Angela D. Brown Editor, Rockhound Rambling Ventura Gem & Mineral Society, Inc. P.O. Box 1573, Ventura, CA 93002 First Class Mail Rockhound Rambling photo of the month (See inside for details) www.amfed.org www.cfmsinc.org scribe.rbnet.net/ Visit us on the web! www.vgms.org The Ventura Gem and Mineral Society presents: Rockhound Rambling The Official Bulletin of the VGMS Our 70th Year In this months issue: Ventura County Fair (plus photos), pages 5 & 14... Trona vs. Jade Festival; The Debate, page 8... Another Great Nipomo Show, page 11... Volume 60, No. 8, August 2014 Ventura Gem & Mineral Society, Inc. (VGMS) P.O. Box 1573, Ventura, CA 93002 Purpose of the VGMS: Promote popular interest in, sponsor and provide means and activities, which will result in the dissemination of information and knowledge in geology, mineralogy, paleontology, lapidary and similar sciences. Conduct lectures, classes or study groups to further education and interest in the aforesaid sciences. Make and exhibit mineral collections. Club Central 2014 Elected Officers Committee Chairs Club E-mail: [email protected] President Ways and Means Diane Cook 805.647.8517 Maria Flores Membership Dues $20 - Single 1st Vice President Hospitality $30 - Family/Couple (1 bulletin) includes Jim Brace-Thompson Deb Sankovich Children < 19 Years 805.659.3577 $17 - Students >17 Years + 12 Units Museum / Library Pebble Pups <13 years No Charge 2nd Vice Presidents Jim Brace-Thompson / (Co-Chairs) Terry Wilson Regular Meeting David Mautz 805.794.1809 7:30 - 9:30 PM at Raul Barraza 805.525.1919 Historians The Poinsettia Pavilion Terry Wilson 609.744.6364 Lowell Foster/Steve Mulqueen Santa Paula Room 3451 Foothill Rd, Ventura, CA 93003 3rd Vice President Website Krishna Juarez 805.320-1094 Jim Layton January through October: 4th Wednesday of the Month Treasurer Hostess Nancy Brace-Thompson Shirley Layton November and December: 805.659.3577 805.717.9226 2nd Wednesday of the Month Anyone may attend and are welcome. Recording Secretary Refreshment Schedule Greg Davis 805.647.9214 The December meeting is normally a August - Jim & Nancy B-T Holiday party. Location is announced elsewhere in the bulletin & may vary. Membership Secretary Sept. - Shana & Krishna Juarez Richard Slyker 805.644-2749 Oct. - Angela & Luther Brown Field Trips Announced monthly in the bulletin & at Federation Director Please contact Shirley Layton to sign up. the regular meeting. Kathryn Davis 805.647.3096 See also: www.cgamc.org This Month’s Cover Photo: Bulletin Editor Taken by Annual Show Angela Brown 805.649.9657 The Club’s Annual Gem Show is held Valli Davis the first full weekend in March at the Parliamentarian Ventura County Fairgrounds. Chrysocolla w/Sagenite Rob Sankovich 805.494.7734 Nipomo Show VGMS Club Colors (owned by Ralph Bishop) Blue and Gold Board Meeting All images are member photographed 1st Thursday of the Month, 7:30PM. and submitted to Rockhound Rambling. Images submitted to the Workshop/Museum Union Bank Community Center, 11969 N. Creek Road editor should be accompanied b y 801 S. Victoria Ste 200B, Ventura Ojai, CA 93023 subject name and location. Selection is at the discretion of the editor. Clip Art Credits Submit images to: B&W animal/fossil clip art ©2009, Florida Center for Instructional Technology (marked @FCIT) [email protected] Crystal & Mineral clip art ©Diamond Dan; Original clip art by the editor marked ©AB. Rockhound Rambling Volume 60, No. 8, August 2014 1 President’s Message Table of Contents I believe our new meeting place at the Birthdays....3 Poinsettia Pavilion Chips & Boulders....15 was a hit! We had Club Merchandise....15 one of the largest Club News: Fair Results....5 attendances for a summer meeting and Editor’s Note....2 the comments were Educational Corner....12, 13 all good. A big thank you to Maria, Sarah Education & and Raul for the great refreshments – Community Outreach....7 the cake was so perfect and delicious. See picture on page 3. Fair Photos....14 Federation News....7 Congratulations to all the winners at Field Trips Are Fun....9 the Ventura County Fair. VGMS entered a Society and Publicity Case and won Gems From The Past....6 1st Place on both. Congratulations Hospitality....2 and a big thank you to the team who Meeting Minutes....4 participated in the case design and Membership....2 contributed to the cases. What a great way to share our hobby with the public President’s Message....1 through displaying our clubs activities Program Review & Schedule....8 and club member’s interest. VGMS Rockhound Ramblings....10, 11 members had many winners, too many Thank You!....3 to list here please see article on page 5 in this bulletin, plus the photos on page 14! A personal thank you to all the club members who took time to volunteer and exhibit at the Fair with all your help the “Gem & Mineral” Building will be staying the “Gem & Mineral” Building at the fair. Summer is almost over, which means fall weather is right around the corner, best time of the year for field trips to the hot rocks in the desert. Hope to see you there. Rock On Team Pink! Diane Cook, VGMS President Diane Cook’s 1st Place, Cupcake ‘Shoes’. Volume 60, No. 8, August 2014 Rockhound Rambling 2 Editor’s Note The Ventura County Fair is in full swing, and the club is well represented by volunteers, displays and individual submissions. Many members won ribbons, too. The hard work was done before the show even started; walking the floor and cleaning glass is the easy part! It’s fun to see people get excited about our displays, and, by extension, our hobby. Our club president, Diane Cook, won in Baked Goods for her “shoe” cupcakes and “bed” cake, as well. While we, the volunteers, are exhausted, it’s all been for a good cause, and lots of fun! Oh, and don’t forget to pick up your items from The evening view of the city from our new meeting room (‘Santa Paula the fairgrounds on Monday, August 11th, Room’) at the Poinsettia Pavilion. from 9am to 7pm. I’ll see you there! Rock ‘n’ roll. Angela Brown VGMS Editor [email protected] Hospitality We had a great turnout with 40 adult club members and one Pebble Pup at our July 23rd meeting. Additionally, we had three guests. Deb Sankovich, Hospitality Membership Please welcome our new member: Welcome Mike Havstad 2276 Larch Street New Simi Valley, 93065 805.630.9977 Member! [email protected] We have one new member voted in by your VGMS board in August. This brings our total membership to 1 junior, 82 adults and 8 pebble pups. Mike Havstad, a member of the Conjeo club and previous coordinator of the Wheeler Gorge exhibits, joined our society. Mike brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in gem and minerals and will be an asset to our club. Mike is currently displaying an extensive mineral case at the Ventura County Fair. We welcome Mike! And lastly, please update Greg Davis’ email to [email protected]. Richard Slyker, VGMS Membership Chair 334 Wesleyan Ave., Ventura CA 93003 [email protected] Rockhound Rambling Volume 60, No. 8, August 2014 3 THANK YOU! Biggest thanks of the month goes to our very own VGMS President Diane Cook for all her work as Superintendent of the Rocks & Minerals and Hobbies & Collectibles divisions of the Ventura County Fair. Job well done, Diane, as well as to you many VGMS members who have been volunteering and helping in so many ways: as clerks and registrars, as exhibitors and judges of exhibits, as set-up crew and floorwalkers, as cooks and refreshment providers, as demonstrators and tear-down crew, and as all-round good guys. The Ventura County Fair sees attendance of as much as 300,000 each year, and it’s a great opportunity to showcase our hobby to the general public. Per usual, VGMS members have stepped up to the plate and truly rock. Thank you, one and all! Thank you to all who participated with Don Asher (CGMC) & Lee Leighton (OGMS) with Diane Cook (VGMS). specimens and the design and layout of our L-R: Ron Wise, Diane Cook, Laura Driskoll & Luther Brown at the registration table. VGMS Society and Publicity cases at the Ventura County Fair. See our full article for names and results! Also a big Thank You goes to the Barraza’s, who made a gorgeous cake to welcome us all to the new meeting place last month. It was as pretty as it was delicious! The beautiful cake brought by Raul, his sister, Sara, and Special Thank You to Andy Anderson, Sharon Cunningham, Jeff Maria Flores. Geist, Maria Flores and my sister, Sara, for helping out at the last minute in many ways for making the Camarillo YMCA summer camp visit to our museum a fun and educational experience. Thank you for your support in making it a great success. ~Raul Barraza Know of someone who has gone out of their way to help the club? Email a thank-you note to our newsletter so that a pat on the back can be passed along! September VGMS Birthdays Wishing you all a very Happy Birthday, and Many More! DeAnn Hiroshima ........September 1 Tracy Colahan ........September 25 Robert Sankovich ........September 18 Susan Marquez........ September 27 Shana Juarez .......September 22 Stuart Bloom .......September 28 Volume 60, No. 8, August 2014 Rockhound Rambling 4 Meeting Minutes VGMS Regular Meeting - July 23 , 2014 It was m/s/c to accept last months minutes as written in the bulletin. Old Business : The regular monthly meeting of the Ventura Gem & Mineral Society was called to order by President Diane Cook at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, July 23, Diane Cook : Tonight’s meeting is being held at the Union Bank Community 2014 at the Poinsettia Pavilion Center in Ventura.