Crystal Castle

Please enjoy this 573 Archive Treasure from June/July 2011!

My name is Sheila Misselhorn.

My husband Larry and I were raised in the Midwest. He is from Illinois where he attended Collinsville High School and later Lincoln Christian College. I grew up in Dayton, Ohio. We each found our way to Montana in the 70s while the West was still a little wild and less developed than today. We fell in love with Big Sky Country and each other.

We have a blended family with five grown children and eleven grandchildren to date. Larry works on movie projects as a greensman, which means he works with the natural elements; trees, forests, flowers and gardens which are frequently created to hide things the camera does not want to see or are not period to the film. These are what give depth and texture to the film. Spielberg's "Always," a story about smoke jumpers filmed in Libby, Montana and Redford's "A River Runs Through It," filmed in Livingston, Mt. were some of his favorite movie jobs.

...natural beauty and history.

Since Larry works all over the country, we decided to move to a more central area. While attending college, Larry enjoyed trips to the Arcadia Valley for camping, floating and mud running. In the summer of 1993, we vacationed in the Arcadia Valley. We were overwhelmed with its natural beauty and history. Historical homes, water towers and buildings were abundant and the price tags were very affordable. Our second day in the valley we purchased our Missouri home.

Larry and I both love historic houses and we were up for the new project. In 1999 we discovered The Castle, which we call home today. The original occupant, Dr. Goulding from England, missed the English style of architecture, so he created a castle in the Ozarks. The eleven-room house is constructed of locally quarried limestone and granite, complete with a three-story tower and winding staircase.

The statues originally graced the St Louis Mutual Life Insurance Building (Sixth and Locust St) built in 1871. James Eads, president of the insurance company and engineer of the Eads Bridge, commissioned them planning to install them on the bridge itself but changed his mind. It’s said the statues were displayed at the 1904 St Louis Worlds Fair before they came to the valley.

...pretty colors of the crystals.

Since childhood, I have been drawn to the beauty of natural objects such as crystals, stones and sea shells. I had purchased a rock collection at an auction and was putting the stones into inventory when I became intrigued enough to want to learn about the stones and minerals and their properties. I began reading everything I could find on the subject.

In 2006, I attended the Crystal Conference held in Ashland Oregon. I met over 400 people from all over the world who were working with crystals in various modalities including the legendary crystal skulls. They focus on the healing aspects; Geologists are excited by the mineral specimens. But the most fun are the children who are attracted by the sparkles and pretty colors of the crystals. I have a fairly large collection at my shop, Glory Days, in downtown Ironton.

A Crystal Healing session involves bringing crystals and stones into the individual’s energy field to shift energetic blocks and patterns within the physical body. Sound vibration (singing bowls, tuning forks) and guided meditations are also part of the energy balancing session.