[meteorite-list] Meteorite has special meaning for woman

From: Darren Garrison <cynapse_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2007 18:44:01 -0400
Message-ID: <d9upi3dat0q79e90p00n4e677d07acsnob_at_4ax.com>

Okay, anybody near this? Sure doesn't sound kosher.

http://www.bnd.com/336/story/169629.html

Meteorite has special meaning for woman
By MICHELLE BROOKS
Jefferson City News Tribune

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. --The black, pitted rock at the corner of Dorothy Lemke's
property draws many curious passers-by.

Recently, a schoolteacher stopped to visit with her about it.

The visitor was not so surprised to learn it was a meteorite unearthed in a
Versailles-area prairie turned terraced farmland more than 50 years ago.

"I don't think many realize the significance of it," Lemke said. She has
extended the invitation for students from the school across the street to come
visit. But, "I think they can't visualize what I have," she said.

When Lemke's father encountered the 4-foot-by-4-foot-by-2-foot mass of iron in
1950, he was expanding his environmentally friendly farm. And Lemke was a
teenage girl more interested in boys.

But as she became more aware and interested in archaeology, she realized the
large rock, which they thought was an Indian stone, held sentimental value for
her and she moved it to her home, then in California.

It's taken heavy machinery to move the outerspace rock - three times now. And it
continues to sink back into the ground the longer its sits.

"It was just a big rock from the farm I grew up on, that I detested then but is
precious to me now," Lemke said.

About four years ago, Lemke had a geologist analyze what she had.

"I was told there may be precious jewels inside," Lemke recalled.

That was not the case, but she learned it was more than 300 million years old.
And the oldest part is the sandstone that must have been struck by a stream of
hot iron in space that filled in its cracks, the expert told her.

"There's a lot of rocks in this town and many have them in their yards," Lemke
said. "But not many are full of iron and 300 million years old."

Lemke treasures her unique landscape feature; it didn't need to have diamonds
inside, she said.

If people might want to dispute the fact that this is a meteorite, Lemke
admitted she wasn't an expert.

However, "it couldn't be transported by humans and it had been buried for many
years with no (similar) ones around it," Lemke defended.

But she doesn't need to convince anyone, she said.

She's content to see the sparkles of sandstone against the black iron when she
works in her yard. And it's a reminder of the hard work her father put in to
make their farm-home thrive.

"It was just farmland then all of a sudden there was this rock that was buried,"
Lemke said. "Anytime we run out of places to explore, surely we'll find
something, if we explore the land."
Received on Sat 03 Nov 2007 06:44:01 PM PDT