Most Recent Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Meeting of Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society
Meeting date: March 10, 2025
Woohoo! Thanks to Forrest Miller we had a terrific, although a bit chilly, field trip to the pavilion. Photos below. The trailer was full of a plethora of rocks and minerals from VA to AK! Everyone went home with a few specimens (or a few buckets full!) He explained to me that these samples were in his dad's basement, and he handled each one at least twice & loaded them on the trailer. (His dad, Charlie Miller, was a long-time member of our club.) We appreciate his generosity and labor of love. 🙏 And thanks to Kelly Lane for offering his well-lighted pavilion.
We managed to tear ourselves away from all the treasures and went inside for our program. Two new members joined the 32 of us at the meeting.
And thanks to all who brought "I" minerals. (there aren't a lot of them). We saw Iolite, Iddingsite, Idocrase, Indesite, Itacolumite, Indochinite, Imilac pallasite, Iron gibeon, and some "iridescent, irradiated, and iron-stained" specimens. (Check mindat.org to see photos and info on each of these).
Business items:
1- Ed Stuart, our field trip leader, reported that he had been trying to contact Gary Ochsenbein at Vesuvius for a while. He spoke with Gary's wife and was told that Gary passed away last week. We send condolences to his family. Ed also stated that we probably won't be able to go to Frazier quarry due to so many restrictions that are being imposed on us visiting there. His good news was that there will be a trip in June to Graves' Mountain to collect unakite in the Rose River. There will be a $10 fee, with plenty of parking, restrooms and food available to purchase. More details later.
2- Cindy Schroer gave a report on a possible mineral auction near Keezletown. Beth O. has a museum-quality collection that she has amassed over 20 years and is trying to sell some of her thousands of specimens. Charlie reported that she had many items in cabinets with glass shelves that were lit from below and above. Beth has items that she has collected, bought & donated to her. The specimens are labeled with names, sources and prices. I will send out details as soon as I get them from Cindy. This auction will be similar to the Mike Herrick auctions, with silent bidding during a specific time frame. We will be doing this as an outreach to help Beth.
3- Jack Glenn reported that contracts have been sent out to vendors, with about half returning the down payment. Our regular vendors have until the end of May to reply, then those on the waiting list will be contacted. I reminded everyone that we will have all 3 buildings at Augusta EXPO and we will need lots of volunteers. The annex building will house our kiddie sandbox, member displays, demonstrations, and will be the location for our vendor dinner on Friday night. Larry still needs help with the sluice and his booth. The show committee is working hard on organizing all the details. The show is Sep. 19-21.
4-Cindy asked if anyone would be interested in helping with an information booth at Grand Caverns in June. The caverns hosts a family day there. We would have fliers about our show, some free rocks for the kids, and information about the club. Let me know if you'd like to help.
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Your annual $10 dues for an individual or a family may be brought to any meeting or send a check written to SVGMS and mailed to: SVGMS Box 324 Waynesboro, VA 22980. {Most clubs charge by person and can be as high as $25; we are a bargain!}
Club Officers and Staff 2016-2025
President – Michael Pabst
President-Elect: Cynthia Schroer
Vice President Emeritus– Leo Cloutier
Educational Outreach -- Deborah Grimm
Secretary/Newsletter -- Deborah Grimm
Field Trip Coordinator - Ed Stuart
Co-Treasurers – Scott Gregory/Deborah Grimm
Show Team Leaders – Scott Gregory/Jack Glenn
Web Site Coordinator – Jack Glenn
Club web site: shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org
Club Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ShenandoahValleyGemMineralSociety
Club email: svgem-min-club@live.com