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HR Straight Collection
Mark Bandy Collection
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The H.R. Straight Collection

The Central Iowa Mineral Society (CIMS) was founded in March 1946, and Mr. Straight was invited to join CIMS in 1947. He was very enthusiastic about the field trips, meetings and conventions planned by the CIMS. Straight purchased a collection of minerals from Henry Luthe and then added to it extensively through his travels and personal finds. He set up a “Rock Room” at his house in Adel, where Straight entertained frequently.
           

Straight knew how badly the Central Iowa Mineral Society wanted a good museum and a club house. He hoped that he and Mark Bandy, a geologist and graduate of Drake University, could put their collections together in a museum in Adel. In his travels, he made life-long friends with rockhounds throughout the country. In September 1956, Straight drove to northern Michigan to rock hunt and returned with many specimens of native copper. He died of a heart attack the next morning.
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