June Culp Zeitner
June Culp Zeitner | |
|---|---|
| Born | Vivian June Culp February 7, 1916 Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | October 11, 2009 (aged 93) Rapid City, South Dakota, U.S. |
| Education | Northern State University |
| Occupations | Writer, mineral and gem collector |
| Spouse | Albert Zeitner |
Vivian June Culp Zeitner (February 7, 1916 – October 11, 2009) was an American non-fiction writer who authored a dozen books and over a thousand articles about gemstones. She was nicknamed "The First Lady of Gems", and was the namesake of the June Culp Zeitner Emerald, the largest emerald found and cut in the United States.[1]
Early life and education
[edit]Culp was born on February 7, 1916, in northern Michigan,[2][3] the eldest of five daughters born to Vernon Culp and Pearl Culp.[2] The Culp family moved to Tripp, South Dakota, by 1920, and to Aberdeen, South Dakota, by 1930.[4] She graduated from Northern State University.[3][5]
Career
[edit]Zeitner began her career as an artist in Minneapolis, and as an English teacher in Mission, South Dakota.[1][6] She began hunting for special rocks and gems with her husband; the two drove all over the United States in their pursuit of minerals.[7] Over the course of her career, she authored a dozen books and over a thousand articles about gemstones.[8] She was also an editor at Lapidary Journal for three decades.[9] She was nicknamed "the First Lady of Gems" in 1976, at a White House ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies.[1][10] She founded the National Rockhound and Lapidary Hall of Fame in Murdo, South Dakota.[11] In 2005 she received the Carnegie Mineralogical Award.[12] She founded the State Stone Program, to support local mineralogical societies to work for a state gem, fossil and stone in each state. She was named South Dakota Woman of Achievement in 1976, and received the 1985 A. H. Pankow Award as an outstanding South Dakota journalist.[2] She lived in Rapid City, South Dakota, from 1986 to 2009.[2]
Publications
[edit]- "Frosty Morning" (1942, poem)[13]
- "In Reply" (1943, poem)[14]
- Midwest Gem Trails (1955)[1]
- Appalachian Mineral and Gem Trails (1968)[15]
- Southwest Mineral and Gem Trails (1972)
- "Facts About Fairburns" (1973)[16]
- Borglum's Unfinished Dream: Mount Rushmore (1976, with Lincoln Borglum)[17]
- "Colorful Chalcedony in America" (1977)
- "Precious Opal in the United States" (1986)[18]
- How to Carve Jade and Gems (1987)
- Gem and Lapidary Materials (1996)[19]
- Geodes: Nature's Treasures (2006, with Brad L. Cross)[20]
Personal life and legacy
[edit]Culp married C. Albert Zeitner in 1941.[3][21] Her husband died in 1995, and she died on October 11, 2009, in Rapid City, at the age of 93.[2][22] A tribute to Zeitner was read on the floor of the United States Senate in November 2009, by John Thune.[11] The June Culp Zeitner Emerald, the largest emerald found and cut in the United States, is named in her honor.[12]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Rick, Lynn Taylor (1997-03-20). "First Lady of Gems; Rapid City woman loves world of rocks". Rapid City Journal. pp. C1, C2. Retrieved 2026-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "June Culp Zeitner". Rapid City Journal. Rapid City, South Dakota. October 14, 2009. p. 33. Retrieved March 10, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 Donnan Standard, Kristin (October 18, 2009). "Remembering the First Lady of Gems". Rapid City Journal. Rapid City, South Dakota. p. 35. Retrieved March 10, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ 1920 and 1930 United States censuses, via Ancestry.
- ↑ Larson, Peter L. (March 2010). "In Memoriam: June Culp Zeitner (1916–2009)". Rocks & Minerals. 85 (2): 181–182. doi:10.1080/00357521003591173.
- ↑ "'Mission' Featured in Class Activities". Argus-Leader. 1946-01-15. p. 8. Retrieved 2026-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Crase, Cheryl (1973-11-11). "June Culp Zeitner hunts rocks for a profession". Rapid City Journal. p. 16. Retrieved 2026-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Romaine, Garret (2025-06-17). Basic Rockhounding and Prospecting: A Beginner's Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 176. ISBN 978-1-4930-9258-1.
- ↑ "June Culp Zeitner". Argus-Leader. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 2009-10-14. p. 15. Retrieved 2020-03-10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Nelson, Steve (1976-08-23). "First lady of gems, minerals, "June" to South Dakotans". Mitchell Republic. p. 7. Retrieved 2026-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 United States Congress (2009). Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 26372.
- 1 2 Huizing, Marie E. (2006). "Chips from the Quarry". Rocks & Minerals. 81 (3): 173–176. doi:10.3200/RMIN.81.3.173-240. S2CID 219713179.
- ↑ Zeitner, June Culp (1942-01-11). "Frosty Morning". Argus-Leader. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Zeitner, V. June (1943-06-20). "In Reply". Argus-Leader. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Zeitner, June Culp (1968). Appalachian Mineral & Gem Trails. Lapidary journal.
- ↑ Zeitner, June Culp. "Facts About Fairburns." Lapidary Journal 27 (1973): 572-77.
- ↑ Zeitner, June Culp, and Lincoln Borglum. Borglum's Unfinished Dream: Mount Rushmore. North Plains Press, 1976.
- ↑ Zeitner, June Culp. "Precious opal in the United States." Lapidary Journal 40, no. 3 (1986): 42-48.
- ↑ Zeitner, June Culp (1996). "Gem and lapidary materials : for cutters, collectors, and jewelers". Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
- ↑ Cross, Brad L., and June Culp Zeitner. Geodes: Nature's Treasures. Gem Guides Book Company, 2006.
- ↑ "Albert, June Zeitner to celebrate 50th". Rapid City Journal. 1991-06-23. p. 31. Retrieved 2026-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Loomis, Tom (2009-10-13). "In Memory of June Culp Zeitner". Dakota Matrix Minerals. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
External links
[edit]| International | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
