AND MIN M ER E A G L N S The O O BACKBENDER'S T C

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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. TerryP 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 the previous month due to three major payments to the George R. Brown Convention Center for Fall 1996 and 1997 Shows: Fall 1996 Show Hall Rental $8,750 Fall 1997 Show Hall Rental Deposit $2,000 Total $10,750 As of 9/30/96 our year-to-date total revenue amounted to $71,217.90 Expenses $78,100.88 Loss ($6,882.98) Hopefully, the income from our Fall 1996 Show will more than make up the deficit. Our CPA Hector Barkley was paid $375 to prepare and file the HGMS 1995 Federal Income Tax Return. The IRS turned down the request for a filing date extension, according to Gary Anderson. The return should have been turned in by the 9/15/96 deadline. A copy of the IRS letter advising of the disallowment will be sent by Gary Anderson to Terry Proctor for relay to Hector Barkley so that he may follow up with the IRS. Shop Report: Gary Anderson reported that the five new grinding wheels operated satisfactorily. The 18 inch slab saw now needs a new worm drive. Clubhouse: Gary Anderson reported that the tank of the “shortie” type hot water heater in our attic has rusted through. Hot water is draining directly into the sewer line. The tank will be replaced with a new “shortie” hot water heater at a cost of from $140 to $171. Ron Talhelm volunteered to pick up and deliver the new hot water heater to the Clubhouse for installation by Dave Hawkins (Dave installed the old water heater many years ago when he did the plumbing in our new Clubhouse.) Membership: Beverly Mace reported that we now have 395 members: 359 Adults and 36 Youth. Backbender’s Gazette: Phyllis George reported that the BBG will be printed by Charlie Fredregill Wednesday. Phyllis is reporting in the upcoming issue of the Backbender’s Gazette the disappear-

Permission to use material originating in this newsletter is given freely, providing credit is given to the author and the source.

4 November 1996 ance of a small 5 inch long cigar-shaped fossil nautiloid from the speaker’s table at our September 24 General Meeting. The nautiloid, which belonged to Dr. Chris Cunningham, our guest speaker, is quite unique, showing a trilobite at the mouth of the nautiloid. The specimen was to be the subjectof a paper being written by Dr. Cunningham, who is Curator of Paleontology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. We hope one of our members found the fossil and will return it shortly. Programs: Terry Proctor advised that Carl Staszak and Art Smith will give a pro- gram on minerals at the October General Meeting. A film by Dr. Bakker on dinosaurs will be the program at our November General Meeting. Election of HGMS officers also will be held at the November General meeting. Show Committee: Ron Talhelm reported that 16,000 card-type Show flyers will be mailed October 7. So far, 46 dealers have signed up for our 1996 Fall Show. The Show budget is based on signing up 60 dealers. To date we have obtained only one wholesale dealer, and he probably can be talked into becoming a retailer at our Show. Terry Proctor has accepted the position of Show Chairman for our 1997 Fall Show. Elizabeth Fisher has accepted the position of Dealer Chairman for our 1997 Fall Show. A pre-show party and auction for all HGMS members will be held Tuesday, October 8, from 7 to 9 p.m. This will be an opportunity to recruit volunteers for our Show Committee. HGMS membership applications will be made available at all the booths in our Show, including Demo, Paleo, Information, Swap, and Minerals. Faceting Section: Norman Lenz and Phyllis George reported that John Carnes and Paul Koons are still in the hospital. John is in for a heart valve redo, and Paul has a spot of cancer at the bottom of one lung. We wish both a fast recovery. Paleo Donation: Richard Offeman presented a letter from the Paleontology Section enclosing a $1,000 check to be applied toward reducing the mortgage on our Club- house. The donation was most welcome and will help assure our ability to pay off our debt, the final payment of which is due in April 1999. Liability Waiver: Richard Offeman reported that our Paleo Section is interested in knowing whether a “waiver of liability” form is available from HGMS. The Paleo Section goes on many field trips hunting for fossils. These trips can be hazardous with such activities as canoeing on the Brazos, climbing road cut banks, crossing fields, etc. Also, our Lapidary Section members often use equipment in the Lapidary Shop which could be hazardous. Terry Proctor developed an assumption of risk form for use by the Paleo Section’s advanced class on Paleontology September 27-29 field

5 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE trip to Brownwood, TX. Terry plans to modify the form to include other specific risks such as those that may be present in our Lapidary Shop. Gary Anderson reported that HGMS has $2,000,000 insurance coverage for our Shows and $500,000 coverage for our Club members. Paleo Sanding Booth: The booth has been difficult to use due to a dusting problem. The vacuum lines may have to be redesigned. Show Vests: Gary Anderson purchased 8 vests for sale to members—2 small, 2 me- dium, and 4 large. Certificates of Appreciation: Pat Kreuzberger recommended resuming the practice of handing out certificates of appreciation to worthy Club members. Terry Proctor would like to give an HGMS plaque to our Club President. The meeting was adjourned. DUES INCREASE SUGGESTED by Phyllis George was present at the October Board meeting, and I am very concerned about the financial state of the Club. We are completely dependent upon how well our Shows Ido. Our Show profit comes strictly from the Dealers and from the ticket sales, and these sources no longer produce a dependendable profit. Our membership fees are quite low. (Some new members have commented on how little we charge compared to how much we provide in services.) I feel that if we do not do something immedi- ately to protect our Club, we may find ourselves in the position of deciding how many services we eliminate in order to make ends meet. It is for this reason that I wrote and mailed the following letter to all the Board members.

October 31, 1996 Dear Board Member, Now that the Show is over, I am hearing relatively pessimistic estimates on how much (if any) profit the Club will make. I am quite concerned that the Club is “shoot- ing itself in the foot” by not charging a membership fee which more realistically represents the ordinary expenses to run the Club. The Club’s income comes prima- rily from the Shows it hosts (dealer booth fees and ticket sales) and from membership dues. The expenses associated with the Shows are steadily increasing, but the dealers which sign up for the Show are not. Sixty-four dealers signed up for both the 1995 and 1996 Spring Shows, and fifty-two dealers signed up for both the 1995 and 1996 Fall Shows. I am concerned that we are planning only one Show for 1997. As things are, the success or failure of our Show holds our members in bondage. However, if our mem- bership fees could handle a more realistic portion of the day-to-day expenses of run- ning the Club, it might not be such a frightening thought. Louise Devine is not currently able to access the Club figures since her computer is being upgraded. As

6 November 1996

she remembers it, the annual cost of running the Clubhouse is between $6200 and $8200. The annual cost of paying on the mortgage is $13,000, and the Backbender’s Gazette is around $4800. This brings the Club expenses to between $24,000 and $26,000. Once the Clubhouse is paid off, that amount will fall to between $11,000 and $13,000. We routinely have roughly 400 members. Of these, some are youth and some are spouses on a family membership, so the amount paid for the memberships of these individuals is well below the cost of a regular adult membership. Currently, an adult membership is $20, a family membership is $30, and a youth membership is $6. There are 285 addresses in the Gazette mailing list, and that is no doubt somewhat close to the number of paid individual adult memberships. The amount actually taken in by memberships right now is probably close to $7000. That doesn’t begin to cover our expenses, even after we no longer must make mort- gage payments. If we were to take $25,000 as the average Club expenses, and 325 as the average number of individual adult memberships, membership fees should be almost $77. It is unrealistic to think people will pay that much. How about taking the figure of $13,000 (after the note is paid off) and dividing that by 325? That brings us to $40.00 for an adult membership. That is truly a realistic figure. However, my suggestion is that an adult membership be raised to $35, a family membership to $40, a youth membership to $12, and that it take effect February 1. I also propose that all memberships already purchased for 1997 be honored, and that everyone who renews their membership before February 1 be able to renew at the old rate. (How’s that for having a scramble of people renewing?) Most would probably renew at the old rates, but the new rates would then be in place to help with expenses from then on, and the members would no longer be held hostage by the fortunes of the Show. If I read the By-Laws correctly, changing the By-Laws is covered in Article X, Amend- ments. The price of memberships is addressed in Article I, Section 3. To change the price of memberships requires a favorable vote from the Board. Following that, no- tice of the proposed amendment must be mailed to all Senior Members at least thirty days before the meeting at which the vote on the proposition would occur. Please consider the issue and be ready to discuss it at the November 5 Board meeting. Sincerely, Phyllis George

1997 DUES by Beverly Mace our 1997 dues are due January 1, 1997. Get your renewal in early in case the rates go up for 1997. An adult single membership is $20. Family membership Y(husband and wife only—not the children) is $30. Youth membership is $6 (ages 5-18). Lifetime membership is $200. Texas name badges cost $8.

7 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE PALEO SECTION HELPS IN HGMS DEBT REDUCTION

he Paleontology Section has presented $1000 to the HGMS Board of Directors and designated it to be used in reducing the Club House mortgage. The text of Tthe letter which accompanied the donation follows. 9/27/96 To: Gary Anderson, President HGMS From: Richard Offeman Subject: Donation by Paleo Section for HGMS Debt Reduction The Paleontology Section has asked me, as their Board representative, to present to the HGMS Board of Directors the enclosed check for $1,000 which is to be used for reducing the mortgage on our Club house. As expressed by Karl Schleicher, treasurer of the Paleo Section, we do appreciate having a Club house in which to hold our activities. We especially are proud to be part of HGMS which is one of the very few gem & mineral societies in this country to own a Club house. Also our Paleo Section wishes to acknowledge the effort of Tom Wright, HGMS Education Chairman, to get the Sections to put more emphasis on contributing to- ward reducing Club debt. This is the second contribution by the Paleo Section toward reducing Club house debt. Over $4,000 has been contributed so far by the Paleo and Lapidary Sections for this purpose. Respectfully, Richard E. Offeman

PALEO SECTION DONATES TO THE MUSEUM he Paleontology Section has donated $500 to the Houston Museum of Natural Science in memory of Morgan Martin, Jr., a long-time member of the Paleo TSection. The text of the letter which accompanied the donation follows. July 3, 1996 Mr. Truett Latimer, President Houston Museum of Natural Science One Hermann Circle Drive Houston, Texas 77030 Dear Mr. Latimer, Enclosed please find a check for $500.00 as a donation to the Houston Museum of Natural Science from the Paleontology Section of the Houston Gem & Mineral Soci- ety.

8 November 1996

This gift is given in memory of Morgan Martin, Jr., a long-time member of our Paleontology Section, a museum member, an educator, who passed away in May, 1996. Consequently, it seems appropriate to designate this gift for use by the Education Department in helping David Temple construct a portable fossil exhibit on wheels, utilizing the fossil elephant tusk which Paleontology Section members helped exca- vate. If this proposed exhibit fails to materialize in 1996, then the donation should be considered unrestricted. Yours truly, John R. Moffitt, Chairman Paleontology Section, HGMS Morgan’s wife, Carole, wrote the following letter thanking the Paleo Section for their very kind idea. September 21, 1996 Carole Martin 6944 Evans Houston, TX 77061 Paleontology Section HGMS 10805 Brooklet Houston, TX 77099 Dear Paleo club members, My heartfelt thanks to each of you for remembering Morgan in such a special man- ner. Your donation, in his name, to the Houston Museum of Natural Science is one that Morg’s family will always be so very proud of. I told myself, through the tears of memories, that Morg is “up there”--smiling hap- pily in almost disbelief that his friends would want to do such an honor. He’s prob- ably getting a pat on the backfrom Ruth Landry and a major tail-wag from our “rock hound” dog, Benji...for those of you who go back that far!! Morg believed in our fossil club’s necessity, nurtured its growth over the decades, and respected and enjoyed the friendships made there. A gentleman and a gentle man, I know Morg thanks you, as do I, for your kindest of gifts. Sincerely, Carole

9 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE

LAPIDARY & PALEO SECTIONS TO HOLD AUCTIONS wo sections will be having their annual auctions shortly. The Lapidary Sec- tion auction is scheduled for the evening of Saturday, November 9, and all Tmembers are urged to get items to the Clubhouse as soon as possible for inclu- sion in the auction. Preview of the items will run from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., a covered dish dinner will be held from 6:30 to 7:00, and the auction will be from 7 to 9 p.m. All members are to bring a covered dish—enough for their family. Charlie Fredregill will handle the barbecue. The brisket and drinks will be provided by a member dona- tion of $1 per person. The Paleo Section auction is scheduled for Tuesday, November 19, when they will be having a big dinner and party as well. All Paleo members are urged to bring their items to the Clubhouse for the auction. John Moffitt is the auctioneer and is also unloading many pounds of rocks (some with trilobites on them) from his private collection. Guests are welcome at both auctions, so members be sure to bring food, your wallet, and all your friends.

DAY LIGHT SECTION by Frances Arrighi ine members attended the 14 October, 1996, meeting of the Day Light Sec- tion. Wade Callender was in charge of the program, which was a decmonstration Nof anticlastic raising. Our next meeting on 11 November, 1996, will be a continuation of the procedures needed for anticlastic raising. Our plan is to make stakes from hard rock maple. It is hoped to have tools available so everyone can make a stake. The hard rock maple was purchased from Hardwood Lumber Co. Misty, my little dog, and I bought a plank 7' long x 4" thick x 12" wide, and two planks 10' long x 1" thick x 5" wide. They had to be cut in half so that they could fit in the car. Tom Wright came to pick them up and said the big ones were too big for him to handle. The planks, Misty, and I went back to Hardwood Lumber where the planks were cut into pieces 4" x 4" x either 3' or 4' and thinned to just under 4". Tom planed the pieces some more and cut blocks 4" x 4" x 4". The thinner pieces were planed down to either 1/2" or 3/8" and then cut into pieces 6" long. It took Tom over 16 hours to do all this work. All members of the Section thank Tom very much for all his efforts. We also thank Wade for all his efforts on our behalf. This is the 5th or 6th time Wade has taken time to give us a program. We hear that Paul Koons has been very sick and is recovering. We wish Paul a speedy return to health. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

10 November 1996

FACETING SECTION October 9, 1996 by Phyllis George nly four people showed up for the meeting: Tom Wright, Bill Gorenflo, Phyllis George, and guest Ligang Zhang. We decided the poor turn-out was due to the Oreception being given by the Houston Museum of Natural Science in honor of their newly opened world-class gem display scheduled for that night. Well, we held down the fort and conducted the necessary business for the evening. The first order of business was nominations for the positions to be voted on in No- vember: Section Chair and Board Representative. We nominated Jill Rowlands for Section Chair and Phyllis George as Board Representative. Additional nominations may be made from the floor at the November meeting prior to voting. Two of our members have been in the hospital, John Carnes and Paul Koons. John is having a slow recovery at Memorial Rehabilitation Hospital. He has a tracheotomy tube in place, so can’t talk. He is undergoing rehabilitation exercises, and hopes to be home by the end of this month. Paul is home from the hospital after having had surgery for the removal of 2/3 of one lung. He, too, is recovering more slowly than he’d like, and he wants to hear from all of you. Give him a call now and then. The Show is fast arriving. Bill Gorenflo is not convinced he wants to exhibit as he has in the past, but the jury is still out. The program scheduled for November is by Norm Lenz, and may be on micro-projec- tion (as opposed to micro-photography). He is attempting to borrow equipment which consists of a specialized projector and a microscope. Gems can be enlarged and pro- jected “on the fly” during a presentation. The December meeting is the traditional Christmas Party at the home of Susan & Norm Lenz. The January program will be presented by Matt Dillon, and the February program will be presented by Ed Katz. Guest Ligang Zhang brought three very uniquely faceted topaz and one which was pear-shaped for Show & Tell. These were made by men who work for him in assem- bly-line fashion, each man faceting a different part of each stone. When asked, he said that the pear-shaped stone could be made in one hour by one man. We do hope he comes again and joins the Club and our Section. Bill Gorenflo also brought in stones he recently faceted. As usual, it was a stunning array.

Waiter to Chef: "I've got a party of lapidary people out there--facet all the meat- balls!" from Stoney Statements 9/96

11 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE

MINERAL SECTION by Carl Staszak he Mineral Section meets at the Clubhouse on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, with meetings starting at or around 7:30 p.m. Sorry for miss- Ting out on the October Gazette deadline! I’ll try to update you on what has been going on the past two months. The Section held both of its scheduled meetings during September and October. The first September meeting featured Ron Carman, who did a presentation on mineral display case construction and organization. His talk included a brief slide show con- taining examples of both good and bad displays. The meeting on September 18 was highlighted by Marc Jaunieux, who discussed the geology and mineralogy of the Green River Mine located near the town of Green River in southwestern Wyoming. The facility is operated by Solvay Chemical, and is a source of trona, hydrated sodium carbonate. Because Marc works for Solvay, he had a number of slides showing the internal workings of the underground mine as well as the processing facility which converts the ore into useable products. It was a very interesting and informative evening. The first meeting in October was my opportunity to present the minerals of the Petroglyph mine, located in Sierra County, New Mexico, approximately three miles east of the town of Hillsboro. This event represented my inaugural showing of micro- photographs taken with my Russian microscope system, which I purchased earlier this year. The primary minerals found at the locality are vanadinite, variety “endlichite,” willemite, and cerussite, with minor amounts of wulfenite and other compounds. The second October meeting was used as a work meeting to get ready for the October Show. Our efforts focused on identifying and organizing mineral speci- mens for the fluorescent booth cases, so that all of the specimens are labeled and properly identified. Looking to the future, the November 6 meeting will be a general session focusing on the Show and what the Section members purchased. The second meeting on Novem- ber 20 will be a visit to Wally Knapp’s “mineral room,” a small building in his yard where all of his large, showy mineral specimens are kept. Wally’s house is located at 3026 Sunset, between Kirby and Buffalo Speedway in West University. The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. Don’t miss out on all the fun!

LAPIDARY/SILVERSMITHING SECTION October 21, 1996 by Wade Callender hop and Treasurer’s Report (Gary Anderson): The account stands at $1289 after paying out $240 for the sand blaster. STheS new Nova wheels are working well; suspected scratching by the 600 grit wheel

12 November 1996 on polishing amber was most likely due to contaminants in the amber itself. No other scratching has been observed. Gary also reported that the HGMS orange vests will be available for the October General Meeting and will cost about $15. Contact Gary if you are interested in ob- taining one of these vests. Stone of the Month: No stone was due at the October meeting due to the Fall Show. The Biggs jasper stones donated by Bill Cox should be turned in at the November meeting. Quixotic Lapidary Badges (Wade Callender): Laura Woods was awarded her Quixotic Lapidary badge. Several more awards will be made at the November meet- ing. Nominating Committee: The following individuals have accepted nomination for the 1997 Lapidary and Silversmithing Section offices: Chairman–Andrew Hopkins; Secretary–Byron Porter; and Treasurer–Gary Anderson. Floor nominations can be offered at the November meeting, with the nominee’s approval. You can vote for next year’s officers at the November meeting. The committee thanks all the nominees for their willingness to serve. The Committee also nominated three individuals for the one position of Representa- tive to the Board (a 2-year position): David Hawkins, Charlie Fredregill, and Ron Talhelm. Charlie declined in deference to David Hawkins. Lapidary Representative to the Board: Ed Clay noted that we are required to vote on our Representative to the Board of Directors at the October meeting. In a very close vote, Dave Hawkins was elected to serve as our representative. Old Business: Charlie Fredregill has prepared a list of tools to be purchased for use by the Lapidary Section at the Annual Shows and in the center jewelry room at the Clubhouse. This list will be available at the November meeting for voting on the purchases of these tools (about $400). Wade Callender proposed the purchase of an add-on plaque for the ROLE program. The current plaque is filled. The add-on will cost about $135, and will be attached to the bottom of the old one. The motion was passed. New Business: Ron Talhelm has been approached by a dealer with a slightly used Genie (diamond stone grinder and polisher) available for $600, versus a new price of about $1000. The motion was made and passed to purchase this equipment for the Section, provided the equipment (primarily wheels) is in very good condition. The equipment will be brought to the Demo area at the Show for inspection. Ron Talhelm will decide whether the Club should buy the Genie. Tom Wright proposed that the Section purchase a ¼ hp Delta 1" belt sander with a 42" belt, a 5" disk sander, and tilting table for use in the center jewelry room. It will be used for preparing tools and metalsmithing. The cost is $125. The motion passed.

13 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE

The members were urged by Ed Clay to help with the many jobs in the October Show. Harold Dobson requested that an inventory be made of all the equipment belonging to the Section. Ed Clay indicated that he would do this and turn it over to the new Chairman. Show and Tell: Tom Wright told the members that the sandblaster was not ready for use, and we were obtaining several different blasting materials for metal and stone etching. Wade Callender showed some examples of what coarse corundum and spheri- cal silica beads could do. Brett Massey showed a nice example of green tree agate which he had tumble polished and then affixed some small faceted stones. Refreshments: Jill Rowlands brought the evening’s refreshments. Andrew Hopkins will bring the refreshments for November. Program: Ed Clay presented the program on The Effect of Light on Certain Types of Stones. He discussed the many different causes of light reflection and the stones in which the various types commonly occur. These include asterism (sheen chatoyancy), chatoyancy (tigereye), aventurescence (feldspar, moonstone, spectralite, amazonite), labradorescence (labradorite, spectralite), iridescence (chalcedony–fire agate, aba- lone), cat’s eye or star (star garnet, star diopsite). Obsidian comes with several differ- ent sheens: golden sheen, silver sheen, and rainbow sheen.

LIST OF TOOLS SUGGESTED FOR LAPIDARY TOOL BOX Item _ Cost Notes _ Saw Frame $12.00 Saw Blades $20.00 Will need 0/1, 0/2, and 0/4. These are con- sumable items. Rawhide Mallet $9.00 Ring Mandrell $17.50 Ring Sizer Set $10.00 File, ½ Round, 8", coarse $18.00 File, ½ Round, 8", fine $18.00 File Set, Needle $7.50 Chasing Hammer $12.00 Rotary Tools - Foredom $35.00 Does NOT include cutting burrs for stone setting. Members must furnish those. Stamp, flat - “Sterling” $7.50 Stamp, ring - Sterling $7.50 Stamp, flat - 14 Kt $7.50 Stamp, ring - 14 Kt. $7.50 Sanding sticks, assorted $6.00 These are consumable items. Solders - soft, medium, & hard $20.00 These are consumable items. Diagonal Cutter $12.00 Pliers, needle nose $18.00 Cheaper ones are available, but they prob- ably will not stand up to hard usage.

14 November 1996

Item _ Cost Notes _ Pliers, flat nose $18.00 Cheaper ones are available, but they probably will not stand up to hard usage. Pliers, round nose $18.00 Cheaper ones are available, but they probably will not stand up to hard usage. Pliers, chain nose $18.00 Cheaper ones are available, but they probably will not stand up to hard usage. Soldering tripod $5.00 Two different meshes of screens provided by Rob- ert Mhoon Soldering block $7.50 Charcoal block $7.50 Flux $5.00 Consumable item Ring Clamp $6.95 Misc $45.00 TOTAL $375.95

PEBBLE PEOPLE by Beverly Mace s I am writing this, it is Tuesday, October 22, and there are only three more days before the Fall Show begins. I don’t have a clue as to what the Pebble APeople will be doing other than celebrating another successful Show at the November 2 meeting. I’m sure I’ll think of something by then, but right now my brain isn’t functioning too well! At any rate, “Thanks” in advance to all my Moms and Dads and Kids, and to anyone else who ventured over to the Youth Section Booth at the Show and found themselves helping us out. You’ve always been great at the Show and in getting ready before the Show. Information regarding the winner of the Sue Thor Youth Competition probably won’t be available in time for the November BBG, so look for it in the December BBG. The Pebble People Christmas party is scheduled for December 7—regular meeting day and time.

PALEO SECTION by John Moffitt ’ve missed the very strict Backbender deadline for the last several months, so maybe some of you noticed that my rambling words were not in this rag. (Editor’s Inote: Rag??) Well, I’m only going to be the Paleo Section Chairman for a couple more months, so I thought I should get in a few more choice words. Especially since I want to let everyone know about the upcoming party.

15 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE November Dinner, Auction, & Election of Officers: As everyone should know by now, November is the month we elect the officers for next year’s Club, and we are throwing a big dinner and party as well as an auction on Tuesday, November 19. The auction allows people to donate their unused fossil material to the Section. Other members get to purchase it, you get rid of it, and the Section makes a couple of bucks. As is often the case, I get to be the auctioneer. This year I am moving, and since I don’t want to continue to carry around four tons of rock, I will bring quite a few rocks into this year’s auction (many with trilobites on them). Be sure and show up so you can get all the good stuff. This is our big holiday party (for all of the Holidays), and each Section member brings some food items. It’s always a good feed! Guests are welcome at this event, and we try to bring a few friends to meet our Section members and allow them to see us in our best, non-fossil-hunting light. Bring a few friends. If you have not contacted Terry Proctor (453-8338) to tell him what you are bringing, then do so now. Terry is the chairman of this year’s party committee and the recommended candidate for Section chairman in 1997. He clearly wants your vote. Trivia question: Who knows the story about where the term “coprolite” comes from? Morocco, anyone?: If you are at all interested in going to Morocco to collect trilo- bites, then you might be interested in showing up at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences on the day before our Paleo holiday party. Preliminary Meeting on Morocco Field Trip: On Monday, November 18 at 6 PM, we are having a preliminary meeting to talk about a museum expedition to that fa- mous trilobite mountain in the Sahara Desert, Issoumour. This is just a preliminary meeting for those who are thinking about coming and have questions about what to expect on the trip. There is no charge to attend this meeting. I will have on display rugs, rocks, trinkets, maps, slides, photos, and geological exhibits from the area. You might ask what kind of people would like to go on this trip. This is a trip for adventurous people who can handle a five day camp out in the wilderness. It will not be as rough as all that, and they will not be setting up and taking down a campsite. I would further suggest that these people are the kind who can handle the unexpected and can deal with it easily. These trips always have surprises. This will be a fantastic trip for those interested in any or all of the following: * Desert life and biology * Paleozoic paleontology, especially trilobites & cephlopods * Minerals and mining regions (new and exotic minerals) * Anthropology and the Berber people of the Sahara and the high Atlas moun- tains. We will cross the Atlas mountains twice in two different areas, and this alone is worth the trip! * Spectacular geological stratigraphy * Spectacular and colorful photo-ops with people (colorful native costumes), ani- mals, mountains, deserts, and spectacular (often very old) architecture. Photog-

16 November 1996

raphy or minerals alone could hold the attention of prospective travelers on this trip, even if their interest in trilobites is very casual. I would like to see a decent video of this trip. This alone would make a terrific agenda for the expedition. * Very interesting and unusual situations and people. The cultural experience is like traveling back in time 2000 to 5000 years, and experiencing that entire 3000 year range of time. Visit spice markets and rug merchants, and buy color- ful exotic items and antiquities not available at a Houston mall. Excellent deals on rugs and leather goods are available, with some instruction on how to man- age the necessary business transactions. Genuine (and fake) antiques! This is a great buying trip for someone who might want to furnish a home in Berber rugs or other unusual items. People who go on this trip should love to haggle, as it is an art form in Morocco. Those who do not should allow others to haggle for them. I will offer lessons in this art form. If you think you already know how to haggle, you still may not be ready for the black belt hagglers you will face just as soon as you leave the plane. Attitude is very important, and lessons will be offered in this as well. If you think you might enjoy this trip, come on down. Oh yes, I almost forgot. I’m the Field Trip Leader for this ocean-crossing Paleo trip. October & November Field Trips: The October field trip was up on the Texas- Oklahoma border for collecting that Cretaceous material. A November field trip will be announced at our party on November 19. October 15 meeting: At the October 15 meeting, Roberto Brunel showed us a slide show and a film giving us the complete update on the Martian rock fossil material. Everyone thought this was very complete and very entertaining. We are now all quali- fied to discuss this complex subject around the office coffee pot. There will be no program at the upcoming November 19 meeting, since we will have the dinner and auction. Fossil Preparation: This year, I was very disappointed that I was not able to get Bob Carroll down here to talk about fossil preparation. We will try to re-schedule that for some time right after the 1997 Tucson show. Trivia Answer: Answer to the earlier trivia question: There is a very old story about the term Coprolite. It’s about 10 years old. In the old days (the mid eighties) there were the processors 8088/6502/8086 and the fast and number crunching Coprocessor 8087. There had been some guys somewhere at Intel-Chip Industries, who wanted to create a cheaper Coprocessor, the “Copro-lite,” the 8086.5. They worked very hard on the project, but they did not succeed. They threw away these defective Copro-lites all over the country. In our days, these Coprolites are often found by fossil hunters. Little Yellow Cards: Our project distributing little yellow cards with information about our monthly field trips and meeting dates has been such a success, that the larger Club is copying our good idea. They picked a sort of green color, but I would have picked HGMS orange.

17 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE

SHOW COMMITTEE October 8, 1996 by Richard Offeman arty Time: Ron Talhelm welcomed the 47 visitors to the Pre-Show Party & Auction sponsored by the Show Committee. He thanked Elizabeth Fisher for PPproviding the food. (Also, thanks to Ron & Angela for setting up and dressing the tables.) Ron mentioned that a silent auction and a live auction will be held during the party, along with a raffle. The Silent Auction was handled by Norman Lenz. Some of the items auctioned in- cluded several copper sulfide ores and an agate geode. The silent auction brought in $51. The Live Auction was handled by Ron Talhelm (auctioneer) and by Richard Offeman (recorder). The Live Auction brought in $292.50, for a total of $343.50 from both auctions. Many of the items auctioned were donated by Show Committee members, including John & Barbara Emerson (fish fossils), Terry Proctor (minerals), Norman & Susan Lenz (minerals), Patty Klein (necklaces), Ron Talhelm (minerals & jew- elry) Al Tarr (minerals), Yvonne & Harold Dobson (minerals) and many more do- nors. Thank you. The raffle tickets were handled by Al Tarr. The prizes consist of a section of a large amethyst geode and several quartz crystals. A total of 50 tickets were sold, priced at $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00. The balance of the raffle tickets will be sold at our 1996 Fall Show. Regina Bacak won the grand prize, a wrist watch donated by AAA Opals. 1996 Fall Show: Ron Talhelm reported that 10,000 free passes to our Show have been printed for distribution to local stores, radio stations, TV Stations, neighbors, etc. as inducements to get more Show visitors and more business for our dealers. Ten Show tickets have been sent by Chris Carr (Show Ticket Chairman) to all HGMS members to purchase or sell. This is a very important service of Club revenue, and all members are encouraged to support the effort. Phyllis George reported that 47 dealers have signed up for our 1996 Fall Show so far. Norman & Susan Lenz (Information Booth Chairmen) noted the need for more vol- unteers for the Information Booth. A sign-up sheet was made available at the Silent Auction table. Ron Talhelm announced that volunteers are needed to dress tables at our Show. Dress- ing will start at 8:00 a.m. Thursday, October 24, 1996. Mineral Exhibit: The Houston Museum of Natural Science has invited all HGMS members to attend the opening of their new Hall of Gems & Minerals at 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 9, 1996 (tomorrow). Our Club is honored to be invited,

18 November 1996

and our members are urged to attend this special event. AFMS: Gary Anderson noted that 6 more mail-in votes have been received on whether to rejoin the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies since the tally of votes listed in the October issue of the Back Bender’s Gazette. All of the six votes were for rejoining the AFMS. The tally now stands at: Votes to rejoin 56 90% Votes to not rejoin 6 10% Total Votes 62 100%

TEXOMA FIELD TRIP by Peter Ragusa hose of you who did not make the field trip to Texoma missed a wonderful time to pick up a few ammonites. We had twelve members who enjoyed a Tbeautiful weekend on the lake. Chester Magee found a broken piece of ammo- nite with what appears to be a skull cavity and several small bones attached to the ammonite. He also found a really nice crusher tooth. Rick Rexwood also found at least two twelve-inch ammonites. The Haughtons provided us with a campfire where we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Everyone had a good time, and the weather was perfect. I am looking forward to making this trip again next year. Hope you plan to attend.

TIDBITS igereye Wall: from Rock Buster News 6/95, via Glacier Gravel, The Moun tain Gem 8/95, & Sooner Rockologist 10/96 TTIn the May 1966 issue of the “Australian Lapidary Magazine,” they tell of a bank located in the town of Kuruman, South Africa. The bank has a front wall that is 35 feet long, 8 feet high, and 1 foot thick of TIGEREYE! The weight of the tigereye is 14 tons. The wall causes many visitors to the town to stop and stare at the sparking golden wall. Dry Sanding: from Rock Talk 9/96, via Burro Express, Rocky Review, & Chips & Facets 3rd Qtr. ‘96 A long word, pheumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoloniosis, is an ailment caused by inhaling very fine silicate or quartz dust produced by dry sanding. The word is long, but the cure is longer. Color Treating Stones: from Red Stick RockHound News 5/94 Cloudy corundum can be heat treated to become a more transparent stone by dissolv- ing Titanium Dioxide and producing brighter blues and reds. Almost all aquamarine is heat treated to remove a yellow component, thereby pro- ducing purer blues. Pearls are bleached to match as there are rarely two identical pearls. They are dyed and as stable as any other pearl. (Just don't drop them in your coke--they will fizz away!) 19 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE

JEWELER’S NIGHT by Edward Clay

ith hammers tapping and saws cutting, W their torches flash bright blue lights In the eyes of diligent workers on this night Jeweler’s Night.

Once a year, many with joy work long and hard this last full night to complete all work on this night Jeweler’s Night.

Silver and gold made bright with colored stones in place, each a special gift for that special day to be done on time on this night Jeweler’s Night.

Clocks tick and tock, and still they work ‘til all is done each December twenty-third on the last full night Jeweler’s Night before Christmas.

20 November 1996

GENERAL MEETING MINUTES October 22, 1996 by Phyllis George resident Gary Anderson called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m, and the min- utes were approved as printed in the Backbender’s Gazette. PTreasurer’s Report: Louise Devine was unable to attend, but Gary said we had to pull $6000 out of savings to pay bills. We’re hoping for a good Show, but at the moment finances are tight. First Vice President’s Report: Terry Proctor reported that tonight’s program is pre- sented by Art Smith on Collecting Arkansas Minerals. The November program will be a film from Dr. Bakker. Second Vice President’s Report: Beverly Mace reported that we gained two mem- bers at the InterGem Show. Our membership now stands at 396. Show Report: Tomorrow night (Wednesday) is the night trucks are loaded with display cases for transport in the morning to the George R. Brown Convention Cen- ter. Help is needed! Help is also needed Thursday morning (Setup day) preparing tables for the Dealers. Workshop Chairman: Gary Anderson reported that we have had two floods in the shop due to the float sticking in the sump. Also, a 40 grit wheel needs replacement. We have a new hot water heater in the attic, but it is not yet hooked up. David Hawkins will do it when he has time. Education Report: Tom Wright reported that he’s setting up a casting seminar for members during the holidays. Tom also needs an assistant chairman. If anyone would like to volunteer... Backbender’s Gazette Editor: Phyllis George reported that she intends to be work- ing on the Gazette this weekend even though the Show is going on then as well. Even so, the Gazette will still come out a week late. Uniform Rules Chairman: Ron Carman commented that contrary to an article pub- lished in the October Gazette, rules are constantly evolving to keep up with the times. The task of developing rules to govern competitive exhibits will never be finished. The American Federation of Mineralogical Societies membership year runs from November 1 to November 1. Therefore, as of November 1, 1996, our Club will again be a member of the AFMS. Nominating Committee Report: Norman Lenz reported on the activities of the Nomi- nating Committee, which consisted of Norman Lenz, Chairman, Richard Offeman, Al Tarr, and Phyllis George. They met at the Clubhouse October 6. The following slate of officers are nominated:

21 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE President—Gary Anderson First Vice President—Terry Proctor Second Vice President—Beverly Mace Secretary—Richard Offeman Treasurer—Carl Schleicher Ron Carman pointed out the By-Laws specify that nominations can only be made from the floor at the October meeting. They cannot be made at the November meet- ing. Other nominations were called for, bu no one responded. It was moved to accept the slate as presented. The motion passed. The Sections have reported back with their nominees for Board Representative. Un- less otherwise noted, these nominations will be voted on at the Sections’ November meeting. Additional nominations may be made from the floor at those meetings. Lapidary/Silversmithing Section has already elected David Hawkins. Faceting Section has nominated Phyllis George. Mineral Section has nominated Pat Kreuzberger. Paleo Section has nominated Richard Offeman, but since he has been nomi- nated as Club Secretary, Paleo will nominate someone else. Old and New Business Guests: Pat and Jim Johnson were present as guests. Pat has been a member in the past. We enjoyed having you with us. Testimonials: The two people asked to present testimonials to the group were Phyllis George and Terry Proctor. Phyllis talked about her sudden, unexpected, full-blown interest in the lapidary arts, and how the Club has become a vital part of her life. She enjoys all her contacts with the members and the Club responsibilities she has assumed. She is relinquishing the Show Dealer Chairmanship to Elizabeth Fisher in order to concentrate more fully on the editorship of the Gazette. Terry related how he was forced to discard his first find—a large amethyst; his father was unimpressed and didn’t want the car weighted down by rocks. Terry’s interest in fossils and minerals grew until it culminated in the Proctor Museum of Natural Sci- ence. He is also quite active in the Paleo Section, is setting up the programs for the General Meetings, and is the Club Historian. Medical Update: John Carnes has had his trachea tube removed, and may be home by the end of this month. He would love company. Paul Koons is home from the hospital, after having 2/3 of one lung removed. He is recovering slowly, and would love to hear from everybody. We’re all looking forward to when they are able to rejoin us at the Club. Refreshments: Gary Anderson’s wife provided tonight’s refreshments, and Linda

22 November 1996

Lakey has agreed to provide the refreshments for the November meeting. Christmas Dinner: Saturday December 14 will be the Club Potluck Christmas Din- ner. Door Prize: Phyllis George won the door prize contributed by Terry Proctor—one of his nicely done framed pen and ink sketches. She will provide the November door prize. Program: Art Smith presented the program on Collecting Arkansas Minerals. He first began collecting in 1958. He showed slides of phosphates he had collected in Arkansas and slides of mining activities there. These contributed to his newly pub- lished book, Collecting Arkansas Minerals.

IN OUR LIBRARY by Art Smith, Librarian ew book donations for this month include books from Frances Arrighi, Al Kidwell, and Fred Brueckner. Thank you very much. NAlthough I have cut down the purchasing of new books until our finances get back into the black, I could not resist purchasing two new books from Geoscience press in Tucson. The opportunity to buy them wholesale made them particularly attractive. June C. Zeitner, a long time collector, author, and feature writer for the Lapidary Journal has a new book out on lapidary and gem materials. This has long been needed since it emphasizes lapidary, not just gemstones which many books already cover. I am not fond of the book’s format because I would rather see it in dictionary or encyclopedic style by specific mineral name. However, since the book is indexed, specific names can be looked up even if you are not sure of its mineral composition. The other book is on the photography of mineral, rock, or fossil specimens by Jeff Scovil. Jeff’s photographs have become the most widely published mineral photo- graphs in both the United States and in foreign journals. Steve Blyskal, the best mineral photographer in our Club, has learned and successfully applied many of Jeff’s techniques. Both books should be on the shelf by the time you read this. Unfor- tunately we will have only one copy of each, so they will not be available for check- out. With the drought in central Texas causing low lake waters, particularly at Lake Buchanan, the collecting of pegmatite minerals such as smoky quartz crystals, micro cline crystals, magnetite, and rare earth minerals has been good. I have been using our library to research some of the old localities such as Baringer Hill. It was flooded in 1938 when the Lake Buchanan dam was completed. Although the water is not low enough to expose this famous locality, many of the pegmatites exposed along the lake shore have never been described and possibly have a similar mineralogy. Hopefully an interesting article can result from these efforts.

23 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE

SCHOOL COLLECTIONS COMMITTEE by Art Smith, Chairman ey! We are well into the school year, and to date there have been no sets signed out for school use. Two of the loan sets have been used for Boy Scouts, and Hthat has been it. Do not forget that these sets are available for distribution to schools in the areas. Just make sure we know to which school each set is going. Have at it! The sulfur, salt, and other mineral cores in the show case in the Clubhouse are from Dudley Rainey’s collection. I have been breaking up the cores for specimens for our school sets, but these cores are special examples of salt dome features and minerals that come from the Gulf Coast when coring for sulfur. I feel that they are mineralogically and historically significant and worth preserving in their whole state. There have been about ten different Frasch sulfur mines in the Texas Gulf Coast, two in west Texas, and several in Louisiana. Now there are only two left in the United States—one in offshore Louisiana and one in Culberson County in west Texas. Both are operated by Freeport. Texas Gulf, with whom Dudley had a long career, is now out of the Frasch sulfur mining business. Hopefully Blythe Rainey will let us keep these cores as a display that we can use for ourselves or can loan out when we are asked to put up a display. The breaking up of the surplus cores that Dudley saved has been yielding specimens for our sets including sulfur and calcite, gypsum, limestone, and much needed fluo- rescent specimens or white fluorescing aragonite, cream to peach and pink calcite, and a deep orange fluorescing unknown. All fluoresce under long-wave ultraviolet, which makes them particularly attractive. When I get them all trimmed, sorted, and boxed, we should have enough specimens of this material to last a few years. It may be the last we ever get. Steve Blyskal and his brother shipped us some New Jersey diabase this summer. Diabase is an igneous rock of the same composition as basalt and gabbro. Basalt is fine-grained and formed when lava cooled quickly on the earth’s surface. Gabbro is coarse-grained and cooled slowly deep in the earth. Diabase also formed in the earth but quite shallow, and is more of a medium-grained rock. Gabbro is hard to find because on the Earth’s surface, it weathers and disintegrates rapidly. The diabase will make a nice substitute. It is hard and tough to break up into small sizes. For years it has been one of the major construction rocks of the New Jersey and New York areas. HOUSTON MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE MINERAL EXHIBIT REOPENS by Art Smith ast night, October 9, was the pre-opening bash of the Houston Museum of Natural Science Mineral exhibit. If you failed to take advantage of your invita- Ltion, you missed a real treat to see it and meet collectors and dealers from all across the country. The event was well attended by members from all Sections of our

24 November 1996

Club. I know Joel Bartsch, the curator, who masterminded this wonderful display appreciates our interest and support. Although he probably has had many highlights in his career as a museum mineral curator making museum exhibits in Hawaii, California, and now in Houston, there is no doubt that this exhibit has to be his finest. If you were dazzled by the previous display of the Perkins Sams collection, this one is a complete K.O. with many more specimens and better displays. Not only are most of the same fine specimens on display, but recent acquisitions (including specimens from the Ed David collection) have added some new “killer” specimens that supplement and blend well with the Sams minerals. Some significant specimens from Russia, Pakistan, and a few old classic locations not previously represented spice it up quite well. There are a few significant loan specimens too. My favorite is a single clear fluorite cube on matrix from Russia loaned by Rock Currier, a mineral dealer in California. There are still quite a few duplications of some minerals and localities, particularly in amethyst from Vera Cruz and Guerrero, Mexico, but this will allow Joel to easily fill in with any new significant minerals when they are obtained without removing any of the important minerals already on display. I arrived at the pre-opening an hour and a half early so I could see the exhibit without the hindrance of the crowds that came later. I also got to view it with Joel’s mentors, long-time mineral dealers Herb Oboda and Dave Wilbur. That was a real treat since Dave at one time owned many of the important specimens in the Sams Collection, including the famous Sweet Home Rhodochrosite in 1972. Herb had sold Ed David many of the pieces in his collection so there was much more information available and many stories to share. Unfortunately, I did not have a tape recorder or video camera. I was so spell-bound I probably would have forgotten to use them even if I did have them. However, if you missed the big bash this night, you really still have many opportuni- ties to see everything since this display will be open and available for viewing for many years.

CLEANING ARKANSAS ROCK CRYSTALS by Robert Vetter from Rock Pickings 9/96 and The Rockpile 10/96 n order to prevent the red clay from hardening when collecting Arkansas quartz, immediately wrap all specimens in wet newspaper and place them in double plas- Itic bags. The reason for this is that hardened clay is no longer water soluble and no longer acid soluble. Of course, when you unwrap the clusters, you want to hose off as much of the clay as possible. Thus, less acid is required to remove the remainder. When using oxalic acid, heat the water before adding the acid. Your solution will contain 25% more acid and will dissolve the clay much faster. Your solution will also

25 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE clean many more batches. Of course, use crack-free crocks or plastic containers to hold the acid. And use rubber-handled tongs for putting clusters in acid and remov- ing them from acid. When sufficient acid has been added to the hot water to form a thick slurry (rich solution), and if you are working indoors, add 3 or 4 tablespoons of hydrochloric acid (muriatic). This creates a synergistic reaction, reducing cleaning time from days to hours. If you’re working outdoors, you may add ¼ cup of muriatic acid to the thick oxalic acid slurry. If, after all this, you find you have hardened clay imbedded in the deep crevices between crystals, it’s time to immerse your specimen in a rich solution of bicarbonate of soda. Repeat this 2 or 3 times a day with a fresh solution each time for ten days (20-30 times total) in order to form crystals of bicarbonate throughout the clay. Next, immerse the specimen completely in a high percentage hydrochloric acid. This causes the bicarbonate crystals to explode. Each “explosion” removed a little of the insoluble clay until it is all gone (provided the bicarb crystals permeated the clay). Add baking soda to the used-up acid before throwing it away. The baking soda not only deactivates any remaining acid, but it also causes the iron from the clay to settle out as rust. This information was provided to me by Steve Garza of Leavenworth, Ind.

TIPS & HINTS emoving Epoxy: via SCFMS Newsletter, The Stone Chipper 9/95, and Stoney Statements 10/96 RRA way to dissolve epoxy resin to remove a stone is to dip or soak in household vinegar. Chrysacolla: from Chert Chatter, via the Palomar Gem, others, and Chips & Facets 3rd Qtr.’96 If you have Chrysacolla and would like to bring out the blue and the green, also any other copper material, put it in some full strength Purex for as long as it takes. This really works and you will get good colors. Remember the hazard of mixing bleach with any acid—it releases a poisonous gas. Lake Superior Agates: from Chert Chatter, via the Crystal Gazer, the Pteradactyl, others, and Chips & Facets 3rd Qtr. ‘96 If you want to b ring out the color and banding of Lake Superior agates, rub them with heavy mineral oil and place on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes in a 200° oven. Remove, and let cool at room temperature. Remove the excess mineral oil with a paper towel. The results will surprise you. Ant Hills & Gems: from Rocky Review 11/95, via others, Pickin’s & Diggin’s 9/96, and Slabs & Cabs 10/96 One of the least known methods of finding mineral specimens is also one of the easiest, and many times one of the most productive. It consists of inspecting and testing the materials which ants, gophers, prairie dogs, moles, etc., bring to the sur- face. Some ants tunnel down to 15 feet and spread over more than an acre. Excellent

26 November 1996

gemstones, especially red gemstones, have been found in anthills. Polishing Dinosaur Bone: from Stoney Statements 6/94, via others, Stone Chipper 4/96, and Rok-Tok 10/96 The bone is handled much like agate, sanded to 600 grit on silicon carbide, and polished on hard felt with tin oxide. The stone is then finished with black rouge on a muslin buff, which cleans out between the bone cells. Fossil Tip: by Jack Null, via Pick & Pack 9/96 and The Southwest Gem 10/96 To number your fossil specimens, apply clear nail polish to a small area, let it dry, and cover with white-out. Then you can write a number on the white-out, and cover it with another layer of nail polish for extra protection. This process is not as in- volved as it sounds, works on nearly any surface, and the label can be easily removed with nail polish remover.

REPORT ON THE CLUB COLORADO-WYOMING TRIP by T. W. “Terry” Proctor, J.D.--Trip leader ish, leaf, and insect fossils; smoky quartz crystal; amazonite; agate; breathtak- ing scenery; great photos; video film; a world of fun; and great memories are Fthe success story of the great August 1996 Colorado-Wyoming expedition. This trip was sponsored by the Paleo Section HGMS and was open to everyone in HGMS. Fearless Hunters: The six HGMS members who made the trip were Elizabeth Fisher and her husband, Mauricio Uribe, Pauline Singleton, Scott Singleton and his wife Eileen Singleton, and I was the trip leader, T. W. “Terry” Proctor. The entire trip covered 4,000 miles through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico, and was a joint expedition of the HGMS and Proctor Museum of Natural Science. Some trip members drove all the way, and two flew to Colorado Springs and rented a car there. August 2-3: Leaving my office 12 hours late, I didn’t stop for the night in Salina where Scott and Eileen were. They caught up with me when I was picking up fossils just west of Salina on I.H. 70 West. They drove on to Colorado Springs. A Kansas Highway Patrolman told me I couldn’t stop on the interstate except for an emergency (I guess the urge to collect fossils does not qualify as an emergency). I left the interstate and came in below it on U.S. Hwy 40 West in Kansas to Aroya, Colorado, and then Colorado Hwy 94 into Colorado Springs. This turned out to be a most fortuitous decision. I found some baculite (straight ammonite) sections (some with excellent sutures) and my first arrowhead, which was red and yellow agate. These items will be on display in the Proctor Museum of Natural Science in East Harris County. I also found a horned toad with a beautiful pattern on its back, which I photographed with both 35mm and Hi-8 video cameras. By taking a few short naps along the road from Houston to Colorado Springs, I was able to make the drive in two days without stopping at a motel. This put me back on schedule with the other five expedition members.

27 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE The night of August 3 Pauline spent the night at Pueblo, and the rest of us stayed at Manitou Springs, just outside of Colorado Springs. Scott contacted a member of the Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society (CSMS), Mr. Bob Berry, who was to meet us the next afternoon (August 4) He took us hunting for Amazonite near Florissant, Colorado, after we dug for leaf and insect fossils near the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Periodically, I took Global Position Satellite readings to be able to return to the locations again. August 4: All six expedition members met at the Fossil Beds National Monument at Florissant, Colorado, for a day of fossil digging and Amazonite hunting. We first dug for leaf and insect fossils at the Stohl Ranch. The Stohls are folks I met some years before, and they invited us to dig at their Ranch this year. The Florissant Fossils are Oligocene (35 million yrs B.P.) and were formed when volcanos rained down ash over many years. Insects and leaves were knocked into Florissant Lake, and the ash acted as cement. At the Stohl Ranch we found some leaf and insect fossils, but our time there was limited so we didn’t do all the digging we would have liked. Mr. Stohl had a little mule deer fawn which he fed with a bottle and had on a leash. Its mother had been killed on the highway. We appreciated the kindness and courtesy of Mr. & Mrs. Stohl, and their son and daughter who were gracious enough to let us dig free at their Ranch. Scott, Eileen and I went to Nature’s Wealth, just outside the National Monument, where we dug leaf and insect fossils for about an hour at $5 per hour. Elizabeth, Mauricio and Pauline stayed at the Stohl Ranch to dig a little longer. We found better fossils at Nature’s Wealth but we didn’t have timeto stay very long there either. Ev- eryone found some plant material. Shortly after lunch, we met Bob Berry with the Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society (CSMS) at the Fossil Restaurant in Florissant. Bob took us to the Pike Na- tional Forest just north of Lake George, Colorado, for a wonderful treat to dig for Amazonite (turquoise-colored Feldspar). Bob puts out the newsletter for the CSMS club. While there we met other members of the CSMS club—Past President Ray Berry who is Bob’s father; Steve Russell who is treasurer of CSMS; and Dick Holt, a member of CSMS. We drove part way to the Amazonite location until the rough terrain made it neces- sary for us to take only those vehicles which could make the last part of the climb. Even so, we had a long steep climb up the mountain on foot to the dig site. After climbing for a time, we began passing many holes dug by prior Amazonite hunters over the past 50 to 100 years. We picked up lovely Amazonite crystals and pieces left lying around the prospector holes. Bob kept us climbing to where our hunting would be best. He showed us places where he and his father had found good vugs of Ama- zonite. Bob and I each started a new dig next to each other. He told me that when you start finding some sticky dark clay and some quartz crystals, that may mean that Amazo- nite is present. I found a root in the middle of my hole, which I thought was a nuisance. However, Bob told me that the root could indicate a vug (an empty space

28 November 1996 underground where crystals are present). I only found one small piece of Amazonite and some microcline {also Feldspar, but beige colored.) Bob said that amazonite is usually not found with microcline. What I did find was a large, beautiful, ice-blue Fluorite crystal of faceting quality. It was 2¼” x 2¼” on each face, had a 1½” crystal sticking 1-1/8" out of the face, and weighed a total of 269.8 gms (9.4 oz., or over ½ lb.). In addition, I found several smaller Fluorite crystals (one of which I sent to Bob Berry with a thank you from HGMS) and a large number of smoky quartz crystals (one was very thin—3-3/4" long, and weighing 31.7 gms. Other than the smoky color, it was clear with no impu- rities). Some of the smoky quartz crystals are terminations (pointed ends) and very nice, some are imperfect, and some have other smoky quartz crystals growing across the first crystal. One smoky quartz crystal I found was 6" long, 2" across the base and weighed 448 gms (15.7 oz or approx. 1 lb.). While I was digging quartz and Fluorite, and Elizabeth, Mauricio and Pauline were picking up Amazonite pieces around the old prospecting holes, Scott was digging deep in a prospecting hole started by some of the CSMS club members before this trip. Scott found a number of Amazonite crystals not much deeper than where the CSMS club members had stopped digging. This area in Pike National Forest was a great location, and sometime we hope to return. August 5: Having spent the night at Salida Colorado, we made August 5 a free day for everyone to do as they wished. Eileen, Scott, Elizabeth, and Mauricio wanted to hike. I made some whistle stops along the way going to Fruita, Colorado, where we were to meet that evening. I spent the morning rewrapping my minerals and fossils from August 4. This turned out to be a very important step as it saved those items from destruction later. Along the way, I stopped to do a pen and ink sketch of a mountain scene. I noticed what appeared to be some green Epidote. I have collected green Epidote in Colorado before and found it a wonderful material to polish. It is hard, beautiful, and rivals Jade. I found a world of green Epidote and picked up many pounds to polish. I finished my mountain scene, (right across the road from where I picked up the Epidote) and then headed for Fruita. At Maysville I picked up some pre-Cambrian rock, gneiss and gray granite. This rock is more than 570 million years old. By the time I arrived at the “H” Motel in Fruita late that night, the othermembers of the expedition had already turned in. August 6: We had one of the longest collecting days of the trip. Scott, Pauline, and I went to a location Scott had learned of from a member of the Grand Junction Club. We had maps to three locations, each of which turned out very well. Among the things we found were beautiful red, yellow and milky white agate, petrified wood, dinosaur bone, all located a few miles from Fruita, just across the border in Utah. I found a piece of agate which must weigh about 40 to 50 pounds. Scott, Pauline and I next went north on U.S. Hwy 191 to Douglas Pass to dig for fossilized leaves and insects. Eileen, Elizabeth and Mauricio were already digging there, having gone in the morning. At Douglas Pass we found very good Eocene fossils from the Morrison Formation (50 million years ago). We drove back to the 29 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE “H” Motel and spent the night of August 6 there. I learned from Mr. Kirby Gaines, the electronic technician at the Radome Dome at Douglas Pass, that the tales of young people being injured by microwaves from the Radome are not true. He said the microwave power of the Radome was awesome, but that there was no report of anyone every being injured by the microwaves. However, Mr. Gaines did say that he advised against walking over the top of the mountain to the west side, as we had all done that day. He said there are fossils of equal quality on the east side and on other mountain sides. He asked that we get the word out to HGMS Club members that these microwave stories are not true. This is a great location for fossil hunting. August 7: We let expedition members use the day as they wished and agreed to meet at Little America that night, ready to jump off to the Warfield Quarry for fossil fish August 8. The group headed back up the road to Douglas Pass, to the Dinosaur National Monument, and then through Flaming Gorge (named for the red walls), through Vernal Utah and to Little America, Wyoming. I spent the morning repack- ing my fossils from Douglas Pass. Before leaving Fruita, I visited friends at Dinamation. I talked with Michelle on the phone, and met Dr. James I Kirkland, Ph.D., the Senior Paleontologist with Dinamation at Fruita. This is the organization with which Dr. Robert Bakker is associated and which conducted the 1994 dinosaur dig my office manager, Bonnie Marcantel and I participated in. John and Bobbie Emerson went on one two years earlier. I next stopped at Douglas Pass as I just couldn’t quit digging for the wonderful plant fossils there. I was too late to get to the Dinosaur National Monument; it takes much longer to get through this stretch of road than any of us imagined. I arrived at Little America in the wee hours of the morning (if you think I make a lot of stops along the way to inspect the roadside and get side-tracked, you are absolutely right and I plead guilty). I found that my reservation had been canceled at midnight and I had no room. There were also no rooms at any nearby town since it was about 3:00 a.m., and everything was supposedly taken. After waiting patiently while the nice reservation lady worked to come up with something, I was finally given a room reserved by a man named Jones, but he also was a no-show, so they gave me his room. It turned out to be the bridal suite—what luxury, and for the same price. I had a large beautiful chandelier, extra large bathroom with two dressers and sinks, large screen TV etc. Too bad I had to get going early the next morning and could not enjoy the room for a day. August 8: We all drove to the Warfield Quarry just out of Kemmerer, Wyoming, over miles of dusty roads. These were really just tracks where others before us had driven. Somehow I managed to bring up the rear, eating dust from the three other vehicles (hey, I thought I was the leader, and just when there was a lot of dust to eat, I wound up bringing up the rear--some leader--okay, so I overshot the turnoff and had to come back). We all got in a good day of Eocene fish digging from the Morrison formation at the Warfield SpringsQuarry. Elizabeth found a really good fish, but the fish there are so fragile that she probably had some trouble getting it back. We all took home our limit. I was given a scale from one of the rare gars from this ancient lake. I also 30 November 1996

found a large crocodile coprolith in the matrix. It was hard to get out, and came out in pieces. I will try to put it back together. Pauline had the best luck and was pulling fish out right and left. The first half of the day, I found nothing. Pauline showed me what she found and invited me to dig next to her site, which I did. I started finding fish and appreciated her generosity in sharing her area. The other members of the expedition left at the end of this day at Warfield Quarry. Scott and his wife, Eileen Singleton, left to go to Oregon to visit Scott’s parents. Elizabeth and Mauricio left to return their rent car to Colorado Springs and to fly back to Houston. Pauline left to start her drive back to Houston through Amarillo, Texas, to Ft. Worth and then south on I.H. 45. I carefully packed my day’s fossils. I wrapped them in toilet paper or Scott paper towels, put them in RubberMaid plastic containers, and put these in RubberMaid plastic tubs tied to the trailer sides with bungee cords. I wanted to stay for another half day or day, so I tried to put up my six person tent and learned you need at least one other person to do so. I spent the night in my car on a reclining seat. For dinner I cooked a small chopped steak and some sliced potatoes without any oil. Did you know that they really stick to the skillet when you don’t use oil? I slept in my sleeping bag in the car. It wasn’t bad, but it was pretty cool and I couldn’t turn over during the night. August 9: By morning I was stiff and decided to leave with no more digging. However, with a little sun to warm my bones, I began to feel better. I stayed for another day and dug where Pauline had been digging. That was a smart decision. Now I found all the good stuff she found the day before. After carefully wrapping my specimens, I left fairly late. I called Little America again to make a reservation, and threatened their life if they released the room before I arrived. August 10, and Disaster: I washed clothes, had the oil changed in my car, and repacked specimens and equipment in my trailer. I drove east and arrived at the edge of Rock Springs, Wyoming about 2:45 p.m. I headed south on U.S. Hwy 191. Then a short distance out of Rock Springs, I totaled my wonderful Gooseneck brand trailer. There were no shoulders, and I recall looking up in time to see some steel poles marking the edge of the road, just ahead of my car. There was a slight curve to the road, and I either looked down for a moment or was drowsy from the warm afternoon sun. In any event, I jerked the steering wheel to get back on the road. The weight of the rocks, minerals and fossils, plus the added torque from the trailer sud- denly being jerked to one side, caused the wheel of the trailer to break off. The aluminum top and front of the trailer was skimmed off and the contents of the trailer were partially thrown out. I was not hurt, and my car received little damage. Al- though the frame of the trailer was virtually intact, the cost of transporting the trailer to Houston, putting on a new axle, and replacing the metal skin would have exceeded the cost of a new trailer. I spent Saturday evening moving my rocks, minerals, and fossils to a wrecker bed for a ride along with the trailer to Rock Springs. W. L. Zilka, the Wyoming Highway

31 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE Patrolman who investigated the wreck, promptly asked about the fossil fish which he saw in containers, as it is illegal to have vertebrate fossils collected on government land. I showed him my receipt from the Warfield Quarry and proved I paid to collect them on private land. He was not familiar with this quarry, but that ended the ques- tion of my legal collection of the fossils. He asked how the accident happened and was satisfied it was not an offense. August 11: After church Sunday morning at the Rock Springs Methodist Church, I spent the afternoon trying to find some Indian arrowheads. I found nothing but a horned toad, which I photographed on a hill eating red ants. I rented a U-haul Trailer and loaded up my specimens, most of which are unharmed. Some of my camping equipment is damaged and ruined, and I’m sure some of the items have been damaged, but the packing really paid off. Those items I have un- packed are amazingly undamaged, even after being turned over and thrown around. The moral is, when you collect fossils and minerals, if you pack your specimens well, you will get them home in good shape. I went back through Florissant and dug again at the Stohl Ranch. I gave the Stohls pictures I took of the baby mule deer. I also stopped again at Nature’s Wealth. There was one mystery on the way back. I stopped about 56.8 miles east of Memphis, Texas, to stretch my legs and look around. I started finding pennies which were black with corrosion. The pennies were strung out over an area about 50 feet be- tween the road and a fence and about half the length of a football field. I found 117 pennies before I quit about dark. How did so many pennies get strung out over such a large area? They were all dated between 1970 and 1983. None were older and none were newer. How did they get there and why? I’m sure I will never know, but it is interesting to have such a mystery to ponder. There probably will be another trip next year sponsored by the Paleo Section of HGMS. Look for the announcement and don’t consider it just a fossil trip. This year we did as well on minerals as on fossils, and we got a sizeable amount of lapidary and faceting material as well. If you missed it this time, make plans to join us next time. At a future General Meeting and a future Paleo Section meeting, the members of the expedition will display some of their new-found treasures.

VIOLIN SHELLAC from T-Town Rockhound 6/96 & others & Rok-Tok 10/96 tradivarius and other violin makers had a secret formula for their shellac. For years scientists and musicians searched for the right formula for this shellac. SNow we know that it contained finely ground semi-precious gemstones. It turns out that the ground crystals aid in suppressing unpleasant high frequencies. Experts say that brand new violins with such gems in their varnish sound far better than others without the gems. Theory is that the gems were added by the neighborhood alchemists who manufactured the varnish for the violins for the “mystical powers” contained in the gems and crystals.

32 November 1996

TIGER EYE from Canaveral Moonstone 1/95 via Rocket City Rocks and Gems, the Mountain Gem 8/95, and Sooner Rockologist 10/96 hink about this: how many of you really know what tiger eye is? Is it a mineral or its own category? Is it a rock? Where does it come from? Don’t know? YouT see, most of us know what tiger eye is, but I believe few of us know what it really is. About a year ago I wrote in this column about “pseudomorphs.” It was Halloween time, when people don a costume to become something or someone they are not. Thus in the mineral world this occurs also. A pseudomorph is a fake or “false form.” A commonly known one being limonite cubes after pyrite. Well, tiger eye is a pseudo- morph of microcrystalline quartz after asbestos or more precisely, crocidolite. Under proper conditions, quartz will even replace, cell by cell, certain organic (liv- ing) structures resulting in petrified wood or coral. Under even more special condi- tions, quartz will replace other minerals, reproducing in its own silica the other mineral’s exact form, molecule by molecule—thus a false form, or pseudomorph. The golden or blue tigereye known to every rockhound in the world comes from one single location in the world. Do you know where? Well, it comes from a tiny spot in the desert area of the Union of South Africa. Prieska, Cape Province, is the tigereye capital of the world. It starts out by being originally soft asbestos fibers before being transformed by na- ture into tigereye. It then becomes blue crocidolite which transforms into blue (Hawk’s eye) and golden (tigereye) quartz. The third color, cherry red, is a result of heating golden tigereye in an oven between 200-1000 degrees for a short period. It is hard to find any true blue tigereye that will take a mirror polish without produc- ing many pits and blemishes. Thus, the golden variety is the most common in the jewelry trade. By reading this column, I hope you will see tigereye in a new and more understand- ing light when you come across it in our hobby

A BRIEF STORY OF AGATIZED CORAL by Wilma D. Bonar from Shawmish Roktawk 2/96, via The Rockpile 5/96 gatized coral, in many forms and colors, is found all over Florida. Some- times these heads are solid, some, as around Tampa Bay, are hollow and Aproperly called “geodes.” Agatized Coral is scientifically identified as “Chal- cedony Pseudomorph after coral” because one mineral has been replaced with an- other. Millions of years ago these “rocks” were colonies of little animals belonging to the phylum coelenterata. One of the anthozoas grew as polyps. Coral is the name of the 33 THE BACKBENDER'S GAZETTE limey skeleton with which they encase themselves. It is also a fossil. Diluvial action of some kind covered these colonies of animals. This water contained other minerals. Over a long period of time, the carbonate of lime skeleton was re- placed by the mineral quartz. This form of quartz is called “chalcedony” (cal-CED-O- nee). The geodes found in the Tampa Bay area may have centers colored red, blue, or black, of varying size of quartz crystals. In the northern part of Florida solid heads of various shades of yellow, banded with blue or black have been found. Beautiful speci- mens have been located in the Perry area—Econfina and Buckeye. The crystal heads of northern Florida differ from the Tampa Bay heads. While heads have been found in all areas, no fingers have been found in the northern Suwanee basin. Many enhydros are found, sometimes in salt water, but the water contained in them is always fresh. Heads and fingers are highly prized as specimens. Smaller pieces are made into jew- elry. They have come to be called “Ballast Point Diamonds” because they were first found in quantity at Ballast Point—and to coral lovers, their beauty rivals that of the diamond.

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR by Phyllis George f anyone knows a source for line art computer graphics representative of the lap- idary arts, please let me know. I have been able to scan in a few from the Lapiday IJournal and from Rock & Gem, but my scanner does well only on line art. I would like to be able to use a representative graphic with each Section report and also with some articles. Pictures always make a newsletter more interesting. All articles to be included in the December newsletter (except the minutes for the General Meeting) will need to reach me no later than November 22 (the Friday before the General Meeting). The minutes of the General Meeting (to be held No- vember 26) must reach me no later than Friday, November 29.

I can receive articles by four different avenues: Direct mail at 22407 Park Point Dr., Katy, TX 77450-5852 Internet e-mail to my address [email protected] Fax to me at (713) 395-3087 (call me first at (713) 395-3087 in the evening) Upload a file to me at (713) 395-3087 (call me first at (713) 395-3087- evening) Telephone me first if you plan to upload a file or fax your article (in the evening only). 34 November 1996

1996 NOV. 1996

SUN MON TUES WED THURS FRI SAT 1 2 Youth Club Section Open 10 a.m. 11-3

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 . Mineral Club open Club Section 6:30-9:30 open 7:30 p.m. 11-3

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Day Show Faceting Club open Youth Club Light Comm. Section 6:30-9:30 Section Open Section 7:30 p.m 7:30 p.m. 10 a.m. 11-3 1:00 p.m 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 .Lapidar Paleo Mineral Club open Club Section Section Section 6:30-9:30 Open 7:30 p.m 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 11-3

24 25 26 27 28 29 30 . General Club Meeting HAPPY Open 7:30 p.m. THANKS- 11-3 GIVING

1996 DECEMBER 1996

SUN MON TUES WED THURS FRI SAT

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mineral Club Youth Club Section open Section Open 7:30 p.m. 6:30-9:30 Christmas 11 - 3 Party 10 a.m. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 HGMS No No No meeting Club Club Evening meeting meeting Faceting open open Day Show Section 6:30-9:30 Christmas Light Comm. 11-3 Party Section 6 - 9 p.m. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 No No No meeting Club No Club meeting meeting Mineral open meeting Open Lapidary Paleo Section 6:30-9:30 Youth 11-3 Section Section Section 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Christmas Club Club open Open 6:30-9:30 11-3

29 30 31 .

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! 35 NON-PROFIT The BACKBENDER'S ORGINZATION GAZETTE U.S. POSTAGE The Newsletter of the Houston PAID Gem & Mineral Society BELLAIRE, TX 77401 PERMIT NO. 303 10805 BROOKLET HOUSTON, TEXAS 77099 (713) 530-0942

DATED MATERIAL - PLEASE DO NOT DELAY !