This is Mazon Monday post #160. What's your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:[email protected].
-----------------------------------------------------
The following article appeared in Commonwealth Edison Company's Employee Bulletin in February 1979. It was later published in the West Suburban Lapidary Club bulletin The Opal in November 1982, and the ESCONI Newsletter in January 1983.
There's much to note here...
- Helen and Ted Piecko have no less than 6 species of Mazon animals named for them, including Pieckonia helenae and Octomedusa pieckorum.
- Eugene Richardson commenting on the how open Commonwealth Edison was in keeping the site available for collectors.
- The Tully Monster was named for Francis Tully and became the State Fossil in 1989.
BRAIDWOOD'S BURIED TREASURES
Stamps, beer cans, coins and antiques-each satisfy mankind's penchant for collecting in its own special way. But according to Mrs. Helen Piecko, one of the country's most renowned fossil collectors, her hobby outshines the rest.
"Stumbling across a rare fossil is the most exhilarating experience," she says. "Not only are you making a personal contribution to science, but discovering a fossil is like hearing a small voice from the past."
The spry 66-year-old enthusiast goes fossil hunting at least once a week. "I haven't missed a week in 13 years," she adds.
Her favorite hunting ground? Commonwealth Edison's Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station.
"I'd say 'Pit Eleven' is one of the top three digs in the country, if not the world," Mrs. Piecko states. She is referring to the former strip mine Edison purchased from the Peabody Coal Co. The land now marks the site of Braidwood Station, scheduled for completion in the early 1980s.
"Pit Eleven is the first place I tried fossil hunting," Mrs. Piecko. recalls. "I remember we were trying to think of something my son could do for his eighth. grade science project. At the time, my brother was working in the Braidwood area and suggested fossil hunting in the strip mines," she explains. "I've been hooked on it ever since."
Mrs. Piecko claims she can spot a fossil several feet away. "You just have to know what you're looking for," she says. "All it takes is a little practice." The trick is to successfully crack open the concretion, or hardened soil, which surrounds the fossil without damaging the impression. With the help of a small geology hammer and just the right touch, she is able to easily unveil the hidden fossil. Mrs. Piecko admits that she has a special technique--taking the concretion home, soaking it in water and freezing it reduces the chances of marring the impression.
Although Mrs. Piecko spends more time on the hobby than her husband, Ted, together they have amassed an impressive collection and have pieces on display in museums and universities throughout the world. "I'd say we have about 65,000," she points out.
Visiting collectors and scholars from the United States and abroad make it a point to stop by the Pieckos' home. "Our door is always open to those who share our enthusiasm for fossil hunting," she notes. Since the Pieckos' "Pit Eleven. Collection" is more extensive than that of most museums, it offers one of the few opportunities to view such variety and quality in a single location.
Of course not all collectors are as serious as the Pieckos. "Many of the families just savor the chance to get outdoors and be together," Mrs. Piecko says. "Also, you don't have to be an expert or spend a lot of money to enjoy the hobby," she adds.
While the Pieckos are experts in the field and can identify almost 80 percent of their fossil finds, Dr. Eugene Richardson, curator of fossil invertebrates at the Field Museum, is glad to help out the amateurs in classifying their amazing specimens from Pit Eleven. Richardson notes, "It's incredible that the impressions made by these delicate creatures have been preserved all this time." Richardson is referring to the shrimp, jellyfish, horseshoe crabs, fishes and other fossils found at Braidwood Station. But what were these sea creatures doing in the middle of Illinois?
About 280 million years ago, or 100 million years before the age of the dinosaur, Illinois resembled a Mississippi delta, textured with inlets and peninsulas and covered by a thick blanket of mud. The area. around Braidwood served as a temporary shoreline while the sea advanced across Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Illinois. A slight sagging of the earth's crust in the center of Illinois allowed the sea to move across the state. In time, as much as 2,000 feet of sedimentary rocks accumulated in the basin.
Because the plants, fish and other animals were literally buried alive, little time was left for oxidation or decay. The time factor, coupled with ideal chemical conditions in the soil, account for the high quality of the fossils which are being unearthed today.
In addition to some of the more familiar plants and animals which have been unearthed, a few surprises have appeared. For example, the Tully Monster, a large, wormshaped creature, was brought to Dr. Richardson by a man named Francis J. Tully in 1958. "To my knowledge, this Illinois delta is the only place in the world to produce such a creature," Dr. Richardson says.. "Since Mr. Tully was the first to bring it to our attention and we couldn't identify it in the proper phylum it was christened the "Tully Monster." Dr. Richardson has since christened it Tullimonstrum gregarium, in keeping with the Latin tradition.
While Dr. Richardson and his museum colleagues don't have as much time to spend at the site as the avid collectors, they do enjoy visiting Pit Eleven whenever possible. "Edison has been very cooperative in allowing the fossil hunters to pursue their hobby," Richardson comments. Under a cooperative agreement, Edison and the museum have issued 800 passes to those wanting to dig at the site. "The company seems to be doing everything possible to enable the fossil hunting to continue, even though the station is under construction," he adds. As the facility nears completion, the number of passes granted will decline in order to maintain station security. However, this will have little effect on the serious fossil hunters and scholars who will be permitted to continue exploring the site. Edison enjoys the opportunity to share Braidwood Station's wealth of history and information as well as being a part of this exciting venture into the earth's mysterious past.
Commonweath Edison Company
Employee's Bulletin 2/79
via THE OPAL, November 1982
