Briarwood 3rd Graders Enjoy Halloween

Over 50 Benton County children from Briarwood's 3rd grade classes enjoyed a fun-filled Halloween at Birdsong Resort and Marina. They visited an internationally visited tourist attraction that can be found right here in Camden at the site of America's only Freshwater Pearl Farm and Museum.

The pearl farm offers a guided tour, "A Pearl of A Tour," that shares the knowledge of how freshwater pearls are cultured right here in Tennessee. Bob Keast, owner and tour guide, shared a day with the kids explaining many details of how pearls grow, what they grow in, what they are implanted with, how they are implanted, how shapes are pre-determined, where they grow, how long it takes and when they are harvested. The kids watched the CBS segment of the Sunday Morning Show with Charles Osgood and Rita Braverd who featured the Pearl Farm during February of this year. The CBS Show outlined the Latendresse Family and their dedication to culturing the American Pearl.

Keast opened a Washboard mussel shell that had been implanted with mother-of-pearl nuclei. The group witnessed how the pearls are harvested as they saw a pearl emerge from its host - the mussel. They learned that there are many types of mussels, but the two most commonly found in this area are the Washboard and the Pig Toe; and that the mussel is a "cousin" to the salt-water oyster. The total process of culturing Tennessee's official state gem takes approximately 18 months to develop a marketable pearl for resale.

After cookies and lemonade, a photo was taken for the website www.BirdsongResort.com and link to PHOTO GALLERY and NEWS. The group enjoyed the two-hour educational tour then took the bus down to the farm next to the marina on Birdsong Road. The bus toured the recreational facility next to the public swimming pool, volleyball pit, horseshoes and ping pong and was invited to "come back" in the spring near completion of the 2002-2003 school year for another day of fun and a cookout.