MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Rockhounds and Lake County diamond enthusiasts all over Northern California know Sandy Thuet for her one-time rock shop in Lower Lake near the corner of highways 53 and 29.

Her finds of Lake County diamonds financed that shop, Thuet said.

The diamonds, including some beautifully amethyst-shaded ones, were backed up in providing venture capital by an 1867 dime she found in Lower Lake and sold to a collector for $350.

Gibson Museum’s monthly Fireside Chat at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 9, will feature Thuet.

Thuet retired to San Francisco after serving in the British Army. She worked as an animal control officer there for eight years, and continued in that role after moving to Lake County in 1985.

The demands of that job got to her. “I needed to do something that had nothing to do with anything living,” she said.

She took a geology course, and her future was set.

Thuet has since traveled throughout the U.S. with her metal detector searching for precious stones and gold. She summers in Lake County, then heads into the deserts of Arizona and beyond in search of treasures.

“The word treasure defines anything you find interesting or special,” she said. “Lake County is a treasure chest for those who care to look. The best finds are in your own backyard.”

A Spanish sword she dug up in Lucerne is in Lower Lake’s Historic Schoolhouse Museum.

She is still searching for the roughly $2,000 in gold said to have been stolen from the Great Western Mine and buried somewhere between the mine and Calistoga.

Fireside Chats are free of charge, although donations to support Gibson Museum are welcomed.

Questions are welcomed after the speaker’s initial presentation. Guests are urged to arrive early to view new exhibits and chat with friends.

Gibson Museum is located at 21267 Calistoga Road (Highway 29) across the street from Middletown Square.

For further information, phone 707-809-8009 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..