The Petoskey Stone - Oakland County Earth Science Club

The Petoskey Stone
Oakland County Earth Science Club
www.OCESC.com
Club Meeting
Mar. 4th
At 7:30
Board Meeting at
6:30
Thanks to Muriel
and David Machin
for the delicious
home-baked desserts
on the refreshment
table in February
Refreshments—
Lynnette West
Dues are Past DueBut you may still
pay Debbie
Rathburg- see pg 3
for amounts.
President’s Message
From the desk of Dwight, March is
fast approaching and it won't be long
until we're able to get back outside to
do more rock hounding. And I'm sure
that will mean another trip to
Kentucky for more geodes!!!
Catherine and friends are sorting
through the club’s stash of rocks for
our annual Rock Club Action. Help is
really needed if you have any extra
time that you can spare, every
Thursday starting at 1:00, for a couple
of hours at the Rock Room at the CAI.
Leon is keeping the grinding room
running but the attendance is way
down which may necessitate cutting
back to being open just one day a
week. Tony and the Beading Bunch
are hard at it again every Saturday at
the church! We'd like to welcome
our newest member, Heather Adasek,
to the club! Jim Glassbrook will be
doing the March program on
"Chainmaille- old and new".
See
you all at the meeting March 4 at
7:30!!!!! President Dwight
March 2015
and, as always, Roberta makes her
presentation fun and amusing to boot!
Here is a brief, though incomplete,
summary of some facts presented. Barite
roses are often confused with selenite roses.
Barite roses come in red (a rusty, orangeyred color) and grey. Selenite roses, formed
from gypsum, are grey, too, hence the
confusion. Both form in sandstone. Barite
rose is the Oklahoma state rock and is
found in the Garber Sandstone formation.
Barite roses form in areas covered by
shallow seas long ago— the Permian
Period. Salt water evaporation is required
for barite roses to form.
Barite roses are actually the crystal form of
barite.
You must ask permission to hunt and
collect barite roses on private lands; you
cannot collect them on public lands. The
‘red’ roses are found in very small areas of
Oklahoma. ‘White’ roses are found in the
Salina Kansas area. The largest rose found,
as yet, is 17 inches across.
--- Laura Sheffer
Roberta’s Rose Display, below
Prep for Club Auction
We are still sorting for the club’s
April 1st Silent Auction 1:30 at the
CAI building, in the grinding room.
Volunteers are needed. Call Katherine
Van Hoy before you go to be sure they
are working that Thursday.
Barite Roses
Roberta
Thomas
our club a very or www.amfed.org/mwf/Calendar/) For detailed
Upcoming Events (events can be found atgave
www.rockngem.com
and entertaining
talk on
information, please visit interesting
individual club’s
website.
Barite Roses. She brought in many of
her collectionimpressive,
Nov 1 thru Nov 29 - Rock
Polishingan
Class
at CAI Building, 7-9 PM, Cutting/shaping/polishing taught
beautiful
display.
We
learned
a lot
by Leon Pearson, and open to the public. Contact Waterford
Parks & Recreation 248-674-5441
above: Roberta Thomas’ barite rose display
Upcoming Events (events can be found at www.rockngem.com or www.amfed.org/mwf/Calendar/) For detailed
information, please visit individual club’s website.
OCES classes - Grinding room has resumed each Monday and Tues evening.
Beading Group –Tony West Class –- Saturday 1-4pm at the Church
Each Thursday, 1PM, CAI Building- - Club members welcome to help sort materials for our April
Silent Auction. Contact Katherine Van Hoy for info- call first to be sure someone will be there.
Mar. 7-8, (note the date change) Livonia MI 43rd Roamin’ Club Annual Auction, Vistatech Center,
Schoolcraft College, 18600 Haggerty Rd, Sat 11am-6pm, Sun Noon-6pm, auctions, prizes, kids, lowpriced materials table. Contact Todd Gall, email: cuhead@mac.com
Mar. 16, Bead Bonanza, Southfield Pavilion, Southfield MI Civic Center. Admission $5.
March 20 SPRING! Vernal Equinox at 6:45 pm EDT
Mar. 20-22 Annual show; Michigan Gem & Mineral Society, Jackson County Fairgrounds - American
Event Center; 200 W. Ganson; Fri. 11-7, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 11-5; adults $4, seniors $2, students $1, children
(under 5) free; kids' activities, gems, minerals, fossils, beads, jewelry, lapidary supplies, demos, exhibits,
silent auctions, door prizes, raffle; contact- saltoosal2@yahoo.com; Web- mgmsrockclub.com
Mar. 28 Midwest Mineralogical & Lapidary Society Rock Swap 10 am - 5 pm 13115 Telegraph Rd.,
Taylor, MI Contact: Lou & Cindy Talley; ltalley1970@gmail.com; www.mmls.us
Apr. 9-11, Indian Mounds Rock and Mineral Club Annual Show, Thurs & Fri. 9:30-am-9pm, Sat
9:30am-8pm. Roger's Plaza, Clyde Park & 28th St.,Wyoming MI, Info- Kreigh Tomaszewskikreigh@gmail.com
May 23-24 Midwest Federation’s 75th Anniversary Celebration- www.chicagolandgemshow.org
2015 Refreshments
Jan.
Feb.
Sue Klopfer, Laura Sheffer, Machins
Mar. Lynnette West
April Katie Rathburg
May
Jackie Presson, Monica Rowe
June Banquet-Potluck, Nancy Pfauth, coord.
Sept. Greg Lemke
Oct.
Linda Whitehead
Nov.
Dec. Club Banquet/Potluck
2015 Programs
Jan.
Dave Machin, Coal Mining.
Feb
Roberta Thomas, Selenite Roses
Mar
April Silent Auction
May
June Club Show & Tell- bring your ‘treasures’
Sept.
Oct.
Nov
Club Member Swap/Sale & Elections
Dec. Banquet; program needed
March Birthdays
6
10
12
28
Jenny Lemke
Erica Lemke
Hilda Hubbard
Andrea Heide
If we missed your birthday, please see Laura
Sheffer or Debbie Rathburg.
picture: acottageindustry.typepad.com
Welcome to new member Heather Adasek, who works at Waterfall Jewelers
If I have missed someone, spelled your name wrong, or have the wrong date please contact
me, Debbie, and leave a message on the machine if you don’t get anyone. Or you could let
me know at the next meeting.
Is that name tag broken, lost or misplaced? If so you can order a new one for just $8.
Please let me know if you would like a new one. Thank you, Debbie Rathburg.
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Meeting Address:
OAKLAND COUNTY EARTH SCIENCE CLUB
Christ Lutheran Church
5987 Williams Lake Road
Waterford MI 48329
Club Web Site—www.OCESC.com
Editor: Laura Sheffer, e-mail: lsheffer1@comcast.net
note that the first email ID character is a lower
case ‘l’ as in ‘Laura’, and the last character is the digit ‘1’ as in ‘1-2-3’
Midwest Federation Library: see http://www.amfed.org/mwf/resources/geologyprograms.html
Rentals are open to all club members- contact Pat Powers, e-mail SLCNewsletter@aol.com
General Meeting: First Wednesday each month, September through June at 7:30 PM Board Meeting: Same day as
General meeting, at 6:30 PM General and Board meeting are held at Christ Lutheran Church.
Purpose: To associate the member families, to promote activities that help families learn about Earth sciences and
lapidary arts, and to cooperate with other similar organizations.
Grinding classes and workshops are held at the C.A.I. building- 5640 Williams Lake Rd.
Open hours in the grinding room- $3.00/person/day.
Officers - 2014
President: Dwight Keith
Vice-Pres: Tony West
Secretary: Chris Shull
Treasurer: Leon Pearson
Directors
Bob Albertson (14-16)
Rod Krupka (13-15)
Nancy Mathura (14-16)
Nancy Pfauth (14-16)
Tom Pierson (14-16)
Gerry Runkle (15-17)
Eleanor Snyder (Emeritus)
Roberta Thomas (14-16)
Katherine Van Hoy (Emeritus)
Linda Whitehead (13-15)
OCESC is a member of
MWF-AFMS
Committees:
Refreshments- Monica Rowe
Programs- Open position
Classes- Tony West
Field Trips- J. Rives
Children’s - R. Woerner
Membership- D. Rathburg
By-Laws- C. Roller, P. Brady,
L. Pearson
Library- L. Whitehead
Historian- L. Whitehead
Silversmith- M. Rathburg
Scholarship- R. Seibert
Rock RaffleShows- E.Snyder,
K. Van Hoy
Sunshine- N. Mathura
Publ.- L. Sheffer
Website- D. Whitehead
Grinding Room- L. Pearson,
G. Runkle, B. Albertson
Banquet- N. Pfauth, L. Whitehead
Newsletter ContributionsAll Members:
Articles and items of interest are
welcome! – Please send them to the
editor (US Mail or E-mail) by the 13th
of the month. See above for Editor’s
address.
Membership Dues: Annual Membership dues (due each February): $20.00 per family unit or individual. Students
pay $7.50 if not covered by family membership. Club name tag is $10.00 per person. ALL adults are required to
wear their name tag. Contact: Debbie Rathburg.
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OCES BOARD MINUTES FOR WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015: Meeting called to order at
6:45 pm by President Dwight Keith. Also attending were Nancy Pfauth, Bob Albertson, Gerry Runkle,
Rod Krupka, Nancy Mathura, Leon Pearson, and Roberta Thomas. Motion to approve Minutes as
published in the Petoskey Stone was approved. Treasurer’s Report was also approved. We received a
check from MMS for helping at the Detroit Show. We will continue to receive copies of bank statements
(not emailed statements). Midwest Federation does not cover injuries; would we be covered under MMS
coverage? We will have to check this. Grinding Room: If attendance does not increase, we may have to
discontinue Tuesday nights. Sunshine: Monica Rowe is doing well; Andy Caceres is doing well with his
pacemaker. Beading classes have started; working with polymer clay first couple of weeks. The Taylor
Show is at the end of March. MGAG, who used to run the weekend classes in June is no longer in
operation. We have repaid Dave for internet fees; we really appreciate all of his volunteer time for the
website. April Auction: meeting at the CAI, Thursdays at 1:00 to sort and price. Call before you come
over to make sure that someone will be there! Kathryn Van Hoy would like to purchase some books in
order to make identifying specimens easier. Motion made and approved to allow Katherine to spend $125
for new books. We will need help to move all of the sorted material to the church before the April 1st
meeting. Leon requested that we give him a budget not to exceed $325 for new grinding wheels; motion
passed. We have Sue Klopfer and Laura Sheffer for refreshments tonight. Roberta Thomas will be
giving us a talk on selenite and the Oklahoma “roses.” Meeting adjourned at 7:05 pm.
OCES GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING FOR WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015:
Meeting called to order at 7:30 pm. Motion made and passed to approve the Treasurer’s Report and
January Minutes. Grinding Room attendance was down; we may have to cancel Tuesday night. Beading
has started on Saturday; 1-4 at the church. Sorting at the CAI will be on Thursdays 1:30; learn to
identify items for the April Auction. Dave has fixed the website; we appreciate his work. Dues are due!
Debbie Rathburg must have dues paid by February so the membership roster will be completed. We
received a check from MMS for helping at the Detroit Show. We will continue to pay for hard copy
statements from the bank. Motion approved to allow Leo to buy new grinding wheels; limit of $350.
Nancy Mathura says Monica Rowe and Andy Caceres are both doing well. MGAG has been disbanded;
they sponsored weekend classes for many years. Tony West and Beading: polymer clay, then beading at
the church on Saturday, 1-4. Dave has revived our website; the club has gotten new members from the
website. Keep up the good work, Dave! April Auction: we will need help to move items over to the
church before the April Meeting. Motion made and passed to give Katherine Van Hoy up to $125 to
purchase new books for identifying specimens. Rod Krupka and Laura Sheffer have volunteered to audit
our Treasurer’s “books.” Welcome to our newest member, Heather Adasek, who works at Waterfall
Jewelers. Sue Klopfer and Laura Sheffer are doing refreshments tonight. Roberta Thomas will be talking
about Desert Roses and Selenite. Respectfully submitted, Chris Shull, Secretary.
[Editor’s note: Muriel and David Machin also contributed to February’s Refreshments]
❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉
“I didn’t know that…” Fun history – life in the 1500’s, submitted by Tony West
Houses had thatched roofs -- thick straw – piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for
animals to get warm, so all the dogs, cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it
rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would fall off the roof – hence the saying “it’s
raining cats and dogs…” Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the
loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top or “upper crust.”
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Banded Iron Formations
Many of us have this rock in our collections and some have made cabachons from it. It is a sedimentary
rock with black bands of hematite or magnetite and red bands of silica such as chert, chalcedony, Jaspers,
shale and clays. Riebeckite and siderite are sometimes found. Tiger’s Eye is a banded iron.
When this rock was formed there was no oxygen in the atmosphere. The blue green algae, also called
Cyanobacteria, gave off oxygen as a byproduct of metabolism. In the water this combined with the
dissolved iron to form the iron oxides, hematite and magnetite which are insoluble in water. These
deposited as the black layers as the early organisms lived, made oxygen and then died leaving the red
silica sediments to take their turn at depositing. These rocks are trace fossils like dinosaur footprints or
copralite. Evidence of a life form but not the life form.
Their age is from 3.5 to 1 billion years. All continents have these rocks. No banded iron is being
formed today. Our closest source is the Lake Superior iron ranges which have supplied iron ore for
industry since the Industrial Revolution.
The Tiger’s Eye version of this sedimentary rock is due to low grade metamorphism creating veins of
fibrous or asbestos riebeckite which in turn may be replaced by quartz. Last year the club auction had
slabs of red Tiger’s Eye and in previous years, blue slabs. Usually it is golden brown. Because of the
asbestos masks should be worn when working with this Tiger’s Eye.
Above material excerpted from: www.galleries.com/ rocks/bid.htm, Banded Iron Formation - Mineral
Gallery. To see pictures of any of these rocks Google the name of the rock and click on images.
Nancy Mathura
above: brown banded Tiger’s Eye, Geology.com
-
above: banded iron ore, approx 2250 million yrs old,
Jasper and black hematite. Japer Knob, Ishpeming MI
Cavers Test Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera For Finding Caves
With a notion they might be able to find new undiscovered caves, a group of Irish cavers have attempted
to attach a thermal imaging infrared camera to a drone. Although they ran into a few snags with the extra
weight of the Flir One thermal imaging infrared camera equipped iPhone, they were eventually able to get
some very encouraging images of the entrance Ireland’s Poulnagree cave. What’s more interesting is that
they were able to get the images despite the cave sucking air in. While this is not the first time this has
been attempted, these results are some of the most encouraging we’ve seen. We can’t wait to see the next
video.
January 28, 2015 / Ireland, Europe cavingnews.com
thermal-imaging-infrared-camera-finding-caves
See the video at http://cavingnews.com/20150128-watch-cavers-test-
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Oakland County Earth Science Club
c/o Christ Lutheran Church
5987 Williams Lake Rd.
Waterford, MI 48329
“If there comes a little thaw,
Still the air is chill and raw,
Here and there a patch of snow,
Dirtier than the ground below,
Dribbles down a marshy flood;
Ankle-deep you stick in mud
In the meadows while you sing,
"This is Spring."
-- Christopher Pearce Cranch, A Spring Growl
Brad’s Bench TipsTouching up a Bezel- Pumice wheels are good for touching up a bezel after you've set the stone. The hardness is
about 6 on the Mohs Scale, less hard than quartz, so it shouldn't scratch any of your agates or jaspers. However,
I'd avoid or be real careful of using pumice near the softer stones like turquoise, amber, howlite, etc.
If you're unsure about the hardness of your wheels, test them on a piece of glass. Glass is about 5 ½ on the Mohs
Scale, softer than quartz. So if the wheel doesn't harm glass, it's safe for use on the quartzes and harder stones.
"Bench Tips for Jewelry Making" is available on Amazon
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