks. We don’t have mountains or anything like this in Florida. It sure was pretty, I should have brought a camera.

Thursday, I finished my pendant. I then began working on another project for my aunt. That night we tailgated in the cafeteria selling and trading lapidary items. There were all sorts of beautiful things there. I traded some Fort Drum fossils for a wire wrapped rose ring.

On Friday, I finished my aunt’s project and started on a pendant for my grandmother. At the end of class we received certificates and had pictures taken. That night at dinner we had show and tell where I got to see all the beautiful things people had worked on during the week. I was leaving very early the next morning so I said my good-byes to all my new friends.

This was an incredible experience for me. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of being there. I learned many new skills and made lots of new friends. I can hardly wait to take another class at William Holland.

Thank you Mr. Jewel and thank you all, Britney Hamilton

Age 12

Junior Member of

Jacksonville Gem and Mineral Society