The saying goes: You don't find a Junonia shell. It finds you. These lucky people found one
The News-Press and Naples Daily News wrapped up our first ever "Shell Week" on Sunday (March 3). It was a fun project and it underscored the love affair residents and people who visit here have with all things shells. But one shell, as we found out, is more coveted than others.
It's called the Junonia.
Two stories we published about the Junonia ?one about a Fort Myer's man finding a Junonia on Marco Island and the other about a reporter who thought he could find a Junonia on a quick trip to the beach ? got people talking on social media and sharing their Junonia photos.
Here are some of the best Junonia stories we found:
Junonia a silver lining after Hurricane Ian
Julz Hall a member of the Sanibel Shell Seekers Facebook group, posted this photo and comment: "I found mine 8 days after Ian. Came over to check out our place and found it while waiting on the boat to pick me up. Causeway was still down. My Ian silver lining. (Excuse the bright red disaster of me. It was really hot! I had been on island for 7 hours.)"
He finally got his!: After years of searching, Fort Myers man finally finds rare shell on Sanibel Island
Two Junonias in one day!
Joy Burress Campbell posted this photo of two Junonia shells in the Sanibel Shell Seekers group: "I found 2 in one day! No joke. February 2022, pre Ian. Mid-morning walking the edge of the surf, the broken one rolled up to my feet. I was shocked to see it! In the afternoon, same story. Walking the edge of the water, it rolled right up in front of me. Gifts from the sea, they found me. No digging, sifting or wading the water. They just found me. This was just a bit west of Mitchell’s Sand Castles."
A surprise Junonia on family vacation
Ryan OIetken send in email to the News-Press about his family's Junonia find while on vacation: "My wife, Alexia, found the shell while we are on vacation on Sanibel Island this week. We started researching and realized how rare this find may be!"
What a disply of Junonias!
Shirlee Harrison posted this photo of her SIX Junonia shells in the Sanibel Island Facebook group. Remarkable. Or as someone said in the thread of comments underneath the photo: "Good golly, Ms. Shirlee Girl. Wow!"
Finding a Junonia a 'big deal'
Jill Houston Nunn posted in the Sanibel Island Facebook group: "I found mine in Jan. 2000 and didn't realize at the time what a big deal it was. My friend started screaming when I showed her the shells I found that morning. She took me to the local Sanibel paper where they interviewed me and took my picture that was published in the paper that week. My only moment of fame!"
Capturing the joyous Junonia moment
Marcia Trujillo Vaccarino posted this photo in the Marco Island Life Facebook group: "The moment my son found a Junonia for me on South Beach (Miami)."
Sweet story
Renee Hill Gillard posted her Junonia story in the Sanibel Island Facebook group, saying: "My son and I hunt excitedly each year hopeful….and spend the best moments together hunting, walking, talking combing the beach and looking in the water. We started when he was three. He is now a teenager but we still hunt for one each year in Sanibel. We both agreed that it may be a sad day if we do find one….because we won’t need to hunt together anymore. Maybe the hunt is better than the find???"
Good news, bad news?
Sybil Glass Appell wrote in the Sanibel Shell Seekers groups: "I've been looking for 53 years. I'm afraid I'll pick it up and then drop dead from the shock!"
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Junonia shells in SW FL: Finding one can be more about luck than skill