ROCKWOOD ROCKHOUND NEWS

June 2002

School is out! And So Are We! 
There will be no meetings and no more bulletins until September.

ASSOCIATION SHOW
Mark your calendars! The Association show at Queeny Park is coming up on August 16-18. We need all kinds of workers: Set up, pull down, hospitality, exhibitors, and admissions table. Our club is in charge of the admissions table. Call Dianne and Andy Larson at 636-256-0241 to sign up to work a shift. Remember that the profits of the show are divided up by the amount of work each club does.

Field Trip
It was too bad that our last field trip to Sheffler’s Geode Mine had to be canceled due to bad weather and flooding. When the mine reopens, we will try to reschedule.
If anyone has any other ideas for field trips please contact Andy Larson.

Donation
The Club made a motion to donate a TV and VCR to the Daniel Boone Library. Bob Morse plans on selecting and buying it in time for our September Meeting.

Science Fair
Anthony Willroth was the secondary winner of our Science Fair award. This Hazelwood West Junior High student did a study of Tektites.

Meeting Minutes From our Secretary
The meeting was called to order at 7:10 pm by Joan Schlicter. Guests were introduced. First time guests were Troy and Daniel Kniffen. Minutes were approved as in the newsletter. Bob Morse gave the treasurer's report. A copy is included in the minutes.

The June picnic was discussed.
It will be held at Joyce Erard's, in Ballwin, Sunday June 23rd at 2:00.
A map will be in the newsletter. It will be potluck with the club supplying the meat and members bringing the rest. A sign up sheet was started at the meeting. If you were not there and wish to come, please call Dianne Larson and make this known and mention what you will bring at least a few days beforehand so we can be ready. Joyce said that she has
enough chairs so you need not bring your own.

Bob mentioned the show in August and that we would like members to enter displays for club credit. Please consider doing so.

Peggy Nuske mentioned
that it has been hard finding speakers since last Sept.

Field trip chairperson Andy Larson noted that the past trip was canceled due to heavy rain in Keokuk and poor conditions at the site. It could be reconsidered in the future. Members were asked to keep the calendar open in Oct. to go together to the Midwest Show in Spfd. Ill. for the day, Oct. 5th to be exact. Ideas for field trips from the membership are
always welcomed.

Bob Morse brought up for discussion the idea of purchasing a TV and vcr for the library that we would have for our own program use and others could also use. The pros and cons of this were discussed and the recommendation was put to a vote with the majority in favor. This should not cost more than $500, and be placed in the library in Sept. when our Fall meetings begin. This should be of help to us and a contribution to the library whose room we use without charge. It was mentioned that some positive pr might be made of this donation that would give attention to the club's meetings. 

Members were encouraged to take fliers about our meetings to libraries.
Hank Schlicter is our ed chairman. The May 18th swap was mentioned.

The formal meeting was adjourned at 7:55 pm. We had 14 members and 3 guests present.

Hank talked about our mineral of the month which was Sphalerite. We had 5 door prizes to give out as the Schlicters donated 4 boxes of rock candy.

Claudia gave a slide presentation featuring our outstanding parks in which to note rock formations. It is great to have a teacher in the club!!!!!!!!!
Dianne Larson, sec. pro-tem

Pearls of Wisdom
A book without a label is only a paper weight!
Dean Stone
1st VP AFMS

News from Other Clubs
Jasper & Agate
A word or two about working jasper. You will find that jasper is much more troublesome to polish than agate because many varieties are “earthy” and porous. Many others contain hematite, which is very difficult to polish. If you are on a field trip, a good way to test for jasper is to wet it. If it absorbs the water and dries rapidly, throw it away. It will not polish. If it stays wet and does not dry right way, it contains a high amount of chalcedony (quartz) and will take a good polish. Most jaspers polish well on leather with Linde A, but good results can be obtained with tin oxide on either leather or felt. Always remember than a fine sanding job is the secret of good polishing. (via T-Town Rockhound)

A Mint’s Worth of Gold
Prospectors around the world have searched for gold in some strange places, but until recently, no one thought to look in downtown Ottawa. Someone finally did and they found hundreds of millions of dollars worth in the Ottawa River-just outside the mint! For 60 to 70 years, a combination of old technology and no environmental controls left a small part of river bed-30 x 15 meters- laced with waste gold and other precious metals from the coin stamping process of the Canadian Mint.

A small consortium of mining companies headed by JAG Mines of Montreal expect to recover about $450 million (approximately 1 million ounces) worth of gold in the small area after processing about 50,000 tons of sludge and sediment. (Via: Pegmatite)


Hint on using Bell Caps
by
Homer C. Whitlock
You should rough or grind where the bell caps will fit. Be sure to use a good cleanser (not rubbing alcohol). It is better to use denatured alcohol. If you pick up some children’s play clay from your local store, you can successfully use it it with the bell caps. Push your stone into the clay to hold it straight. Put the glue or epoxy on top of the stone and put the bell cap on it. That way it is easy to clean off and will not be so messy. By roughing the stone with emery cloth your will be able to make the epoxy hold a lot better. Be sure not to touch it with your fingers as they leave a film of fine oil on the material. (via: Glacial Drifter)

Minerals R Us
by
Millie Heym
(2nd place 2000 AFMS Poetry)

I looked at the label of my vitamin jar and got a glimpse of what we are:
Calcium, magnesium, manganese, and more,
in all those bottles at the health food store
The same minerals that make our pretty rocks
are human body’s building blocks
no wonder we are drawn to stones-
they’re literally in our very bones!
(Via: MWF Newsletter)

You Might Be a Geologist if:
You can pronounce the word “molybdenite” correctly on the first try.
You think the primary function of road cuts is tourist attractions.
You associate the word “hard” with a value on the Moh’s scale instead of “work.”
The rock pile in your garage is taller than you are.
You associate the word “Franklin” with New Jersey instead of “Ben.”
There is amethyst in your aquarium.
You find yourself compelled to examine individual rocks in driveway gravel.
The baggage handlers at the airport know you by name and refuse to handle your bags.
You have installed more than one mineralogical database on your computer.
(Via: Kevin Conroy & ESCOMO)