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The Ventura Gem & Mineral Society, Inc. (VGMS)
Rockhound Rambling
January 2003.

Table of Contents.

• PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE;
• "2003 DUES ARE DUE";
• WORDS TO LIVE BY;
• JANUARY PROGRAM;
• PROGRAM REVIEW VGMS CHRISTMAS DINNER;
• MARK YOUR CALENDARS;
• CHIPS & BOULDERS;
• SHOW BUSINESS;
• WEB SITES;
• 2003 Meeting Programs;
• IN MEMORIUM-Richard D. Bates;
• COMMUNITY OUTREACH;
• FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS;
• MEMBERSHIP;
• HOSPITALITY;
• "PEBBLE PUP NUGGETS";
• JUNIOR ACTIVITIES REPORT;
• "FIELD TRIPS ARE FUN";
• "The best way . . .";
• THE NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL;
• VGMS MINUTES;
• You should never;
• CFMS PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE;
• CFMS NEWSLETTER;
• HINTS & TIPS FOR ROCKHOUNDS - (Use at your own risk);
• 2003 CFMS CLUB SHOWS;
• AMERICAN FEDERATION / REGIONAL SHOW SCHEDULE - 2003;
• EDITOR'S NOTE;
• EDUCATIONAL CORNER;
• COLORBOOK;
• VGMS PHOTO ALBUM;
• The VGMS Presents "ARTISTRY FROM NATURE" Exhibitor Entry.

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

Happy New Year to all of you. Good health and prosperity, too.

I want to thank Sharon Cunningham and Richard Bromser for arranging the really nice Christmas party December 11.

One of my goals for the coming year is to update the museum. Some of the displays need to be changed and/or improved. There needs to be a better display of the large bones so they can be removed from the top of the glass cases.

Also I want to clean out Bruno's work room. All of the fossils need to be sorted and a lot of them can be sold at the silent auction during our show. I want to have the sink-type cabinets removed and put shelving along the walls. This way Bruno's valuable collection of books, slide programs and other material will be available for reference.

It will take time - and money - but we can do it.

     Ray Meisenheimer.

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WORDS TO LIVE BY.

Always laugh when you can. It's cheap medicine.

Truth is more of a stranger than fiction.

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.---Confucius.

A smile is a light in the window of the soul, indicating the heart is home.

Collected by Wayne Ehlers.

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JANUARY PROGRAM - January 22, 2003;
Collecting in Southeastern Oregon - Dick Flaharty.

Dick Flaharty will present a program about his travels in the Southeast corner of Oregon. He will also bring some samples of what he was able to collect. This is a wonderful way to get each of us started on planning our own collecting trips in 2003.

Kathryn Davis.

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PROGRAM REVIEW:
VGMS CHRISTMAS DINNER,
December 11, 2002.

Our 2002 Christmas Dinner was held at the Carrows Restaurant at Seaward & Harbor Blvd., in Ventura. We had 29 members in attendance and a good time was had by all. Sharon Cunningham did a great job with some very festive table decorations along with a little Christmas Stocking (baggie) of Christmas goodies. It looked like a lot of work, but she said she had fun doing them. Thanks Santa!

In addition to a great dinner, the 2003 Officers were installed and the outgoing Officers were given many thanks for their hard work. It was a very pleasant evening of fun, fellowship and good food! We missed those that were not able to attend.

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MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

1-18-03 - There Will Not be a Workshop today, as all instructors are in Quartzsite!
1-22-03 - VGMS Regular Meeting - 7:30 pm (There isn't a Pebble Pup Meeting) - Collecting in Southeast Oregon by Dick Flaharty.
2-6-03 - VGMS Board Meeting - 7:30 pm - At the Museum. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.
2-10-03 - DEADLINE FOR FEBRUARY Bulletin Articles to the Editor!
2-12-03 - Show Planning Meeting - 7:30 pm home of Jim & Nancy Brace-Thompson.
2-15-03 - VGMS Work Shop - Open - 9-12 am.
2-16-03 - Tri-Club Field Trip - Acton, CA - See Field Trip Section for details.
2-26-03 - VGMS Regular Meeting - 7:30 pm - Final Show Planning and Show & Tell from Quartzsite & Tucson.
3-1 & 2-03 - VGMS Annual Show - Ventura Fair Grounds.
3-6-03 - VGMS Board Meeting - 7:30 pm - At the Museum. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.
4-18 thru 22-03 - Desert Symposium - Zzyzx, CA.

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CHIPS & BOULDERS.

2003 VGMS Show - Exhibitors are Needed - See "Show Business". There is an Exhibitors' Form included at the end of the bulletin. Please complete it and get it to Nancy Brace-Thompson as soon as possible. Time is going by fast!!

Plastic flower pots needed - Marie Ehlers needs any plastic flower pots you are no longer using for her cuttings for the Plant Booth at our March show. Anyone with spares give Marie a call at 805-482-6830 and make arrangements to get them to her.

Country Store Items are always needed for the March show. You can call Shirley Layton to coordinate pick-up, bring them to the meeting or you can bring them to the fair grounds Thurs., Fri. or Sat. the weekend of the show (March 1st & 2nd). Many thanks for all who have contributed and to those that are going to!

Museum Work Day - On December 21, 2002, several club members repaired the roof to the museum in order to stop rain water from entering the building. Those who volunteered their time for this included Richard and Shirley Bromser, Jim Brace-Thompson, Ron Wise, Ray Meisenheimer, Greg Davis & Steve Mulqueen. Thanks so much for a job well done.
     On January 4, 2003, Ray Meisenheimer, Jim and Nancy Brace-Thompson worked at the museum to clean out and sort specimens stored in one of the rooms. They also inspected the displays in the main exhibit hall and assessed the work needed for upgrading and cleaning.
     During the year 2002, the VGMS received numerous donations consisting of rocks, minerals and fossils. At the present time, we are still striving to sort through what we have. Until further notice, all donations of rock material to the museum must be approved by our president, Ray Meisenheimer or by the museum chairman, Steve Mulqueen.

Donation to the VGMS - On November 16, 2002, Dave Mautz and Steve Mulqueen accepted donations of rocks, minerals and fossils to the VGMS from Sherry Preston of Ventura. The material will be used for silent actions, rock sales, kids games, etc. Thank you Sherry!

Report of Open House at Jewel Tunnel - On December 7, 2002, numerous members of the VGMS attended an open house at Jewel Tunnel in Baldwin Park. Jewel Tunnel is owned by Rock Courier who is a mineral dealer.

Milk Crates are available for members at $5.00 each. See Richard Bromser. They are great for storing our treasures!

Hosts and Hostesses are needed for Regular Meetings. It is time to set up the 2003 schedule and Sharon Cunningham has graciously agreed to coordinate it again this year. So figure out what month is good for you and give her a call at (805) 649-3579. It isn't hard and when each one takes a turn it "shares the load"!

VGMS Workshops - There won't be a workshop on 1-18-03, as the Supervisors will be in Quartzsite & Tucson. They are held on the third Saturday of each month from 9:00 until noon unless otherwise notified. The Shop Supervisors are: Ron Wise (805) 647-4393 & Greg Davis (805) 647-9214. Stop and say thanks to these volunteers for the opportunity they give the rest of us. It is there for your use, take advantage of it.

Bulletin e-mail - It would be helpful when you e-mail information or articles for the bulletin if you could start the subject with "VGMS (space)". This will help Jim to sort them and hopefully not miss any! E-mails work great as we can just roll the information over and don't have to re-type it, so keep them coming!! jns@west.net Thanks!

Advertising - Any One want to put an Ad in Rockhound Rambling?? - Call Shirley Layton 805 642-2683. - Sell some to a friend! The Bulletin goes to several other Gem & Mineral clubs, so it is good spread for little money!!

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SHOW BUSINESS.

Exhibitors Needed Now!
     Our annual Show is less than two months away, but I've received only a few applications from exhibitors. The time is NOW! Please fill out the application in the bulletin and send it to:
          Nancy Brace-Thompson,
          7319 Eisenhower Street,
          Ventura, CA 93003.
Or call me at 659-3577 evenings and weekends or 652-7249 on weekdays. Exhibits form the core of our show, and we need to prepare the floor plan layout to give to the fairgrounds staff, but thus far, we've only heard from 6 people. Please bring your completed exhibitor forms to the January meeting, or call me today. Let's fill that hall with more beautiful displays than ever!
     Exhibitor Form is the last page of the Bulletin for your convenience.
          Nancy Brace-Thompson,
          Exhibitor Chair Person.

COUNTDOWN TO GEM SHOW 2003!
     With now less than two short months to go, we're on our countdown to the 2003 VGMS Gem, Mineral, Lapidary, and Fossil Show! If you're a committee chair, you should be getting your ducks in a row. If you're not yet on a committee, think about how best you can contribute your time and efforts this year and don't wait to be asked-jump in! For instance, we still need a Donation Raffle chair. You should also be dusting off your rockhound treasures and planning a display case to enter at this year's Show. Very few exhibitors have come forward as of this point, and the exhibits are the centerpiece of a successful show, so let's all chip in to fill the hallway with gleaming gems, wonderful lapidary arts, and our fossil and mineral collections to share with the community! See Nancy's related article on exhibits in this month's Rockhound Rambling.
     At the January meeting, we'll have Show flyers, and we ask that everyone take a batch and distribute them among friends, at work, and on whatever community bulletin boards you come across. They also look great displayed on a car window and make a fine fashion accessory if pinned to the back of a shirt or jacket...We'll also begin circulating sign-up sheets for various Show jobs to ensure that we have the necessary people-power for various events, especially set-up, dismantling, and for the Kids' Activities booth, which was understaffed last year.
     We have two more show planning meetings scheduled for January 12 and February 12 (see related article). Refreshments will be served. Come for the food! Come for the fellowship! And most of all, come to help prepare one fun show! We need everyone's ideas, efforts, and participation as we continue the countdown. Happy New Year, one and all!
          Jim Brace-Thompson, Show Chair.

Mark Your Calendars: Last Show Planning Meetings,
January 12 & February 12.
     Nancy and I will host our last two planning meetings for our 2003 Gem, Mineral, Lapidary, and Fossil Show on Sunday, January 12 (2:00 PM) and Wednesday, February 12 (7:30 PM). Because most of you probably won't receive this message until after January 12, we'll be calling all show committee chairs to alert them to that particular meeting. All club members are invited to the February 12 meeting. Both will take place at our home: 7319 Eisenhower Street, Ventura. Call 659-3577 for directions. These are our last opportunities to huddle before the big event. We look forward to seeing you then!
          Jim Brace-Thompson, Show Chair.

"The Many Facets of Rockhounding",
Library Display: Seeking Display Items & Assistance.
     For the entire month of February, leading up to our 41st Annual Show, we have the good fortune to utilize the glass display case in the E. P. Foster Library lobby in downtown Ventura (turns out we also have the library at Day Road). We plan to use this display for three purposes: 1) as a promotional opportunity to advertise our Show, 2) as an educational opportunity to share our interests and talents with our fellow Venturans, and 3) as a recruitment effort to interest potential new members in joining our society. To accomplish all this, we need your help!
     Our display theme is "The Many Facets of Rockhounding". We hope to include a sample or two of the many things that interest and unite us as members of VGMS, for instance: examples of crafting wonders from gemstones (cabochons, faceted stones, intarsia, bookends, polished geodes or agates, beadwork, etc.), a superb specimen or two from a mineral collection, a fascinating fossil, gold panning equipment, and so forth. We'd also like to include photos showing club activities (working in the workshop, fieldtripping, the annual show). The emphasis should be on the fun variety of what our club has to offer.
     I ask that each club member bring perhaps two items to the January meeting to loan for inclusion in this month-long public display: lapidary items you've crafted, specimens you've bought or collected, photos you've taken at club events. (Please label your item with what it is and who it belongs to so we can be sure it gets back home to the right person!) If everyone brings just a couple items each, we'll have the makings of a wonderful and intriguing introduction and invitation to share with our fellow community members. If you won't be able to come to the January meeting, please call me (659-3577) to arrange a time to drop something off. Nancy and I can also use assistance at 8:30 AM the morning of Saturday, February 1st to meet at the lobby of the Foster Library to set up the display. Thank you one and all in advance!
          Jim Brace-Thompson, Show Chair.

How does your Dahlia grow? - During the VGMS mineral show last year, the plant booth sold many dahlia stocks, some of which were purchased by our members. These stocks were originally donated to the club by Inez Shakman.
     We have had numerous reports of the success of these cuttings. Clay Brashears reports that one of his dahlia plants is over 15' high and getting bigger every day. He also has 2 plants which are over 8' high. He has lost count of the number of dahlia flowers that have bloomed. Many of the flowers have been given to his friends and neighbors. I don't know what he's been feeding those plants but they really like it. Keep up the good work Clay!
     Just a reminder to all members to consider donating plants to the club for the Plant Booth at our mineral show on the weekend of March 1 and 2, 2003. Those who have potted plants to donate can bring them to the show on Friday, February 28.
          Susan Mulqueen, Plant Booth Chair Person.

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AFMS website - www.Amfed.org,
CFMS website - www.cfmsinc.org,
CA BLM website - www.ca.blm.gov,
American Lands Access Association - www.amerlands.org.

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2003 Meeting Programs.

Following is a preliminary outline of programs planned for our 2003 meetings. Everyone has an interesting story to tell! So please call me to volunteer to make a presentation of your own, to pass along a lead of a person you know who may be able to relate an interesting facet of our hobby, or even just to pass along an idea you would like to have as a program. Thus far, here's what we have planned tentatively for our 2003 meetings:

     I'm currently exploring leads for a program on photomicroscopy and for another on plate tectonics and volcanoes. I would love to hear from anyone with additional ideas! Please call me during the day at 652-7249 (work) or in the evenings or weekends at 659-3577 (home).
          Thank you,
          Nancy Brace-Thompson, 1st Vice President.

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SUPPORT AND PRACTICE
THE AFMS CODE OF ETHICS.

IN MEMORIUM,
Richard D. Bates.

On August 28, 2002, Richard passed away as a result of complications of diabetes. Richard and his wife Sandra were dealers at our show in March 2001 and 2002.

Richard D. Bates;
April 18, 1938 - August 28, 2002.

Richard was a graduate of the University of Arizona, College of Mines. For 16 years of his life, he was a project engineer and division manager for Shell Oil Company in California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas and Alaska. At one time, he worked for Shell in the Ventura oil field. He later owned and managed Omniservice, an industrial construction company in the Los Angeles area.

In the past two years, Richard was a full time rock hound and mineral promoter. He and his wife Sandra were mineral dealers under the name of The Contact Zone. Many of our members remember him at our mineral shows as the friendly dealer who often would give copper minerals to the VGMS.

Richard is survived by his wife Sandra and daughters Amy Bates of Tucson, AZ and Kathryn DeKoven of Paragonah, Utah.

Sandra may be contacted at P.O. Box 1089, Hereford, AZ 85615.

Contributed by Steve Mulqueen.

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COMMUNITY OUTREACH.

     November 8 Ray Meisenheimer gave an Earth Science program at Summit School in Upper Ojai. There were four teachers and 65 school children. Sharon Cunningham assisted. Her help was much appreciated.
     November 18 Ray gave a tour of the museum for a group of Cub Scouts, Pack 3502 from Ojai. There were six boys and six adults. Sharon also was there to assist with this.
     December 3 Ray gave a talk and demonstration of the programs he gives at schools to a group of ten volunteers who also go to schools for programs. The meeting was held in the Sun Room at Leisure Village. Each person has a different type of program--one geology, another chemistry, yet another "how to present yourself when job hunting" and that sort of thing. Ray enjoyed the group as much as they enjoyed his program.
     December 19 Ray gave two separate programs at Saticoy School. He spoke to 30 fourth graders and several adults at 10 am and 25 youngsters the same age at 11 am. He had large hands-on fossils for the young people to examine, which they seemed to enjoy very much.
     December 17 Ray conducted a tour of the museum to a bus load of 65 second graders from Mira Monte School in Ojai. There were 6 adults, which included the bus driver who enjoyed it as much as the school children. Ray was assisted by Sharon Cunningham and Ron Wise. Thanks to the two of you.
          by Florence Meisenheimer.

     On November 22, 2002, Steve Mulqueen presented a slide lecture on the subject of petroleum seeps for geology students at Santa Barbara City College. This talk was a prerequisite for all of Dr. Gray's students who were to attend a scheduled field trip to the Page Museum at La Brea in Los Angeles on November 23.
     On November 27, 2002, Susan Mulqueen led a field trip for 5th grade special ed. students from Poinsettia School. The group walked from school to Arroyo Verde Park where they collected marine shell fossils from outcrops of the Santa Barbara Formation (approx. 2 million years old, Plio-Pleistocene epoch).
          by Steve Mulqueen.

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FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS.

Happy Birthday to all those born in February. We all wish you good health and hope you have a Great Day! Please let me know if I have missed your birthday. Please call Shirley Layton at 642-2683 and leave a message if I'm not there or an e-mail will also do the trick, jns@west.net. Thanks!

February - Happy Birthday!!
     Sally McNeilan - 3rd,
     Jim Brace-Thompson - 3rd,
     Clay Brashears - 5th.

The February birthstone is the Amethyst and the flower is the Violet.

AMETHYST, the purple variety of quartz.

VARIETY INFORMATION:

• Variety of: Quartz, SiO₂.
• Uses: Gemstones and ornamental stones.
• Birthstone for: February.
• Color: Various shades of purple.
• Index of refraction: 1.544-1.553.
• Birefringence: 0.009.
• Hardness: 7.
• Cleavage: None.
• Crystal system: Trigonal.
• Pleochroic: No.

     Amethyst is the purple variety of quartz and is a popular gemstone. If it were not for its widespread availability, amethyst would be very expensive. The name "amethyst" comes from the Greek and means "not drunken". This was maybe due to a belief that amethyst would ward off the effects of alcohol, but most likely the Greeks were referring to the almost wine-like color of some stones that they may have encountered. Its color is unparalleled, and even other, more expensive purple gemstones are often compared to its color and beauty. Although it must always be purple to be amethyst, it can and does have a wide range of purple shades.
     Amethyst can occur as long prismatic crystals that have a six sided pyramid at either end or can form as druzes that are crystalline crusts that only show the pointed terminations. As a mineral specimen, amethyst is popular for its color and nice crystal shapes that produce a handsome, purple, sparkling cluster.
     However, amethyst is not the same everywhere. Different localities can produce a unique amethyst to that particular region or even to that particular mine. Experts can often identify the source mine that a particular amethyst came from. The key to this is the specimen's color, shape of crystal, inclusions, associations and character of formation.
     The following is a list of many of the more noteworthy localities and some of the attributes that characterize the amethyst found there.

• Vera Cruz, Mexico -- very pale, clear, prismatic crystals that are sometimes double terminated and have grown on a light colored host rock. Crystals are typically phantomed, having a clear quartz interior and an amethyst exterior. Some are sceptered and phantomed.
• Guerrero, Mexico -- dark, deep purple, prismatic crystals that radiate outward from a common attachment point. Often the crystals are phantomed opposite of Vera Cruz amethyst having a purple interior with a clear or white quartz exterior. These are some of the most valuable amethysts in the world.
• Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul, Bahaia, Brazil -- crystals form in druzy crusts that line the inside of sometimes large volcanic rock pockets or "vugs". Some of the vugs form from trees that were engulfed in a lava flow millions of years ago and have since withered away. Other vugs are just gas bubbles in the lava. Some vugs can be quite large. The crystals that form are usually light to medium in color and only colored at the tops of the crystals. Most clusters form with gray, white and blue agate and have a green exterior on the vugs. Calcite sometimes is associated and inclusions of cacoxenite are common.
• Maraba, Brazil -- large crystals with unattractive surfaces that are of a pale to medium color and often carved or cut into slices.
• Thunder Bay, Canada -- a distinct red hematite inclusion just below the surface of the crystals is unique to this locality. Clusters are druzy crusts that line the fissures formed in ancient metamorphic rocks.
• Uruguay -- crystals are dark to medium and form in druzy crusts that line the inside of volcanic vugs that have a gray or brown exterior. The crystals are usually colored throughout, unlike the Brazilian crystals, and form with a multicolored agate that often contains reds, yellows and oranges. Often amethyst-coated stalactites and other unusual formations occur inside these vugs.
• Africa -- crystals are usually large but not attractive. However, the interior color and clarity are excellent and polished slices and carvings as well as many gemstones are prized and admired.
• Maine, USA -- Dark druzy clusters that are not widely distributed today.
• North Carolina, USA -- Druzy clusters that have a bluish-violet tint.
• Pennsylvania, USA -- druzy clusters that filled fractures in metamorphic rocks. They are generally a brownish purple and patchy in color.
• Colorado, USA -- druzy clusters form crusts inside of fissures in sandstone, often on top of a crust of green fluorite. Crystals are dark but rather small.
• Italy -- both Vera Cruz like crystals, although not as well defined, and large parallel growth clusters with good evenly distributed color.
• Germany -- associated with colorful agates that form a druzy light-colored crust.
• Ural Mountains, Russia -- a very clear and dark variety that is cut for fine expensive gemstones, natural uncut clusters are rarely on the market.

     Often cut gems of amethyst are graded using the terms: Siberian, Uruguayan or Bahain; to represent high, medium and low grade respectively, regardless of the actual source. Because of the patchyness of the color distribution in the crystals, Amethyst is often cut as brilliant round cuts to maximize the color. Other cuts can be used when the color is better distributed.
     The color purple is traditionally the color of royalty and amethyst has been used since the dawn of history to adorn the rich and powerful monarchs and rulers. Today, amethyst is a lovely and affordable gemstone that is fortunately available in a wide variety of cut and uncut stones that we can all possess and admire.
     Amethyst is only one of several quartz varieties. Other varieties that form macroscopic (large enough to see) crystals are as follows:

• Citrine is a yellow to orange gemstone variety that is rare in nature but is often created by heating Amethyst.
• Milky Quartz is the cloudy white variety.
• Rock crystal is the clear variety that is also used as a gemstone.
• Rose quartz is a pink to reddish pink variety.
• Smoky quartz is the brown to gray variety.

Copyright by Amethyst Galleries, Inc.

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MEMBERSHIP.

MEMBERSHIP DUES ARE DUE - Please send to Sharon & Gary Markley, 1686 Kenewa Street, Ojai, CA 93023. See the VGMS Info Page for amounts.

Address Correction: Please correct your 2002 Directories as new ones won't be out until April.
     Don & Betty Stehsel,
     99 Poinsettia Gardens Drive,
     Ventura, CA 93004.

Attention New Members.
Need a Club Badge?
Blue Engravers is giving us a $.50 reduction per badge
for advertising space in the club bulletin!
Ventura County Shape badge $11.28 (includes. tax & ship).
ACCOUNT: Ventura Gem and Mineral Society, Inc.
Name (print clearly. It will be on your name badge):

_____________________________________________

Address:

_____________________________________________

_______________________________Zip:____________

Make check payable to and mail to (takes 5-7 business days):
Blue Engravers,
1375 Caspian Ave.,
Long Beach, CA 90813.
If ordering more than 2 badges call them for exact shipping
costs at (562) 983-5140, FAX (562) 983-5146,
E-mail BLUEGRAVR@aol.com.

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HOSPITALITY.

We had 29 members and guests at our Christmas party. We missed Sharlyne, however, as she had a prior commitment. We didn't have door prizes, just a lot of fun, visiting and installation of the 2003 officers and much appreciation conveyed to the 2002 officers. Wish everyone could have been there.

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"PEBBLE PUP NUGGETS."

Pebble Pup Corner:

Unfortunately we don't have a planned Pebble Pup program at this point. However, Pebble Pups are very important to our Society and we hope you will continue to come to the regular meetings. There are always special door prize drawings for pebble pups and you can pick a special tumbled rock to take home with you.

We would like to thank Emma Mayer for her wonderful organization and work with the Pebble Pup Program over the past year. We would love to have a parent come forward to oversee the group with the understanding that members of the club would be responsible for the pebble pup program each month. Do we have any takers? Contact Ray Meisenheimer if you are interested.

Pebble Pup Birthdays - February:
     Logan Hamilton - 10th,
     Matthew Jioras - 16th.

Pebble Pup Dates to Remember:
No Field Trip in January - Many Members will be in Quartzsite and Tucson.
1-22-03 - Regular VGMS Meeting 7:30 pm - Collecting Trip in Southeast Oregon.
2-16-03 - Field Trip to Acton, CA - See Field Trip Section for details.
2-26-03 - Regular VGMS Meeting 7:30 pm - Final Show Preparations & Show & Tell from Quartzsite & Tucson.
3-1 & 2-03 - VGMS Annual Show - Ventura Fair Grounds.

Pups - Can you find the "L is for..." Coloring page in this bulletin? Color it and learn about rocks at the same time. Have Fun!! (You adults can color too!! Be honest have any of you done them? I don't have any colors or I would!)

Webmaster's Hint: It's near the end.

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JUNIOR ACTIVITIES REPORT:
Expanding Efforts to Serve Youth
And a Thank You to CFMS,
By Jim Brace-Thompson, Junior Activities Chair.

I'm happy to accept another year's service as CFMS Junior Activities Chair and, even more so, to be honored alongside Sugar White as a 2003 CFMS Scholarship Honoree. I'm grateful for the opportunity to continue serving the Federation, and I encourage all members of CFMS-affiliated clubs to consider taking on an office in coming years. The people you meet along the way and the opportunities for personal growth represent an unbeatable combination. I'm also humbled by the distinct privilege of being in a position to assist a deserving student in graduating from "amateur" to "professional" status within the Earth Sciences by earning a college degree aided by the generous support of a $2,000 CFMS scholarship. I thank the CFMS officers for granting me this opportunity to extend my efforts for educating youth to a new level, and I'm already exploring which college to call.

I'm also thrilled to report that I've been asked and have accepted a request to take on the Junior Activities Chair this year for the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies, which includes supervising their Future Rockhounds of America (FRA) program. In my first column, to appear in the December/January issue of the AFMS Newsletter, I'm proposing that the AFMS initiate a merit badge sort of system for FRA-affiliated junior members in order to accomplish two goals at the same time: 1) give junior leaders at local clubs a variety of proven, guided activities that could fill a year, and 2) provide motivation for pebble pups and junior members to work toward earning a tangible reward while learning a satisfying skill or knowledge.

Over the next several months within the pages of the AFMS Newsletter, I'll be describing different merit badges or pins we might consider and suggested activities that might be done to earn a particular badge or pin as the first steps toward formally proposing such a system. For instance, one badge might be for Mineral Identification, another for Lapidary Arts. Yet another might be for Fossil Collecting, another for building a Mineral Collection, and possibly one for Showmanship for constructing a display for a gem show, school science fair, community library, or other public area. Another might be for Communication for writing a club newsletter article related to our hobby or making an oral presentation at a club meeting, and so forth.

By year's end, I hope to have laid the groundwork for perhaps a half dozen merit badges or pins that I could present to the AFMS for discussion and a vote. I welcome ideas from any and all reading about this--please be sure to pass word along to the junior leader in your club. I can use all the help and advice you can provide! We'll likely need to start out modestly. For instance, I may need to limit the idea initially to just three or four badges or pins--or maybe even just one or two--until we get an idea for the success and finances of such a proposal. But while the scope may be modest at the outset, I believe it's a first step worth taking in order to better serve our youth while--as always--having fun!

CFMS Newsletter - January 2003.

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"FIELD TRIPS ARE FUN."

Tri-club Field Trip,
Acton, California,
February 16, 2003.

We hope you had a wonderful Holiday.
Ron Wise, Field Trip Chairperson.

THANKSGIVING FIELD TRIP REPORT - WILEY WELLS,
by Bob Fitzpatrick, Field Trip Chair - South.

Hello Everyone,
     What a great field trip we all had. We had 65 that signed the disclaimer plus a few that didn't sign in; there were clubs from all over, California, Arizona, Nevada, Indiana, and even Alaska. The weather was not too bad, some rain at night and a few drops during the days. It was short sleeve shirts weather during the day but it did get quite cool at night.
     I arrived at the campgrounds at noon on Wednesday and there were some of our group already waiting for me. Some wanted to go collect Chalcedony Roses so we collected for a few hours and then went back to camp to eat and get ourself's ready for a great time around the fire (which we enjoyed every night). We didn't have a set agenda for what we were going to do each day, we just took it one day at a time.
     Day two, Thursday at 9:00 a.m., some of us went to Hidden Saddle to dig Geodes and Nodules, some of the others just wanted to do their own thing and others just stayed at the camp and took it easy. There were two bowling ball size Geodes dug up and the rest were smaller but everyone was able to find some. Thursday was Thanksgiving so it was planned that we would have a potluck dinner at 3:00 p.m. Everyone brought food for this feast, we had plenty of food with lots of leftovers for dinner the next evening. After our Thanksgiving dinner everyone sat around the fire and had a good time.
     Day three, Friday at 9:00 a.m., some of us went off to find a parcel of land off the Old Bradshaw Trail that Emma from the OBMS Club had bought (she had never seen it). We found it! The acreage is right next to the Chocolate Mountain Gunnery and Bombing Range. From there we went to the Black Agate and Sagenite Beds. I want to thank Robert Burson from the Searcher's Club for his help in leading us and Edie Marx from San Gorgonio Club with her experience with her GPS System. After an exciting day we went back to camp to eat leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner. After dinner we had a large group around the fire (30 plus). We enjoyed some great entertainment; singing by Emma and Norman from OBMS Club, Tom from OBMS Club played his harmonica, and Mike from Culver City played a mid-eastern type guitar and sang. There were also stories told and a lot kidding around, we laughed and laughed and had so much fun.
     On day four, Saturday, 9:00 a.m., Robert Burson led a group to the Straw Beds and I led a large group over to the Fire Agate Mine. We had one non-four-wheel-drive low-clearance car that left the road and got stuck but with a little help we got it back on the trail. A few of our group stayed there at the mine, the rest of us went on to the town of Palo Verde. We gassed up our SUV's and went on to Kinney's Rock Shop. Dale was glad to see us, our group purchased a few hundred dollars worth of items from his shop. From there we went on into Arizona to look for Petrified Wood and anything gemmy. Everybody found something, the best thing found was a large round piece of fossil corral about the size of a basket ball which had a lot of color to it-it should make a great sphere. On our way back we stopped to collect Chalcedony Roses and then back to camp. By now it's Saturday night and most of our group had left for their homes. We still had a few tired rockhounds to enjoy the camp fire and have a few laughs.
     Day 5, Sunday, time to go home. Almost everyone had already left when Dave Guin, (Petrified Wood discussion group moderator) drove up. It was good to see him, he is getting over a broken leg. At 9:00 a.m., it was time to go. Everyone said their good-byes. It's only a two and half hour drive to my home in Beaumont but it took me four hours because of the holiday traffic.
          Bob Fitzpatrick.

Collecting Tropical Horn Corals
in Frozen Nebraska:
A Tale of a Fossil Fanatic.

     The snow on the ground wasn't a good sign. The nominal reason for flying from Los Angeles to Nebraska with my sister and family was to visit Mom for Thanksgiving, but the ulterior motive involved 300-million-year-old fossil horn corals near the community of Weeping Water, just an hour or two due east of Mom's home town of Utica. As my family well knows, I'm a fossil fanatic, ready to collect any time, anywhere. In fact, my wife usually has to pry me kicking and screaming off my perch at an outcrop. As we collected our bags at the Lincoln airport (roughly midway between Utica and Weeping Water) to head for Mom's place, snow flurries filled the air, adding to the white stuff already blanketing the ground. So much for ulterior motives!
     But then a strange thing happened-strange, that is, for this part of the country at this time of the year. It actually started getting warmer! We had arrived to snowfall on Tuesday, snow was still crunching underfoot on Wednesday as my brother and his two boys arrived from Arkansas, but by the time we were enjoying Thanksgiving turkey on Thursday, the snow was gone and temperatures continued to rise.
     Friday, we headed east to the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge to view the thousands of Snow Geese that congregate each fall at an oxbow lake formed from an old meander in the Missouri River on the Nebraska/Iowa border. Geese dotted the lake like salt and pepper and occasionally filled the air like static flickering across a TV set whenever one of the Bald Eagles diving for fish on the periphery of the goose colony got too close for comfort. We had a great time exploring the refuge and museum that includes thousands of 19th century artifacts from a riverboat wreck recently excavated within the refuge.
     Now it so happens, the DeSoto Refuge is located a straight shot about an hour or two north of Weeping Water. Within earshot of my brother's 7- and 10-year-old boys, I casually suggested that some of us might want to take a detour on the way home to look for a fossil or two. That clinched it! While everyone else headed back to Utica, my wife Nancy, daughter Hannah, and nephews Connor and Colin were bounding southward, gripping our seats in fear as 16-year-old Hannah demonstrated her recently acquired driving skills in Mom's oversized station wagon. Despite the life-threatening situation, I was more concerned about the increasingly low level of the sun on the broad Nebraska horizon.
     By the time we arrived in Weeping Water, it was late. Quoting Mercutio from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, I cried, "Come, we burn daylight, ho!" We wasted no time jumping out. The fossil site is a road cut at the western edge of town, next to a big quarrying operation. With no tools in hand, our search was confined to surface collecting, but the road cut didn't disappoint. In no time at all, we were plucking 1- and 2-inch horn corals from muddy sediments beneath big ledges of limestone.
     The Weeping Water fossils are from a cyclothermic sequence of strata of the late Pennsylvanian Period. A cyclotherm is a series of deposits made up of alternating layers of shale and limestone laid down in regular cycles. During the late Pennsylvanian Period (some 300 to 280 million years ago), sea levels rose and fell many times across much of America's east coast and interior. At that time, Nebraska was tilted around from its current location and occupied a much balmier position about 2 to 10 degrees north of the equator and was covered with a tropical seaway that left deposits of limestone. However, periodically, the seaway retreated, and when it did so, deposits of mud were left behind which subsequently hardened into shale. Back-and-forth, the seaway advanced and retreated, leaving behind bands of limestone and shale.
     The Weeping Water road cut preserves a beautiful sequence of these alternating bands. On the surface, the limestone projects as hard ledges and the shale melts back into mud, and it was within the mud between limestone ledges that we found most of our fossils lying loose on the surface, either eroding out of the shale or having washed down as "float" from the limestone ledges. Technically speaking, the fossils were from the Pennsylvanian System: Virgil Series: Shawnee Group: Lecompton Formation.
     In addition to horn corals, which form the main attraction at Weeping Water, we also found crinoid stems and columnals, brachiopods in a variety of sizes, and a nice assortment of microfossils: tiny spines and plates of sea urchins, small twigs of bryozoans, and rice-shaped foraminifers called fusilinids that grew increasingly difficult to see as the sunlight faded. Within the Lecompton Formation, the horn corals are from the thick Beil Member of silty shales and yellow limestones and many of the other fossils we found are from the thin limestone and shale layers of the Avoca Member overlying the Beil.
     With the sun sinking from view, it finally grew hard to see your hand in front of your face, much less fossils on the ground, and leftover turkey and fixings were waiting in Utica. But try as we might, it proved almost impossible to pry 7-year-old Colin from his perch on the outcrop, his muddy pockets bulging with fossils. As Rick says at the end of the movie Casablanca, I thought to myself, as we dragged Colin kicking and screaming back into the station wagon, "Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
          Jim Brace-Thompson.

TRI-FEDERATION ROCKHOUND RENDEZVOUS,
May 22 - 25, 2003.

Information was in the November bulletin. Some update information. Every one who agrees to adhere to the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies Code of Ethics, abide by the directions of the field trip leaders, and practice safe rockhounding is welcome to attend. Be sure to check out the Tri-Federation Rendezvous articles and Texas Springs photos on the CFMS web site (www.cfmsinc.org). For California contact Richard Pankey, dickpankey@juno.com for more information.
     by Florence Meisenheimer, Federation Director.

General Information (about this field trip).

Daily Field Trips:

• All trips will leave at 8:30 AM (Mountain Time), SHARP, from the campgrounds. Assemble at 8:15 for details and instructions for each day's trip. High clearance vehicles recommended to collecting areas.
• We will collect at 4 to 6 different sites: pink limb casts, small limb casts and bogwood, snakeskin agate, jasp/agate limb casts, and more.
• We will divide up into small groups, each group going to a different site each day. Everyone will be able to collect at least once at each site. There will be a signup sheet each day for each site.
• Much of the collecting will be float. Two sites involve some digging, but not too deep. Bring the following tools: rock bags, rock hammer, shovel, small picks, hoe, rock scoop, spray bottle, and what ever else you usually bring.
• High clearance vehicles highly recommended to collecting sites. We will help arrange rides for those who need them.

1. This trip is open to members and guests of the Northwest, Rocky Mountain, and California Federations of Mineralogical Societies. Everyone who agrees to adhere to the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies Code of Ethics, abide by the direction of the field trip leaders, and practice safe rockhounding is welcome to attend.
2. There are two full hook-up campgrounds in Jackpot: Saguaro RV Park - 800-821-1103 and Spanish Gardens - 800-422-8233. There are several casino/motels also in Jackpot: Cactus Pete's - 800-821-1103, Western Star Resort - 800-655-0643, Four Jacks - 800-251-6313, Barton's "93" - 800-258-2937.
3. We will have a welcome potluck dinner on Thursday evening and the all Rendezvous Potluck dinner on Saturday evening. Bring food to share and your own plates, eating utensils, tables and chairs. Bring your favorite beverages and snacks to share for Happy Hour each afternoon. We will try to have a campfire each evening so bring firewood.
4. Bring rocks and specimens, etc. from your favorite home collecting area to show and swap at the tailgate display. This will be a good time to swap maps, GPS readings and information about your favorite home collecting areas.
5. This area of Nevada has a lot to offer rockhounds and outdoor enthusiasts. Plan to spend some extra days after (or before) the Rendezvous. Some suggestions and information will be available at camp.
6. Gas in Jackpot can be expensive. Be sure to fill up your tanks and extra gas cans in Wells or Twin Falls.
7. Be prepared for a variety of weather. Over Memorial Day Weekend 2002 we had sunny skies with the temperatures in the 70's - 5 days after a 2" snow that melted over night.

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SUPPORT AND PRACTICE
THE AFMS CODE OF ETHICS.

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"The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly."
Abraham Lincoln.

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THE NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL.

Construction is well underway and on schedule for this Memorial located on the Mall in Washington, D.C. near the Washington Monument. Completion is scheduled for the Spring of 2004 with the dedication to be held on Memorial Day. Bronze and granite are the main materials being used. Granite was selected for aesthetic appeal, superior strength and durability. The principle stones are Kershaw (quarried near Camden, South Carolina) and Green County (quarried near Greensboro, Georgia). Two green stones used for accent on the plaza are Rio Verde and Moss Green both quarried in Brazil. The coping stone and walls of the Rainbow Pool are of Mount Airy and Academy Black. Mount Airy is quarried in North Carolina and the Academy Black* is quarried in California. Features of the Monument are two arches with bronze columns, eagles, and bronze sculptures. There will be 56 pillars with bronze wreathes and a Freedom Wall with 4000 sculpted gold stars. The pillars are being fabricated at the New England Stone Industries plant in Smithfield, Rhode Island. The arches are being fabricated by Rock of Ages at Barre, Vermont. Funding for the monument is entirely private with over $187 million from all sources. Over 600,000 Charter Members of the World War II Memorial Society gave over $60 million. One of the features of the Memorial is the Registry of Remembrance honoring not only those who made the ultimate sacrifice but also those who served in uniform and those on the home front. This Registry is still open and growing. In the Spring of 2002 it had over 700,000 names. Updates on construction progress including photos can be found on the memorial web site at www.WWIImemorial.com. - Contributed by Wayne Ehlers.

*This is thought to be Gabbro from Nevada County, CA, but has not been confirmed.

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SUPPORT AND PRACTICE
THE AFMS CODE OF ETHICS.

VGMS MINUTES.

Minutes of the VGMS Board Meeting,
Thursday, December 5, 2002:
     The regular board meeting of the Ventura Gem and Mineral Society was called to order by President Greg Davis at 7:30 pm Thursday, December 5, 2002, at the VGMS Museum, 5019 Crooked Palm Rd., Ventura, Ca.
Present: Greg Davis, Ray and Florence Meisenheimer, Richard Bromser, Jim and Nancy Brace-Thompson, Dave Mautz, Ron Wise and Steve Mulqueen.
Greg Davis: reported static & intermittent dial tone has been experienced on the club phone. A trouble call to Pac Bell and testing will be performed. Installation of officers will be a part of our annual Christmas dinner on Dec.11th.
Florence Meisenheimer: Joanna Richie was honored for her accomplishments as CFMS President during 2002.
Richard Bromser: has 26 paid members for next week's Christmas dinner. Checks 962-969 were approved for use on club utilities and the treasurer's report was m/s/c as written. A request for next year's raffle permit has been submitted and new officer signature authorization cards have been completed.
Jim Brace-Thompson: received official notice from Ventura Unified School District for permission to circulate show flyers to schools and will try for the College District. Jim has plenty of flyers and they'll be available. Next show meet is scheduled for Jan. 12, 2:00 at Jim's house.
Ron Wise: Thanksgiving at Wiley Wells area had 60 people from 16 clubs turn out for a very productive trip. Future trips are still in the planning stage and ideas are being sought.
Nancy Brace-Thompson: needs show display intention forms returned ASAP. Also needs meeting program ideas. Steve Mulqueen has agreed to a program on the St. Francis Dam disaster with a possible trip to the site.
Steve Mulqueen: Richard Bates, a vendor at our shows, has passed away. More information will be forthcoming. Steve is recruiting for the position of Museum Chair, if anyone is interested. The recharter form for Cub Scout pack 3136 has been submitted and Dec. 21 has been scheduled for roof repair work on the museum.
Ray Meisenheimer: 60 students are expected at the museum on Dec. 17 and any help would be appreciated. Also 10-12 adults from the Superintendent of Schools toured the museum last Wednesday.
     There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:50 pm.
          Respectfully submitted, Greg Davis.


Minutes of the Regular Monthly Meeting,
Wednesday, December 11, 2002:
     The regular monthly meeting of the Ventura Gem and Mineral Society was called to order at 7:00 pm by President Greg Davis on Wednesday, December 11, 2002 at Carrows Restaurant, 2401 E. Harbor Blvd., Ventura, Ca.
     The meeting included our annual Christmas dinner and the installation of VGMS Officers for the year 2003.
     Another exceptional Christmas dinner was enjoyed by all, thanks to Richard Bromser's effort at coordinating the festivities. Thanks also to Sharon Cunningham for providing the table decorations. It added so much.
     A very special thanks must go to Kathryn Davis for all the time and effort she has given our club as Program chairperson and dealer coordinator + liaison. She did an excellent job and made these big tasks look easy. We all know they're not.
     Outgoing Board members were honored and received pins in recognition of the positions held. New Board members were sworn in and the gavel was officially passed to Ray Meisenheimer.
     As the food was so good and we were all so hungry, no further business was addressed and with that, we adjourned our last meeting of 2002 at 8:20 pm.
          Respectfully submitted, Greg Davis.


Minutes of the VGMS Board Meeting,
January 2, 2003:
     The regular board meeting of the VGMS was called to order by President Ray Meisenheimer at 7:30 pm on Thursday, January 2, 2003, at the VGMS museum, 5019 Crooked Palm Rd.,Ventura, Ca.
Present: Ray and Florence Meisenheimer, Richard Bromser, Sharon and Gary Markley, Greg Davis, Steve Mulqueen, Shirley Layton, Jim and Nancy Brace-Thompson and Wayne Ehlers.
Florence Meisenheimer: Membership insurance costs $390.00 for the new year.
Richard Bromser: Dealers have paid half of total for the March show, there was a total of 29 members at our Christmas dinner and reservations have been made for December, 2003 at Carrows. It was m/s/c to accept the treasurer's report as printed and distributed to board members with checks 970-981 used for club utilities and expenses. The annual audit report for 2002 was issued. The proposed budget for 2003 was passed out and a suggestion for more silent auctions was made.
Sharon Markley: Dues are due and she is assessing the duties of membership chair as were forwarded to her.
Greg Davis: Club phone has been tested with known good phone, still has no dial tone and Richard will contact PCS (Pac Bell) with our results.
Steve Mulqueen: Work party covered roof on work shop Saturday, has show case trophy awards planned for 2003 show and is assembling a photo album of the late Richard Bates (if anyone has photos to offer, contact Steve). Steve is also looking for anyone who would like to loan amber specimens for a display at the Santa Paula Oil Museum.
Shirley Layton: Discussed ordering club pins but will wait pending further study. Bulletin deadline is the 10th of January and contact Shirley with an e-mail if it's possible to receive your bulletin this way as the printing costs continue to increase.
Jim Brace-Thompson: Show is progressing well, flyers have been sent to clubs, schools, libraries and will contact College educators and Chamber of Commerce along with checking on possible radio spots. Jim has produced over 400 kids' booth prizes already. Next show meetings are scheduled for January 12, 2:00, & February 12, 7:30 pm, both at Jim's house. February 1st is setup at Foster Library if anyone is interested in helping. The display could possibly include specimens from club members.
Nancy Brace-Thompson: Still looking for program ideas. If anyone would like to tell about their expertise or a field trip perhaps or even know someone who might talk on a topic within the realm of our hobby please contact Nancy. Also Nancy is waiting for those display case notices for our 2003 show to be returned to her.
Wayne Ehlers: Wayne has displayed a calendar in the museum of the soon to be completed WW2 Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. He has received the replacement wheels for the work shop equipment and will schedule the repairs.
Ray Meisenheimer: Plans are underway to update the museum, Bruno's room and clean out the office. Docent training will be scheduled as Ray's replacement will need to come onboard. A time will be set aside for updating the class rock specimen trays and cleaning of the outside area around the museum.
     There being no further discussion, the meeting was adjourned at 9:20 pm.
          Respectfully submitted, Greg Davis.

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You should never dive into murky waters.
M. S. Cat.

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CFMS PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE:

Well, the way I see it ...

We, the CFMS, represent some 10,000-plus members in four states with ever changing numbers and ever changing needs. Some groups may have less than 10 members, while others have over 500.

The challenge is great and it is complex. But in this large membership we also have some people with great knowledge, ambition, and a willingness to step forward and help each other with our problems, whatever they may be.

To help solve some of these problems we have committees, lines of communication -- such as newsletters, web sites, and DIRECTORS.

Yes, our Directors are one of our main links to our societies and the CFMS. Just what would you say are the duties of the Society DIRECTOR? They are not described in the CFMS Officers and Chairmen's Manual. We are left to assume that all the societies have that covered in their own by-laws or operating manuals. That may be why we have so many DIRECTORS who come to the Directors Meetings and say, 'what am I supposed to do?'

Do the Directors, President and Editors all get the CFMS Newsletter? They should. Does one of them put a copy into their club library so all the members can read it? Does the Director take his or her copy apart and make copies of the pages needed for the Program Chair, Field Trip Chair, Safety Chair and any members who want applications for seminars, gem shows, etc.?

Is the job of communications being done by our Society Directors? (Are our Society Directors doing their job of communicating?) Are they asking for input from their membership to bring back to the CFMS?

We are here to help, but we must have communication. We can and will help all our clubs and societies in whatever way we can in any of their needs. With a little help we can get clubs in an area together for field trips and seminars on subjects like field trips, safety, displaying and exhibiting, rules and judging, petrified wood identification, newsletters and bulletins. Actually, training seminars on anything in the earth science subjects of our hobby can be done. Just what are our members' needs? It's all (intended) to stimulate the interest in our hobby.

Yeah, "the way I see it", we're all just one big family helping each other to enjoy our common interest -- and I'm glad we have so many members who volunteer to step forward and say, HOW CAN I HELP?

Jack Williams,
CFMS 2003 President.

CFMS Newsletter - January 2003.

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CFMS NEWSLETTER.

Any one wishing to subscribe to the CFMS Newsletter send $5.50 to Pat LaRue, P.O. Box 1657, Rialto, CA 92377-1677. It is not prorated if you decide to subscribe for it later on in the year.

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HINTS & TIPS FOR ROCKHOUNDS
(Use at your own risk).

I AM IN NEED OF MORE TIPS! DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY TO SHARE OR A GOOD SOURCE FOR SOME?

To Open geodes, soak a string in kerosene, tie it around the geode, burn the string, then plunge the geode in cold water. In many cases, this will crack the geode and light tap with a hammer. - MOROKS Newsletter 3/01.

Did you drop a small stone on the carpet? Can't find it? Place a nylon stocking over the vacuum hose. The stone will adhere to the nylon without going up the hose. If you drop a stone on a hard floor, get down on your knees with a flashlight and shine the light across the floor, rather than down. It should pick up a sparkle or shine. - From Chats & Chips via MOROKS Newsletter 3/01.

Make sure your jeweler's saw blade is mounted so that it cuts when pulled towards you or it will break. Lubricate the blade before using (beeswax is good). To judge the size blade to use, figure two teeth should touch the material being cut. - Al Klein in AFMS Newsletter 10/98 via MOROKS Newsletter 3/01.

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SUPPORT AND PRACTICE
THE AFMS CODE OF ETHICS.

2003 CFMS CLUB SHOWS.

JANUARY 31 - FEBRUARY 1-2: 38TH Annual Pacific Micromount Conference - South Calif. Micro Mineralogists, San Bernardino County Museum, 2024 Orange Tree Lane, Redlands, CA.
FEBRUARY 14-23: INDIO, CA - San Gorgonio Mineral & Gem Society, Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival; Gem & Mineral Bldg. (on the Fairgrounds), 46-350 Arabia Street. Hours: 10 am - 10 pm. Don Grisham (909) 795-7289.
FEBRUARY 22-23: STOCKTON, CA - Co-Hosts: Stockton Lapidary & Min. Club & No. California Facetor's Guild. Scottish Rite Temple, 33 W. Alpine Ave. Hours: Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-4.
FEBRUARY 28 - MARCH 2: HAYWARD, CA - Mineral & Gem Society of Castro Valley, Centennial Hall; 22292 Foothill Blvd. Hours: Fri. & Sat. 10-6; Sun. 10-5. Cheryl Archer clsagitta@msn.com.
MARCH 1-2: ARCADIA, CA - Monrovia Rockhounds, Inc., The Arboretum of Los Angeles County, Ayers Hall, 301 N. Baldwin Avenue. Hours: 9-4:30 both days. JoAnna Ritchey (626) 359-1624. E-mail - j.ritchey@verizon.net.
MARCH 1-2: VENTURA, CA - Ventura Gem & Mineral Society, Seaside Park/Ventura Co. Fairgrounds, 10 W. Harbor Boulevard. Hours: Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-4. Jim Brace-Thompson (805) 659-3577. Email: jbraceth@juno.com.
MARCH 8-9: SAN MARINO, CA - Pasadena Lapidary Society. Gems, Minerals & Jewelry of the Southwest. San Marino Masonic Center, 3130 Huntington Drive. Hours: Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5. Marlene Kyte (626) 794-0519.
MARCH 8-9: SPRECKELS, CA - Monterey Bay Gem & Mineral Society, Veterans Memorial Hall, 6th & Lianos Streets. Hours: Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5. Bill McFalda (831) 442-9964.
MARCH 8-9: TURLOCK, CA - Mother Lode Mineral Soc., Stanislaus Cnty. Fairgrounds, 900 N. Broadway, Turlock, CA. Hours: 9-5 both days. Bud McMillin (209) 524-3494.
MARCH 15-16: SAN JOSE, CA - Santa Clara Valley Gem & Mineral Soc., Earth's Treasures, Santa Clara Fairgrounds, 344 Tully Rd. Hours: Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5. Chuck Boblenz (408) 734-2473. Email cboblenz@aol.com.
MARCH 22-23: TORRANCE, CA - South Bay Lapidary & Mineral Society "Nature's Treasures" (No dealers). Torrance Recreation Center, 3341 Torrance Blvd. Hours: Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5. Omer Goeden (818) 353-9279.
MARCH 29-30: ROSEVILLE, CA - Roseville Rock Rollers Gem & Min. Soc., Placer County Fairgrounds, 800 All America City Blvd. Hours: 10-5 both days. Betty Soper-Arnold (916) 969-6773.
MARCH 29-30: SAN DIEGO, CA - San Diego Mineral & Gem Society, Al Bahr Shrine Center, 5440 Kearny Mesa Road. Hours: Sat. 9:30-5, Sun. 10-4. Wayne Moorhead (858) 586-1637.
APRIL 5-6: HACIENDA HEIGHTS, CA - Puente Hills Gem & Mineral Club "Magic in Rocks", Steinmetz County Park, 1545 S. Stimson Ave. (between Gale Ave. and Halliburton Road). Hours: 10-5 both days. Bob Hess (562) 696-2270. Email: rpsthess@earthlink.net.
APRIL 5-6: MARIPOSA, CA - Mariposa Gem & Mineral Club, Mariposa Fairgrounds, 5007 Fairgrounds Rd. Hours: 10-5 both days. Information as to the show and Phone # when available.
APRIL 6-7: ANGELS CAMP, CA - Calaveras Gem & Mineral Society "Exhibits of Nature's Wonders", Calaveras County Fairgrounds. Hours: Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-4. Earl Klein (510) 632-9373. Email: bomar@goldrush.com.
April 26-27: SANTA CRUZ, CA - Santa Cruz Mineral & Gem Society, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, Corner of Center & Church Streets. Hours: 10-5 both days. Hubert & Eleanor Drake (831) 688-8086. Email hmdrake@pacbell.net.
MAY 3-4: BAKERSFIELD, CA - Kern County Mineral Society, Kern County Fairgrounds, Ming & P Streets. Hours: 10-5 both days. Will Morton (661) 834-3128.
MAY 10-11: RENO, NV - Reno Gem & Mineral Society, Reno Livestock-Events Center Exhibit Hall, 1350 N. Wells Avenue. Hours: Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-4. John Peterson (775) 356-8820.
JUNE 5-8: VENTURA, CA - Del Air Rockhounds, Inc. Seaside Park (Ventura Fairgrounds), 10 W. Harbor Blvd. Hours: Thurs-Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5. Brad Tanas (818) 368-5624.

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AMERICAN FEDERATION / REGIONAL
SHOW SCHEDULE - 2003.

SOUTH CENTRAL FEDERATION,
February 22-23; Pasadena, TX.

SOUTHEAST FEDERATION,
To Be Announced.

Combined AFMS/CFMS SHOW,
June 5-8; Ventura, CA.
Del Air Rockhounds presents:
"Seaside Gemboree 2003",
Seaside Park (Formerly Ventura Fairgrounds),
10 W. Harbor Blvd.
Bob Backus (818) 347-2056, GemboreeBiz@aol.com,
(818) 883-7851, www.afms-cfmsgemshow.org.

EASTERN FEDERATION,
To Be Announced.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN FEDERATION,
July 11-13; Casper, WY.

NORTHWEST FEDERATION,
August 1-3; Kennewick, WA.

MIDWEST FEDERATION,
August 15-17; Cottage Grove, MN.

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EDITOR'S NOTE:

     Just for the record any unsigned articles are by the Editor. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to our bulletin in 2002, you make it so much more interesting. Many thanks to Greg Davis for his President's report, Kathryn Davis for her Program, before and after, reports, Steve Mulqueen for his monthly education items, Emma Mayer for her Pebble Pup information, Wayne Ehlers for the most interesting "Words to Live By" and other articles, Ron & Jean Wise for their field trip reports, before and after, and Florence Meisenheimer for keeping us up on the CFMS happenings. I know I have missed some, but please know that your contributions are very much appreciated by me and RR's readers! We look forward to a lot more in 2003!

Trili - The Editor's Pet Trilobite.

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EDUCATIONAL CORNER.

Definition of the Month.

Cairn:
     Sometimes spelled carn. An artificial heap or mound of rocks, stones or masonry once used in land surveying to aid in the identification of a point or boundary. Cairns are conical or pyramidal in shape and were also constructed as landmarks, monuments, trail markers and as grave markers. A prospector, geologist or miner would construct a cairn as a discovery monument at the site of a mineral claim. The corners of the mining claim would also be marked in the same manner. Often times, the discovery monument would contain a paper-copy of the mining claim. This would be folded and inserted into a tobacco tin, a tin can or a jar and placed inside the cairn between the loosely stacked rocks. Another completed claim document would be submitted to the government land office for the filing and registration of the claim. The mining claim would protect the ownership of the mineral rights to the individual who first made the discovery and filed the proper papers. Many times, the rights to mineral deposits and mining claims were legally bought and sold or stolen by claim jumpers without any minerals ever being extracted.

The "Definition of the Month" will feature key words which are related to geology, paleontology, mining and desert history. Anyone who wishes to submit words and definitions for the bulletin, please see me.

Steve Mulqueen.

Illustration of the Month.

"Some Curious Flyers, Creepers, and Swimmers", a print from an engraving, 1887.

In the early years of paleontology, artists would make sketches and engravings of prehistoric plant and animal life. This was based in part on the fossil record from dig sites and the instruction from the paleontologist. Many of the early renderings of prehistoric animals depicted monster-like features, exaggerated beyond true factual information from paleontological discoveries.

Source: Johonnot, James, "Some Curious Flyers, Creepers, and Swimmers", Natural History Series - Intermediate Book, published by D. Appleton and Company, New York, 1889, cover page.

The "Illustration of the Month" will feature a drawing, sketch, pen & ink rendering or engraving print found in old books, maps and manuscripts related to geology, paleontology, mining and desert history. Anyone who wishes to submit an illustration for the bulletin, please see me.

Steve Mulqueen.

  Table of Contents.

COLORBOOK.

L is for . . .



. . . Lepidolite.
Lepidolite is a type of mineral called
mica. It can be broken into very thin
sheets. It is often found with
spectacular minerals like tourmaline
and kunzite. Lepidolite is light
purple.

. . . Lazulite.
Lazulite is sometimes used to
decorate special buildings.
Mineral collectors find its
crystal shape and bright blue
color very attractive.

  Table of Contents.

VGMS PHOTO ALBUM.

Haul Truck - C. R. Briggs Mine, 170-ton capacity, October, 2002. Can you find the person? (Photo by Steve Mulqueen.)






Gold - C. R. Briggs Mine south of Ballarat, Pananmint Valley, Inyo County, CA. The operations employ open pit/open face mining techniques and a "heap leach" mill process. Production at its peak was approximately 6200 oz. of gold/month. October 2002. (Photo by Steve Mulqueen.)




Tour of C. R. Briggs Mine - Dr. Gray with students from Santa Barbara City College at the C. R. Briggs Mine looking for "free" gold in the ore, October, 2002. (Photo by Steve Mulqueen.)







The Pinnacles - Rock formations near Trona, CA. (Photo by Ron Chegwidden.)

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The Ventura Gem and Mineral Society, Inc.

Presents

"ARTISTRY FROM NATURE",

Seaside Park (Ventura County Fairgrounds),
March 1-2, 2003.

The Ventura Gem & Mineral Society would be honored to have you display your case(s) at our 41st annual Gem, Mineral, Lapidary, and Fossil Show to be held March 1 and 2 at Seaside Park (the Ventura County Fairgrounds). We thank you for your support of our show and encourage you to invite friends and neighbors to attend. Admission is FREE.

As an exhibitor, you will receive a free parking pass and free camping. Camping is WITHOUT hook-ups and is on a first-come/first-serve basis. There are many local hotels available to accommodate persons not wishing to camp. VGMS will provide security within the Fairgrounds building, but VGMS cannot be responsible for any loss or damage. On Friday evening, February 28, VGMS will host a dinner for exhibitors and dealers. For persons without cases, a limited number of cases are available for loan. (You must supply your own lock.)

******************Please keep the above portion for your records.******************

Exhibitor name: _________________________________________ Phone: __________________

Address: ____________________________ City: ___________________ State: ___ Zip: _______

___ I will bring my own case/s. Number of cases you'll bring: ______. Front dimensions of cases (in inches):

_____________________. Is your case/s: Upright ___ Flat ___ (Total of 150 Watt lighting max per case).

(Please provide details for each case you will bring; provide additional info on
  the back of this form, if necessary.)

___ I will need to borrow a case/s. How many? ____ I would prefer an Upright___ Flat___ case.

What will you be exhibiting? _____________________________________________________________

Do you plan to camp or need camping information for the show? Yes ___ No ___

Will you join us for Fri. night dinner? Yes ___ No ___ If yes, number of people ____

What name would you like on your badge(s)? Exhibitor ________________________________

                                                                                        Guest ________________________________

Webmaster's Hint: If you want to print this form the best way, in my opinion, is to place your mouse cursor at the beginning of the part you want to print. In this case that's either just before the first "The Ventura Gem and Mineral Society" (if you want this entire part) or just before the "E" in "Exhibitor name" (if you want just the application). If you miss something you can type it in later. Hold down the left mouse button and sweep the mouse over the part you want to copy. The part you have just SELECTED should now be highlighted. Release the mouse button and then use the mouse or keyboard to select EDIT|COPY from your browser's menu. This causes the selected part to be copied. Load your favorite word processor and place the cursor in a blank document. Then select the PASTE command in the word processor's EDIT menu. Print using your normal method. The other method to print this form is to print the entire web page (the whole bulletin) and cut out the part you need.

Having said all that, a much better way is to just call or e-mail Nancy Brace-Thompson as given above.

  Table of Contents.

SUPPORT AND PRACTICE
THE AFMS CODE OF ETHICS.

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