April 2019 Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Meeting of Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society
Meeting date: April 8th, 2019
Intro:
President Mike Pabst opened the meeting at 7:30. There were 35 members and 2 guests present.
Old Business:
1. Scott Steele reported on field trips and there were samples to view from some of the trips. The trip to Dixie Mine and Kelly Bank resulted in some specimens of Rockbridgite and some iron and manganese minerals.
2. The MD club also donated some petrified cypress wood to our members.
3. Scott is working on future trips as well. He asked those who wish to go to the Super Digg trip in NJ to let him know.
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New Business:
1. Mike asked if anyone had any ideas for future programs.
Michelle Jascot volunteered to do a program on either wire-wrapping or macro-photography. The club voted for her to do a photography program next month.
Scott Steele suggested that Scott Duresky do a program on the Rutherford mine.
Kelly Lane suggested that members purchase a mineral ID book such as National Audobon Society Field Guide, and he offered to do a program on faceting.
Michael Herrick offered to do a program on flat lapping. Great ideas!
2. Debbie Grimm noted that one of our members, Wayne Peterson, wrote and had published 2 articles for the Rock and Gem magazine. The April issue has “Fluorescent Sodalite – Yooperlite’s Appeal” and the May issue has part II – “ Hunting for Yooperlites”. We are proud of Wayne for his work!
3. The officers are very pleased with the new library location for our meetings, especially the large room that the city offers. Mike noted that the lapidary shop is still at the Waynesboro Church of the Brethren. There were some suggestions for possible new locations if the need arises to relocate the shop.
4. Larry Kersten mentioned that Moorefield WV is trying to start a new mineral club and asked for suggestions for programs or demonstrations. He has the contact information for Clem Clark if anyone is interested in helping them. There is a Mineral Show in Cincinnati OH May 4-5. Larry also displayed some brachiopod fossils from Shelbyville, KY, a Herkimer diamond from Middleville, NY, and a huge smoky quartz/fluorite crystal from Bozeman, MT
Program Report:
We were treated to a “virtual field trip” to the famous Tucson Gem and Mineral Show in Tucson, AZ by Mike and Karen Pabst. (Part of their 50th Anniversary Celebration – Congratulations!)
Not only did we enjoy seeing fabulously beautiful minerals, but also some of the delicious food and wonderful accommodations in the area.
Mike worked in Denver, CO for a while, and they got to travel to Tucson many times before it got so famous.
There are many shows going on at the same time with many buildings to visit. Some sites require credentials to enter where gems worth thousands of dollars are sold or viewed.
Most sites do not allow photography, but Mike managed to get several vendors to allow him to take some shots. Karen noted that price labels were on some specimens, but POR (price on request) was common. (If you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it!)
Mike is a micro-mineralogist at heart but was quite impressed with the size and quality of the macros.
Some examples were:
- An 8” tall azurite/malachite crystal for $13,000
- A 3 foot rose quartz sphere
- A cube of blue fluorite from Mineral Mine #1 in Hardin Co. IL for $45,000
- Calcite on fluorite from IL $25,000.
Many of the items were protected by security guards of course!
Mike added a few minerals to his collection – Jourauskite, Despujolsite, Augelite from Peru, and Sylvanite from the volcano in Fiji.
We’re happy for you and Karen and may your adventures continue. Thanks for sharing some photos!
Field Trip Info:
Please refer to “SVGMS Field Trips News” documents you receive from the club secretary for a description of the current status of field trips and details about upcoming trips.
If you are a club member with paid-up dues and you do not receive the “Field Trip News” document when they are emailed, please contact the secretary at loverocksandminerals@gmail.com or at a monthly meeting to correct this issue.
This will be the principle way information about field trips are distributed to members, so we want to insure everyone is correctly addressed.
Next meeting:
One of our members, Michelle Jascot, will be giving us some pointers on photographing minerals.
Looking ahead:
TBD
Remember that the lapidary shop is open the Saturday following a regular meeting and on the second Saturday after that. Leo, Charlie & Jack can assist you. Open from 9 am to noon.
There are several slab saws and trim saws. Keep in mind that safety is a priority, and wear closed toe shoes, safety glasses, with no loose hair or long sleeves. Children must be supervised and closely monitored to insure they are safely using the equipment. Check this page to see what you can learn to do!
If you’d like to present a program, please talk to an officer at a meeting.
Be sure to keep up with our website www.shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org and our Facebook page Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society for updates and information.
Deborah Grimm, Secretary
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Club Officers and Staff 2016-2019
President – Michael Pabst
Vice President – Leo Cloutier
Show Co-Chairs – Dean Hostetter/Scott Gregory
Educational Outreach -- Deborah Grimm
Secretary/Newsletter -- Deborah Grimm
Field Trip Coordinators - Wayne Petersen/Scott Duresky
Treasurer – Scott Gregory
Web Site Coordinator – Jack Glenn
Club web site: www.shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org
Club Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ShenandoahValleyGemMineralSociety
Club email: svgem-min-club@live.com