November 1996
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AND MIN M ER E A G L N S The O O BACKBENDER'S T C S I E U T O Y H GAZETTE The Newsletter of the Houston Gem & Mineral Society Volume XXVI - No. 11 NOVEMBER 1996 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT by James Gary Anderson November, 1996 he October 1996 Show will be over when you read this. Most of you will have collected whatever inspired you the most from all the various dealers, and you Twill have shared with your friends in helping the Club put on the event. So far this year we have had a good Spring Show with $14,000, and dues of about $7,000. We know that Club expenses amount to about $22-24,000 per year, in addition to the Show expenses. Most of the profits from this show could go into reducing the princi- pal on our building note (on which we still owe $28,000). We are all awaiting the results. We have only one Show scheduled in 1997, and there probably will be no opportunity to reduce any indebtedness in that year. We are all in it together, and we will all know how we stand soon. The annual Club Christmas dinner party is scheduled for Saturday December 14 at 6:30 P.M. The food will be served at 7:00 - 7:30 P.M. The President will provide the meat and will MC the awards recognitions. We have had a busy year with two Shows, a new Paleo preparation booth, a new water heater, and five new Nova Hard Dia- mond wheels in the shop. We have had interesting programs and challenging classes from the Education committee, and are looking forward to an even more exciting 1997. My introduction of the testimonial part of the General Meeting has been well received, and the newsletter has kept everyone up to date with all the Club activities. We will be part of the AFMS again in 1997, so we may more easily share our experi- ences with other clubs. New officers will be elected at the November General Meeting. Stay tuned to learn who will be leading the Club next year! All for now. BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES October 1, 1996 by Richard Offeman resent were Gary Anderson, Phyllis George, Norman Lenz, Beverly Mace, Richard Offeman, Terry Proctor, Ron Talhelm, and Pat Kreuzberger. PTerry Proctor reported that he had sent a letter to the State of Texas asking for infor- mation on the non-profit status of our State Charter. He was informed that our Char- ter was allowed to lapse in 1985. He will attempt to get our Charter reinstated; mean- Continued on page 4 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE Contents BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES .................................................................................... 1 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT ....................................................................................................... 1 MEETING DAYS AND TIMES ................................................................................................................. 4 HGMS OFFICERS ...................................................................................................................................... 4 DUES INCREASE SUGGESTED .............................................................................................................. 6 1997 DUES ................................................................................................................................................. 7 PALEO SECTION HELPS IN HGMS DEBT REDUCTION .................................................................... 8 PALEO SECTION DONATES TO THE MUSEUM .................................................................................. 8 LAPIDARY & PALEO SECTIONS TO HOLD AUCTIONS .................................................................. 10 DAY LIGHT SECTION ............................................................................................................................ 10 FACETING SECTION .............................................................................................................................. 11 LAPIDARY/SILVERSMITHING SECTION ............................................................................................ 12 MINERAL SECTION ............................................................................................................................... 12 PALEO SECTION ..................................................................................................................................... 15 PEBBLE PEOPLE .................................................................................................................................... 15 SHOW COMMITTEE ............................................................................................................................... 18 TEXOMA FIELD TRIP ............................................................................................................................ 19 TIDBITS .................................................................................................................................................... 19 JEWELER’S NIGHT ................................................................................................................................ 20 GENERAL MEETING MINUTES ........................................................................................................... 21 IN OUR LIBRARY ................................................................................................................................... 23 SCHOOL COLLECTIONS COMMITTEE .............................................................................................. 24 HOUSTON MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE .................................................................................. 24 MINERAL EXHIBIT REOPENS ............................................................................................................. 24 CLEANING ARKANSAS ROCK CRYSTALS ....................................................................................... 25 TIPS & HINTS .......................................................................................................................................... 26 REPORT ON THE CLUB COLORADO-WYOMING TRIP .................................................................. 27 VIOLIN SHELLAC ................................................................................................................................... 32 A BRIEF STORY OF AGATIZED CORAL ............................................................................................. 33 TIGER EYE ............................................................................................................................................... 33 NOTE FROM THE EDITOR .................................................................................................................... 34 I DREAMED OF ROCKHOUND HEAVEN Irene Wylie The Hound’s Tale, 10/96 here was Sodalite there as big as a lake And you could have all you could take, TAcres of Malachite of luscious green, The most beautiful gemstones you’ve ever seen; And Rhodochrosite all trimmed with lace and it was lying all over the place. With Fire Agate lying there just to be found, You don’t even have to dig in the ground. There is Agate and Jasper and Chalcedony, Moonstone and Opals so precious to see, Gold and Silver and Diamonds too, All of it there just waiting for you. It was a place so easy to find, No hard to read maps to boggle the mind. No matter what gemstone you’ve been searching for, You’ll find it there and many, many more. 2 November 1996 NOTE: This course is not sanctioned by the HGMS Education Committee. Money-back guarantee for anyone who is not satisfied. HGMS OFFICERS President Gary Anderson (713) 721-3834 First Vice-President Terry Proctor (713) 453-8338 Second Vice-President Beverly Mace (713) 347-3646 Secretary Christina Carr (713) 649-6423 Treasurer Louise Divine (713) 690-1186 Past President John Emerson (713) 558-6666 1996 Fall Show Chairman Ron Talhelm (713) 861-2315 Day Light Section Chair Frances Arrighi (713) 668-2576 Faceting Section Chair Bill Gorenflo (713) 468-3821 Lapidary Section Chair Ed Clay (713) 529-5482 Mineral Section Chair Carl Staszak (713) 527-0058 Paleo Section Chair John Moffitt (713) 984-2210 Youth Section Chair Beverly Mace (713) 347-3646 MEETING DAYS AND TIMES All meetings are held at the Clubhouse. General Meeting .................... 4th Tuesday .............................................. 7:30 p.m. Faceting Section .................... 2nd Wednesday ........................................ 7:30 p.m. Lapidary Section.................... 3rd Monday ............................................. 7:30 p.m. Mineral Section ..................... 1st & 3rd Wednesdays ............................. 7:30 p.m. Paleontology Section ............. 3rd Tuesday ............................................. 7:30 p.m. Day Light Section.................. 2nd Monday ............................................. 1:00 p.m. Youth Section ........................ 1st & 3rd Saturdays ....... 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon Board Meeting ....................... 1st Tuesday .............................................. 7:30 p.m. Show Committee ................... 2nd Tuesday ............................................. 7:30 p.m. Family Night ......................... 4th Saturday............................................. 7:00 p.m. 3 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE Continued from page 1 while, it may b e difficult to purchase items for our Club without paying sales tax. Treasurer Report: Gary Anderson reported that as of 9/30/96 the Treasurer’s report showed: Checking $9,896.76 Savings $16,277.51 Total $26,174.27 The total funds are about $10,000 less than