The Ventura Gem & Mineral Society, Inc. (VGMS)

Meeting Programs 1998 Archive.

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1. FEBRUARY - JANUARY 28TH MEETING PREVIEW OF QUARTZSITE / TUCSON SHOW,
2. MARCH - PYGMY MAMMOTH DEFINITELY PEAKED OUR INTEREST,
3. APRIL - SEARLES LAKE IS ALWAYS A FASCINATING TOPIC AND PROVED TO BE AGAIN,
4. MAY - THE WONDERS OF "SHARKS TOOTH HILL",
5. JUNE - MAY PROGRAM PRESENTED PYGMY MAMMOTH FIND AT THE CHANNEL ISLANDS,
6. JUNE - VGMS ANNUAL BREAKFAST WAS HELD JUNE 14, 1998,
7. JULY - YOU FOUND YOUR FOSSIL--NOW WHAT?-WAS TOPIC FOR JUNE 24TH MEETING.

February.

JANUARY 28TH MEETING PREVIEW OF QUARTZSITE / TUCSON SHOW.
     Don Rickey, from the Santa Barbara Gem & Mineral Club gave us a wonderful slide presentation of what it is like at Quartzsite! Wow! I haven't been there as yet, so these really helped to get the feel of what it is all about.
     Don and his wife Diana do a great deal of collecting and love to get to those out of the way places. He even shared some of those in the Quartzsite area! There are petroglyphics in the Quartzsite area which we visited plus many little collecting areas. With the many changes the BLM and Quartzsite have made, one has to be very careful where they park and camp. Sharon Cunningham attested to that with a $15.00 parking ticket already!
     Dave Mautz had many interesting fossils on display and Red and Nancy Jioras had some of their local finds for all to see as well. I was amazed at what is found in the local area - come and see it next month!

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March.

PYGMY MAMMOTH DEFINITELY PEAKED OUR INTEREST AT THE FEBRUARY 25TH MEETING.
     Wow, what a discovery! It sounds like there are lots more to be made on Santa Rosa Island as well. A man and his son were walking along the water and happened to look up and could see a part of the skeleton sticking out. It took them a week to fully excavate it.
     I was in error last month when I said Red Jioras and Greg Davis had visited the Museum of Natural History in Santa Barbara. It was Red and Jay Baumler. (I'm sure after the program, Greg wished it had been him!) Red Jioras gave us some of the updates on the mammoth. They have decided it is 12,840 years old and that it is a male. We may also be able to get a group together to volunteer for a week of work at the digs on the Island. There are over 100 sites now. Everyone was most enthused about that and it will be followed up on and we will keep you up to date.
     There were many specimens brought in by members to share. The donation award prizes were on display as well. Inez Shakman did a wonderful job gathering them up.

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April.

SEARLES LAKE IS ALWAYS A FASCINATING TOPIC AND PROVED TO BE AGAIN AT THE MARCH 25, 1998, MEETING.
     Steve Mulqueen gave a great slide and talk presentation on Searles Lake. Steve worked in Trona and on the Lake for a time and the personal input makes it even more interesting. Steve had several samples of the minerals that can be collected and found on the lake. Further on in the bulletin you will find an article on "The Development of Searles Lake" which is a good follow-up to Steve's presentation. This will also allow those that weren't able to attend to enjoy the history. (Webmaster's Note: It's in the 1998 Earth Sciences Archive. Use your browser's BACK button or equivalent to return here.)
     Keep in mind that at the Trona show in October there will be field trips to Searles Lake and collecting allowed.
     There were many interesting finds on display besides Steve's specimens, many of which were found near Camarillo.

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May.

THE WONDERS OF "SHARKS TOOTH HILL" WERE SHOWN AT OUR APRIL 22ND MEETING.
     Mike Metz, President, and Chuck Church, Treasurer, of the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History in Bakersfield gave a wonderful talk on this amazing location for our April 22nd meeting.
     The Bakersfield area used to be the West Coast, about 12 to 16 million years ago! Sharks Tooth Hill is a bone bed about 18 in. deep and 110 sq. miles in size. The water temperature appeared to be about the equivalent of the Gulf of California today. There appeared to be banana trees in the area at one time. It was also interesting, to me at least, that a shark loses 20,000 teeth in their life time. They have rows of teeth right behind the current ones and when one comes out another just takes its place!
     It was very obvious that Mike and Chuck love what they are doing and presented it in a very easy to understand and most interesting manner. They also stopped by our museum and "borrowed" many items to display at their museum. They will be there until the first week in June. They invited everyone to tour their museum and they also have field trips in conjunction with the BLM. If you are in their area it would be very worthwhile. If you go before the first of June, you will meet some "old" familiar friends!
     Along with the program, there were many pieces of material that members had found in the local area and on field trips. They had samples in the rough along with cabs made from it. It is always amazing what beauty comes out! There were some fossils on display as well from Dave Mautz' excellent collection.

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June.

MAY PROGRAM PRESENTED PYGMY MAMMOTH FIND AT THE CHANNEL ISLANDS.
     The program during the May meeting of the VGMS was given by Dr. Larry Agenbroad, renowned Paleontologist from the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Larry spoke on the fossilized Dwarf Mammoth discovery and excavation on Santa Rosa Island.
     The excavation took place during the summer of 1994. The Mammoth has been dated at 12,800 years old. Other Mammoths from the Channel Islands have been dated from 10,000 to 40,000 years old.
          Steve Mulqueen.

(Editor's Note: Unfortunately we were on vacation and missed this program. Many commented on the easy to understand (even for the lay people) presentation and how much they enjoyed it.)

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VGMS ANNUAL BREAKFAST WAS HELD JUNE 14, 1998.
     As a matter of fact, it was held this morning and I am so full I can hardly type! It was a beautiful day and everyone had a Great time just talking about "rocks" (and fossils, Bruno!). Steve and Susan Mulqueen kindly volunteered their home for the event. Their back yard and patio are perfect for it, as they have put their collections to great use in their beautiful flower gardens and fish pond. The food was excellent and plentiful (even considering a few mishaps, which kept things lively)!
     Thanks to everyone for bringing food, yourselves and the fun! A special thanks to Steve and Susan for having us and to Kathryn for cooking! I heard rumors about "biscuits and gravy" and even some volunteer cooks for next year! Sounds good to me!! We missed those that weren't able to attend.

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July.

YOU FOUND YOUR FOSSIL--NOW WHAT? WAS TOPIC FOR JUNE 24TH MEETING.
     Many of VGMS's collecting trips are for fossils because that is what is plentiful in our area. It is fun to find them. But it is also frustrating if you do not know what to do with them once you get them home. With these thoughts in mind, at our general meeting in June Dave Mautz and Red Jioras shared their experiences about freeing fossils from their matrix and then preserving them.
     The key word appears to be PATIENCE. Do not try to remove too much too fast. Much of what you do depends upon the matrix in which the fossil is embedded. Some matrixes are very loose (such as that in which the Santa Barbara pectin shells are found). In that case you can brush it off, scrape it off, or hose it off. Just do it gently as the fossil may be very fragile. As the matrix gets harder you may need tools and/or to soak the matrix (with fossil) in water or in an acid solution. The matrix can be very hard.

There are safety concerns if you use an acid solution:

1. Mix the solution in a plastic or a glass container (not in a metal one);
2. Always add the acid to the water to avoid a potentially dangerous reaction;
3. Protect your eyes, skin, and lungs with safety glasses or goggles, gloves, and good ventilation.

Webmaster's Note: When this article first came out in Rockhound Rambling an objection came up regarding the mixing procedure. The procedure is correct as stated.

     Acids which are used include: household vinegar, acetic acid, and muriatic acid. Use the weakest necessary. Periodically check your fossil. If the acid is too strong or if you soak the specimen too long you can destroy the fossil. If there is a fracture in the matrix soaking it will open up the fracture so check to see that doing so will not damage the fossil. Tools used include dental picks and other similar tools, a tooth brush or other small brush, a stainless steel brush or a brass (softer) brush, etching tools, a hammer and awl, and an air dent tool (described as a miniature sandblasting tool with variable control and various grades of grit -- this is more expensive).
     If you have soaked the fossil you must dry it thoroughly (several days) before doing anything else to it. If you break the fossil and continue to clean it before putting it back together it may not go back together well; i.e., do the repairs first. Elmer's glue, jeweler's glue, 5 minute epoxy, Bondo, crazy glue, and poly vinyl alcohol dissolved in acetone were all recommended by various VGMS members for use in gluing the pieces together.
     Once liberated from the matrix the fossil may need to be stabilized. Elmer's white glue or sodium silicate (water glass) diluted with water (50%) or poly vinyl alcohol (10% solution with acetone) were recommended. Brush the solution on the dry fossil and let it soak in. Liberated and stabilized the fossil can be seen and handled more easily for the purposes of identification, education, and/or display.
          Kathryn Davis,
          Program Chairperson.

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