T ROCK-A-TEER Newsletter of the Puyallup Valley Gem & Mineral Club Jillian Higgins Issue 32 Volume 85 September 2020 THIS ISSUE President’s Perspective P.2 Field Trip Recap P.2 Field Trip Report & New Club House Rules P.3 2020 Greenwater Overnight P.4 Tentative Club House Schedule P.5 Rock and Gem in the Trees P.6 Meet the Member: Edith Franklin P.7 August 2020 Gem Faire P.8 From the Bench P.8 Club Dig at Wild Turkey P.9 Community Supporters P.10 Mineral of the Month P.10 2020 Show and Tell P.11 2020 Officers and Chairs P.12 Word Search & Happy Birthdays P.13 P.O. B O X 1 3 4 , P UYALLUP , WA 9 8 3 7 1 PVG A MC@ GMAIL . COM WWW. PUYALLUPVALLEYGEMANDMINERAL CLUB . COM ( 2 5 3 ) 9 8 7 - 6 7 5 1 President’s Perspective Tony Johnson I am so thankful to everyone who helped out with the club picnic and the campout. Thank you to Sally and Teddy for getting the property prepped. A huge shout out to Janet Nix, Teresa Rodrick, and Robin McDonald for prepping and helping to cook the food. Jim and Wanda brough their smoker/BBQ and cooked all the corn and chicken to perfection. Jim Christian was in charge of helping get the tailgaters set up in and did a really great job making sure we had room to move around. A big thanks needs to be said to Mike and LaVon for letting us set up and have the event at there house. And the biggest thanks need to be said to everyone who brough food and their items for the tailgate, making it an incredibly successful event. Thank you to Dick and Susie for heading up to the Greenwater overnight site early and reserving it for us. Ed Leman and Bob O’Brian brought corn and took group to find materials. Linda Batchelor made breakfast so we started the day off right. Jim Christian, Glenn and Teresa Rodrick helped bring the majority of the equipment and firewood up to the camp sight so there was less work for me. Jim also monitored the spaghetti sauce to make sure it turned out right. I am sure there are many others, too many for me to remember right now, but you know who you are and we wouldn’t be able to have all these events without all our amazing volunteers. The club is now communicating mostly by email, given that we are not able to hold meetings. If you have not already, please checked your email for information, and update the membership director if you have had a change or added a new email address. Field Trip Recap Dennis Batchelor The overnight at Greenwater was amazing and as usual Tony's spaghetti feed was delicious. We had about 20 around the campfire on Saturday night. Everyone found some nice material, some more than others. The key is to MOVE dirt. I had one of the new members send me a pic wanting to know if he found the houndstooth wood up at government meadows - YES he did. We had a couple sign up that weekend and one even got into the clubhouse on Monday to cab ! The trip to the Wild Turkey Serpentine mine was successful as well. We all met at the Grocery in Valley, the parking lot almost held the close to 24 cars that snaked its way up to the mine. We got everyone parked, it was tight. There are 60 acres of goodness and the owner, Jim Sahli has 3 areas to access. Everyone got plenty of nice serpentine, though I did not find the elusive blue. A bunch of us got together at my bed and breakfast, which is an amazing place, on Saturday night and had a nice BBQ. Th ere was already interest in doing it again next year. I'll have to check with Jim Sahli to see if we can make that happen. 2 | P a g e Field Trip Report September 19 - Little Naches Meeting place - 9:00AM on Hwy 410 at Forest Rd 19, mile marker 92 Hunting for - Jasper, Agate, Petrified wood, Thundereggs Tools you need - Rock hammer, shovel, pry bar, hammer, chisel, treasure scoop, waders, and a backpack/bucket for your treasures Access - moderate terrain, 1/2 mile hike to thunderegg site Additional items - lunch/snacks and water, water, water. Dress in layers. Be prepared for ticks/mosquitoes October 17 – Jordan Creek (Marblemount) Meeting place - 10:00AM at Marble Mountain Fish Hatchery Hwy 20 Hunting for – Listwanite and Jade Tools you need - Rock hammer, rubber boots or waders, and a backpack/bucket for your treasures Access - moderate terrain, ½ mile hike from hatchery Additional items - lunch/snacks and water, water, water. Dress in layers. Be prepared for ticks/mosquitoes Please remember that even though we love to meet new people, fieldtrips are a member benefit and part of your membership dues covers you for injury liability. Though injuries are rare, and we do everything we can to avoid them, we are going out into nature, and uncontrollable environment. All individuals attending field trips will have to sign a release of liability, and if you are bringing guests, we will try to entice them into join the club by having Membership applications available. New Club House Rules When the clubhouse reopens it will be on a trial basis with specific requirements and conditions which are subject to change and because this is a trial, the clubhouse may again close until future notice. Requirements and conditions: • Members must already be qualified to use clubhouse equipment. • Workshops & classes are limited to 4 members plus the instructor. • Reservations must be made by using the reservation process. • Each member is limited to one workshop or class per week. • Each member must follow the usual sign in and payment process AND sign a Release of Liability and Hold Harmless Agreement EACH TIME the member comes to a workshop or class. • Face coverings and social distancing are required. • One person at a time in the saw room(s). Other than making reservations, all comments, concerns, etc. are to be directed to Jim Christian, 253-720-9502 or [email protected]. 3 | P a g e 2020 Greenwood overnight Jim Christian Another success. We had 20 vehicles with approximately 50+ people on Saturday and another 5 vehicles with approximately 12 people on Sunday. Tony and Dennis did their usual morning introductions, on both days, and then lead folks to several locations to look for “treasures”. Reports were that everyone had great time and many stories were shared Saturday evening as they waited for dinner to be ready. After dinner more stories were shared, and 15 hardy folks overnighted so they could share in breakfast and go out again on Sunday. Thanks to all who pitched in to make this adventure the success it was. 4 | P a g e TENTATIVE SEPTEMBER 2020 CLUB HOUSE SCHEDULE DATE DAY TIME ACTIVITY LOCATION INSTRUCTOR 1 Tuesday 4:00PM-8:00PM Members Workshop Club House Jim Christian 10:00AM-2:00PM Members Workshop Club House Dennis Batchelor 2 Wednesday 4:00PM-8:00PM Wire Wrapping Club House Tony Johnson 3 Thursday 4:00PM-8:00PM Members Workshop Club House Tony Johnson 4 Friday 5 Saturday 10:00AM-2:00PM Members Workshop Club House Glen Ripper 6 Sunday 7 Monday Closed - Holiday 8 Tuesday 4:00PM-8:00PM Members Workshop Club House Jim Christian 10:00AM-2:00PM Members Workshop Club House Dennis Batchelor 9 Wednesday 4:00PM-8:00PM Opal Cutting Club House Tony Johnson 10 Thursday 4:00PM-8:00PM Members Workshop Club House Tony Johnson 11 Friday 12 Saturday 10:00AM-2:00PM Silversmithing Club House To Be Announced 13 Sunday 14 Monday 10:00AM-2:00PM Members Workshop Club House Dennis Batchelor 15 Tuesday 4:00PM-8:00PM Members Workshop Club House Jim Christian 10:00AM-2:00PM Members Workshop Club House Dennis Batchelor 16 Wednesday 4:00PM-8:00PM Wire Wrapping Club House Tony Johnson 17 Thursday 4:00PM-8:00PM Members Workshop Club House Tony Johnson 18 Friday 10:00AM-2:00PM Little Naches Field Trip Dennis Batchelor 19 Saturday 10:00AM-2:00PM Members Workshop Club House Glen Ripper 20 Sunday 21 Monday 10:00AM-2:00PM Members Workshop Club House Dennis Batchelor 22 Tuesday 4:00PM-8:00PM Members Workshop Club House Jim Christian 10:00AM-2:00PM Members Workshop Club House Dennis Batchelor 23 Wednesday 4:00PM-8:00PM Opal Cutting Club House Tony Johnson 24 Thursday 4:00PM-8:00PM Members Workshop Club House Tony Johnson 25 Friday 26 Saturday 10:00AM-2:00PM Labradorite Caring Club House Tony Johnson 27 Sunday 28 Monday 10:00AM-2:00PM Members Workshop Club House Dennis Batchelor 29 Tuesday 4:00PM-8:00PM Members Workshop Club House Jim Christian 10:00AM-2:00PM Members Workshop Club House Dennis Batchelor 30 Wednesday 4:00PM-8:00PM Wire Weaving Club House Jillian Higgins For questions about a specific class or event, contact the instructor Jim Christian (253) 720-9502 Ed Knoll (253) 651-7453 Dennis Batchelor (360) 870-8741 Tony Johnson (253) 863-9238 Bill Clark (360) 893-6919 Dave Sanderson (253) 380-8273 Renera Barnes [email protected] Jillian Higgins (253)355-3146 Glen Ripper (253) 508-7545 As of the publication of this schedule Pierce County is still in Phase 2 and is open on an appointment basis only. As soon as we enter into Phase 3 the club house will be allowed to open with limited conditions.