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The Ventura Gem & Mineral Society, Inc. (VGMS)
Rockhound Rambling
March 2000.
Table of Contents.
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.
Our 38th annual mineral show was huge success due in large part to the extra effort given by many of our members before and during the event. We met our financial goals in all aspects of the show. Thank you to all who were part of this.
I received many positive comments from dealers and attendees. We are still assessing the details of the Show's performance which will soon be printed for your review. A word of thanks also go to all who contributed items for the Country Store, Plant Booth, Silent Auction and Donation Awards. Traditionally, we have a Show dinner to celebrate our efforts. Details of the Show dinner will be discussed at our general meeting on March 22nd.
Thank you again for making our 38th annual show a great success!
Steve Mulqueen,
President.
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YEAR 2000 DUES ARE DUE!
It's that time of year again! So slide that check into the mail or even better hand deliver it to Sharon Cunningham at our next general meeting! Sharon Cunningham at 42 Sycamore Rd., Oakview, CA. 93022.
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PROGRAM FOR MARCH 22, 2000.
We will enter the new century/millennium (or close the old, depending on your view of the situation) with a program presented by Ray Ritchey. For those of you who have not met him, Ray and his wife Jo Anna are club members who reside in Monrovia.
Ray will give a presentation on Petra, Jordan. Petra was a city near the Dead Sea which flourished from 500 BC through 400 AD (another millennium Period). At one time it was a city of 30,000. It was a city of sandstone buildings in an area of legends. Come learn more from someone who has actually been there.
Kathryn Davis,
Programs Chairman.
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CALICO AND MULE CANYON HELD TRIP,
April 8, 2000.
Agate, sagenite, jasper, fossils and possibly petrified wood will be collected during our April outing to Mule Canyon.
Temperatures ought to be mild for the 3 and half hour drive out. Hard rock tools aren't necessary but can be used to attack seams of agate and sagenite.
To get there take Hwy 15, 8 miles east of Barstow and the Eastern Calico Rd. exit. From there go North eight tenths of a mile and then turn right onto Mule Canyon Rd. The free but primitive camping area is one and a half miles and some have indicated they'll stay until Sunday. Camping is also available at Calico Ghost Town with full hook-ups. Phone 1-800-TO CALICO or (760)254-2122.
4 wheel drive isn't necessary. The canyon road isn't steep but may be rutted and narrow so RV's aren't recommended beyond the camping area of Mule Canyon.
I'll meet at the K-Mart parking lot Saturday morning prior to departure for those who want to caravan. (Departure time is 7:00am.)
Hope to see you there and Happy Hunting!
Greg Davis Field,
Trip Chairman.
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MINUTES OF VGMS BOARD MEETING,
February 3, 2000.
The regular monthly Board meeting of the Ventura Gem & Mineral Society was called to order by President Steve Mulqueen at 7:30 p.m., on Thursday, February 3, 2000, at the VGMS Museum, 5019 Crooked Palm Road, Ventura, California.
From Steve Mulqueen: Ray Ritchie has made up 112 more grab bags for the show.
The overall feeling is that the new meeting facility at the Lexington is good even though there are some obstacles to overcome. Eleanor Rising did drop out of the club because she was not comfortable with the new meeting facilities; but the group consensus was that the new facilities should be tried for several months before any more decisions are made.
From Inez Shakman: Clint Berkheiser has resigned as donation awards chair because of family illness. Inez will be taking over. The next show meeting will be at Inez' house on February 16, 2000.
The group agreed to table the discussion of a donation to the Mining Mineral Museum until it is known if they have closed their doors.
From Ray Meisenheimer: Ray will be responsible for picking up the messages from the machine at the museum. The phone will be set on the maximum number of rings so that anyone working at the shop will have ample time to pick up if the phone rings.
From Greg Davis: The workshop will be open on Saturday, February 12, 2000 when country store donations will be accepted. At that time kids rocks will be moved behind the fence for the upcoming museum tours.
There will be a field trip to Faria beach on Sunday, February 13. The April field trip will be held April 8 and 9 at Calico.
From Sharon Cunningham: To date there are 29 paid members and 7 members already paid from last year.
From Shirley Layton: There will be a country store pricing session on Tuesday, February 15, at 7:00 p.m., at the workshop.
Shirley asked for assistance answering e-mails that had come in asking for information to several sites.
From Florence Meisenheimer: Florence offered a flier for a rock sale in Santa Barbara on February 25-27 saying it should be put in the bulletin.
The date has not yet been set for the CFMS field trip to Stone Canyon which will be led by Steve Ivie. The CFMS web site will have a field trip page that will keep members updated. Florence also offered information for the bulletin on the AFMS fund raiser which will be held in Moab, Utah, for the endowment fund.
From Richard Bromser: It was m/s/c/to approve checks #644-657. Ray Meisenheimer voted no.
From Red Jioras: Red reported that member Sunny Cross had designed numerous options for logos on tee shirts and hats. The information and designs will be taken to the next general meeting.
Red proposed having the club buy bulk grit for tumbling and flat lapping which could be repackaged and sold to club members at a very small profit. Making grit easily available might encourage members to tumble and lap. The Board decided to table the question until it could be brought up to the general membership.
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Jioras, Secretary.
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MINUTES OF VGMS REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING,
February 23, 2000.
The regular monthly meeting of the Ventura Gem & Mineral Society was called to order by President Steve Mulqueen at 7:30 p.m., on Wednesday, February 23, 2000, at the Bijou Room of the Lexington, 5440 Ralston, Ventura, CA. The group was led in the salute to the flag.
Present were 25 members, two Pebble Pups, and two guests: Dale Atkins and Yon Huang.
The Treasurer's report showed interest earned during the month of January.
Bonnie Demianiw reminded members that articles for the bulletin are due by February 10.
Greg Davis requested photos and memorabilia of deceased members which could be used for a display board for the show. Greg also reported that the last field trip, to Faria Beach, was attended by three people. Jasper and fossils were found, but no whale bone.
Steve Mulqueen reported that David Mautz has put in exhibits of his fossils in the Wright and Foster libraries. Steve's exhibit this month at the Union Oil Museum features volcanic bombs; next month it will be labradorite.
Steve indicated that he had received a letter from member Sunny Cross, who is not able to attend monthly meetings, making some suggestions for the club as well and thanking those members who have been of assistance to her.
VGMS received notice of a rock sale in Santa Barbara February 25-27. Members interested in car pooling to Santa Barbara on Saturday should contact Steve. Wayne Ehlers had information on another sale located in Oxnard.
Jay Baumler then explained the show to new members and asked for everyone's help during the weekend of the show. In addition, items for the country store and plants for the plant sale are still needed and can be brought directly to the fairgrounds.
At that time the drawings were held.
After announcing that the March board meeting would be held on the fairgrounds on Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m., Steve turned the meeting over to Kathryn Davis for the program. Members of the club who attended the shows at Quartzite and Tucson gave a show-and-tell presentation of their newly acquired treasures. Steve announced that he had the schedules for 2001 for Quartzite and Tucson.
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Jioras, Secretary.
Table of Contents.
MINUTES OF VGMS BOARD MEETING,
March 2, 2000.
The regular monthly Board meeting of the Ventura Gem & Mineral Society was called to order by President Steve Mulqueen at 6:00 p.m., on Thursday, March 2, 2000 at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, Ventura, California.
Steve Mulqueen opened the meeting by announcing that member Joanna Ritchey was in the hospital with blood poisoning and hepatitis.
The body of the meeting was concerned with last minute details for the show.
The bulletin deadline is March 10, 2000.
Ray Meisenheimer reported that the Oxnard rock sale announced at the regular February meeting is open to Oxnard Gem and Mineral Society members only. It is not open to the public or members of other clubs.
Florence Meisenheimer announced that the CFMS field trip to Stone Canyon will be held on Saturday, May 17, 2000.
Red Jioras reminded members that the field trip to Horse Canyon during the Kern County Mineral Society show in May is open to exhibitors only.
It was m/s/c to approve payment of checks #658-672.
Sharon Cunningham reported that the club now has 38 paid members plus the seven members paid from 1999 = 45 members. It was m/s/c to approve the membership of Harriet Andrews.
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Jioras, Secretary.
Table of Contents.
COMMUNITY EDUCATION.
February 10 Ray Meisenheimer traveled to Maple School in Newbury Park to give a two hour program. He took along a number of fossils, which the youngsters really enjoyed, and were full of questions. The group included 51 children, ages 9 or 10 and 3 instructors.
February 11 Ray gave a tour of the museum to teachers from Briggs School in Santa Paula. They plan to bring students to the museum, but wanted to see the museum and what it had to offer beforehand. One teacher was so excited, she said over and over, "I don't believe it, I didn't know there was anything this nice in Ventura County for the children." (Thank you, Bruno and Ray.)
February 13, Sunday Ray spent three hours at the museum with five young Scouts and five adults. The boys earned their geology badge with Ray working with them.
February 21 Pack 2179, Den 2, a Cub Scout group met Ray at the museum. Seven boys are working on their merit geology badge. They were accompanied by four adults. The leader of the den is Sharon Tuck. Her father, Stan Schmidt and her son, Joshua Tuck are members of Ventura Gem & Mineral Society.
February 22 Ray gave an hour long program on fossils, rocks and minerals to a group of youngsters of all ages. This is an "after school child care program" at Grace Lutheran Church in Ventura. There were more than twenty children and four adults.
Table of Contents.
CFMS GOLD & GEM SHOW,
RIVERSIDE CONVENTION CENTER,
AUGUST 4, 5 & 6, 2000.
The committee plans on a great show. Pat LaRue, exhibits chairman, is urging everyone to exhibit competitively or non competitively.
Great door prizes are being arranged for. Tickets are 6 tickets for $5.00. First prize is a week at Roaring Camp in Pine Grove, Amador County. Primary entertainment is you panning for gold. There are other prizes, one being a very beautiful six inch sphere of blue calcite from the Crestmore Mine near Riverside. If you do not plan on exhibiting, plan on attending, anyway.
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EARTH SCIENCE STUDIES.
The Earth Science Studies at Zzyzx are filled to capacity.
The committee is now working on the week long seminar in the fall at Camp Paradise. The dates are September 10 to 17, 2000. There will be more information on this later.
Table of Contents.
THE DAY YOU DID WITHOUT COPPER,
Excerpts from an article in Drywashers Gazette
by Anna Domitrovic.
These are some of the things you did without the day you did without copper. You had: no lights, no telephone, no television, no radio, no water, no shower, no cooling, no paper, no change, no toaster, no refrigerator, no car, no door knob, no keys.
Arizona produces more copper than all of the other states put together.
Table of Contents.
FIELD TRIP SOUTH,
By Steve Ivie.
The field trip south to Stone Canyon is now confirmed for 9 am Saturday, May 13th. The rancher has plans for the other week-ends, and the 14th is Mothers' Day. Of course no rockhound in his right mind would tell his wife that some agate is more important than her. So the 13th it is. You must be a member of CFMS to attend the trip. The cost is $25.00 and you may take 50 pounds. Anything over that you pay 50 cents per pound. The rancher does not want checks, and he does not have a credit card machine in his cow pasture, so bring cash. This material is of top quality. I want to stress this is not a trip for dealers, period!! This trip was set up for CFMS member rockhounds, not businessmen and resellers. Last fall dealers showed up with big trucks and U-hauls, and when the trip was canceled, tried to bargain the rancher into selling it to them for 25 cents per pound. He was offended.
It is recommended that you have a high profile vehicle or 4x4. If wet, even a 4x4 can not make it up the hill to the collecting spot. Also the material is very sharp when broken. Bring gloves, goggles or protective glasses and the usual hammer, chisel, etc. It will probably be warm but long sleeves quite often protect the arms from flying debris. The material will be readily available and "easy picking" so you probably will not be on the ranch very long, but you may want to pack a lunch and of course water or soft drinks. It is nice to be prepared for the unanticipated breakdown with water, dried food, granola bars, etc. I will post the trip on the CFMS website when I get the insurance set up. In the meantime, we will meet at 9:00 am in Parkfield, California, a one block long town, on Saturday the 13th of May 2000. Parkfield is in between Coalinga and Paso Robles.
Table of Contents.
WHAT'S OVER THE NEXT HILL,
A ROCK HUNTING VACATION
By Red and Nancy Jioras.
Part 6:
Last month, Nancy and I traveled to the upper reaches of Idaho only to wimp out on digging star garnets in the rain. Retracing our route to the garnet site, we drove south through the famed Snake River area heading for Graveyard Point. When talking about the wonderful plume agate of Graveyard Point, most people will tell you that the site is in Oregon. Actually, the site is on the Oregon/Idaho border, but really it's in Idaho. Even though we passed up some other interesting rock sites on the way south, we wanted to see for ourselves that Graveyard Point was played out.
Just south of Homedale, Idaho, we turned west and followed the directions in the Oregon Gem Trails book to Graveyard Point. Because some rock sites have weird names, we didn't give too much thought to the name of Graveyard Point. When we arrived at the prescribed mileage, there was no mistaking the site. The Northwest and California Federation of Mineralogical Societies, The Old Timers Mineral Club and "Others" have erected a bronze plaque in honor of the five persons buried in a small cemetery at the foot of the landmark ridge. The plaque also commemorates all the fine plume agate that has come from this site.
Nancy and I spent about two hours driving around and looking at the old diggings. Just as we had heard, there didn't seem to be much material left. As we were reading the plaque, a truck stopped and we were able to talk with one of the local ranchers. He told us of more sites where people have been digging that were just over the hill. Following his directions, we came upon a huge quarry where someone had had their way with the host rock through the use of a bull-dozer. They had left a giant scar on the hill side and left piles of volcanic rubble everywhere. Even though Nancy and I found a small, but nice piece of the famous graveyard plume, it was sad to see the destruction that was left as a result of someone's greed.
Distressed, we decided to leave and continue south. We stopped at a site that was in the "book" that was identified as "South of Homewood". The list of things to find included agate, jasper, opal (common) and petrified wood. At a mile and a half we parked along a stock watering pond where we were supposed to find agate. An hour later and another layer of dust on our boots and all we had was one small piece of so-so agate. Well, the book is seldom wrong, so maybe, just maybe if we search over the next hill!! We drove across the shallow valley and up on the next rise. From here, we could look down into a broad valley where the road wound through another set of small hills and disappeared in the distance. The area looked promising since there was another truck parked near the base of the surrounding hills. Working our way back to the fork in the road, we turned in the direction of the next valley.
Here the road took on a decidedly more adventuresome tilt; in fact it was almost ten degrees in some places. With mild trepidation, and a whole lot of prayer, we slowly made our way into the bottom of this other valley. Of course, it sure helped our motivation by seeing another vehicle in the bottom. When we reached the other vehicle, all hands were out in the field. Soon, we saw them walking out of a canyon and back towards their truck. Since it was late in the afternoon, Nancy and I decided to meet them and see what materials they may have collected. It was a husband and wife team with their boy and each had a bucket of petrified, opalized wood. When we asked where they found it, they merely swung their arms at the hillsides and said "everywhere".
Excitedly, Nancy and I began looking around and sure enough, there were petrified wood chips everywhere. We began climbing the hillsides and began seeing whole logs. The only problem was the crumbly condition of the wood. The layers of opal would just flake off and what looked like a large piece of wood from a distance, turned out to be a log or limb ready to flake apart if you touched it. If you could get a piece that held together, it was pretty wood with a lot of wood structure.
After collecting a few larger pieces to show the folks back home, Nancy and I headed back to the truck. Our guides from the other truck were just finishing packing up and told us of another spot, not too far down the road where there was better wood, some silver associated minerals and even some geodes. Where they indicated turned out to be in the "book" under the name of "Sheaville Minerals".
Nancy and I only had a couple of hours of daylight so off we went. The road was in good condition and was easy to find. After driving 15 miles on this dirt road, we found ourselves on a rise overlooking a working silver mine. From the map in the book, we knew that if we drove past the mine a short distance, we would find the town called Silver City. The sun was dropping below the horizon, but the view from the top of that rise was so beautiful and the solitude was so great, that Nancy and I found a spot to camp and watched the sun finish it's drop in the west.
Awaking early the next morning, with the sun still behind the hills, I decided to go for a sunrise walk. With a camera around my neck and a pair of binoculars in my hand, it wasn't long before I saw three deer feeding on the hill above our campsite. They were far enough away that they weren't bothered by my presence and slowly fed over the ridge. Even though I only walked about a half mile from the truck, the early morning light, and the crisp, clean air was truly intoxicating. Birds were waking up and beginning to fly and flowers were straining to stand straight under their coat of nightly dew. It was so beautiful that I forgot to look for rocks and instead just watched Mother Nature awake from a cool nights sleep.
After Nancy woke up and we had our breakfast, we began to explore the area in the truck. Driving back the way we came, we turned up a likely looking road which ended in a saddle. On the side of the hill we could see small mine tailings which really didn't look exciting, but I had to briefly go and explore. I found what might be considered geodes, if the definition of a geode meant a rock with a hole in the middle. These I found out later were just hollow nodules; interesting, but not great. Finding nothing else to hold our interest, we returned to Highway 95 and continued on our journey south.
Well into Oregon now, we passed through the small town of Rome. The map in the "Oregon Gem Trails" shows the town of Rome as three buildings and that's just about all the town there is. Six miles beyond Rome, we turned off of Highway 95 and followed the directions to the snake skin agate site. We arrived at around 10:00 in the morning and the sun was just beginning to bake. It was already very hot and was going to get hotter.
The snake skin agate area consisted of low hillocks with light sage brush. Although we could see some very old digging, we didn't have much luck finding the agate. Each of us took a slightly different direction in our exploration trying to cover the most ground possible. After an hour and a half we still had found hardly anything. When we did get together to compare findings, I showed Nancy a small piece of agate that was a pretty pink, but didn't look like snakeskin. We decided to concentrate our search in the area that I found the agate and, after digging on the up-hill side of bushes, we began to find small, weathered pieces of snakeskin. By now we had been in the sun for over two hours and we were quickly losing interest. During the next half hour, we found around a dozen pieces, but finally had to cry "uncle". When we returned to the truck, we found that both of us were over heated, dizzy and nauseous. It was a lesson in desert survival that we won't soon forget.
Still reeling from the heat, we got the truck back on to Highway 95 and drove all the way into the town of McDermitt, just over the Oregon/Nevada border, in Nevada. It is not hard to discern that you're in Nevada. As you come into McDermitt from the north, your first view is the flashing light of a small casino. Now, the books describe McDermitt as a premiere site for petrified wood. After a night in a motel (we do have to be civilized, or at least smell that way), we headed northwest of town, back across the Oregon border, and followed the "book" to the wood area. We knew we had arrived when we came around a bend in the road and found an encampment of three trailers. Just beyond the trailers was the same pit scared, battle appearance of the land that we had seen in Wyoming. As in Wyoming, years of digging for petrified wood by hundreds of rock hounds had left a horrible mark on the land.
I parked the truck by the side of the road and Nancy and I got out to do some quick exploring. About thirty feet off the road, Nancy found a pit and called me over. The pit was eight feet deep with a beautiful imprint of a log in the bottom of it. Someone had driven their pry bar in the log imprint, presumably to claim the site. Curious, I climbed down into the hole and, siting along the log imprint, I stared at the broken end of a piece of petrified wood. Although it looked like a nice piece of wood, there was eight feet of soil on top of it. That's eight feet of very hard work and some one was claiming the remains.
After a half hour of looking around in the heat and not wanting to put out the effort to dig, all we could find was some small chips. We decided to go back and introduce ourselves to the people in the trailers. As we had hoped, the people were rock hounds from the Mason Valley Gem and Mineral Society in Yerington, Nevada. As we walked up to their campsite, we could see the spoils of their four day field trip into this area all around their trailers. When they found out that we were rock hounds, but didn't have any information on the area save for the Gem Trails book, they quickly jumped into their trailer and got us their detailed maps that they had for their field trip. As with most people we meet in the hobby, they spent a good half hour telling and showing us what the area had to offer. Had it not been for these wonderful people, we would have left the area very dissatisfied.
Curious, we asked if the eight foot trench was their doing and they told us a man and his son had worked in that trench until 2:00 in the morning. Nancy and I looked at each other and mentioned that we had met a father and son from Alabama in Wyoming who were very energetic when it came to getting petrified wood. The folks thought that this couple was also from Alabama.
We thanked our new friends for the information and hopped back into the truck. Even though the petrified wood was attractive, the heat of the day and the depth of the holes made us decide to pass on it. Instead, we drove further into the hills, past the cinnabar mine, to the green jasper site. It wasn't hard to find since the ground is literally littered with green and blue jasper. Some of the pieces had a very distinctive wood appearance and it is possible that some were wood. Since our trip, we have seen a great deal of this green jasper and the term most applied to it is "bog". Whether wood or bog, it is very attractive and around 20 pounds found its way into our truck.
Next site on the map was green agate. This site was approximately two miles more along the loop road from the wood site. As we drove toward this site, I began to notice large rocks almost everywhere. Stopping the truck to examine one of these monsters, I realized I was looking at an agate nodule that must have weighed 500 pounds. I can't attest to the quality of the agate, but there is certainly a lot of it. We were able to pick up some nice green agate before we were getting tired of the heat, so we promised a return trip and a longer stay in this area. From the map that the folks from the Mason Valley Club gave us it seems that there is petrified wood, green jasper, green and purple agate and cinnabar all in this one area. On the way out, we saw a quad-runner coming our way, so we pulled to the side of the road and stopped. The quad-runner pulled along side and, sure enough, it was the same father and son that we had met in Wyoming. We asked how they did at the Blue Forest and they said about 100 pounds. We congratulated them on their eight foot trench and they told us that they got a three foot piece of wood out of the hole.
In Wyoming, we had not really met the son. After we had said our good-byes and were traveling down the road, Nancy couldn't help but comment on the boy's good looks. A young lad of 17, he was built like a football player. Nancy said that "he was so good looking that he could make a nun think lustful thoughts". I looked down at my expanded waist line and just kept driving.
(Next month we travel across the lonely, desolate top of Nevada state on our way to the famed Virgin Valley precious opal area; we find sun stone scattered about, sparkling like diamonds in the sun light; and we dig for rainbow obsidian in Northern California.)
Table of Contents.
2000 CFMS CLUB SHOWS.
Copied with permission from the CFMS Web Site.
March 25-26 La Habra, CA - North Orange County Gem and Mineral Society; La Habra Clubhouse; 200 W. Greenwood; Hours: Sat 10-6 Sun 10-5; Don Ogden (909) 598-2456; e-mail donogden@aol.com.
March 25-26 San Diego, CA - San Diego Mineral & Gem Society; Al Bahr Shrine; Village, Balboa Park, San Diego; 5440 Kearny Mesa; Hours: Sat 10-6 Sun 10-5; C. Everly, P.O. Box 208; Sun City, CA 92586; www.san.rr.com/SDMG.
April 1-2 Angels Camp, CA - Calaveras Gem & Mineral Society; Calaveras County Fairgrounds; Hours: 10-5 both days; Earl Klein (510) 632-9373.
April 1-2 Torrance, CA - South Bay Lapidary & Mineral Society; Torrance Recreation Center; 3341 Torrence Blvd.; Hours: Sat 10-6 Sun 10-5; Leslie Neff/Larry Hoskins; (310) 318-2170.
April 8 Escondido, CA - Palomar Gem & Mineral Club, Inc.; Redwood Senior Center; 13th Avenue & Redwood Street; Hours: 9-6; Don Parsley (760) 745-6181.
April 8-9 Hacienda Heights, CA - Puente Hills Gem & Mineral Club, Inc.; Steinmetz Park; 1545 S Stimson Ave.; Hours: Sat 10-5 Sun 10-4; (909) 594-6177.
April 8-9 Paradise, CA - Paradise Gem & Mineral Club; Veterans Memorial Hall; Elliot & Skyway; Hours: Sat 10-5 Sun 10-4; Charlee Brouse (530) 877-9266.
April 14-16 Las Vegas, NV - Las Vegas Gem Club; Henderson Convention Center; 200 Water St. (About 5 miles east of Vegas off Hwy 93/95); Hours: Fri 12-6 Sat 10-6 Sun 10-4:30; Jerry or Lynne (702) 597-5104.
April 15-16 Boron, CA - The Mojave Mineralogical Society, Inc; Boron High School - Multi-purpose Room; Hours: Sat 9-6 Sun 9-4.
April 29-30 Lancaster, CA - Antelope Valley and Palmdale Gem & Mineral Club; Challenger Memorial Hall; Antelope Valley Fairgrounds; Hours: 9-5 both days; Fred Ebel.
April 29-30 Santa Cruz, CA - Santa Cruz Mineral & Gem Society; Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, Corner of Center & Church Streets; Hours: 10-5 both days; Pat Clarke (831) 479-8759.
May 6-7 Anaheim, CA - Searchers Gem & Mineral Society, Inc.; Brookhurst Community Center; 2271 W. Crescent Avenue; Hours: Sat 10-7 Sun 10-4:30; Co-chairGeorge Lux (714) 995-9080; Co-chair Harry Nelson (714) 530-1365; Publicity Beth Pelfrey (714) 774-2754; e-mail BPelfrey@Volt.com.
May 6-7 Bakersfield, CA - Kern County Mineral Society; Kern County Fairgrounds, Ming and South "P"; Hours: 10-5 both days; Gary Paddock (661) 589-3517.
May 13-14 Reno, Nevada - Reno Gem & Mineral Society; Reno Livestock Events Center; Exhibit Hall; 1350 N. Wells Ave.; Hours: Sat 10-5 Sun 10-4; John Peterson (775) 849-1522.
May 19-21 Escondido, CA - Palomar Gem & Mineral Club, Inc.; Vacant store in the Del Norte Plaza Shopping Center; Hours: 10-6 both days; Don Parsley (760) 745-6181.
May 19-21 Red Bluff, CA - Superior CA Gem & Mineral Assn., Inc.; Tehama District Fairgrounds; Highway 99E; Hours: Fri & Sat 9-5 Sun10-4; Paul Carter (530) 872-1983.
May 20-21 Newbury Park, CA - Conejo Gem & Mineral Club; Bochard Park Community Center; 190 Reino Rd; Hours: Sat 9-5 Sun 10-5; Don Pomerenke & Don Bullard; (805) 492-4276.
May 20-21 Yucaipa, CA - Yuciapa Valley Gem & Mineral Society; Scherer Community Center; 12202 1st Street; Hours: Sat 10-6 Sun 10-5; Henry Cobb; (909) 795-3716.
May 27, 28, 29 Weaverville, CA - Trinity Gem & Mineral Society; 19th Annual Bigfoot Gemboree; Lowden Park, 200 Wasington St.; Hours: Sat. & Sun. 10 -5; Mon. 10 - 4; Set up May 26 - 8 am to 8 pm.; Tailgators - Space fee & camping fee.; Show Chairman - Jack Jennewein (530) 778-3786.
June 3 - 4 Glendora, CA - Glendora Gems; Goddard Middle School - 859 E. Sierra Madre; Hours: ????; Mark Thompson (626) 335-3814.
June 3 - 4 West Hills, CA - Rockatomics Gem & Mineral; Boeing Recreation Center; 8500 Fallbrook Avenue; Hours: 10 - 5 both days; Harley Rogers (805) 495-6184.
July 8-9 Culver City, CA - Culver City Rock & Mineral Club; Culver City Veterans Memorial Complex; 4117 Overland Ave.; Hours: Sat 10-6 Sun 10-5; Brad Smith (310) 472-6490.
July 14-15 Arroyo Grande, CA - Orcutt Mineral Society, Inc.; Arroyo Grande High School Parking Lot; Fair Oaks and Valley Road.
August 4-6 Riverside, CA - Valley Prospectors; Riverside Convention Center; Bural LaRue; P.O. Box 1657; Rialto, CA 92377.
August 5-6 San Francisco, CA - San Francisco Gem & Mineral Society; Golden Gate Park; 9th Ave. and Lincoln Way; Hours: Sat. 10-6 Sun. 10-5; Ellen Nott (415) 564-4230.
September 16-17 Paso Robles, CA - Santa Lucia Rockhounds; Pioneer Park and Museum; 2010 Riverside Ave.; Hours: Sat. 10-6 Sun. 10-5; Harry Kuffel (805) 467-3457.
September 23 Los Altos, CA - Peninsula Gem & Geology Society; Los Altos Rancho Shopping Center; Foothill Expressway & Springer Road; Hours: 9:30-4:45; Frank Dina (650) 967-3424.
September 23-24 Downey, CA - Delvers Gem & Mineral Society; Woman's Club of Downey; 9813 Paramount Blvd.; Hours: Sat. 10-5 Sun. 10-4; Angie Harwood (562) 692-4540.
September 30 - October 1 Vista, CA - Vista Gem & Mineral Society; Brengle Terrace Community Recreation Center; 1200 Vale Terrace Drive; Hours: 10-5 both days; Mary Anne Mital (760) 758-4599 or Tony Meredith (760) 945-2392.
September 30 - October 1 Napa, CA - Napa Valley Rock & Gem Club; Napa Valley Exposition; 575 Third Street; Hours: 10-5 both days; Gaylord Jerde (707) 552-2324.
October 7-8 Turlock, CA - The Faceters Guild of Northern California; Stanislaus County Fairgrounds; 900 N. Broadway St.; Hours: Sat 10-5 Sun 10-4; Al Whitney (209) 465-9588.
October 14-15 Grass Valley, CA - Nevada County Gem & Mineral Society; Main Street Hall; 11228 McCourtney Road; Hours: 10-5 both days; Vicky Van Why (530) 477-6825.
October 14-15 Trona, CA - Searles Lake Gem & Mineral Society; 1337 Main St.; Hours: Sat 8-5 Sun 8-4; Bonnie Fairchild (760) 372-5356.
October 21-22 Anderson, CA - Shasta Gem & Mineral Society; Shasta District Fairgrounds; Hours: 10 - 5 both days; Alex Stoltz (530) 474-4400.
October 21-22 Placerville, CA - El Dorado County Mineral & Gem; El Dorado County Fairgrounds; 150 Placerville Dr.; Hours: 10 - 5 both days; Jackie Cerrato (530) 677-2975.
October 28-29 Antioch, CA - Antioch Lapidary Club; Contra Costa County Fairgrounds, 10th and L St.; Hours: 10 - 5 both days; Charles Taylor (925) 757-9143.
November 18-19 Oxnard, CA - Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society; Oxnard Community Center; 800 Hobson Way; Hours: Sat 9-5 Sun 9-4; e-mail Steve Grayson at SteveGrayson@Prodigy.net.
December 2 - 3 San Bernardino, CA - Orange Belt Mineralogical Society, Inc.; San Bernardino Women's Club; 2917 H St.; Hours: Sat 10 - 6 Sun 10-5; Jim McDaniels (909) 792-0668.
December 4 - 5 Orangevale, CA - American River Gem & Mineral Society; "Winter Wonderland of Gems";Orangevale Grange Hall, 5807 Walnut Ave.; Hours: 10 - 5 both days; Joy Hutchins (916) 992-1762.
December 9 - 10 Yuba City, CA - Sutter Buttes Gem & Mineral Society; Franklin Hall; Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds; 442 Franklin Avenue; Hours: Sat. 9 - 5; Sun. 9 - 4; Jose Guiterrez (530) 742-0785.
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AFMS REGIONAL SHOWS.
Copied with permission from the CFMS Web Site
SOUTH CENTRAL FEDERATION (SCMS) - May 5, 6, 7 Ft. Worth, TX; Ft. Worth Gem & Mineral Club; Will Rogers Exhibition Hall; Virginia Brotherton; 2512 Barnberry Dr.; Ft. Worth, TX 76133-5816.
NORTHWEST FEDERATION (NFMS) - June 23-26 Monroe, WA; Marysville Rock & Gem Club; Evergreen State Fairgrounds; Linda Averill; P.O. Box 710; Maryville, WA 98270-0710.
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION (CFMS) - August 4-6 Riverside, CA; Valley Prospectors; Riverside Convention Center; Bural LaRue; P.O. Box 1657; Rialto, CA 92377.
MIDWEST FEDERATION (MWF) - August 18-20 St. Louis, MO.
Combined AFMS/ROCKY MOUNTAIN FEDERATION (RMFMS) - October 13-15 Moab, UT; Points and Pebbles Club; Moab Valley Inn; Dean Richardson (801) 595-6750; 1223 North 1500 West; Moab, UT 84532.
EASTERN FEDERATION (EFMS) - September 16-17 Harrisburg, PA (tentative); Zembo Temple.
MIDWEST FEDERATION (MFMGS).
SOUTHEAST FEDERATION (SFMS).
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LAPIDARY CLASS.
Would you like to learn how to cut and polish cabochons? The class we had last Fall was so successful that we will hold another class for our members on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 PM starting March 27th. We usually meet once a week for about 5 or 6 weeks. This is your chance to learn how to use the slab and trim saws, and the Pixie grinder-polishers in our Museum-Workshop. The shop is located at 5019 Crooked Palm Rd. in Ventura. The class is intended mostly for new members but older members are welcome. If you have some rocks you want to cut and polish, bring them along but there will be rocks and slabs available. This is a "hands on" working class so that you should wear working clothes and be prepared to get your hands dirty. If you want more information you can call Wayne Ehlers at 482-6830 or Greg Davis at 647-9214. There will be a sign-up sheet at our March meeting.
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Webmaster: James A. Layton,
URL of this Page: http://www.vgms.org/bt/vgms0003.htm.