In 1799, fifty years before the California gold rush, gold was discovered in
North Carolina. At Stanfield in Cabbarus county a 12 year old boy found a
nugget weighing 17 pounds. His father, John Reed, not knowing what it was, used
it as a doorstop. In 1802 he took it to a market in Fayetteville. A jeweler
recognized that the doorstop was gold and bought it for $3.50. John Reed was
neither the first nor the last to fail to recognize the value in something.
Many do not recognize the value of a marriage until it is gone. Some do not
recognize the value of the home, the value of the church, the value of a good
reputation. Each one is priceless and never to be treated lightly.
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