Local Rock Star Presides Over Treasure Trove of Stones, Gems and Minerals

Burminco Rocks and Minerals, started by George Burnham in 1946, might be one of the best keep secrets in Monrovia. For 65 years the shop has been at the same location on South Encinitas Avenue. Passersby may only see an older-looking home with a modest sign advertising the business, but inside, the building holds a treasure trove of rocks, minerals, maps, and stories.

Thanks to his apprenticeship with the late George Burnham, Anthony Arreola now co-owns the business with his wife, Lailani Leyden, who also began working for Burnham in the mid 2000s. The couple took charge of the shop after the original owner passed away at the age of 94 in 2008. This summer, Burminco will move to a new location that is still undetermined.

Arreola said that although he is sad to leave the present location, he is also eager to inventory the shop and make a new start. Local Boy Scouts and Eagle Scouts are going to help them make the move this summer.

"A lot of people love this place. This place is one of a kind," Arreola said. He said that Huell Howser’s show had at one point contacted the shop and asked to film there, but at the time, George Burnham declined.

"He didn’t like a lot of that attention. But once you met him, he couldn’t stop talking about rocks and minerals," said Arreola. "It’s some giant shoes to fill," he added.

Arreola said that he grew up with some understanding of minerals because of his parents, who currently own Arreola Jewelry in Monrovia, but until he met Burnham, he never knew how vast the subject matter was. As his protégé, Arreola accompanied Burnham on trips to collect and identify rocks and minerals.

"It just became a passion of mine after a while," Arreola said. "He really wanted this thing to continue. He made sure that I knew everything about the business."

Arreola grew up in El Monte and met his future wife, Lailani Leyden, while they were both attending Pasadena City College. At the time, he was majoring in music and she was majoring in geology. Arreola met Burnham through Leyden when she began working at Burminco Rocks and Minerals in 2004, and Arreola also began working with him in 2006.

"At first I was doing a lot more labor, breaking, sorting. But as time went by we became really good friends. He was mostly self taught and that’s the way he taught me," Arreola said.

Burnham came of age during the Depression and didn’t have the money to attend college, Arreola said. Eventually he took some community college courses, but mostly he learned through his own adventures in collecting and research. Burnham told Arreola stories about collecting rocks around the world, and stressed the importance of studying Dana’s Manual of Mineralogy. Arreola still reads Burnham’s original copy from the 1940s, and he also refers to a book of hand-drawn maps that Burnham put together throughout his lifetime.

Arreola said that he’s always loved nature, and would collect rocks and shells as a kid, but he never connected the activity with anything he was learning about rocks and minerals at school, because they didn’t use samples in the classroom.

"It was just kind of in a book. I remember words like sedimentary and igneous, but not knowing what it meant," he said.

Today, Arreola appreciates that teachers often use rock and mineral samples, and he tries to help them by giving discounts when he can. He’s found that most teachers must pay out of pocket to provide kids with the opportunity to learn from the samples. He also hosts field trips to the shop for kids in classes from local schools, as well as for home schooled kids.

"I wanted to be a teacher, but now I teach here," Arreola said.

In addition to selling rocks to clients that have included teachers, shop owners, educators, JPL, NASA, Cal State, and hundreds of colleges and universities, Arreola has promoted knowledge of mineralogy to kids through Monrovia’s Kids Space Museum in Pasadena, and the Los Angeles Forest Service. Arreola knows that he’s younger than most people in the rock collection and mineral business, and he enjoys working with the kids.

"I think I’m one of the youngest guys in the game," he said. "I kind of talk the kids' lingo and get them interested."

For one of the educational activities, Arreola filled up a kiddie pool with sand, gravel, and minerals, so the kids could sift through the pile. He also taught them about how minerals are used in modern technology via silicon chips, which are made out of melted quartz sand. He’s taught kids about the hardness scale through making tooth paste out of baking soda, limestone, peppermint oil and water. On the hardness scale, diamonds are a 10, teeth are a 5, and limestone is a 3.

"I explain to them that our teeth can only take so much. We use limestone to clean teeth because it’s softer," he said.

Arreola also has two preschool age kids of his own, and he’s taught them about different colors by using the rock samples. His wife primarily takes care of their young children now, but she also helps with bookkeeping and running the shop when he travels to gem shows or to collect rocks.

"She’s very knowledgeable, so it’s good to have her around," he said.

Although the stock at Burminco Rocks and Minerals is lower these days in anticipation of the move, Arreola said that they currently carry about 500 varieties of rocks and minerals.

"We carry the textbook minerals, the minerals and rocks you’d study in class," he said.

Obsidian, or volcanic glass, is probably the most requested rock. "We can’t get enough of that stuff," he said. Fluorite and Quartz are also high on the list.

After 65 years, Burminco Rocks and Minerals is looking for a new place to call home. As they prepare to make the big transition, Arreola said that they are open to any suggestions on where to relocate the business. They plan to stay in the San Gabriel Valley, and they’d really like to stay in Monrovia.

"I really, really like how the city of Monrovia is involved in the city," Arreola said. "It’s beautiful, it’s diverse, and they keep it up really nice. It makes you feel good to have a business here."