GEMS OF THE SHENANDOAH
SHENANDOAH VALLEY GEM & MINERAL SOCIETY
GEMS OF THE SHENANDOAH Newsletter
August 2010
Meeting: Monday, August 9, 7:30 PM, Waynesboro Church of the Brethren, 364 Bridge Ave.
Business: Gem Show details, if any
Other items
Program: Roland Stetler, Scenes from Utah If you have some stunning specimens from Utah,
please bring them to display.
Two Months Until Our Gem Show - October 2-3
The Show will soon be here. Here are three items to think about.
If you intend to have a display case at the show and you have not already done so, please contact Paul Johnson to reserve a case and space. He will need to how many so he can plan the display area. Remember to clearly label your specimens so that our visitors will know what they are looking at and where in the world it came from.
Help will be needed for setting up on Friday afternoon, October 1, and preparing dinner for the dealers. Also, on Sunday afternoon help will be needed to take down the tables. During the show hours we will need ticket sellers. Let Paul know which of the times you will be able to help.
Contact Paul at pauljohnsoniii@hotmail.com.
Have you run across a good place for us to advertise the Show? Let Roland Stetler know even if you think he might already have the information - maybe he does and maybe he doesn't! The more widely we advertise, the more people will hear about it and may come. He has some flyers printed for us to distribute as well.
Contact Roland at kenneystetler@aol.com.
Field Trips
No field trips are currently scheduled but will surely be this fall. If you are not on the field trip notification list and would like to be, contact Scott Duresky at svgem-min-club@live.com or Dean Hostetter at deanboy@ntelso.net.
Lapidary Workshop
Dean Hostetter will be offering a lapidary workshop at his home in the near future. If you would be interested in this, let Dean know at deanboy@ntelso.net so he can notify you.
Next Meeting: September 13
Shenandoah Valley Gem & Mineral Society
Minutes June 14, 2010
Meeting 14 June; Kelly Lane presiding
Old/new items: Picnic ---12 July --- 6PM --- Coyner Springs Park, Waynesboro (directions from Thelma). Bring your own utensils and drinks and something to share. The park has a nice covered/shaded picnic shelter. We always have a great time, and if you want, bring rocks to sell/share/swap. Hope everyone can come.
Scott discussed the Lake Anna rock swap and other pending opportunities for potential collecting sites. Stay tuned for more opportunities.
Treasures Of The Earth "gem show" will be 2-4 July at Expoland in Fishersville.
Leo gave an excellent and timely program on how to setup a display case. He suggested labeling everything (possibly using 1/4 inch molding to hold the labels). Be creative, try to make a nice arrangement; have a theme if you can but have fun. Everyone should wear a pin-back with a rock/cab and your name on it (name tag) at the show. Leo has extra pin-backs. This was a great idea. We all came away with some ideas to show our rocks/gems.
This started a good discussion on display cases etc. Paul counted the cases after the meeting and we have approx 20 with glass; some folks have some at home. There are two sizes but in either case they aren't very tall (not to exceed approx 8 inches). Paul will provide details -- if you want a case see Paul. At the Sep meeting you can check out a case and see how to use it. Also the club owns a fluorescent case for use or possibly sharing with others.
Leo will check out the grinding wheels and make recommendations for purchase etc.
We discussed opening the club workshop on Saturdays for use by interested children/adults who attend the show. Paul will make up a simple card (business size for club info). Also a suggested signup sheet for use of the club workshop. He will email examples to all members.
Minutes by Bob Helt
in the absence of Thelma Miller
SHENANDOAH VALLEY GEM & MINERAL SOCIETY
GEMS OF THE SHENANDOAH Newsletter
June 2010
Meeting: Monday, June 14, 7:30 pm,
Waynesboro Church of the Brethren, 364 Bridge Avenue
Business: Gem
Show items
Program: Leo
Cloutier
Welcome New Members
Don Brooke -
Raphine
Patricia
Rhodenizer - Lyndhurst
Four Months Until Gem Show - October 2-3
The Club has 40
exhibit cases which Club
members may use for displays at the Gem Show. Twenty of
these cases
are small and twenty are larger. Space will likely be limited;
therefore, if you are interested in displaying at the Show, please let
Paul Johnson know pauljohnsonIII@hotmail.com
or 540-942-3864. If you do plan to display, remember to make
labels
for your items telling what each is and where it is from. This
will
help make our Show even more educational and informative.
Field Trip Opportunities
Sunday,
June 13 - Eastern Federation Region IV Annual Picnic & Swap at Lake
Anna State Park, Shelter #1, off of rte. 601.
Swap
begins at 10:00 AM with picnic
lunch at noon. Hamburgers and hotdogs will be provided. Please
bring a
dish to share and your own drinks.
Auction
begins at 2:00 PM - bring an item for the auction.
Door
prizes - bring one to donate.
No
selling is allowed in the park.
For
directions and more information, go to www.varockhound.com
click
more info. here under Region IV Annual Picnic then
click on flyer page for colorful flyer with directions.
Saturday, June 26, rain date Sunday, June 27 - Sugar Hollow Reservoir
Red Jasper and Meta-Basalt Location
Meet
at Dairy Queen in Crozet, Virginia at 9:00 AM. Parking is
limited and must carpool to the collecting site.
Dean
Hostetter writes," This is a very
rugged and steep hiking location. Some of the hike will be in
creeks
with slick and unstable footing. Also, if you are afraid of
creepy
crawlies and the possibility of meeting up with the poisonous variety,
you may want to set this one out. So basically, you need to be in
good
health and not afraid of nature. Pack light, dress light, bug
spray
(ticks are bad this year), good stable hiking boots that can get wet,
classifying screens and maybe 1 five gallon bucket. There are no
restroom facilities."
If,
after that warning, you are still interested, let Dean know by
Wednesday, June 23, at deanboy@ntelos.net or call evenings after 6 PM
540-649-3572.
Announcements from Scott Duresky
Fossil
Collecting - As some
of you who are interested in collecting fossils have recently
experienced, many of the traditional areas in Central Virginia for
collecting fossils are relatively "picked over" and inaccessible.
While future options available to us may include prospecting trips to
new fossil collecting sites, the reality is that much of the best
fossil material to be found in the Virginia-Maryland-North Carolina
area involves marine fossils, many of which are available only by boat;
all are some distance away from Waynesboro and would involve carpooling
and/or overnight trips.
Club member
Stephen White, who lives in
Annandale, VA, is in the process of organizing a fall trip for us to
collect shark's teeth, whale bone and other marine fossils at Flag
Ponds State Park in Maryland, near the Calvert Cliffs formation; Dave
Lines of the Southern Maryland Club and [Scott] will soon be working on
possible joint field trips to a number of other locatities in the same
region.
In the meantime,
the best ongoing option would
appear to be the regularly scheduled Spring, Summer and Fall fossil
collecting trips sponsored by the Virginia Museum of Natural History in
Martinsburg. These trips are offered for a fee and vary in
expense,
but they are led by Dr. Ward, a professor of paleontology, and offer
the opportunity not only to gain access to some of the more remote
collecting sites, but for those interested, to acturally be able to
identify what they've found. Some of these trips involve boat
trips,
some are overnight, but all offer wonderful opportunities for those
interested in growing their knowledge in the diversity of the marine
fossils to be found in our area.
Since these
trips will not be sponsored by the
Shenandoah Valley Gem & Mineral Soiety, they will not be listed
individually on our website or in our newsletters. If you're
interested, go to the web site for the Virginia Museum and review the
trip offerings, and/or request to be placed on their mailing
list.
These trips fill up quickly, so, if you see something you like, sign up
for it right away.
Mineral
Mouse - Rudy Bland in
the Richmond Club publishes one of the best mineral-related newsletters
in the country. He has been an active collector since the late
1950s.
Scott writes that he has known Rudy since the late 1960s and is one of
the nicest people I know in any walk of life and certainly one of the
most knowledgeable when it comes to minerals. Scott will be
bringing
past issues of The Mineral Mouse to the July meeting for
those who want to look at them, but in the meantime, if anyone would
like to sign up for the FREE publication, write to Rudy Bland at rudybland@att.net and
ask
to be placed on the mailing list for The Mineral Mouse. Tell
him
that Scott sent you!
Rudy's
Yard Sale of all sorts
will be held Saturday, June 12, 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Among the
items he
will be selling are mineral and lapidary items including flats and
minerals ranging from $5 to $30, fossils and garden rocks. To
reach
Rudy's house, from I-64 east in Richmond, exit 183, turn right towards
US 250/Broad Street/Glenside Drive. Keep left to stay on ramp
toward
US 250/Broad Street. Turn right for 0.2 miles toward US 250/Broad
Street then bear right onto US 250/W. Broad Street for 0.9 miles.
Turn
left onto N. Crestwood Avenue for 0.2 miles. Rudy's address is
5904 N.
Crestwood Avenue, Richmond, VA 23230. (Rudy is thin, with
close-cropped red hair and in his early 60s. When you see him,
tell
him Scott sent you!)
Officers
President - Kelly
Lane
Gem
Show Co-Chairs - Paul Johnson, Roland Stetler
Vice President - Barbara
Jesser Field
Trip
Coordinators - Scott Duresky, Dean Hostetter
Secretary/Newsletter - Thelma
Miller Library Presentations Committee
Chair - Linda Corwin
Treasurer - Leo Cloutier
Next Meeting: Monday, July 12
- Annual Club Picnic!
Newsletter deadline - July 2
SHENANDOAH VALLEY GEM & MINERAL SOCIETY
GEMS OF THE SHENANDOAH Newsletter
May 2010
Meeting: Monday, May 10,
7:30 pm, Waynesboro Church of the Brethren, 364 Bridge Avenue
Business:
Minutes
Treasurer's
Report
Reports:
Gem
Show
Web
Site
Library
Presentations
Field
Trips
Unfinished
Business
New
Business
Program:
Dr.
Lance
Kearns, Professor
of
Mineralogy and Geology at
JMU - "Tools of the Mineralogist"
Dinner with the Speaker
Before the meeting on
May 10, we will be able
to have dinner with Dr. Kearns at Gavid's Steak House, 1501 West Broad
Street, Waynesboro, at 6:00 pm. Anyone wishing to attend please
contact Scott Duresky on or before May 6 so that
he may make reservations for us at the restaurant. Email
Scott at svgem-min-club@live.com
or telephone 434-974-7370. Those attending will share the cost of
Dr.
Kearns' dinner. Scott has directions to the restaurant if you
need
them.
Reminder
When
you
go
on
field
trips,
please
bring some of your finds to the next club meeting to show
to those of us who weren't able to go. We understand
that those who
went on the recent trips to the Sulphur Mine, Morefield Mine and the
copper mine found some interesting items. Of course, we like to
see
items you have bought on your vacation trips or acquired through
other
ways, also. It's kind of a "show and tell" time. In
addition, bring
those "mystery" stones in hopes that someone can identify them.
Speaking of Morefield Mine - Good News
The mine will be
closing May 8 for the summer but it will reopen
in the fall. The owners have taken the mine off the market and
plan to
continue its operation. There is more there than amazonite as
many of
you already know so a second or third trip may be justified. More
information is available at www.toteshows.com.
An Opportunity
The Central
Virginia Gold Prospectors will be
having their Gold Fest 2010 on Memorial Day weekend, May 29-31, near
Dillwyn, Virginia. There will be a variety of activities and gold
panning. For more information, see www.cvgp.net, or talk
to John and Ruth Schlabach at the meeting.
Five Months until the Gem Show
As you are
sorting through your recent
finds from field trips or rearranging your collection, be thinking
of
what you would like to display in an exhibit case at the Show. In
addition to giving our vendors an opportunity to sell their items, we
want the show to be educational for those who attend.
Many of us have
some spectacular pieces which would be very attractive - the kinds of
things which elict the phrases, "Oh, look at that!" and "Where in
the
world did that come from!"
If
you know of good places where we can advertise the Gem Show, please
contact Roland Stetler at kenneystetler@embarq.com.
Don't assume that he already has that information! The more
advertisements we are able to place, the better for our vendors and our
Show.
Virginia Gems
On David
Lipscomb's web site, www.varockshop.com, he
has a link to a list of Virginia gems and minerals and where they are
found. This list may be helpful as you prepare an exhibit case or
for
finding items in your collection to donate or lend for the traveling
library presentations case. Linda Corwin is chair of the library
presentations committee and may be reached at stripe_b@yahoo.com.
Wildacres Information Online
Information and reservation form for
Wildacres session September 7-13 are available at www.amfed.org/efmls,
click
on
Wildacres.
Welcome to our newest members
Matthew
Gerome - Harrisonburg
Brenda
Gordon - Greenville
Wayne,
Angi, Savannah, Addison Lee - Strasburg
Susan
Reynolds - Stuarts Draft
Iain and
Jennifer Waugh - Thailand
Richard
Waugh - Chester
Keeping Up to Date
When you
change your address, email address,
or telephone number, please let Thelma Miller know so that the roster
may be kept up to date. If you are on the field trip notification
list, let Scott Duresky know. Otherwise, you may miss the
newsletter,
field trip notifications, or cancellation notices. Please give us
the
telephone number which you prefer the club to use - either land line or
cell phone. Thank you in advance. Email tmiller@eagles.bridgewater.edu
or telephone 540-828-3336.
Next meeting: June 14
- Program by Leo Cloutier
Newsletter Deadline - June
3
Officers
President -
Kelly
Lane
Gem
Show
Co-Chairs
-
Paul
Johnson, Roland Stetler
Vice President - Barbara
Jesser Field
Trip
Coordinators
-
Scott
Duresky,
Dean Hostetter
Secretary/Newsletter - Thelma
Miller Library
Presentations Committee Chair - Linda Corwin
Treasurer - Leo
Cloutier
----
GEMS OF THE SHENANDOAH
Monthly Newsletter of
Shenandoah Valley Gem & Mineral Society
April 2010
Meeting: Monday, April 12, 7:30 pm, Waynesboro Church of the Brethren
Business: Approval of minutes
Treasurer's report - Leo Cloutier
Reports:
Gem Show - Paul Johnson and Roland Stetler
Web Site - Paul Johnson
Library Presentations Committee - Linda Corwin
Field Trips - Scott Duresky and Dean Hostetter
Unfinished business
New business
Program: Paul Johnson, Gem Identification
Field Trips
Thirteen club members and guests attended the field trip to JMU Mineral Museum on March 6. In addition seven or eight members from another club attended, also.
Six members went on the trip to the American Rutile quarry in Nelson County April 3.
Upcoming trips - For more details or to be added to the field trips notification list, contact Scott Duresky at svgem-min- club@live,com or Dean Hostetter at deanboy@ntelos.net.
Friday, April 16-Sunday, April 18 - Natural Bridge/Maysville, KY. Fossil collecting trip sponsored by the Virginia Museum of
Natural History
Saturday, April 17 (rain date, Sunday, April 18) - The Old Sulphur Mine, Mineral, VA - Leader: Scott Duresky
Saturday, April 24 (no rain date) - The Morefield Mine, Amelia Courthouse, VA - Leader: Scott Duresky
Saturday, May 1 (rain date, Sunday, May 2) - An old copper mine now located on Wintergreen's property (permission has been
secured) - Leader Dean Hostetter
A Special Opportunity in May - Dinner with the Speaker
Our Monday, May 10th club presentation will feature Dr. Lance Kearns, Professor of Mineralogy and Geology at James Madison University and Curator of JMU's Mineral Museum. His topic will be "The Tools of the Mineralogist," and promises to be a fascinating topic for anyone interested in this aspect of our hobby.
The presentation will be preceded by "Dinner with the Speaker," which will take place at 6:00pm at Gavid's Steak House, 1501 West Broad Street, Waynesboro, VA; the telephone number of the restaurant is 540-949-6353.
Anyone attending the dinner will be expected to make a contribution towards Lance's dinner. Let Scott Duresky know on or before Sunday, May 9, so that he can inform the restaurant of the number of people who will be attending.
Scott may be reached at 434-974-7370, or at svgem-min-club@live.com.
If you need assistance with directions, either to the restaurant, or from the restaurant to the meeting place, please let Scott know.
Virginia Minerals Display Case
A reminder: if you have some specimens, especially of Virginia minerals, which you would like to lend to the traveling display case, please contact Linda Corwin, chair of the Library Presentations Committee, at stripe_b@yahoo.com or telephone 540-941-8737.
Web Site
Our web site is under construction and looking good. You may view it at shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org. If you have comments or suggestions, contact Paul Johnson at pauljohnsoniii@hotmail.com.
Roster for 2010
Attached is the 2010 roster for the club. If there are corrections, please email Thelma Miller at tmiller@eagles.bridgewater.edu or see me at the meeting.
Officers
President - Kelly Lane Gem Show Co-Chairs - Paul Johnson, Roland Stetler
Vice-President - Barbara Jesser Field Trip Coordinators - Scott Duresky, Dean Hostetter
Secretary/Newsletter - Thelma Miller Library Presentations Committee Chair - Linda Corwin
Treasurer - Leo Cloutier
Next Meeting: May 10 - Dr. Lance Kearns
Newsletter Deadline: April 29
SHENANDOAH VALLEY GEM & MINERAL SOCIETY
March 8, 2010
President Kelly Lane opened the meeting by announcing that information and applications for Wildacres were available.
The minutes of the last meeting were approved as printed.
For the Gem Show Paul Johnson stated that vendors will be charged for tables and may pay for extra tables if needed. He then moved that vendors at the Gem Show will have to pay for all tables which they use. The motion was seconded and passed.
Treasurer Leo Cloutier reported that $600 was paid to JMU from the scholarship fund to help three students attend a seminar in New England this spring. He has also paid the Eastern Federation insurance of $100 plus.
The club's web site address is shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org. It is still being worked on.
Linda Corwin, chair of the Library Committee, has spoken to several libraries concerning presentations. She has had no response yet from club members concerning Virginia minerals for the traveling exhibits. Kelly Lane mentioned the possibility of giving gift subscriptions to Rock and Gem Magazine to libraries. A member suggested giving the subscription to those libraries which invite the club to make presentations.
Scott Duresky, field trip coordinator, gave the following dates for trips:
March 13 - JMU Mineral Museum
March 27 - Martinsville [Note: postponed until the fall.]
April 17 - Old Sulfur Mine, Mineral, VA
April 24 - Morefield Mine, Amelia Courthouse, VA
May 1 - copper mine near Wintergreen
Dean Hostetter announced that collecting is still allowed at Chesnut Ridge in Bath County. For field trips, paid members in another club will be covered for insurance purposes. The club has been given a projector and John Schlabach has a laptop which can be used with it provided someone calls him ahead of time. Bob Helt volunteered to call those members who do not have email when necessary.
Scott Duresky had inquired about non-profit status for the club and found it is costly and time consuming. He also learned that the club cannot sell items to the public, for example, as fund raising.
Charles McLear announced that he is willing to teach wire craft.
Bob Helt presented a program on meteorites.
Newsletter Deadline –If you have information you would like to have in the newsletter, please get it to Thelma Miller on or before the last Friday of the month. This will allow time for mailing to those who don’t have email tmiller at bridgewater.edu.