The BACKBENDER's GAZETTE the Newsletter of the Houston Gem & Mineral Society Houston, TX Volume XXXIX - No
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The BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE The Newsletter of the Houston Gem & Mineral Society Houston, TX Volume XXXIX - No. 7 July 2008 President’s Message by Terrell William “Terry” Proctor 2008 HGMS President ome things seem to remain on the horizon, others are closing in, and some whizzed by so fast they Sare now gone. Do some moments in your life seem to zip past you and others seem to take forever to ar- rive? In a book I wrote I used a comparison on this. The same moment in time that you are waiting for the light to change green seems to take a long time, but for a young man on a date with his main squeeze (for you younger readers, that means main girlfriend) the whole evening can seem to be over in moments. I can recall great trips I looked forward to in antici- pation for months, and then they whizzed by me, leaving only a pleasant memory to look back on for the rest of my life. For months I looked forward to the week I would spend with famous paleontologist Robert Bakker, PhD digging a dinosaur for the first time in my life, in Como Bluff, Wyoming. (Como Bluff is a famous dig site harking back to the days of the dinosaur bone war between Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh who were com- Continued on page 4 Great Schedule of Upcoming General Membership Programs by Terry Proctor une 24, 2008: Art Smith on “Upgrading Mineral Specimens” July 22, 2008: Open due to our scheduled speaker developing venous (prob- JlemJJ with leg veins) health problems, his presentation on flint point knapping will be delayed for some months while he recovers. Another outstanding program will be planned shortly as a substitute. Continued on page 5 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE JULY 2008 Contents President’s Message ............................................................................................. 1 Great Schedule of Upcoming General Membership Programs ............................ 1 Purpose of HGMS ............................................................................................... 3 HGMS Officers .................................................................................................... 3 Spring Collecting Trip to the Texas Hill Country ................................................ 5 Lake Texoma 2008—Ammonites, Urchins, and Oysters on Memorial Weekend ................................................................................ 10 Day Light Section ............................................................................................... 12 Lapidary Section................................................................................................. 13 I. Ron Ore ........................................................................................................... 14 HGMS General Meeting .................................................................................... 19 HGMS Board Meeting Minutes ......................................................................... 21 Paleo Section ...................................................................................................... 24 Grandma’s Apron ............................................................................................... 24 New HGMS Education Coordinator .................................................................. 27 Giant Rock Sale July 5–13, 2008 ....................................................................... 28 Attention All Junior Members ............................................................................ 28 AFMS President’s Message ............................................................................... 29 AFMS Endowment Drawing - Another Look at The Prizes! (excerpts from the articles) .......................................................................... 30 Tips & Hints ....................................................................................................... 32 AFMS News and Notes ...................................................................................... 33 Does the AFMS Need the A.L.A.A.? ................................................................. 34 AFMS Safety—Be Safe - Be Well ..................................................................... 36 Tiny Strands Of Silk Tells Tale Of ..................................................................... 37 ShowTime 2008.................................................................................................. 38 Calendars ............................................................................................................ 39 Permission to use material originating in this Editor: Phyllis B. George newsletter is given freely providing that credit 22407 Park Point Drive is given to the author and the source. Ar- Katy, TX 77450-5852 ticles without a byline are considered to have Phone: (281) 395-3087 been written by the editor. Copy is due for the August 2008 issue by Wednesday, July 9, 2008. Every article published in the BBG is edited for grammar and content. No flaming is al- E-mail the Editor and Webmaster at lowed. [email protected] 2 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE JULY 2008 Purpose of HGMS he objectives of this Society are to promote the advancement of the knowledge and practice of the arts and sciences associated with the collecting of rocks, Tminerals, fossils, artifacts, and their identification and classification; the general lapi- dary art; the collecting and identification of gemstones; the designing and execution of jewelry or metalcraft; and to provide the opportunity to obtain, exchange, and exhibit specimens and rough or finished materials. Membership dues are $30 for an adult membership, $40 for a couple, $50 for a family (including all children aged 5-18), and $8 for a youth membership (ages 5-18). Adver- tising rates: $70 for 2 months, ¼ page; $150 for 6 months, ¼ page. MEMBER: American Federation of Mineralogical Societies & South Central Federation of Mineral Societies. All meetings are held at the Clubhouse located at 10805 Brooklet near the intersection of High- way 59 (Southwest Freeway) and Sam Houston Parkway (Beltway 8). See the calendar inside the back page for when the different Sections meet. The General Meeting is the fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:30. The HGMS Web site address is http://www.hgms.org. 3 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE JULY 2008 President's Message continued from page 1 peting to find and name each new species of dinosaur.) The week was over in a flash, but good things remained from it. I was the recipient of almost all of that week’s notes by Dr. Bakker, and we stayed in touch. My sister in Lakewood (a large suburb of Denver) dug with his crew for several years, and Dr. Bakker came on board our small museum’s Board of Directors several years back. Dr. Bakker loves to work with kids and small museums and has a thing about donating dinosaur bones he finds to local museums for display. This was an experience of a lifetime captured in my writing, in photos, and permanently etched in my memory. I remember being thrust into the Show Chairman position for the 50th Anniversary of the HGMS Show. Then it flashed by and was over, but gosh what great memories remained. I had no idea what I was doing when I started, but then from all over ap- peared the great folks of HGMS, all of whom knew their jobs, and I really was more a figurehead than a leader. I recall a performance of Victor Borge who started to direct an orchestra in a concert, then walked off to sit on the steps in front of the orchestra, then spent 10 minutes talking with the audience about why no conductor is actually needed, as the orchestra continued to play a very intricate concert. That is the way I felt as the great HGMS organization swirled around me doing their job flawlessly, without needing my guidance on much of anything. To top it off, the Show actually showed a profit. This is not unlike this year. I don’t really know what a President of HGMS is supposed to do, so I just act like I do, show up for meetings, call them to order, listen, talk when I shouldn’t, start trouble, then ask if someone wants to move to adjourn and we do. Then Phyllis reminds me that the main job of the HGMS President is to write a monthly column and encourage the membership to keep up the good work. So you can see how simple being President really is. Now if we only have a First Vice-President next year, I could probably even retire and we wouldn’t really need a President at all. However, since the HGMS Board of Directors has some thorny questions to resolve this year, I guess I will stay on until say, December. Seriously, any input that any HGMS member may have on things about HGMS that you like, do not like, think need to be done, think don’t need to be done, or other guidance is welcomed. Some things facing HGMS (like increasing expenses) aren’t pleasant, but your Board of Directors is considering all of these matters with thought and consideration, always keeping in mind what is best for the Club. I thank all the HGMS members for their support this year, especially the volunteers for the Greatest Show On Earth (or maybe it’s the Greatest Show About the Earth), our fall Show in Humble, September 26–28, 2008. NASA confirmed today that they will provide a Moon Rock for the Show and NASA personnel to answer questions about extraterrestrial material. What an interesting thing to have just now, with the new Martian Lander just starting to send back new data from Mars. Isn’t our avocation the most interesting thing you could be involved in? What a great time we are living in. 4 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE JULY