“ I found that on a seventh-grade field trip in 1997 ,” he said .
The skull was found in what was known as the Ladonia Fossil Park off State Highway 34 , which today is the site of the under-construction Lake Ralph Hall project .
Smith said he and one of the students were able to wrap the fossil in wet toilet paper and tin foil , carried it out in a laundry basket and had it professionally restored .
The original skull , along with a life-size cast , are prominently displayed at the school .
About five years later Smith found another mosasaur . The skull of the fossil was crushed , but the rest was in good shape and it was twice the size of the first one , about 50 feet long .
Smith once found a “ bone point ” that is currently being carbon-dated by experts in New Mexico .
“ It is suspected that it might be a Clovis-era bone point ” rather than a more common flint spearpoint , Smith said . If so , it would be one of only about a dozen specimens ever discovered . “ It is a very unusual find .”
Smith teaches world history , world geography , U . S . history , American government and Texas history to students in six different grades at Greenville Christian School . He also serves as the public address announcer for the school ’ s football teams .
On top of everything else , Smith wrote “ President Hamilton : A Novel of Alternative History ” based on a story of the infamous duel between Hamilton and Aaron Burr . Only in this story , Hamilton survives and eventually becomes president . It is available at https :// www . amazon . com / President-Hamilton-Novel- Alternative-History / dp / 1632137100
And , if that wasn ’ t enough , Smith , who is known around the school as “ Indiana Smith ” has crafted dozens of videos on his archaeological and paleontological exploits . Those videos can be seen on YouTube .
Lewis Smith has collected more than 9,000 arrowheads and spear points .
Lewis Smith indicates on a photo where a mosasaur skull fossil was found .
If confirmed as authentic , this could be a Clovis-era bone point , one of only about a dozen such specimens ever found .
SPRING 2022 27 GREENVILE LIFE