Asked for a shorthand explanation for the astonishing array of artifacts amassed by Tony Talerico and son Anthony over the course of their collecting expeditions throughout Cook, Will, and Kankakee counties, Tony Sr. was succinct.
“It’s hard to turn down a little boy looking for arrowheads,” the South Chicago Heights resident said.
The duo’s forays are conducted entirely on private land, with permission granted beforehand by the landowner, he said. Usually those landowners are farmers, and the Talericos frequently coordinate their searches with tilling time, when newly plowed acreage turns up finds buried for millennia. They document their expeditions on YouTube at Arrowhead Finders89.
“One of my favorites is from when I was 8,” said Anthony, pointing to a burnished black ax head on display recently at the Homewood Science Center.
“Tony’s arrowhead collection is an example of one of the special guests we invite to STEM Saturdays,” explained Edie Dobrez, executive director of the Science Center, 18022 Dixie Highway. “Scientists, experts and enthusiasts share their passions with our families.”
Those guests have included University of Chicago scientists and the Forest Preserves of Cook County in recent weeks at the center, which also is home to a club for underserved middle school girls, ecology internships, summer camps and field trips, and more.
STEM Saturdays — free programs and activities available weekly to families with young children — are a wonderful way to promote the center’s mission to the greater community, Dobrez said. The Homewood Science Center, a nonprofit founded in 2016, is designed to inspire scientific wonder, learning, and pursuit, working to increase STEM literacy. Vital to the mission, Dobrez said, is fostering STEM diversity, equity and inclusion, “So all area students can gain the skills and confidence they need to fully enjoy and contribute to the vibrancy of our region.”
The Talericos were happy to contribute to that vibrancy, explaining their collection, methods and area history to visitors including Mike Bauer, of Homewood, and son Ethan, 6, whose, “Look, Dad!” was a repeated refrain.
“I’ve heard that before,” Tony Talerico said with a smile. He’s been collecting with Anthony since his son was able to walk. It’s been a particular parental joy to Tony, who started his own arrowhead collection as a high schooler in the ’80s.
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“We call ourselves avocational archaeologists,” Tony explained, adding it comes with the collecting territory. Finding treasures in small fallow fields surrounded by factories or urban decay, a favorite Talerico pastime, turned them into de facto archaeologists of sorts. The younger Talerico plans to major in environmental science at the University of Illinois in Champaign and is considering a minor in archaeology.
“We’ve gotten to know actual archaeologists,” Anthony explained. “They’ve come to our house to help with identification.”
Even if he doesn’t go into archaeology, he’s happy to study somewhat close to home.
“I don’t want to go too far, because this,” he said, gesturing to the collection-filled tables, “this is my life right here.”
Laura Bruni is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.