February 2024 Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Meeting of Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society
Meeting date: February 12, 2024
The club met on Monday, Feb. 12 at the Bridgewater Baptist Church. 20 members were present, including 3 new members.
Jack announced that the new equipment for the shop has been installed and is working well. He hopes to see people on Saturday.
The club received a "thank you" note from Bridgewater Baptist Church for our donation of $600 for use of the church for our meetings.
Debbie Grimm presented a PowerPoint on "Organizing All Those Rocks, Minerals and Fossils.....or What Do I Put All This Stuff?"
She said the first thing is to sort through your materials and see if you want to get rid of anything. (Really????) According to the quantity of material, consider a location for storage - is there a small room in the house or a shed you could use? Dividing the material into smaller groups helps from becoming overwhelmed. It is imperative that labeling of each item is done. Labels should include the name of the specimen, where it came from, where & when you got it, & an estimated price value. She uses a lot of "unknown" for sources of materials.
Prices may come from websites such as Etsy or eBay or the price that was paid for it. Identification sometimes takes some investigation - resource books such as National Audubon Society's Rocks & Minerals, Smithsonian Handbook Rocks & Minerals, and Walter Schumann's Handbook of Rocks, Minerals, and Gemstones are useful. Mindat.org and other mineral & fossil sites also help.
Storage depends on the size of specimens. Small items can be placed in clear plastic bags of various sizes; labeled shoe boxes or cigar boxes are useful; plastic cases with drawers that can be bought at Walmart or Michaels are great (some have 10 drawers & have wheels); small plastic cases that are sectioned such as those for crafting supplies; bookcases with lots of shelves; outdoors, rocks can be displayed around the flower beds.
Keeping a record of all the items is vital. Debbie uses an Excel file and keeps a hard copy as well as saving it on the computer. Columns include name of specimen, its source, the formula, where you got it, a description, and price. This record will come in handy one day when the heirs are sorting through your estate. If you have a large collection, it's a good idea to add an insurance rider to your policy. The record would help with that as well. Photographing items is a suggestion, especially for more valuable pieces. (John suggested doing a video of yourself describing the items and photographing the specimens.)
Patience and working in small units will help keep your sanity and frustration level down. Debbie started her "museum" in 2017 when she retired, and is still adding to it. Work a few days, then take a break for a couple of weeks & go back when you're refreshed.
Debbie brought some of her guidebooks from places she's visited. She had her Excel binder that is divided into rocks, minerals, fossils, fluorescents, and collections. She had samples of storage drawers from her cases of fossils, rocks, & minerals. She also displayed some fluorescent materials, some collection boxes from various states, and a few collections she got from the internet.
Debbie admits that she is an "organizing nerd" and doesn't expect everyone to make a "museum" but a little organizing and labeling goes a long way.
This photo says it all!!
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Club Officers and Staff 2016-2024
President – Michael Pabst
Vice President – Leo Cloutier
Educational Outreach -- Deborah Grimm
Secretary/Newsletter -- Deborah Grimm
Field Trip Coordinators - TBD
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