Giant agate sparks intrigue

Paul Ward turned 90 this summer, and the story of how he landed the area's most well-known agate has changed. But only a little.

Shortly after the 108-pound agate began being celebrated in Moose Lake during the early 1980s, the story went that Ward was looking for agates in a local pit when he unearthed the monster he first thought was a root.

But last month, during a visit to his Sandstone, Minnesota residence by the Pine Knot, Ward recalled a different origin.

He was clearing land and building a family home in Wrenshall and needed gravel. He was in the process of collecting a load near what would become Finke's Berry Farm, now Spectrum Farm Strawberries, in Carlton, and the agate appeared in the bucket of a loader.

"This agate just rolled out on top of the load," Ward said. "You could see the markings, the bands."

The large agate clearly has taken on a life of its own. Some call it the largest Lake Superior agate ever unearthed, others dispute that it's an agate at all. At the time of Ward's discovery, the agate carried added significance locally, with Moose Lake being home to gem and mineral enthusiasts and hosting its upstart celebration, Agate Days, which has endured and begins again Saturday.

"In some sense, it adds a little intrigue to the story," said Byron Kuster of the cloudy origin story. Kuster, 65, is a retired teacher and Moose Lake area resident who befriended Ward when Kuster was out hiking and, returning to his vehicle, noticed a man in a wheelchair who'd gotten stuck.

"His wheels were spinning and I easily dislodged him," Kuster said, describing the ensuing conversation that struck on their mutual interest in agates.

"It was kind of incredible," said Kuster, who pitched the idea of a story to the newspaper.

Discovered in 1979, Ward said he sold the agate for $499 to First National Bank, which liked the link it could provide to the city's burgeoning reputation as an agate capital.

Ward said he and his wife, Doris, eschewed an offer to move the agate east, to Washington, D.C.

"We decided if it went to Washington, D.C., no one would ever see it in Carlton County," Ward said. "All of our friends were here in Pine County and Carlton County. We decided that all of our roots were here and we were going to leave it here."

Doris, now deceased, grew up in Mahtowa and Ward outside Bruno. He and friends used to comb farm fields for agates, he said.

"We all had agates as big as our fists," Ward said. "We picked them because they're pretty rocks. They're beautiful."

Megan Rose is a park worker at Moose Lake State Park, home to the Moose Lake Agate and Geological Center.

"I moved here 13 years ago and had never heard of an agate," Rose said. "Now, when I'm out walking I search for them. I'm not active in the pits, but they're just beautiful."

Carlton County issues agate picking permits on its website which allow people to search for agates in three pits located outside Moose Lake city limits.

"It is a unique rock that is beautiful and that we're able to find on the surface in our area very easily," Rose said. "It's just a fun thing we're able to find."

Oddly, Ward's famous agate is not among the more spectacular examples of its kind. Shaped like a dinosaur head, it's sandy and dull, and one has to look hard to find any of the translucent bands which are a hallmark to the most lovely agates.

"It's not a beautiful agate," Kuster admitted. "It's not what you think of when you think of a Lake Superior agate."

Rose confirmed that not everyone believes Ward's find is a true agate.

"It depends who you talk to," she said. "Some say it's the biggest agate ever found, more of a white and gray version. There is some debate on whether it's banded chert or a Lake Superior agate."

For Ward, while there may be discrepancies, there is no debate. Raising six children with Doris in Wrenshall and later Mahtowa, Ward was a carpenter, building homes and, later, after a heart attack, supervising their construction. He was also an ordained minister, evangelizing wherever he went.

"My wife was talented," Ward said. "She played piano and organ and we sang together."

Agates, he noted, made their way into the Bible. But not really as Ward recalled. He said agates are one of the 12 gemstones making up the foundations of what Ward called God's "new Jerusalem" in heaven. That doesn't appear to be the case, as agates are not listed among those particular stones.

Still, the agate did make the Bible in other ways. And Ward is convinced there will be agates waiting for him in heaven.

"Let not your heart be troubled ... in my Father's house are many mansions," Ward said, recalling John 14. "He's building our new Jerusalem right now."