march 2007 - Austin Gem and Mineral Society

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MARCH 2007
VOLUME 46.03
THE STONE CHIPPER
The March program will be a talk by
James Freeman of Detector Sales
and Rentals. He will be talking about
Metal Detectors, the features and
functions that can be found on detectors and what you can find with them
like meteorites and gold.
THE 612TH MEETING OF THE
AUSTIN GEM AND MINERAL
SOCIETY WILL BE HELD ON
THURSDAY, MARCH 22ND,
2007, 7:30 P.M., AT THE
AGMS CLUBHOUSE, 6719
BURNET LANE, AUSTIN, TX.
PHONE: (512) 458-9546.
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All American Club
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Awards
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AFMS Gold &
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Trophy 2002
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AFMS Gold 2003,
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2004
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SCFMS Gold
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2002,2003,2004
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AGMS Annual Show
Gem Capers 2007
Palmer Events Center
Show Dates: November 30th,
December 1st and 2nd 2007.
www.AustinGemAndMineral.org
THE AUSTIN GEM AND MINERAL SOCIETY, INC.
The AGMS is a member in good standing of the South Central Federation of Mineral Societies and the
American Federation of Mineral Societies. Its editors are also members of SCRIBE. The club address
is 6719 Burnet Lane, Austin, Texas 78757, and phone (512)458-9546. The AGMS is a 501(c)(3)
nonprofit organization. Visit our website at www.AustinGemAndMineral.org. Contact Craig Brandt for
website updates.
PURPOSE
The purpose of the AGMS is to promote interest and education in the various Earth Sciences and other
related subjects.
MEETINGS
The Society meets the fourth Thursday of every month except November and December.
November or early December is show month and the meeting, if any, is held after show setup on Thursday
before the show. December is the Invocation of Officers meeting held on a date and at a place determined
by the officers. Board meetings are called as needed. All members are welcome to attend. Society
Officers are listed on the back page of this publication. Please feel free to contact any of them for
information.
DUES FOR 2007
$15.00 annually for an adult
Membership dues are:
$20.00 annually for a couple
$4.00 annually for juniors
THE STONE CHIPPER
The Stone Chipper is the official publication of the Austin Gem and Mineral Society. It is published
monthly in Austin, Texas. Minutes of Board Meetings are available upon request. Note, clip art images
are under Copyright 2007 by the AGMS and its licensors. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted,
text items in The Stone Chipper may be reproduced in other nonprofit publications as long as proper credit
is given to the author and The Stone Chipper. All authors who make submissions to this newsletter are
presumed to agree with this policy.
MARCH 2007
THE STONE CHIPPER
President's Message
The busiest time of the year is finally over for me, and I can
finally concentrate more on the day-to-day issues with the
AGMS. The field trip to the Karnes Uranium District is over,
and was a big success. About 10 society members participated in the trip, which included a bus and a full color
guidebook, as well as some collecting time. We hope to plan
additional trips there as the reclamation work continues
through the year.
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for so long. There are so many who help in so many ways to
make this society run, so take a moment the next time you see
one of these very active members, and thank them for all they
do.
~Alan Cherepon, President
Library News
We’d like to give our thanks to the following people for their
recent library donations: books - Brian Wetzig, Pauline
Denson, and Joanna Chavez; periodicals - Kathleen
Howard and Charles Covill.
Please continue to check out books and return them in
I was also able to provide a little taste of some mineral-related a timely manner. Everyone is doing a wonderful job of
museums I visited in the past year, as our February meeting this...keep up the good work! Happy reading.Your Librarpresentation. I keep hoping somebody who attends the ians.
~Diann Hill & Harriet Strieber, co-librarians
Tucson show would do up a presentation on this. Maybe I
will have that opportunity next year, as I hope to attend.
February 2007
Up coming events include field trips, the Swap & Sell in April,
and several members having their own sales out of their
Meeting Minutes
homes, and some of the special interest groups meeting here
and there. There always seems to be something happening if
you search hard enough, so make sure you network with your Program: Alan Cherepon presented a slide show on Mineral
Museums in Europe, including museums in the Netherlands
fellow collectors as much as possible.
and England.
The show committee decided to have dinosaurs as the theme
for this year’s show, and with the push to make our show
more educational, there may be something that catches your
fancy which ties into this. If you have ideas or just want to
pitch in and help, please come to the show committee
meetings and get involved, and help make it a resounding
success. I’m sure the people involved would be glad you did.
You may be the person who lines up some expert in this area.
We can all help out in many ways, so “think outside the bun.”
In closing, some big thank yous need to go out to several
people this month. Dee Fly and Ed Gage for saving our
building from termites, James Lopez, James Mercier, and
Ron Guzman for their continued tireless pursuit of keeping
the building repairs moving forward, and informing us on what
still needs to be done, our new hospitality chair, Hannah
Cyfka, although very young, has enabled our continued
offering of food and drink for the masses, and for our former
hospitality chair, Kelee Greenway, for the great job she did
Call To Order: The meeting was called to order by Alan
Cherepon, president.
Building: James Lopez said that there will be a saw shed
painting party on March 3rd, or March 4th if it rains on the 3rd.
Dee Fly reported that termites had been found in the building
along the front wall of the meeting room. She said that the
problem had been taken care of, and thanked Ed Gage, who
works at the U. S. Department of Agriculture, for his help in
the matter.
Dee Fly said that James Lopez had replaced all the baseboards
in the building after the termite treatment.
Dee also said the insurance company had been sent additional information on the damage to the library and that an
additional check would be forthcoming. She also reported
that the roof had been fixed again.
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THE STONE CHIPPER
MARCH 2007
Juniors: Susan Postlethwait, chair of the Junior Committee, Hospitality: Hannah, who is acting Hospitality chairperson,
said that the once-a-year junior trip would be April 15th to said she needs two more people to sign up to bring refreshthe Whiskey River bridge to collect shells and shark teeth. It ments for the next meeting.
is open to children from 2 to 102.
Show: As chair of the Show Committee, Susan also reported
that the committee meets the third Wednesday of each
month [Ed. Note: new day], and invited any club member
to attend. She said the committee had picked dinosaurs as the
theme for this year’s show, and that articles on dinosaurs are
needed for the show booklet. Susan and Bob Folsom
presented a check to the club from the proceeds of the 2006
show.
Show chair Susan
Postlethwait presents
President Alan Cherepon
with a check from Gem
Capers 2006!
New Hospitality Chair,
Hannah (right) with her
guest helper,Ashley (left).
Photo by Laura Dow
Rockhound of the Year: Harriet also announced that Dee
Fly is the recipient of the Rockhound of the Year award for
2006, and presented Dee with a certificate.
Membership: Susan Postlethwait, substituting for Ron
Guzman, Membership chairperson, said that there were
sixty-four members present, and one guest.
Swap Meet: Brian Wetzig announced that the swap meet
will be April 14th and asked that anyone who wants a table,
Photo by Laura Dow
or space for your own table, let him know soon. He also
Susan also requested that members purchase buckets of asked that anyone who has extra tents bring them to the meet.
laundry detergent from HEB and save the buckets for the club
to use for carrying pea gravel and other items for the show. Parton Award: Alan Cherepon presented an award to
The large buckets used in the past are too heavy to carry Merritt Romans for Honorary Patron of the AFMS Enwhen filled. Any other similar-sized buckets, such as frosting, dowment Fund. [Ed. Note: Bob Folsom and Clifford Strieber were honored in December. Merritt’s award was postmayonnaise, and kitty litter buckets would be useful.
poned until he made it to the AGMS meeting.]
Field Trip Report: James Mercer told about the field trip
February 17th to the Karnes uranium mines, including show- Rock Sales: Dee Purkeypile said that he and Teresa were
th
ing some of his finds. He said Alan Cherepon had put together having a final rock sale on Saturday, February 24 , from
an impressive trip and book, with the help of experts William 10:30 to 4:00.
E. Galloway, former professor of geosciences at UT, and Jon
E. Brandt, soil scientist, the Railroad Commission of Texas, Dee Fly said that she and Murry were having a rock sale on
March 17th and 18th.
Surface Mining and Reclamation Division.
Library: Harriet Streiber announced that Brian Wetzig
donated a book on geodes, which was autographed by both
authors. She also announced that the book chosen as a
memorial to George Browne is Masterpieces of the Mineral
World. This is the second copy in the library, which will allow
one copy to be checked out and the other to stay in the library
as a reference.
Adjournment: There being no further business, the meeting
was adjourned.
~Pauline Denson, Secretary
NOTE: Please send notices of changes of address or to
report errors on the mailing list to: Bob Greenway, treasurer. To get signed onto the AGMS email list and/or to
receive the newsletter via email, please send a note to the
editors.
~The Editors
MARCH 2007
THE STONE CHIPPER
Field Trips
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I read had this to say about this site “This locality is famous
for being the most fossiliferous site in Texas”.* Can you
believe that! And we are heading that way.
Check out this cool website for plenty of information on this
site. http://hgms.org/ then click on FIELD TRIPS and go
2007 Big Bend Area Rock Collecting Trip
to the very bottom of the page. Directions, collection cards,
and Cookout
fossil descriptions and a lot of useful information can be found
Well Folks, El Gran ex-Presidente has finally rescheduled the here. And remember juniors, ask permission before surfing
return to Big Bend trip as promised. Not exactly the weekend the web.
he preferred, but it’s the only clear weekend his schedule
allowed. Plans are to leave on Wednesday, March 28th and Now that you are ready to go, let me clue you in on a few
return on Saturday, March 31st. This leaves Sunday to either things.
recover from the trip or celebrate Palm Sunday. (If the Palm
Sunday date is cast in stone, does that make it Petrified Palm TOOLS: Small gardening tools like a trowel and a screw
driver will be helpful. A bucket or a backpack to place your
Sunday? Just wondering.)
treasures in will be most helpful. Also useful to carry a bottle
This time we’ll be able to make a real assault on Needle Peak, of drinking water. And don’t forget, aluminum foil, toilet
weather permitting. If nothing else, the drive there is “interest- paper or any other soft item to wrap up your treasures in.
ing”, just ask Susan and Les. For one stretch, the creek bed
is the road! One of these days we’ll hit Walker Ranch again.
Teri said the south gate (where we haven’t been) has less
plume agates, but some interesting (there’s that word again)
specimens. I’d like to explore that area this time. As usual,
Teri Smith from the Antelope Lodge will be our guide and
protector.
PROTECTION: Long pants, sneakers or boots, hat and
sunscreen are a must! We live in Texas! Gloves and eye
protection are also advisable. Let’s talk SNAKES. I have
been to this site at least six times and have never seen a
dangerous snake but that does not mean they are not there.
Be aware of you surroundings and NEVER, EVER, EVER
assume a snake is not dangerous!
Please email El Gran ex-Presidente, or call his faithful servant
FOOD, DRINKS, ETC: Bring plenty of both. Hunting for
James Mercier at home or at work.
~James Mercier, El Gran ex-Presidente Himself fossils works up an appetite. And as you know, in Texas, you
can never have too much water on hand. Last thing, it might
be a good idea to bring a change of clothes and shoes. We
are hunting on the river. The river has water. And everybody
Junior Field Trip to Whiskey Bridge
knows that KIDS + WATER = MUD!
ATTENTION JUNIORS: Did you hear? We are going
on a field trip! Yep, you read it right, a real honest to goodness To RSVP, please call. I will have a field trip sheet posted to
field trip! Bring your parents, bring a friend, bring the whole the club website by March 15th. It will contain all the
club with you. Juniors of all ages are invited!
information needed to attend this trip. Field trip, fossils and
friends! What else could you ask for? See you then!
We will be going to the Whiskey Bridge in Burleson County *Neal Immega, 10/2000 Houston Geological Society
on April 15th. It is off of highway 21. You will need to have
your parents park on the southwest side of the bridge. There
~Respectfully submitted, Susan Postlethwait
is a large pull off and you will probably see lots of cars.
We will be hunting for fossils in the Crockett Formation. “A closed mouth gathers no foot.”
~Unknown
Eocene gastropods, pelecypods, squids, shark teeth, crabs
and a bunch of other things can be found! Les and I have “Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate.”
~Thomas Jones,
been quite a few times and this place is incredible! One article
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THE STONE CHIPPER
MARCH 2007
Board Minutes Synopsis
February 6, 2007
The roof has leaked again. James Lopez will be the contact
person to get the roofer to take care of it.
Web Site – presentation by Miah Peterson, professional
designer and programmer. Proposed system using Jumla,
updated by designated club members for particular areas.
Charge of $200 plus hosting on his site for $20 per month
for at least five years. Will check on donating services and
taking a tax deduction instead.
James Lopez said that the fan on the saw in the shed is now
working again. Saw shed will need to be scraped and
repainted. James Lopez will ask for volunteers.
Presentation on appearance of proposed new web site.
Moved and approved to give Mr. Peterson $200 to start the
new web site. Committee to work with him made up of Susan
Postlethwait, Stretch Young, and Paul Bordovsky.
Status of Taxes/Non-Profit - Our accountant is the person
to ask regarding how something might affect our 501(c)(3)
status. The treasurer will ask about record retention
requirements for 501(c)(3)’s.
Wait until the doors and baseboards are finished to have
Ron come finish up painting cleanup.
Phone - Club phone is still not working. Someone will have Swap Meet - Brian Wetzig has flyers for the club swap meet
to be available to meet the phone repairman to get it fixed. for anyone to hand out. He will e-mail them to other clubs.
Will ask radio station 102.7 to make a free public announceGeorge Browne Memorials – Book selected as a memo- ments. Need wood for signs for the meet. Need to get
rial to George Browne is Masterpieces of the Mineral permission to put them up at area businesses.
World, by Wilson, Bartsch, and Mauthner. One copy for
field trip is the one to Karnes
reference, one to check out. Diann received a $10 donation Field Trips - Only scheduled
th
.
There
may
be a later trip to volcano
City
on
February
17
to be used in George’s memory.
sites in the Austin area.
Bob Greenway reported that $1,165 had been received for
the Federation Scholarship Fund in honor of George Juniors – Library has a book for juniors called, Is There A
Dinosaur In Your Backyard?
Browne.
Building – Estimate to replace front door with regular one
with hinges on outside (as they currently are), is for $475. For
one with hinges on the inside it would cost $625. Need to get
an estimate that includes the other door that opens to move
large items through. Motion passed to accept bid for door
with inside hinges, contingent on doing the other door at the
same time.
Nominating Committee –Susan Postlethwait and Diann
Hill will be the two members from the board, Richard Dorsey
will find two general members.
Reports - Committee chairs are required to report to the
board at least quarterly.
NOTE: These are synopsized minutes. For full text of board
Termites found on outside wall of meeting room. Pest control minutes, please contact the club secretary, Pauline Denson.
~Editors
company will drill and inject around the foundation every
twelve inches and inject around the bathrooms.Will use
Invent a Poem
Termidor, best product currently available. The cost of the
By Margaret Good, AGMS Club Member
job is $925 for a one-time application. Everyone out for a
couple of days, post notice on both doors, notify neighboring
When poems yourself you invent
building owner. Motion passed to proceed.
Prepare them to go to print
The editor grins
Some baseboards must be replaced because of termite
Hoping it wins
damage. Motion passed to buy necessary replacements.
However, if not, don’t lament.
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THE STONE CHIPPER
MARCH 2007
A.G.M.S. Calendar
Sunshine
Committee
Wednesdays - Workshop Open 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Mar14 - Faceter SIG Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
Mar 17-18 - Mineral Sale at Fly Household
Mar 20 - Fossil SIG Meeting
Mar 21 - Show Committee Meeting 7:00 p.m.
Mar 21 - Clubhouse Clean Up (volunteers needed)
Mar 22 - Club Meeting 7:30 p.m.
Mar 28 - Field Trip to Big Bend begins
Apr 03 - Board Meeting 7:00 p.m.
Apr 07-08 - Sphere & Mineral Sale at Rowlands
Apr 11 - Faceter SIG Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
Apr 14 - AGMS Swap Meet, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Apr 15 - Junior Field Trip to Whiskey Bridge
We are sorry to report that Pauline Denson’s Mother-inlaw passed away. Our sympathies go out to her and her
family.
Josie Middleton asks that you report sunshine news, both
good and bad, to her.
The announcement was made last month about the birth of
the AGMS’s youngest rockhound, Odin Turner, born to
Julian and Emily Turner. Here is a photo of him at his first
AGMS meeting.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
FLY’S ROCKS & MINERALS
GOING OUT OF BUSINESS SALE
WHEN : MARCH 17 & 18, 2007
TIME : 10:00 A.M. TO 5:00 P.M.
Odin Turner with his
proud parents,
Julian and Emily.
AGMS Club House,
February 22, 2007.
ROCK & SPHERE SALE!
John & Lenae Rowland are having a rock and sphere sale on
Saturday and Sunday, April 7th and 8th, from 10 a.m. to 3
p.m.
Photo by Laura Dow
Fossil SIG News
AGMS Swap Meet
The Austin Gem and Mineral Society would like to invite you
to this year’s AGMS Swap Meet to be held on April 14th,
2007 in the AGMS Clubhouse parking lot. Setup starts at
9:00 a.m. and booths open at 10:00 a.m. and close around
5:00 p.m. We invite you to bring your treasures to identify,
trade, or sell.
Dr. Ernie Lundelius, professor emeritus at UT, will speak on
“Life in Isolation - the Case of Australia” on Wednesday,
March 20th at the AGMS clubhouse.
~Diann Strout
FOR SALE
Facetron faceting machine with extras for $1,000. Used
Members, if you are interested in setting up a table or tent at very little. Includes 26 metal dops of various sizes, 8 new
this year’s swap meet you can contact me. As always, space Dyna discs (8/100 to 3000), 1 new lucite lap, 1 used copis limited so let me know if you want a one table area or 10' per lap, 1 used master lap, 1 used 100 grit lap, 1 used 260
X 10' space to set up in ASAP. Please bring your own grit lap, 1 used 1200 grit lap, 1 used 14000 grit lap, 1 used
table(s) if possible, if not let me know and I will see what I can 50000 grit lap, transfer jig, miscellaneous faceting stones.
All discs and laps are 8 inches. Contact Mac Ellis.
do, but no promises.
~Brian Wetzig, 2nd Vice President
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THE STONE CHIPPER
Dues are Due!
MARCH 2007
tee. We will now meet the 3rd Wednesday of every
month. Same time: 7 p.m. Same place: AGMS Club
House. The second announcement was that we need buckets. Not big buckets but the small four gallon buckets with
metal handles. Laundry detergent, kitty litter, pickles, and
even frosting comes in four gallon buckets. If every family
brought in one bucket, we would be one very happy show
committee!
Dues for 2007 are now due! Please pay at the next meeting, or by sending your check and information to the clubhouse, attention the treasurer. THIS IS THE LAST NEWSLETTER TO BE SENT OUT WITHOUT CURRENT
Last month we decided on a theme, DINOSAURS! We also
PAID DUES! Please don’t make me cut you off the list!
~Editors decided to invite all of our dealers back for the 2007 show.
In March we need to really buckle down and decide on some
demonstrations we want to go after. Really need help here
Local Show
folks! Really! If you have a good contact or a good idea,
Announcements
come on over!
Mar 23-25
Show Committee meeting will be March 21st. We begin
San Antonio, TX
promptly at 7 p.m. at the AGMS club house. Goodies
Southwest Gem & Mineral Society
provided.
Bobby Schultz, 210-337-8908
~Respectfully submitted,Susan Postlethwait, 2007
Apr 20-22
Gem Capers Show Chair
Marfa, TX
Chihuahuan Desert Gem & Mineral Club
Show Committee Minutes Synopsis
Paul Graybeal, 432-729-4526
February 15, 2007
~From www.lapidaryjournal.com calendar
The 47th Annual Fiesta of Gems will be held on March
23-25, 2007 at the Freeman Coliseum, Morris Activity Center on SBC Center Parkway in San Antonio, Texas. Hours
are 10-6 Friday and Saturday, and 10-4 on Sunday. Admission is $4 adults, $3 seniors 65+, children under 12, 50
cents, and students with ID’s are $2. The show will include
silvercraft, gemstones, dinosaur items, jewelry, fossils, exhibits, faceting, lapidary, crystals, minerals, and demonstrations.
~Show Flyer, Bobby Schultz, SWG&MS
Show Talk
March is definitely an AGMS month with St. Patrick’s Day
- two weeks of spring when everything is green. In the spirit
of GREEN, come and join in on a show committee meeting.
At the last club meeting I had two major announcements.
First, the meeting nights have changed for the show commit-
-Palmer Center does not have any fatigue mats so we need
to get some for the cashiers and the club booth. A golf cart
was found to not be advisable.
-Think that Wing Evans is going to repair the Wheel of
Fortune.
-Show Theme for 2007 will be dinosaurs.
-Vacant Chairs: Wheel of Fortune - Suggested asking
Adolph and Marion Krchnak, Magazine Notices - Laura
Dow will do it if no one else volunteers.
-New meeting date will be the 3rd Wednesday of the month.
-Motioned and seconded that all dealers with the exception
of Fly’s and Purkeypile’s would be invited back (they are
going out of business and moving, respectively).
-Gem Mine needs new buckets. Want 3 to 5 gallon
buckets.
-Show Pin needs to be designed for this years with
dinosaur theme.
-Silent Auction will use 6ft tables, as we will have extra
ones.
-Touch Table will be moved to the North Entrance.
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THE STONE CHIPPER
MARCH 2007
-Brian Wetzig is scaling back on volunteers where we can.
He needs to get number of volunteer hours to Bob Greenway.
-Received thank you note from San Juan Gems.
-Received some small faceted stones from Caveny
Creations to use as we see fit.
1st Vice President Dee
Fly receiving her award
for AGMS Rockhound of
the Year 2007, presented
by President Alan
Cherepon
~Dee Fly, Show Committee Secretary
Photo by Laura Dow
What is It?
WOW! Again, WOW! I always get excited to find out who
it’s going to be but never in my wildest dreams would I have
thought me. When I heard my name, I was looking at Fran
So, did you figure it out that it was Microcline last month? Ellis. She was clapping and smiling at me. She probably
Now for this, the next following set! This one may not be too thought what is wrong with her, go get it. I was sitting there
with my mouth wide open. Murry pushed me forward to go
common for some of you.
accept the award. And speaking of Murry (that little sneak)
1. This cannot be scratched with a knife, something he knew about it. He was so glad it was finally awarded and
he didn’t have to keep a secret any more.
quartz or harder will.
By Josie Middleton
AGMS Club Member
2. It is composed of iron, silicon, oxygen, and magne- Thank you very much for this honor. I promise to keep up the
sium, not necessarily in that order.
good work and the cleaning out of all the nooks and crannies.
3. Crystals are usually flattened prisms.
~Dee Fly, 1st Vice President
4. This material has also been found in space rock.
5. It is common in basalt.
6. Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii have some
AGMS PATRON
form of this material.
2006
7. It is named for its lime green color.
8. Dunite is composed entirely of this.
Congratulations go out to Merritt Romans for being one
The gemstone quality material is Peridot
of the three AGMS members to win the award for lifetime
achievement in the club in the form of a 2006 Patron award.
It is well deserved!
AGMS’
ROCKHOUND OF
THE YEAR
Dee Fly is the recipient of AGMS’ Rockhound of the Year
Award for 2007. As a vice-president, Dee really has been the
driving force behind so many club events last year. With the
water damage to the building and its restoration, inventories
of the club’s assets, and other responsibilities, Dee is to be
commended for her leadership efforts. Congratulations, Dee.
~Harriet Strieber
Merritt Romans
receiving his 2006
Patron Award, presented
by President Alan
Cherepon
Photo by Laura Dow
Our own Margaret Good has won third place in a the
SCRIBE limerick competition. Great work Margaret!
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THE STONE CHIPPER
A.F.M.S. News
Junior Cash Awards at Roswell
MARCH 2007
S.C.F.M.S. News
Future Rockhounds Forum
“Choosing a Lapidary Project”
By David & Carol Abbot
SCFMS Juniors Program Co-Chair
Exciting news and a challenge from the Chaparrell
Rockhounds, hosts of the 2007 AFMS and RMFMS Show.
We would like to invite all the other federations of the AFMS
to participate in our Junior Cash Award Program. It entails In the area of “Choosing a Lapidary Project”, we thought it
the following:
might help to give some examples of the projects that we have
seen as successful at the Arlington Gem and Mineral Club.
There are two $25 cash awards given; one to a junior aged
between 6-12, the other to a junior aged 13-17. Each junior The club has on display an exquisite rendering of “cave art”
may enter one specimen only, in the following categories:
in the permanent collection. This was created by a former
1. Minerals, 2. Lapidary & Petrified Wood, 3. Fossils, 4. junior leader and talented artist. The rock used was flagJewelry (using specimen collected in the field).
stone from a local landscape supply. The participants were
shown photos of actual pictographs, and given free-reign to
The junior must collect the specimen himself/herself. Then he/ create. Aging of the art (optional) was performed by taking
she needs to make a label that identifies the specimen (e.g. the dry stone (after painting) out to the parking lot and
AQUAMARINE, QUARTZ), classifies it (e.g. sulfide, car- “rubbing” on the concrete. The high areas are abraded, giving
bonate, silicate, oxide, etc.), says where it was found, and a very reasonable impression of age.
states the name of the junior’s club. If the specimen is a fossil,
it should also state the period from which it came. The Scrimshaw art has an old and interesting historic background.
specimen should be mounted on a base or stand to best The word is said to derive from an older sailor’s term for one
display the specimen. No personal name of the junior should who is wasting time. Whale teeth and ivory being somewhat
difficult to obtain (and politically sensitive), we purchased
be on the label.
Tagua nuts. Please check the web, but one site selling them
The junior must submit an entry form to me no later than May is: www.nedraspyrography.com/Tagua_Nuts.htm.
1st. He/she does not have to be present at the AFMS/
RMFMS Show. The junior can send his/her entry with a At the time that we tried scrimshaw, there was a site
fellow club member or his/her State Director (it is the junior’s (apparently no longer available) where we could purchase
responsibility to get it to the State Director). The specimen large quantities of raw nuts. These were then cut into slices on
must be presented on Wednesday, June 6th, the day of set- a band-saw and sanded smooth. Alternately, the relatively
up. The entry form can be found at www.rmfms.org under the flat sides of the whole nuts were sanded smooth, providing as
2007 show information (Junior Cash Awards), or you can many as three surfaces for scrimshaw. Be aware that every
nut (that we have seen) contains a randomly-shaped void
contact me and I will send you a copy.
near the center. The nuts are near-white and hard enough to
As this is the first time we have expanded our horizons to polish. Very simple tools are required: patterns, something to
include the entire AFMS Federations, we are looking for- scratch with, and a felt-tip pen. Tagua is somewhat porous,
ward to having many juniors enter. We would love to have and wiping the surface with ink (as was formerly done with
ivory), will stain the nut. Instead, follow the pattern scratches
every club in the AFMS participate!
with and pen and immediately wipe. Also, an application of
Contact Diane Weir, RMFMS Junior Chairperson, 2300 S. automotive wax applied to the smoothed nut PRIOR to
Union, Roswell, NM, 88203, 505-622-5679, scratching will help to avoid misplaced ink.
~excerpted from S.C.F.M.S. Newsletter, 1-2/07
dcweir@dfn.com.
~A.F.M.S. Newsletter, 3/07
THE STONE CHIPPER
DAVID & LAURA DOW, EDITORS
6719 BURNET LANE
AUSTIN TEXAS 78757
Address Correction Requested
Austin Gem and Mineral Society
For membership information write: AGMS, 6719 Burnet Lane, Austin, TX 78757
2007 Officers
President:
First V.P.:
Second V.P.:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Alan Cherepon
Dee Fly
Brian Wetzig
Pauline Denson
Bob Greenway
Committee Chairpersons
Board of Directors
Annual Show
Building Chair
Display Cases
Education/Classes
Federation/Conservation
Susan Postlethwait (1)
Jeff “Stretch” Young (1)
James Lopez
(1)
Chip Burnette
(2)
Richard Dorsey
(2)
Diann Hill
(2)
4 Field Trip Gene Healy
Committee: Ron Carman
MARCH
2007
Editor Awards
2003-1st AFMS New Editors, 1st SCFMS
2004-4th AFMS
2005-2nd AFMS, 1st SCFMS
2006-6th AFMS, 2nd SCFMS
Workshop & Historian
Hospitality
Junior Advisor/Programs
Library Co-Chair
Library Co-Chair
Membership
Newsletter Editors
Program
Scholarship
School Programs
Sunshine
Susan Postlethwait
James Lopez
Betsy Gager
Nancy Keller
Paul Good
Clilfford Strieber
Chip Burnette
Ed Gage
Hannah Cyfka
Susan Postlethwait
Harriet Strieber
Diann Hill
Ron Guzman
David & Laura Dow
Brian Wetzig
Jef “Stretch” Young
Wing Evans
Josie Middleton