Collector Spotlight: Forrest Carithers

1. How many years have you been collecting and what started your passion?

I would say I have been unofficially collecting for 20 years or so, and seriously collecting for around 10 years. Growing up in Rural Arkansas exposed me to field collecting opportunities at a very early age- numerous abandoned limestone quarries with plenty of calcite and dolomite were near my family farm and the famous Black Rock Quarries were just a short distance away. My parents entertained and empowered my curiosity and took me on numerous trips to collect at Mt. Ida, Mauldin Mountain, Magnet Cove, and various places outside of Arkansas on our cross-country camping trips.

Fast forward to my time in college attending Missouri University of Science and Technology (Rolla School of Mines), I was surrounded by amazing collecting opportunities in the Viburnum trend and Washington County Barite and Quartz. The school exposed me to fantastic mining engineering and geology departments with access to alumnus donated mineral collections and the C.L. Dake Geological Society. All this exposure was less like encouragement and more like throwing gasoline on a fire. My collecting took off extremely fast. I ran an Environmental Research Center for Emerging Contaminants that focused on nanoparticulate releases and environmental reactions which covered my living expenses and paid for my mineral habit.

Missouri S&T is also where I met Ashtyn (ironically in an intro to engineering geology class). Ashtyn and I became close friends through college and later became life partners and a full-blown mineral collecting team.

2. What’s the focus of your collection and has that changed through time? Why?

My collecting focus has changed quite a bit and, in some ways, not changed at all over the years. Outside of what I have field collected, the collection began with worldwide calcites, barites, and fluorites and has evolved into suites of published/illustrated specimens and specimens with notable provenance, American classics, Southern Illinois material, native copper and silver and secondary copper minerals, rough and cut sets, as well as any specimens that strike my scientific curiosity or appreciation for the aesthetic (usually with the help of Ashtyn’s judgement). Size restriction has never been a condition of our collection and our pieces range from micro-mounts to museum sized pieces- although the majority is in the miniature to small cabinet range.

3. What do you like to do outside of mineral collecting?

Outside of mineral collecting, my life tends to stay extremely full with never enough time to do all of the things I would like. Another product of growing up in the remote Ozarks is my love for spelunking (cave diving). Although I don’t get to do nearly as much anymore here in South East Texas. I also enjoy backpacking, hiking, and kayaking. I collect antique scientific instruments and enjoy rearticulating animal skeletons. Ashtyn and I have an addiction to traveling-especially exploring the Western U.S. as much as we can. I have a love for cooking at home and trying new, unique, or weird foods on our travels.

I am a bit of a bibliophile with a very large collection of geology, mineralogy, and gemology books and publications. So many books, and so very little time to read.

I am an environmental engineer turned manager. I work as a Corporate HSE Director for a large international conglomerate of heavy industrial construction companies that serve the energy, oil & gas, chemical/petrochemical, and nuclear industries. My job has afforded us the ability to live in every major U.S. city apart from NYC (yet).

4. Is there anyone who has inspired you in this field? Do you look up to the collection of someone in particular?

There are so many people who have inspired and continue to inspire me in this field and the list continues to grow constantly.

Jere Cadoret helped run a rock shop in Rolla, Missouri and was actively involved in the University’s geology department and clubs during the time I went to school there. I would sit for hours with Jere and listen to his stories of field collecting and dig through the flats in the back of the shop. Jere would always advise me on how to pick the best pieces based on my limited budget. Jere helped me develop my taste for both aesthetics and scientific interest. Ultimately, when Jere fell ill around a year after I graduated and left Rolla, he contacted me to come visit him and buy some of his stock. I was still in my poor college student phase and certainly could not afford to buy most of what Jere had. I ended up “magically” affording some of his stock and a few of his personal collection items. Jere passed not long after that visit. Those pieces remain in our collection, and while I have given a few of them as gifts over the years, it is not likely that I will ever sell or trade his personal pieces.

Sandy and Maureen Ludlum have introduced us to numerous collectors and dealers in the community and provided amazing mentorship and evenings filled with wine, food and collecting stories. We met Sandy and Maureen in 2016 after buying their Mineral/Geology library and a few of their personal collection pieces- since then, they have become more like our family than simply our friends.

Rob Lavinsky, Dan Weinrich and Walt Lombardo have been important dealers to us in helping grow and refine our collection and introducing us to people in the community.

5. Where do you see yourself as a collector in 10 years?

Ten years from now, we will both be just shy of 40 years old. I hope that we have become notable collectors in the hobby and can enjoy sharing a refined and beautiful collection with anyone who desires to see it and continue to be the caretakers for some amazing pieces. Over the next 10 years I assume that we will cull many pieces from our current collection and continue to acquire other pieces that better fit our taste and collecting goals. Right now, I do not see us becoming collectors focused on any one particular species or locality but rather have a broad, encompassing collection of pieces that fit well together overall.

For the immediate future, we hope to be hosts to any of our friends in the hobby who find themselves in the Houston/Gulf Coast area, who wish to explore the local museums and see some awesome collections.

6. What impact has YMC had on you as a collector and where do you see it heading in the future?

YMC has had an enormous impact on me as a collector through networking with other collectors (close to my age). It has been an eye-opening experience to discover that there is a LARGE group of “young” serious collectors, which I previously had no idea existed. I think it has already been noticeable that some of this hobby’s major collectors, dealers, and experts are active members of the YMC and that this group may inevitably become a driving organization for the hobby in the future. YMC can help educate and develop younger generations and guide them as they grow into the hobby, while the older generations of YMC “age-out” they can become the new mentors for the younger generations.

7. Is there a piece/pieces in your collection you’ll never let go off, which and why?

There are quite a few pieces in the collection that I will likely never let go of. Some were gifts, some helped shape my taste in what I collect, and some as Tiger King put it: “Will never financially recover from”. There is one piece in particular that stands out when it comes to “keepsies”:

A small cabinet Minerva Mine, Hardin County, Illinois specimen that comprises a corner of “Minerva Blue” fluorite cube, featuring 4, gemmy, golden, transparent “wheat-sheaf” habit calcites. Apart from the specimen just being breathtaking and aesthetic- it holds personal value and wonderful provenance. The piece was originally sold by Ross Lillie to an unknown collector, and it eventually made its way into Dan Weinrich’s hands. Jere Cadoret (discussed above) acquired the specimen from Dan and it stayed in Jere’s personal collection for many years until it was the last piece I acquired from Jere before his passing. This piece was quite honestly a gateway into my love of calcites, fluorites, and in particular Southern Illinois pieces- many from Ross Lillie’s personal collection.