Crater of Diamonds Newsletter

In 2009 a friend who had visited Arkansas’s Crater of Diamonds State Park told Angela Vickers of Winnsboro, Texas, about Arkansas’s diamond site. Last Thursday afternoon Vickers visited the park herself for the first time, and after surface searching for three hours found a sparkling 2.93-carat yellow diamond in the section of the diamond search area known as the East Drain. She named her stone, about the size of an English pea and the color of lemonade, the God’s Blessing Diamond. Vickers told park staff she believes God brought her to the diamond. “I was talking to God while in the search area and thanking Him for the beautiful day, when I sat under a tree to get shade, looked down, and saw the diamond between my feet.”

Her five-year-old daughter was with Vickers when she found the sparkling metallic-looking stone and, knowing it was a diamond, excitedly said, “Oh, that’s shiny!” When asked if she planned to keep or sell the diamond, Vickers said, “My husband wants me to make it into a ring, but I’m not sure yet what I want to do with it.”

Park Interpreter Margi Jenks said, “It’s been so hot here lately that our visitors have been spending lots of time in the shade. And, that’s where she found it, right there on the surface!” Jenks noted that for the Crater of Diamonds State Park staff, Angela Vickers’ 2.93-carat diamond brings to mind an earlier 2.93-carat diamond found on June 5, 2007, by 13-year-old Nicole Ruhter of Butler, Missouri. Nicole, her mother and grandmother had been at the park that day and were leaving the diamond search around 7:00 p.m, after having no luck at finding at diamond. They were following a service road that park maintenance staff use, which also serves as a pathway for park prospectors. The teenager saw a “metallic looking” stone half buried in the dirt and knew it was a diamond because of the way it shined. Since Nicole found her diamond at the edge of that path, she named her gem the Pathfinder Diamond. According to Nicole, shortly before she discovered her light brown, iced tea-colored gem, she said a little silent prayer in hopes of finding a diamond, any diamond, even a very small one. She didn’t care how large or of what value it would be, she just wanted to find a diamond. “And, 15 minutes later, I found it,” she said.

This past week Superintendent Justin Dorsey was notified that the park will receive a $5,000 grant from the Coca Cola Corporation. This summer the company is having an internet contest as part of its Live Positively campaign. To demonstrate their company’s commitment to our state and national parks they are encouraging all families to come out and play this summer. Individuals can also help support America’s parks by simply voting on the internet for their favorite park at http://www.livepositively.com/#/americasparks. In the first round of voting, which ended on July 28^th, The Crater of Diamonds State Park placed in the top 10, and so will receive the $5,000 grant. In this round only the top vote-getter will win, but the national or state park with the most votes will receive a $100,000 grant from Coca-Cola. People can vote as many times as they like from 7/29 to 8/31. So, take a couple of minutes each day, and “Vote for the Crater”.

July 28 - Sonia Guzman, Berkely Springs, WV, 6 pt. white; Mike Stacy, Jackson, MS, 2 pt. white, 4pt. white

July 29 - Janet Hillard, Hinton, OK, 5 pt. white; Angela Vickers, Winnsboro, TX, 2.93 ct. yellow; Neal Gagnon, Murfreesboro, AR, 5 pt. white, 9 pt. white

July 31 - Ken Shoemaker, Murfreesboro, AR, 1 pt. white; Dennis Nicely, Joplin, MO, 16 pt. yellow; Felicia Coulthard, Saltville, VA, 5 pt. white; Jeremy Kirchner, Lennox, SD, 9 pt. white