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: Fall Breakfast Potluck & Workshop Day, pg.5 A Nat’l. Treasure Lost to Over-Collecting, pgs. 7-8 The Elusive Michigan State Gemstone, pg. 15 Volume 60, No. 10, October 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 The December meeting is normally a Greg Davis 805.647.9214 Holiday party. Location is announced October - Angela & Luther Brown elsewhere in the bulletin & may vary. Membership Secretary Nov. - Pumpkin Potluck Richard Slyker 805.644-2749 Field Trips Dec. - Holiday Potluck Dinner Announced monthly in the bulletin & at Federation Director 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 Lowell Foster the first full weekend in March at the Parliamentarian Ventura County Fairgrounds. Maury Mountain Moss Agate Rob Sankovich 805.494.7734 Oregon VGMS Club Colors Blue and Gold All images are member photographed Board Meeting and submitted to Rockhound 1st Thursday of the Month, 7:30PM. 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 subject name and location. Selection Ojai, CA 93023 is at the discretion of the editor. Submit images to: Clip Art Credits [email protected] B&W animal/fossil clip art ©2009, Florida Center for Instructional Technology (marked @FCIT) Crystal & Mineral clip art ©Diamond Dan; Original clip art by the editor marked ©AB. Rockhound Rambling Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 1 President’s Message Table of Contents It is nominating American Agate/Jasper Index ... 11 time for VGMS. That means we An Ancient Threat ... 10 are looking for VGMS members BenchTips ... 16 to volunteer for Birthdays ... 3 committee and board positions. If you are interested, Chips & Boulders ... 19 there are all levels of help needed, so Club Merchandise ... 19 please call or email Deb Sankovich, [email protected] or any Editor’s Note ... 2 of the other committee members: Educational Corner ... 17, 18 Angela Brown, Susan & Richard Slyker, and Bob Driskell. Education & Community Outreach ... 9 Federation News ... 14 The VGMS Breakfast will be October 18th at 9:00am. Come visit the silent Field Trips Are Fun ... 13 auction, chat with fellow members, Gems From The Past ... 6-8 exchange information. The clubhouse will be open for use. Hospitality ... 2 Important Announcements ... 5 There are several field trips and events happening in October, including one Let’s Go To A Show! ... 20 the weekend of our breakfast up at Meeting Minutes ... 4 Jade Cove. Membership ... 2 Also, the Oxnard Gem & Mineral Club Officer Elections ... 5 will be having their Annual Show November 1 & 2, 2014. Please plan President’s Message ... 1 on attending and/or exhibiting at the show. Program Review & Schedule ... 12 Rockhound Ramblings ... 14-16 The holidays are right around the corner what a great place to get some Thank You! ... 3 shopping done! Happy Halloween! Rock On Team Pink! Diane Cook, VGMS President Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 Rockhound Rambling 2 Editor’s Note Fall is in the air, and the holidays are almost upon us. Speaking of the holidays; the November and December regular membership meetings will be on the SECOND Wednesday of each month, so as not to interfere with them. Same time, same place (though December meeting/party with just be in another room at the Pavilion). The November meeting will be a Pumpkin Potluck and Silent Auction (members bring the yummies!). The December meeting will be our Holiday Party and ‘White Elephant’ gift exchange. Look for a sign-up sheet for the Holiday dinner; we need members to bring side dishes and desserts. The meats will be supplied by the club. More details will be announced soon. And for the bulletin; since the last issue for the year is a combined November/December issue, please send me submissions by November 10th. After that, your editor looks forward to taking a short break ‘til next year. Rock ‘n’ roll. Angela Brown VGMS Editor [email protected] Hospitality There were 33 adult club members and five guests at our September 24 meeting. Deb Sankovich, Hospitality Membership We have five new members voted in by your VGMS board in October. Gina Curtis and Mark Kenyon joined our club after discussions with current members. Welcome Gina attended the work shop in September and is already collecting and polishing. New She is interested in all phases of the hobby and looks forward to the Gem and Mineral Show. Members! Mayela Segura joined with her friend, Gina Curtis. She is also looking forward to the Gem and Mineral Show in March. Frank and Sharon Adams were past members and have rejoined. They attended the September meeting and enjoyed the great presentation on meteorites. The new members directory information follows: Gina Curtis and Mark Kenyon Mayela Segura Frank and Sharon Adams 162 - A Bell Road 1681 E. Thompson Blvd. 2185 Eastridge Trail Ventura, CA 93001 Ventura, CA 93002 Oxnard, CA 93036 520.243.3916 805.236.9408 805.402.4488 [email protected] [email protected] Your VGMS now has 85 adult members, 11 pebble pups, and 1 junior member. Richard Slyker, VGMS Membership Chair 334 Wesleyan Ave., Ventura CA 93003 [email protected] Rockhound Rambling Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 3 THANK YOU! Almost as soon as we moved into our digs at Camp Comfort toward the end of 2008, a violent storm knocked down a big tree that did a glancing blow to the back corner of our clubhouse. While we lucked out, the damage left a bruise that has grown these past 6 years. Thank you to Greg Davis for finally fixing that bruise, shoring up the eaves and roof line that took the hit from that falling tree. Thank you to Raul Barraza and Maria Flores for hauling a truck bed filled with 5-gallon buckets and boxes of rock, mineral, and fossil specimens for use as Show Kids Booth prizes and grab bag stuffers. They’ve crafted a storage spot at their home to keep this material secure for use at future shows. Thank you to Richard Slyker and Jim and Nancy Brace-Thompson who assisted with our Fall Cleaning effort at the clubhouse during our monthly workshop day on September 20, as advertised in our last newsletter. Greg Davis and Bob Driskell also did yard work to spruce things up in advance of our October club picnic. While we didn’t have a lot of helping hands, we managed to get leaves raked, spider webs swept away, and our museum rooms cleaned and looking good for any Fall classroom visits. We need to plan another clean-up day that doesn’t coincide with a workshop day so that we can get full club attention to the essential task of keeping every room of our clubhouse cleaned and maintained so as to have a VGMS home we can all take pride in. If you utilize our workshop or any other aspect of our clubhouse, we need your help maintaining it. Please: don’t just be a “user”—be a “helper”! 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! November & December VGMS Birthdays Wishing you all a very Happy Birthday, and Many More! Cole Coyner ..........November 2 Ron Wise ........November 30 Michele Quistad ........November 10 Krishna Juarez ........December 2 Michael Rittenberg .......November 27 Gerry Crisler .......December 19 Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 Rockhound Rambling 4 Meeting Minutes VGMS Regular Meeting - September 24 , 2014 VGMS Board Meeting - October 2 , 2014 The regular monthly meeting of the Ventura Gem & Mineral Society The Board meeting of the Ventura Gem & Mineral Society for October 2, was called to order by President Diane Cook at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, 2014, was called to order by President Diane Cook at 801 S.