Seina Searle will never forget the first time she and her husband, Mike, went to what was then called Fossil Fair.
“We walked around with our jaws open,” Seina said. They were in awe of what fossil hunters could find in Florida.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photos)
The Searles had already begun their amateur quest to find old bits of bone and teeth in a desire to learn more about Florida’s prehistoric past, but when they got to Fossil Fair, she said, they were blown away by the possibilities.
That was 1993, and the Searles immediately joined the Tampa Bay Fossil Club.
Flash forward 23 years. Mike is now president of the club, which boasts around 600 members and Seina is on the board of directors. She’s coordinating a team of about 140 volunteers for the 29th annual Tampa Bay Fossil Fest, set for this coming weekend at the Florida State Fairgrounds.
They hope the event will spark an interest in others that will lead them to join a community devoted to unearthing clues about the creatures that roamed the earth millions of years ago.
The couple’s passion for fossils is obvious.
An entire room in their Lutz home is filled with shelves of fossils they’ve found while diving in rivers and exploring mines. They have stuff in their garage and out back, too.
There’s one section in their fossil room devoted to finds from vacations to Nebraska to go fossil-hunting. They’ve made the trip 19 times and are planning to go there again this year.
Their passion has evolved through the years, Mike said.
At first, they just wanted to find stuff, he said.
“Then we wanted to find good stuff. Then, we wanted to find the most stuff,” he said.
“Sometimes you get wrapped up in what the value of your collection is worth and what you find. We’ve completely gone through all of those emotions. Now, our goal is to find stuff that’s scientifically valuable, that will help unravel the picture of what was in Florida,” he said.
Seina is fascinated by what Florida was like millions of years ago.
“It was a lot like Africa now,” she said. “You had the mammoths. Mastodons. Rhinoceros. Huge Bears. Lions.”
There were armadillos the size of Volkswagens, Mike said.
Seina has had a penchant for unearthing buried treasures since her childhood.
“I always loved archeology as a kid. I was always digging in the backyard, hoping to find something. I always had that interest,” Seina said.
“I never really thought so much about fossils, until he (Mike) took me looking for shark’s teeth in Venice,” she said.
Mike said he became interested in fossils after a kid showed him some shark’s teeth he had found.
“My favorite fossil, I think, is shark’s teeth,” Mike said. “What I quickly came to appreciate was the time involved. “Most people can’t conceive the time.
“You pick up a shark’s tooth on the beach,” he said. “It’s from a 5 million-year-old animal.
“Some of the fossils we dig out west are 30 million years old. You cannot conceive that kind of time frame,” he said.
The Searles have built their knowledge of archeology and paleontology through years in the field, listening to experts and sharing discoveries with other club members.
The Tampa Bay Fossil Club meets monthly at the University of South Florida, featuring presentations from experts. Club members bring items to the meetings for help in identifying the specimens.
The club also goes on field trips, has an annual campout and organizes other activities.
“I’m certain we’re the largest amateur club in the country,” Mike said.
There’s camaraderie among club members, the couple said.
When fossil hunters get together, he said, they tend to talk about things like the newest sloth that’s been found, or why diving is off limits in certain areas, Mike said.
“Everything else seems like it doesn’t matter,” he said.
29th annual Tampa Bay Fossil Fest
When: March 12, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; March 13, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Florida State Fairgrounds, intersection of Interstate 4 and U.S. 301, just east of Tampa
How much: $7 for adults, free for children 12 and under
Details: Paleo enthusiasts will find plenty to see and do at Florida’s largest prehistoric show. There will be fossils, artifacts, minerals, shells, workshops, silent auctions, door prizes, and activities for kids.
For more information, visit TampaBayFossilClub.com.
