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The Ventura Gem & Mineral Society, Inc. (VGMS)
Rockhound Rambling
June 1999.
Table of Contents.
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.
Summer is just around the corner. Don't forget to attend the Annual California Federation Show which will be held on the weekend of June 18, 19 & 20 in Turlock. It will be a great show.
On Sunday June 27, we will be having our annual VGMS Breakfast. Details of the breakfast are written in this bulletin and will be announced at our general meeting. Please plan on attending.
Now is the time to begin preparing your exhibit for the Ventura County Fair which will be in August. Don't wait until the last minute!
The VGMS has been invited to participate in the "Heritage Valley Festival" to be held on September 25 & 26 in Santa Paula. The festival is sponsored by the cities of Filmore and Santa Paula. The VGMS will have a booth to introduce our club to the festival participants. I will be asking for volunteers for this event.
Ventura College offers a great class called "Physical Geology" which will be starting in September. Physical Geology is the basic educational building block for all other Geology related classes. (It is the first class one would take if you were majoring in Geology.) I highly recommend this to all VGMS members and to anyone interested in rocks, mineral & fossils. Details of this class will be available at our general meeting.
Please put these dates on your calendar. I look forward to our meeting on June 23rd.
Steve Mulqueen,
President.
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WORDS TO LIVE BY.
It's easy to find the perfect vacation spot---it's clearly marked by a "No Vacancy" sign.
It's the little things that matter most. What good is a bathtub without a plug.
When it comes to work, there are many who stop at nothing.
Prosperity attracts friends---adversity tells you who they are.
Contributed by:
Wayne Ehlers.
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FIELD TRIP.
The next planned trip will be to Jalama on Saturday July 10th. Some may plan on staying the night for this one. We'll again meet at the Vons parking lot (Ventura Ave. & Main St.) and head out from there at around 8:00 am. Along with a very scenic location, we can expect to find travertine, agate, jasper, chert, fossils and whale bone.
Most have been to Jalama but to get there go about 36 miles north of Santa Barbara on Hwy 101, then turn onto Hwy 1 toward Lompoc. Drive 14 miles to Jalama Road where you turn west and continue another 14 miles to the park entrance. There's a fee for day use - last reported at $3.50 per vehicle and $12.00 per night. Hope to see everyone there.
Greg Davis,
Field Trip Chairman.
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FIELD TRIP REPORT.
On May 27-31, Kathryn Davis, Jo Anna Ritchie, Susan & Steve Mulqueen attended the trip to the Monte Cristo Mountains near Tonopah, Nevada. This trip was led by several members of the CFMS and proved to be a successful venture. Collecting material included (but was not limited to) petrified wood, obsidian, jasper, banded rhyolite tuff (wonder stone), columnar basalt, gastropod fossils, alum, sulfur, gypsum, perlite, apache tears and several varieties/colors of agate. Many of the participants we met on the trip are members of several gem & mineral clubs within California and Nevada including members active in the CFMS.
Contributed by:
Steve Mulqueen.
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VGMS ANNUAL BREAKFAST.
The VGMS annual breakfast will be held on Sunday, June 27th at 9:30 am at the home of Steve & Susan Mulqueen. The charge will be $2.00 per person which will go to the VGMS to help cover the cost of the food. We will be serving waffles, bacon, strawberries, coffee, tea & juice. We are asking each person to bring one place setting, a folding chair (some chairs will be provided) and your favorite syrup or jam to share with others.
(Those that have already volunteered to bring their own waffle irons please remember them, and come a few minutes early.)
Location of the breakfast:
Steve & Susan Mulqueen,
1462 Champlain Ave.,
Ventura, CA 93004.
Please sign up for the breakfast at our meeting on June 23rd. Maps detailing the location of the breakfast will be distributed at the meeting.
Contributed by:
Steve & Susan Mulqueen.
EDITORS NOTE: I would like to thank Steve & Susan for graciously opening their home to us once again for our annual breakfast!
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VGMS COMMUNITY EDUCATION
& OUTREACH PROGRAMS.
May 19th: Steve Mulqueen gave a slide lecture entitled "Petroleum Seeps, a Natural Phenomenon with Historic Significance" at the monthly meeting of the Pasadena Lapidary Society.
May 27th: Ray Meisenheimer conducted a group of 15 children and 5 adults through VGMS museum. He gave each youngster a fossil from his collection.
June 7th: Ray Meisenheimer gave a program on rocks, minerals and fossils at the Victorian, retirement home for elderly people. Among the 20 plus attendees was our own Bill Vient. Ray passed around a number of specimens for the guests to handle. One blind lady patted and loved a polished sphere and asked Ray if it grew that way. They all seemed to enjoy the program and begged Ray to come back soon. Bill and Marian are in separate sections of the care center, as Bill can be up and around and Marian is unable to. After the program Ray had a nice visit with Bill.
Ray has received invitations to give programs for summer schools in Hollywood. That is a bit far, and so far he has declined. One hopeful teacher said she would give a call anyway.
The VGMS exhibit at the Santa Paula Union Oil Museum was changed by Steve & Susan Mulqueen on June 2nd. The new exhibit theme is "Fossils of Ventura County" which show specimens on loan from our members. This is the second half of the VGMS exhibit.
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IN MEMORY:
EDITH DARIES.
Edith Daries, age 93, of Santa Paula, died May 12, 1999, in Ventura convalescent center, following a brief illness. Edith was a long-time member of the Ventura Gem & Mineral Society and along with her husband Grady (who died in 1982), was very active in supporting all club activities. It is my understanding that they were not Charter members but did join soon after. Cabochons, spheres. and rock thimbles were among their specialties. Edith had a fabulous thimble collection and gave talks and exhibited them at our shows. She had well over 700 thimbles from all over the world, and made many of her own from various rocks she also collected. Edith was a charter member and very active for many years in FOOD Share of Ventura County. Here she served as a volunteer gleaner and warehouse worker providing food to the needy. Contributions may be made in her memory to FOOD Share Inc. of Ventura County, 4156 N. South Bank Road, Oxnard, CA 93030. Edith will be greatly missed and long remembered by many of her friends.
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THE JULY PRESENTATION.
Well club members, here's your chance to help determine where you want your club to go and what you want your club to do. At the July meeting, your president, Steve Mulqueen, and Red Jioras will be conducting an open forum with all club members present. The forum will give all club members the opportunity to express their views about any topic or activity within VGMS. Examples of the kind of topics that can be discussed: work shops or classes that you would like to see presented; expansion and/or changes to the museum or lapidary shop; changes to field trips, club activities or programs. Any topic is fair game within the time constraints of the meeting.
This is an experimental way of allowing our members to decide the direction of the club. If it works, it might be something that will be done once or twice a year. The only way it will work is if ALL our club members try very hard to attend the July meeting and come prepared to contribute. If you would like additional information about the forum or you would like to propose a topic to be discussed before the membership, you can contact Red Jioras at 646-7184. If you would just like to bring a topic up at the meeting, that's OK too. Don't miss this opportunity to help move the club into the 21st century!
Contributed by:
Red Jioras.
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CLASSROOM RENOVATION.
After teaching one wire wrap class in that dismal old room we call the "club office", I realized that something had to be done before we tried to have more classes. At the April board meeting, the Board gave me permission to spend some money to renovate the office/classroom. I'm really pleased with the final product; I hope you will be too.
I want to thank my faithful partner, Red, for all of his help and support; and thanks to Florence Meisenheimer for the lovely poster of the Yosemite Valley that she donated to our effort. I would also really like to thank Inez Shakman and Bob Spjut for all their time and hard work, but they asked not to be thanked publicly so I guess I can't. So I will only say that Red and I had a wonderful time working with them. Finally, I would like to thank the VGMS Board for giving me the opportunity to pursue a goal that I hope will benefit us all.
Now that we have a clean room we will focus on arranging and cataloging all the books and periodicals. I'd like to see a list of books we have available put on our web site. The literature we have contains information that would be useful to a great many club members and students of earth sciences, and I believe this would help further the educational goals of VGMS. On that note, we gladly accept donations to the library of books, periodicals or any other material pertaining to the earth sciences.
Speaking of furthering the educational goals, Bruno has a wonderful idea for a micro fossil class that will be held in our new classroom; Ray has mentioned that we need to train some new docents for the museum. We'll also be having a wire wrap "bug" class this summer as well as more lapidary classes. I encourage anyone who has a skill they would like to share to consider giving a class. It really is fun!
I hope everyone will visit the renovated office and the museum soon to enjoy the new trappings. The clubhouse is open on the third Saturday of each month. This is your club; come see and enjoy what we have.
Contributed by:
Nancy Jioras.
EDITORS NOTE: The "new" office looks terrific Nancy! A big thanks to ALL who were involved in this endeavor.
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CANCELED STAMPS.
The Sacramento Philatelic Society sponsors a stamp sale each year that is held at the Easter Seal plant. They earn around $5000 each year for Easter Seals which enables them to buy things that are not included in the annual budget.
Following is a listing of clubs and donations: Fossils for Fun, Santa Clara Club, Palmdale G&M, Mrs. Watson, Ken & Nora Hawkins, East Bay Min. Soc., Peninsula G&M, Ventura Gem & Mineral Society, Napa Valley G&M, Monterey Bay G&M, El Dorado G&M, San Diego G&M.
(Excerpt from a letter by Ellen & Carl Schultz.)
If all of our members would save their canceled stamps we could easily have a very large number to donate. Do not damage the stamps in removing them from the envelope. Leave at least one half inch of paper around the stamp. Thank you Bertie, Liz, and all the others who have donated stamps for this worthy cause.
Contributed by:
Florence Meisenheimer.
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CONGRATULATIONS.
Congratulations to Ray Ritchey. He has been selected by the Monrovia Club for member recognition for his outstanding service to the club and to the community.
Table of Contents.
PRACTICE SAFETY
(excerpts by Richard Pankey).
All field trip, shop and related accidents should be reported to the Federation CFMS Insurance Contact, the Safety Chairperson and the Field Trip Chairs. Without this information we cannot adequately address the safety needs of our members. Therefore, I would like to be advised when there is an accident on a field trip, in your shop or a related activity. The field trip leader, shop foreman or Federation Director should send me general information on what happened, what injuries occurred, what caused the accident and any other related information. With this information I can track and address our safety needs. It is nearly impossible to anticipate every potential hazard or possible safety issue, so PRACTICE SAFETY at all times.
Contributed by: Florence Meisenheimer
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SANTA BARBARA
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM.
Currently on display is a wonderful animatronic primeval forest with nearly life sized dinosaurs. Each dinosaur moves and makes sounds. My favorite was the dinosaur that is about 9 feet tall and wriggles his head and neck and then spits a stream of water Anyone who has children or grandchildren should try and get there before the exhibit closes September 6th. Sharlyne Holloway and I had a blast without small children. I began to think I was going to have to leave with a wet Sharlyne since she kept flirting with the spitting monster.
Also on display is an exhibit of exquisite paintings by paleo-artist Mark Hallett, featuring recreations of dinosaurs in their natural environment. Mark Hallett has drawn for National Geographic. He is going to be at the museum on June 25th telling how he recreates these imagebtn of long ago extinct creatures. For members it is $5.00 adult / $3.00 child. For non-members it is $7.00 adult / $4.00 child. He will talk at 6:30 & 8:00 pm.
Friday August 27th at 8:00 pm "The Scoop on Dino Poop: Diet and Dung", Dr. Karen Chin shares her research on coprolites, the fossilized remains of animal feces. Members $7.00 / $4.00. Non-members $10.00 / $6.00.
Additionally, Dr Larry Agenbroad will give a lecture and slide show on why mammoths aren't dinosaurs on August 13th at 7:30 pm. Members $5.00, Non-members $7.00.
At the Sea Center you can view a display of marine fossils from the Mesozoic era selected from a rarely seen museum collection.
Contributed by:
Inez Shakman.
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1999 AFMS / CFMS SHOWS
AND EVENTS.
JULY 3-4 TAYLORSVILLE, CA - Mt. Jura Gem & Mineral Society, Rock Club and Museum Building, 4288 Cemetery St; Taylorsville, Hours: Sat. 10-5; Sun. 10-4, Francis Musser (916)284-7785.
JULY 9-10-11 ARROYO GRANDE, CA - Orcutt Mineral Society, Arroyo Grande High School, Fair Oaks & Valley Rd., Wes Lingerfelt (805)929-3788, P.O. Box 106, Santa Maria, CA 93456, E-mail rocks4u@cwix.com.
JULY 10-11 CULVER CITY, CA - Culver City Rock & Mineral Club, Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Culver Blvd. & Overland Ave., Hours: Sat. 10-6: Sun. 10-5, Bradford Smith (310)472-6490, E-mail Brad@bigdiff.com.
JULY 31-AUGUST 1 SAN FRANCISCO, CA - San Francisco Gem & Mineral Society, San Francisco County Fair Building, Golden Gate Park, 9th & Lincoln Way, Hours: Sat. 10-6; Sun. 10-5, Ellen Nott (415)564-4230.
SEPTEMBER 3-6 FORT BRAGG, CA - Mendocino Coast Gem & Mineral Society, Town Hall, Main & Laurel, Hours: Fri., Sat, Sun. 10-6; Mon. 10-4, Don & Karen McDonell (707)964-3116, 643 McPherson St., Fort Bragg, CA 95437.
SEPTEMBER 18-19 PASO ROBLES, CA - Santa Lucia Rockhounds, Pioneer Park Museum, 2010 Riverside Ave., Hours: Sat. 10-6; Sun. 10-5, Harry Kuffel (805)467-3457.
SEPTEMBER 25 LOS ALTOS, CA - Peninsula Gem & Geology Society, Los Altos Rancho Shopping Center, Foothill Expressway & S. Springer Rd., Hours: 9:30am to 4:45pm, Frank Dina (650)967-3424.
SEPTEMBER 25-26; DOWNEY, CA - The Delvers Gem & Mineral Society, Woman's Club of Downey, 9813 Paramount Blvd., Hours: Sat 10-5; Sun. 10-4, Manfred Dexling (562)425-0192.
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AFMS SHOWS 1999.
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION JUNE 18-20 TURLOCK, CA - Stanislaus County Fairgrounds, Contact: AL Troglin & Dennis Stuart at www.bell221.com/motherlode/, Mother Lode Mineral Society, hosts.
NORTHWEST FEDERATION JUNE 18-20 HILLSBORO, OR - Washington County Fairgrounds, Contact: Russell Snook, 73 South 26th Ave., Cornelius, OR 97113, Tulatin Valley Gem Club, hosts.
SOUTHEAST FEDERATION JULY 9-11 NASHVILLE, TN - Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Contact: William Buckner, 115 Carney Rd., Clarksville, TN. 37040, Middle Tennessee Gem & Mineral, hosts.
EASTERN FEDERATION AUGUST 7-8 NEW CARROLTON, MD - Ramada Hotel Ballroom, Contact: Russ Shew (301)493-8936.
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JULY BIRTHDAYS.
To all our members celebrating their birthdays in July, we wish you a very Happy Birthday!
- 07-06 Jennifer Fellows,
- 07-07 Sharon Cunningham,
- 07-10 Nancy Jioras,
- 07-18 Bill Vient,
- 07-27 Bill Kirk.
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SUNSHINE.
Bill and Marian Vient have been transferred to the Livingston and Victoria Care Center on Ralston in Ventura. Bill is in room #327 and Marian is in the nursing facility room #51.
Livingston is formerly the Victorian. Bill's phone number is 650-0658 and Marian can be reached through the switchboard at 642-1736. It is hoped that Marian will regain her strength and be able to join Bill in the Livingston soon. She is currently receiving physical therapy. Both of them would thoroughly enjoy hearing from their friends in VGMS either through letters, cards or most welcome visits. Marian enjoys reading and could use some large print books if anyone has any to spare.
Contributed by:
Inez Shakman.
Table of Contents.
WEIGHING YOUR PRIORITIES.
One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students, and to drive home a point used an illustration which the students will never forget.
As he stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz" and he pulled out a one-gallon, wide mouth mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. He also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time into the jar.
When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the class yelled, "Yes." The time management expert replied, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks.
He then asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?" By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not", one of them answered. "Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel.
Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?" "No!" the class shouted. Once again he said, "Good." Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?" One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!"
"No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is if you do not put the big rocks in first you'll never get them in at all. What are the 'big rocks' in your life, time with your loved ones, your faith, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you will never get them in at all. So, tonight or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question; What are the 'big rocks' in my life? Then, put those in your jar first..."
Author Unknown.
Contributed by:
Steve Mulqueen.
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HELP WANTED.
Looking for a volunteer for our Hostess position. To take care of our refreshment table full time, once a month for 12 months. Or part time, to alternate with myself or with other volunteers. Apply in person at our next meeting, or give me a call at home. 658-7648
Thank you,
Bonnie.
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PROGRAM FOR JUNE 23RD:
Evaluating Gemstones - Diamonds.
Our speaker for the evening will be George Fox of the Fine Jewelry Works in downtown Ventura. Mr. Fox is a graduate gemologist who will share his expertise and knowledge regarding the evaluation of diamonds. Bring your questions (example: how do I know if it's real or a fake? what does "color" mean? which flaws are significant and which are minor?) This will be Mr. Fox's first experience with our group. Please make him feel welcome.
Kathryn Davis,
Program Chairman.
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FROM THE EDITOR.
Hello to all of you bulletin readers out there! I'm still in the market for articles on any subject you'd like to share with the group. How about some vacation stories on your favorite rock collecting haunt, or a favorite place you visited. It's summer time so that means road trips to places far and wide. So after your summer trip this year, think about sharing it with our bulletin readers.
Bonnie Demianiw,
Editor.
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WHY THE FEDERATION,
By Ken Kruschke, CFMS President.
Back in the thirties several Gem and Mineral clubs felt if they combined their resources and energies as a group or Federation many things could be accomplished that would not be possible to do as individual clubs. Since then the CFMS has grown to over 160 clubs with over 11,000 members. The CFMS along with six other regional federations make up the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies (AFMS).
Many times the question has been asked, "What does the CFMS do for me?" It is a difficult question to answer. Much depends on what you want or need. There are many services available to CFMS members. The most often given quick answer is "The insurance". Insurance is a good answer, however it is only the tip of the iceberg. The CFMS Newsletter is a direct line of communication to all of the clubs. Each club receives three copies, the Federation Director and two other designated people....usually the Club President and the Bulletin Editor. With the collecting areas being restricted or closed and new legislation being introduced, the Public Lands Access Committee (PLAC) keeps us up to date through the CFMS Newsletter. The Federation now has a web page (www.cfmsinc.org) to help disseminate information.
Bulletin Aids gives assistance and advice to help editors with club bulletins. Field Trip North and South help with guide lines for field trip leaders and field trips. Safety awareness, very important but sometimes an overlooked item. Program Aids gives help to program chairpersons to put on interesting programs. Also there is a Slide Library stocked with many slide and video programs available to clubs at a small fee. If you want a live program, the Podium People are available. Earth Science Studies programs at ZZYZX, in the spring and Camp Paradise, in the fall, are a great learning experience as well as a lot of fun. The laws pertaining to our clubs as non-profit organizations sometimes present problems and we are fortunate to have a Tax Advisor to help us through the maze of regulations.
Each year there is a CFMS Convention and Show. It's always a large show with many guest exhibitors and competitive entries, demonstrators, dealers and special displays. Also there are workshops and of course, a meeting where the Federation's Business is conducted.
These are some of the services and programs available to the members of the CFMS. The CFMS is here to help and assist its members. If there is an area your club needs help in that doesn't seem to be addressed, have your Federation Director bring it to the attention of the Federation.
There are some benefits that are indirect benefits such as the AFMS Rules for competition keeping the standards for all of the various disciplines to a high level, keeping up with the changes in tax laws, tracking possible changes in laws for access to public lands and the exposure to the general public of our wonderful activities.
The Officers, Committee Chairs and Committee people are working rockhounds giving of their time and energies to help, through the CFMS, to make all of its member clubs/societies bigger and better.
Table of Contents.
WARNING TO OUR EXCHANGE CLUBS,
Mary Sharp, South Bay Lapidary & Mineral Society.
I am sending this notice out to members of our exchange clubs in the hope that it may prevent some other good people from being ripped off as we were.
At the end of our club's annual gem and mineral show, held recently in Torrance, the entire contents of our display case were stolen from our vehicle while one of us was right there.
Until our show co-chairperson noticed her and forced her to leave the building, a woman had been sitting near where we were packing up our case. Later, in the parking lot right next to the building, this same woman came up to the car and, under the pretext of asking directions to the freeway, spread a map out over the windows of the car, occluding any view into the inside. This give her accomplice just enough time to remove the bag containing the display items from the car without being seen.
While the woman was getting away, to keep anyone from noticing that the bag was gone, either that accomplice or a second accomplice came immediately up to our car and began a conversation, warning us to be wary of strangers asking directions because it could be a scam! Then, almost before you could blink, he also was gone. From beginning to end, the entire operation took about two or three minutes.
The police said it was very slick and professional and to be glad that it happened in the parking lot, because had the thieves wanted the items badly enough to follow us home it could have been much worse for us. They also said that the chances of our recovering any of the stolen items were almost nil. What really hurt us was not the monetary loss, which was great enough, but that most of the items were precious family heirlooms which no amount of money can ever replace.
Editors, please share this with your members. We have heard of this happening at other shows but never dreamed that it would one day happen to us. Please be alert -- nobody is safe.
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CAMP PARADISE APPLICATION.
For an application for the CFMS Earth Science Studies at Camp Paradise contact one of the club members. Officers and committee members of the club are listed on the VGMS page. The event is to be held September 12 - 19, 1999.
Table of Contents.
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