Ron Russ, Eugene Genova of Long Island Mineral and Geology Society hunt for dinosaurs together

Longtime friends Eugene Genova and Ron Russ share an unusual hobby: They hunt dinosaurs. And sometimes, they actually find them.

The amateur paleontologists, who attended Sachem High School South and later bonded as earth science teachers at that school, now spend their retirement together looking for fossils. They have traveled the world, unearthing a dinosaur footprint in a New Jersey quarry and igneous rocks on a trip to Iceland.

Closer to home, they lead the Long Island Mineral and Geology Society, sharing their knowledge and passion with others through field trips, school and library presentations and an annual mineral and gem show.

“They get excited about their areas of interest,” said Genova’s wife, Barbara Genova, who added their enthusiasm is so infectious that “everybody around them gets excited too.”

A common history

While Genova and Russ specialize in finding minerals and fossils that can be hundreds of millions of years old, their friendship also goes back a bit.

Genova, 75, of Wading River, graduated from high school in 1967 and Russ, now 73 and living in Sound Beach, in 1969. Both became teachers at Sachem High School South, now Samoset Middle School, in Ronkonkoma.

“He was teaching biology and we needed more earth science teachers,” recalled Genova, who was head of the school’s science department. “I went to him: ‘You’re certified in earth science. We really could use you.’ ”

Russ remembers the shift as a key moment in his life, leading to a lasting friendship and lifelong interest.

“I had to reprogram myself to teach Regents earth science,” he said. “Once I got into it, I turned on the biology teachers. I said, ‘Biology’s no fun. Rocks are much better.’ ”

Bob LaCorte, former president of the Sachem Central Teachers Association and a retired biology teacher, said the pair have an uncommonly strong connection.

“Their friendship has grown much like their rock collections have,” said LaCorte, a Rocky Point resident in his early 70s. “They’re always talking and planning where their adventures will take them next.”

Passion for the past

Genova retired in 2005 and Russ followed two years later. Soon after, Genova became president of the Long Island Mineral and Geology Society, recruiting Russ — again — as vice president. They have since led the group on field trips and traveled together and with their spouses to hunt fossils and minerals.

“I love the beauty of the rocks and minerals, and prospecting for things,” Genova said. “You never know what you’re going to find. It’s like looking for a treasure.”

The friends tend to be in sync as they plan trips and activities. “We think alike,” Genova said. “We brainstorm what we want to show to the club. He’ll mention something. I’ll mention something. And we were both thinking the same thing.”

The two said they call each other daily, infusing the 50-member club with energy and enthusiasm.

“Gene makes sure things are running right,” said Russ’ wife, Deborah Russ. “And Ron is good working with him, because they agree.”

Rocking the vacation

Their connection has extended to their spouses, with the four vacationing together, including mineral and fossil hunts. “We’ve gone on trips together. We have similar lives,” said Barbara Genova, 75. “We know a lot of the same people. That helps to keep people bonded.”

Russ agreed. “Our wives, who also graduated from Sachem, get along very well. We travel a lot together,” he said. “We took a trip to Iceland. We had a great time finding igneous rocks that we shipped back to the states.”

Janet Bidwell, the mineral and geology society’s recording secretary, said the men brought the rocks back to show to the club. “They did a very interesting presentation,” said the Aquebogue resident, 70. “Their background and education have made the club popular. It keeps me going back.”

If the duo travel to prospect, there’s a reason. Long Island isn’t ideal for fossil or mineral hunting, because it was formed by glaciers that deposited rocks and sand, but not much in the way of fossils, Genova said.

You can find milky quartz and conglomerate, or pudding stone, on North Shore beaches, and granite, metamorphic rock and pegmatite, a coarse-grained igneous rock with large mineral crystals, near Montauk Point, he said.

“There are a few places where you might be able to find leaf fossils,” Russ added. “On the North Shore, in the Huntington area, some plant fossils can be found in sedimentary shale rock.”

Upstate New York, however, is a fossil and mineral hunter’s paradise, due to its geology and history. “It has to do with the mountains and layers of rock,” Genova said. “They were under water, in most cases. The animals died and became covered and fossilized.”

Russ said they’ve done successful fossil hunting near Albany, finding “all kinds of marine fossils.” Their finds include brachiopods (marine animals that lived in hard, hinged shells on the sea bottom); trilobites (animals similar to horseshoe crabs that lived on the ocean floor); and eurypterids, the New York State fossil. “We love the eurypterids,” he said.

Genova and Russ got permission from a quarry owner in upstate Ilion to prospect for eurypterids, also known as sea scorpions. They recalled walking around the quarry for several hours, wielding chisels and hammers and wearing steel-tipped boots, hard hats and goggles as they split apart layers of sedimentary rock.

They finally had their “Eureka moment” when they came upon eurypterid fossils, which are about 400 million years old, they said.

“Unless they get destroyed or exposed and deteriorate, when they get covered up, they could last almost forever,” Genova said.

The two share other interests as well. “We both try and keep in shape. We go kayaking around Long Island,” Russ said. “Other times we go biking on bike trails.”

Mini museums

Genova and Russ are serious about collecting but also have a sense of humor. Russ’ email signature includes the word “rockstar,” making some wonder if that’s a reference to music. “That’s what everybody asks,” Russ said. “I’m talking about a guy who likes hunting for rocks and minerals.”

LaCorte — who sees them as rock and fossil fans, maybe even fanatics — recounted a digging expedition he and Russ embarked on a few years ago.

“He collected so many specimens that he didn’t have enough room in his suitcase for everything,” LaCorte said. “He ended up wearing several layers of clothes so he could make room in his luggage for some of his specimens.”

Russ and Genova display many of their finds, including eurypterids, in their basements — mini mineral and fossil museums with labels indicating what each object is, and where and when it was found.

Pursuing perfection

They are on a perpetual quest for the best specimens they can find. “You try to get the perfect fossil,” Russ said. “A lot of times you don’t. They can break apart when you’re chiseling. Or they die and break apart and you find sections. It’s hard to find one that’s complete.”

Their search for minerals has included a trip with the club to the Emmons Quarry in Maine, where pegmatite can be found.

“A lot of times you find other minerals embedded in the pegmatite,” Genova said, noting they also visited the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum in Bethel. “We got some great examples of those kinds of classic minerals.”

They also prospected in the Palermo and Tripp mines in New Hampshire, not far from Russ’ vacation house in Bridgewater, New Hampshire.

Over the years, they said they have found beryl, a collectible mineral that can come in beautiful shades of greens and blue. Aquamarine, an example of beryl, is the March birthstone. “A lot of people collect it for their own purposes,” Russ said. “But a lot collect to make jewelry.”

The club has its own claim, or small piece of property, in upstate Fonda, near Albany, that is rich in Herkimer diamonds — clear quartz crystals.

“We’re not very deep, so the Herkimer diamonds are small and crystal clear,” Russ said. “As you get deeper, the Herkimers get bigger and aren’t as clear.”

They head out hunting and return home with varying amounts of keepsakes from trips. “It’s like fishing,” Russ said of fossils. “You might not find anything. Other days you might find 10, 15, 20 samples that are really good.”

Sometimes one friend will find a lot, while the other comes up empty-handed. But not to worry. “Usually, if somebody finds a bunch of stuff and the other guy doesn’t, we share it,” Russ said.