Wonderful story,

Here's my story about how I became a shell collector and where it went from
there:

As most kids do, I'm sure, when it's the middle of summer holidays, I
became really
bored and went to my mother and said "I'm really bored!". Her reply was
"Get a hobby."
I thought about it for a few minutes, thought of collecting something,
rememberd that
I had a few shells from the beach (nasty, ugly things really) and decided
to collect
shells. The fact that I lived 300 miles from the beach and had only been
there once
didn't seem to matter to an 11-year-old.
From those few beach worn dead-collected oysters and Nucella my obsession
for shells
began. After 25 years of shell collecting, I now have a collection that
most of my
friends look in awe at. I'm very proud of that fact and over the years my
collection
has given me great pleasure. But, getting back to why I'm telling this is
that since
then, seeing my collection, my mother started collecting shells, and now my
sister
and her husband have also started collecting. My sister's name, by the way is
Shelley, so I guess it's only fitting.

Peter Egerton,
Vancouver, BC, Canada



At 12:05 AM 4/4/00 -0400, you wrote:
>I sent a private e-mail to Andrew Rindsberg and he says I need to share
>it with all of you.
>
>Jim and I have shared our mutual love for conchology together now for 38
>years.  Although our talents, knowledge and abilities are
>different....we combine them together to make it exciting.
>
>Jim is the scientist.  He studies books and papers and does all the
>identification.
>
>I am the artist (creative person).  So I design exhibits and backboards
>for shell shows.
>I am also the computer "nerd".  So I catalog all the shells and do all
>the i.d. labels.
>
>Although we spend time in the field together collecting....Jim usually
>cleans the shells or freezes them.   He also takes care of all the
>diving and snorkelling gear on trips while I take care of the FOOD!
>
>We work together at our Shell Club.  Jim is president and I am shell
>show chairman.   We invest a lot of time together in our club...and feel
>it is very important.
>
>Jim "started" this whole thing by collecting a few shells on a beach in
>California...and soon our whole family was involved.   Our daughter
>started collecting shells when she was two years old.  She now teaches
>science in a junior high school and has her collection set up in her
>class room.
>
>We both give programs at schools, senior citizen groups, churches, you
>name it!  Sometimes we go as a couple or sometimes we go as an
>individual.  We both really enjoy sharing our hobby with others.    Our
>shell "museum" is always open to guests.
>
>So we are involved together as life-time partners.
>
>Bobbi Cordy
>Merritt Island FL
>
>
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Peter Egerton, Vancouver, Canada
Collector of worldwide Mollusca,
student of zoology and computers for life.
Step into my website:
http://www.intergate.bc.ca/personal/seashell/index.html
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