Jim Tilbert is a man who has been around the block. A graduate of North Dakota State with a degree in Agricultural Economics, Tilbert doesn't work with the soil. Instead he works with the rocks. Tilbert calls himself a "Rock Hound."
"There is nothing better then creating something and presenting it to someone that you have close feelings for," Tilbert (JT) explains.
JT has been interested in rocks for a long time. When he was a kid, his uncle took him on walks in the park, and showed him different rocks. In high school one of his teachers proved to JT the value of nature by showing him different rocks. JT says he really got involved in rocks when he was about 25.
After five years of unsatisfying work with the bank at Grafton, N.D., he quit and in 1988 opened JT's Rock Shop next to Taco Johns on 10th Street in Fargo. "I became tired of the system and quit. Banks don't care about people," says JT.
The Rock Shop displays every rock imaginable. Display cabinets with earrings and necklaces are lined about the store with boxes of different rocks set in front of them.
Over to the right is JT's working area where he polishes and cuts the different rocks he collects, preparing them for jewelry or display. He makes clocks, bookends, pen and pencil holders all out of rock. "Shaping rock into just about any shape that you want it shaped," JT explains.
But don't be fooled by the name "Rock Shop."
"This is turtle poop," JT says, holding the petrified item in his hand. People buy this? "Oh yes." JT explains that this is a novelty item. Place this on the floor of a person who owns a dog, he suggests, and say "Look what your dog did!"
Who said that "Rock Hounds" can't have a sense of humor?
Next to JT sits a 120-pound amethyst rock. It has been cut open to show off its blue and purple inside. The rock is from South America and on it sits a sold sign.
Any one who has seen the movie "Jurassic Park" can check out his display of petrified tree sap amber. The tree sap does not contain any insects but does look very much like the sap from the movie. About the movie JT responds, "They could have done a better job, I was disappointed."
In one case sits a large petrified turtle shell. JT explains that he was on a geology trip with NDSU. When they came to Scenic, S.D. "Just a little dot on the road you could miss real easy," JT says. It was here he bought the fossil and now it sits in his most treasured case.
This is the case that contains the rocks JT will not sell to any of his customers. JT says these rocks and fossils will go to NDSU when he "kicks off." The case includes the turtle shell, along with bears carved out of rock, and oakamite from Africa.
JT pulls out a heart-shaped earring carved out of stone that resembles a tye-dyed pattern worn on tee-shirts. "This is what we call Detroit agate," says JT. He explains that the rock comes from left-over paint used to paint news in auto factories. The paint is scraped off the wall and looks and feels very similar to an everyday rock. "We nicknamed it the Detroit agate or Fordite," JT says with a chuckle.
JT explains about the healing power of rocks. "Every single rock has a healing power. I've seen it work, " he explains. Liptite, he explains, can cure depression for some people. Liptite contains lithium, which is given to people who suffer from depression. Wearing a Liptite rock around the neck just might cheer you up.
A man came into the Rock Shop one day and told JT that he suffered from alcoholism. JT told the man he had just the thing. He sold the man a small piece of amethyst. Since then, JT reports, that the man has not had a single drink.
Thinking JT spends all his time behind the counter of the rock shop would be wrong. JT does tours for the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and 4H, explaining how rocks are formed and their identification.
He is a self-taught geologist who picked up his knowledge from reading about rocks from his book collection. He teaches students at Concordia College how to cut and polish rock. He teaches adult silversmithing in Fergus Falls, Minn. He will also be working with a group from Alcoholics Anonymous, teaching them how to cut and polish rocks. "It's really hard to hold a can of beer when grinding rock," JT says.
He feels that today's youth have lost their respect for adults and the situation is not getting any better. "We're caught up in this computerized society, and we don't even understand the basis of creation. We've lost our ability to survive," he says.
What the people of Fargo may not know is that JT has created a unique store that will give you not only beautiful rocks from all over the world, but also a shop that is not tied into the commercial gimmicks. Best of all, the store is surviving and is definitely one of Fargo's gems.
Story by Thomas Rode
Photos by Kate Borgelt
Design by Jennifer Lundeen, Jerome Cheatham and Kevin Cederstrom