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GULF COAST MINERAL, FOSSIL & GEM CLUB

P.O. Box 1404      Venice, FL 34284

www.mineralfossilgemclubvenicefl.org

NEWSLETTER

VOLUME 6 NUMBER 5: February 2007

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PURPOSE

     The purpose of our club, organized in 1967, is to foster an interest in minerals, gems, fossils and lapidary arts, to give people with these interests the fellowship with each other and a chance to interact with informative meetings, programs and activities and to present our hobby to the community at our annual show.  We also try to foster an interest with the children of our community and to share our knowledge through programs and displays in the local schools and libraries.

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MEETINGS

     Meetings are held the first Monday of the month, October through May, except as noted below, in the Meeting Room at the Venice Public Library, 300 S. Nokomis Avenue, Venice, FL.

ANNUAL DUES ARE $10 FOR SINGLES OR $15 FOR FAMILIES

 

REGULAR MEETING DATES: 2006-2007 CLUB SEASON

Mon     7:00pm     Oct 2, 2006     “Show & Tell” (including rainbow calsilica) 

Mon     7:00pm     Nov 6, 2006    Speaker: Allen Brown—Chain Patterns

Mon     5:30pm     Dec 4, 2006     Dinner Meeting and White Elephant Gift Exchange

Wed     7:00pm     Jan 3, 2006      Discuss Show, Geraldine Vest—Gemstone Inclusions

Mon     7:00pm     Feb 5, 2007     Silent Auction—Club Members

Mon     6:30pm     Mar 5, 2007    Speaker: Prof. Sam Upchurch—Illinois Fluorites

Mon     7:00pm     Apr 2, 2007     Speaker: Tom Granata—Fossils

Mon     5:30pm     May 7, 2007    Dinner Meeting, Herb Knodel—Amber

       

SHOW January 27-28, 2007; Sat. 10 am to 5 pm; Sun. 10 am to 4 pm

                                                                                                         

CLUB OFFICERS

               President: & Newsletter Editor: Geraldine Vest (941) 408-1711; Gvest201@yahoo.com

               Past President and Liaison with AFMS: Allen Brown (941) 926-4171; allen_brown19467@msn.com

               Vice President: Ursula Jablonski, (941) 484-9956; ujjablonski@comcast.net

               Secretary: Barbara Walker (941) 488-1302                

               Treasurer: Tom Granata (941) 484-1533 sunshine5585@earthlink.net

               Assistant Treasurer: open

               Webmaster: Duane Daniell (941) (941) 375-8858 duanedaniell@yahoo.com

               Show Chairs: Ralph & Eileen Marble, (941) 922-2135 marblesgems@verizon.net

               Publicity Chairs: Kathy & Ross Young (941) 377-8054 KatYoung@comcast.net

               Educational Committee: Tom Granata (Chairman) & Geraldine Vest

               Senior Trustee: Tom Ladd (941) 755-6428

               Trustee and Show Chairman: Ralph Marble, (941) 922-2135 marblesgems@verizon.net

               Trustee: Gifford Smith (941) 698-0183 gif@gls3c.com

               Trustee: John Mort (941) 794-2185 mayjohn008@aol.com

GULF COAST MINERAL, FOSSIL AND GEM CLUB

FIFTH MEETING—MONDAY, February 5, 2007 at 7:00 to 9:00 pm

SILENT AUCTION

THIS IS THE SAME AS LAST YEAR’S AUCTION

1.      Slips can be picked up at the club show on Jan 27 and 28 from Geraldine Vest or before the meeting.

2.      Each club member can bring up to10 lots for sale.  For example, one lot could be: some journals fastened together with string or rubber bands, a piece of jewelry in a box, a set of jewelry in a box, a mineral specimen in a box, several cabs in a plastic baggie, a box of tumbled stones, a bag of small findings, some fossils in a box……..you get the idea.  {Just in case we do not have enough merchandise—bring a few extra lots that can be sold if necessary.}

3.      Fill out the slips before you arrive if possible.

4.      Arrive at 6:30 p.m. to help set up the tables; those club members that are selling lots can then display their items for sale.

5.      A short business meeting will be started at 7 pm, followed by the Silent Auction; people will have time to look at all the items and make bids.

6.      After a reasonable time, there will be an announcement that bids will stop in five minutes.  Make your final bid.

7.      Refreshments will be served all evening.

8.      Buyers can pay the sellers and collect their merchandise.  All sales must be paid in cash or by check for large items, if the seller agrees.  The club will not get involved and will not collect a fee.  100% of the sale price goes to the seller.  Everybody will then help take down the tables and clean up the place.




IF YOU DID NOT GET FORMS AT THE CLUB SHOW YOU CAN GET BLANKS BEFORE THE MEETING OR YOU CAN COPY

THIS FORM

Click for Form

REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED—Cold drinks will be supplied by the club; “home made” goodies will be furnished by Barbara Knodel, Stephen & Mary Libcke, Donna Budd, May & John Mort, and Rob Campbell

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MESSAGE FROM YOUR PRESIDENT/EDITOR: Geraldine Vest
 
’’’ SLIPS FOR THE SILENT AUCTION CAN BE PICKED UP AT THE CLUB SHOW ON JAN 27 AND 28 FROM GERALDINE VEST OR BEFORE THE FEBRUARY MEETING.

     Just before I started this month’s newsletter I solved a Crypto quip in the newspaper 12/28/06 and it made my day.  It read “To fashion a beautiful keepsake necklace, I suppose it helps to be a LOCKET SCIENTIST.”

     I wish to thank Ralph and Eileen Marble for the wonderful third annual “Club Outing at the Marbles” day on January 13, 2007.  Many of our club members attended and Katrina Meyers took pictures for the next newsletter.  I was able to add several new mineral species and cabochons to my collection.  Ross Young, Ralph’s son-in-law, also had his wares available to purchase; I got some interesting faceted tourmalines and a few small diamonds for my student/teaching set.  Kathy Young was there with 15-month-old Abigail, currently our youngest club member.  Kathy and Ross’s new daughter is “scheduled” to arrive in March.  Ralph promised to have the fourth annual yard sale next year.

     Last summer Charlotte Coffey volunteered to copy all of the club tapes that were still usable to DVDs to preserve them.  A list of the status of the work is in a table in this newsletter.  Recently, Allen Brown and Ralph Marble donated some tapes to the club—they will be copied to DVD and listed soon.

 

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CLUB TAPES READY TO BE CHECKED OUT

 

Title

VHS

DVD

Basic Bead Stringing

Yes

Yes

Brazil Amethyst and Agate Mining

Yes

No

Diamond Setting Pave

Yes

No

Faceting

Yes

yes

Faceting A Round Brilliant

Yes

yes

Gemstones of America

Yes

No

Glass Bead making

Yes

Yes

Handmade Chains

Yes

No

Intarsia 2

Yes

Yes

Intricate Intarsia

Yes

Yes

Introduction to Intarsia

Yes

Yes

Jewelry Repairs Part 1

Yes

Yes

Jewelry Repairs Part 2

Yes

Yes

Jewelry Repairs Part 3

Yes

Yes

Lampworking Part 1

Yes

Yes

Lampworking Part 2

Yes

Yes

Lost Wax Casting

Yes

Yes

Mold Making Jewelry

Yes

No

Opals The Queen Of Gems

Yes

No

Revere on Goldsmithing

Yes

Yes

Shop Techniques for the Professional Jeweler

Yes

Yes

Soldering 2

Yes

Yes

Soldering I

Yes

Yes

Stone Setting

Yes

No

The Complete Metal Smith

Yes

No

The Emerald Cut

Yes

No

The Making of Marini Part 1

Yes

Yes

The Making of Marini Part 2

Yes

Yes

Tourmalines

Yes

No

Wire Sculpture Introduction Part 1

Yes

Yes

Wire Sculpture Introduction Part 2

Yes

Yes

Wire Sculptured Rings

Yes

No


 

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CONGRATULATIONS AND BEST WISHES TO OUR MEMBERS CELEBRATING:

FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS:

Donna Budd (Feb. 6), Fred Buti (Feb. 7), Eileen Marble (Feb. 18), George Bothum (Feb. 23),

Dick Dennison (Feb. 27)

 

FEBRUARY ANNIVERSARIES:

Herbert & Barbara Knodel (Feb 14), Dick & Gloria Dennison (Feb 29)

 

Favorite e-mail from Pat Roeller, Geraldine Vest’s Sister-in law

Las Vegas Churches

     This may come as a surprise to those of you not living in Las Vegas, but there are more Catholic churches than casinos.  Not surprisingly, some worshippers at Sunday services will give casino chips rather than cash when the basket is passed.  Since they get chips from many different casinos, the churches have devised a method to collect the offerings.  The churches send all their collected chip to a nearby Franciscan monastery for sorting and then the chips are taken to the casinos of origin and cashed in.  This is done by the chip monks; you didn’t even see it coming did you?  Gotcha!!!!!

PEARLS: “THE QUEEN OF ALL GEMS”

By Rob Campbell G. G. & Geraldine M. Vest, Ph.D., FGA, GG

 

     A gem is a material that is beautiful, durable, and rare.  This article will attempt to explain how a quirk of nature got the lofty title of “Queen of Gems” and actually follows current archeological ideas that the pearl may have been mankind’s first gem!  Before the written word (prehistory) modern people only have limited facts so we must rely on fairy tales, campfire stories, translated scrolls, and confusing religious texts.

     Let us take a walk through time with the pearl.  Let us begin with ancient man—as a hunter-gatherer group (before circa 10,000 B.C.E.).  They might have observed animals eating the flesh out of mollusk shells and they took the next logical step, copying the action—and were rewarded with a quick, tasty snack. Perhaps, one day while snacking, a person bit down on something hard and inedible, possibly breaking a tooth along the way.  Spitting out this odd thing—and discovering that it was a round, lustrous, beautiful-orb (pearl).  A gift from the sea, worthy of taking back to the clan for “Show and Tell”—pearl fever was soon to follow.

     Note that mother-of-pearl—pieces from the inside of the mollusk shell that contain a surface layer of nacre—may have been the first adornment material.  Shell is beautiful and durable but it is not rare and thus not a gem.  Many shells have small round holes in them because a predatory mollusk actually drills a small hole in the shell, sucks out and eats the occupant, leaving an empty shell with a convenient stringing hole—making mother-of-pearl an easily worn ornament.  Pearls, (with rarity defining its gem status), easily win over mother of pearl and received the title as the worlds first gem.  The pearl would need to wait for man to duplicate the technology of the drill-mollusk’s ability in order to drill holes in pearls—the only treatment necessary to finish this gem.

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