Richwood's Grandma Rocks Written April 16, 2024   In my old hometown, a seventy-something artist with an apartment at the Civic Center displays paintings at the annual fair. Mary Robinson-Foster is 3½ years younger than me, though we've never met.  She also paints miniatures, and many folks have come to know her as “Grandma Rocks.” It seems that in Richwood, Ohio, as well as other parts of the state, you can chance upon small stones that have been painstakingly decorated with cartoon characters, fake candy, landscapes, and other images. I've discovered via the internet that “MRF” loves to create these lapidary objects. She writes, “I am Grandma Rocks, and I'm a rockaholic.  I paint rocks to hide in plain sight so that whoever finds it may get a smile in their heart.  It's not like an Easter egg hunt where you try to find and keep all you can.  Parents, please encourage your kids to re-hide and teach them the joy of giving strangers something to smile about.” It was around Thanksgiving in the year 2019 that Mary found a treasure trove of raw material.  A second shelter house was going to be erected at the local park next to the lake, and when she looked at the construction site, “all I saw was an area strewn with diamonds and jewels disguised as rocks.  Literally thousands!!!  The mayor told me I was welcome to gather all the rocks I wanted.  Sweeter words were never spoken.” Now, between that find and some other stones that folks had given her recently, she declared that “I do believe that I have ‘enough.’” Earlier that year she'd started a Facebook page called Richwood Rocks to show her creations.  Now, she said, “I think it's kinda neat that the new rocks that I'll be doing will truly be Richwood Rocks.” By 2020, Mary estimated she had made 5,000 of these objects in five years. Here are some examples. Other posts from the Facebook page: As many of you know, I don't walk well enough to hide my own rocks, so I rely on all my helpers. Today, I was able to hide a few on the playground and experience for myself the joy when two different groups of kids found them!  That right there is a big dose of motivation to keep on painting! Took my new rock mobile around the park tonight, and I hid these little gems. Such a beautiful evening! You lucky rock finders may notice that I'm using a different kind of rock, smaller and smooth. These are rocks I buy from Home Depot to supplement my supply of larger ones from the construction site. Keep on smilin', Richwood! We know we rock! It takes a village, and Richwood is the best one!