Family heirlooms 30 years in the making

Nearly 30 years ago, my family took a trip to Gem Mountain in Philipsburg to mine for sapphires and garnets.

The kids do not recall this adventure since our son was in a baby carrier on my husband’s back and our daughter was toddling around our feet while we sifted through buckets of dirt — a pleasant, inexpensive way to wile away a sunny summer afternoon...