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Josie Scripps tribute wins FG&MS the Josephine Scripps Memorial Trophy

The Fallbrook Gem and Mineral Society has a vendor booth at the San Diego County Fair's gems, minerals, and jewelry exhibit to raise money for the organization's programs and operations. The educational activities include a display booth at the fair each year, and this year the Fallbrook Gem and Mineral Society honored the late collector Josie Scripps with its display and ended up winning an award in Scripps' honor.

The display was titled "The Fallbrook Gem and Mineral Society Remembers Josie Scripps" and featured minerals collected by Scripps. One of those was an orange spessartine garnet with albite and quartz which won the Josephine Scripps Memorial Trophy for the best mineral specimen from San Diego County.

"She would win awards with her pieces, so to have one of her pieces win that award is very special," said Fallbrook Gem and Mineral Society president Gail Kerry.

Educational cases are given numerical scores with 100 points constituting a perfect score. "The Fallbrook Gem and Mineral Society Remembers Josie Scripps" received such a perfect score with 40 points given for educational value, 30 points for presentation, and 30 points for labeling. That also met the 85-point minimum to add an Award of Merit to the display's honors.

"This is pretty special," Kerry said.

Scripps owned the Hi-Hope Ranch in San Luis Rey. "She was one of the most influential mineral and gem collectors of her time and certainly one of the greatest women to have taken up this hobby," said Fallbrook Gem and Mineral Society curator Michael Evans, who designed and put together the display case for the county fair. "She not only bought fine minerals and gems but also did many small mining ventures and was a partner in such endeavors."

Scripps hosted an annual barbecue at her ranch which was attended by as many as 400 guests. She is believed to have initiated the concept of grab bag sales, which at the time were sold for 50 cents apiece.

"She was involved with several clubs, but I understand our club was her main home," Kerry said.

The Fallbrook Gem and Mineral Society also agreed to be the successor for Scripps' collection. "Fallbrook stepped up. None of the other clubs were willing to step up and take over," Kerry said.

"She had an amazing collection," Kerry said. "We were fortunate to get some."

Portions of Scripps' collection are also now at the Gemological Institute of America, which is in Carlsbad. "Our collection boasts but a few of her many fabulous gems and minerals, but other institutions benefited as well," Evans said.

"She did a lot for collecting," Kerry said.

The theme of the 2015 San Diego County Fair was "A Fair to Remember" and commemorated the 100th anniversary of the 1915 World's Fair at Balboa Park in San Diego. Scripps was also once the curator of gems and minerals at the San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park.

"We wanted to remind the gem and mineral community about her many contributions and educate the public about her, too. She is well worth remembering and well worth learning about," Evans said.

"We wanted to do this and the people here in the building said it's about time. She deserved credit," Kerry said. "Josie's been so much a part of our club that it was time to give her her recognition."

"The Fallbrook Gem and Mineral Society Remembers Josie Scripps" included 15 gemstones. "All 15 of those pieces can be traced back to Josie Scripps," Kerry said. "Some came directly from Josie. Some came through somebody else, but they were Josie's."

The minerals included the foam padding on the bottom. "She put all of her minerals on foam. That was her unique kind of trademark," Kerry said.

The case also included photos of Scripps and short stories about Scripps and her activities.

"We feel very honored and very fortunate to have the opportunity to create this case," Kerry said.

Eleven of those 15 specimens were from San Diego County. "She really collected in San Diego County," Kerry said.

Four of those 11 San Diego County gemstones were from the Pala District, four were from Ramona, and three were from the Mesa Grande area. The spessartine garnet which received the Josephine Scripps Memorial Trophy was a specimen from the Little Three Mine in Ramona.

"We hope to continue in her memory for many years to come," Kerry said.

 

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