Though Oct. 17 was just seven months ago chronologically, it feels like seven years emotionally with all of the social, political and economic chaos and strife in this current era of Covid-19. 

Susan Boyette and her mother Martha Drew drove down from Tennessee early Friday morning to Rose Creek Mine outside of Franklin in search of rare treasures. 

They spent hours digging through 12 buckets of native dirt and sifting through unknown rocks not knowing what they might unearth. 

“For me it’s the thrill of the hunt,” Boyette said about why she enjoys gem mining. “Knowing that God made this little jewel and I’m the first person on earth to touch it — to me, that is simply amazing.”

At first glance, the Franklin Gem and Mineral Museum may seem like a hokey tourist attraction, but visitors willing to give it a closer look will discover the largest inventory of gems in the Southeast.