ROCKWOOD ROCKHOUND NEWS for MARCH
2002
Field
Trips
Since
we have a decent amount in our treasury due to the
work we did at the Queeny Show, it might be nice if we used some of it on
field trips. Here are two
suggestions:
1.
Join the Association on a field trip to the Sheffler Mine in April
to hunt for geodes. The club
would pay the entrance fees. This
mine will soon be bulldozed under
when the highway is built through that area.
2.
Charter a bus and go up to the Midwest Federation Show in Springfield,IL.
That would be the week-end of October 4-6, 2002.
Let
us know how you feel about these ideas. If you have any other
suggestions, we would love to hear them.
We were saddened to learn that
John Wilson, an founding
member of the Rockwood Rockhounds died at the end of January.
John is fondly remembered because of his generosity.
He had all sorts of wonderful equipment which he taught the members
to use. He would open up his
garage and allow everyone to come in
and learn. He is survived by his
wife, Marguerite Wilson.
Helen Heitland is feeling much better
after her surgery and is ready to get back to business.
Martha Cottrell has been recuperating
well so she is able to take care of
Roy who is just home from the hospital after major heart surgery.
Roy isn't having any more chest pains but he is still sore and tires
easily. However, he feels that he is
improving daily.
Mineral
of the Month
Hank
Schlichter has chosen Actinolite
as the Mineral of the Month. If
any member has a nice specimen of it, bring it along to show us. Last month
Barbara Sky brought in her prize winning
collection of calcite for us to see. Since
Hank had explained the reasons
why there are so many different shapes and colors of calcite,
Barb's collection was a perfect illustration.
Minutes
of the Regular Meeting of the Rockwood Gem and Mineral Society
February
15, 2002
Education
committee head Andy Larson reported that he will distribute flyers at the Cabin
Fever show in Kirkwood and Bob Morse will take flyers to the Rock Hobby Mineral
and Gem show in March.
Barbara
Sky reported for the Hospitality Committee that 10 members and 4 guests are in
attendance at this meeting. Barbara
also said she missed the last association meeting so had no report.
There
was a reminder that books from the club library will be distributed following
the meeting.
The
meeting was called to order by president Joan Schlichter at 7:05 p.m.
The
minutes of the previous meeting were read by secretary Marianne Toenjes and
accepted with a correction that the club library would be given away at the next
meeting.
Coordinator
Diane Larson reported that she had scheduled a display at the Grand Glaize
library for 2003. She reported that
treasurer Bob Morse suggested using treasury money for a club trip to
Scheffler's. Diane suggested a club
trip to Springfield, Illinois in October.
Editor
Claudia Uccello reported that Roy Cottrell is in the hospital following a heart
attack and Helen Heitland had surgery but is back home recuperating.
A
motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 7:20 p.m. to be followed
by a presentation on calcite by Hank Schlichter, book distribution and a video
on quarries.
Submitted
by Marianne Toenjes, Secretary
News Form Other Clubs
Not
a UFO-Not a Lightning Ball, It's and Earthquake
Light!
The U.S.G.S. has observed earthquake
lights for some time. They occur
simultaneously
with earthquakes, and are located along faults on the earth's surface where the
quake is centered.
Recently the lookout on the
observation point at the Yakima Indian Reservation,
in Washington State, thought he saw a fire. It turned out to be
a very strong white light, approximately baseball size, floating down a
slope with no noise. Scientists
refer to these balls of light as "luminous
phenomena" and theorize they occur as a result of the release of
strain in the region where the earth's crust is moving.
There is strong correlation between
the number of earthquakes and any monthly increases in reports of
sightings of these lights. In
the 1970's , before the Mt. St. Helen's eruption,
there were many more luminous phenomena sighted than at any time subsequent to
the eruption. Between 1972 and 1977,
eighty-two such phenomena were reported on the Yakima reservation. Some
researchers think they may be connected with very small magnitude earthquakes
while others hope they may be a way of predicting earthquakes and eruptions.
(Via CRYSTAL CLUSTER,1/99)
Age
of Ambers
Amber
has long been appreciated and traded by the Syrians, Phoenicians, and even the
Vikings. The Greeks believed it was solidified
sunshine,considered it a precious stone, a jewel,
but called it ÒElectraÓ for
its ability to attract bits of material if
rubbed on cloth. Nero, emperor of
Rome, sent expeditions to buy Baltic amber, to cut as gemstones or use for
medicine to treat inflammations and muscle spasms.
Amber is a polymerized compound of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon and
contains varying ratios of succinic acid, several resins and brown volatile oil.
Polymerization is the process wherein the molecules of sticky resin are
linked into larger molecules. This
is unlike the fossilization or
lithification process of other materials.
Amber has a hardness of 2,
a specific gravity of 1 and can be melted at 100 degrees C. It can be cooked
down to black colophony or amber pitch. Amber
varies in color, blue, red, black, green and honey. The trees, Pinus succinifera,
producing amber resin existed through the Miocene Age but all amber is not the
same age. Amber occurs in
sedimentary rocks.
Bavarian-225 million years old
Lebanese-115-135 million years
Siberian
80-115 million years
British
Columbia-100 million years
New
Jersey-90 million years old
Alaskan-80
million years old
Arkansas-60
million years old
Baltic-40
million years old
(Via THE BENITOIT)
Helpful
Hints
To open geodes, soak a string in
kerosene, tie it around the geode,
burn the string, then plunge the geode into
cold water. In many cases, this will crack the geode and a light tap with
a hammer will finish the job.
(Via Petrograph)
Toothpaste with fluoride has the
unique characteristic of penetrating stone, ceramics, bricks, terra cotta, and
then flushing the dirt away with water.
(Via Ghostsheet)
Monument makers use a weak solution of
oxalic acid to acquire the glassy shine on granite.
Try dissolving a little oxalic acid in water and work into your buff or
add to your polishing paste. Try it
on agate and jade.
(Via Rockcollector)
A
Plea to John Q. Public
I have heard that some of you
think we're crazy to go out in the cold, the mud,
the heat or the dust to hunt ugly, heavy, dirty rocks- but that is only
what you see on the surface. In the
Gem and Mineral CLUBS in this
country, there are those who really know their DIAMONDS.
We always carry hammers, pry bars, and SPADES on our field trips, and
down deep in our HEARTS, we are all dedicated rockhounds.
Please, therefore, before you make too many disparaging remarks -
remember there are some in every club walking around with a FULL DECK.
(Vivian Gilbert in the Geode)
Volcano Yields Gold
Volcanoes
ordinarily produce molten material called magma and a nasty concoction of
hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, hydrochloric
acid, hydrofluoric acid, and other deadly gases.
At Galeras, an active volcano
in Columbia, gold is being produced. When
it is erupting, Galeras also exhales
through its vents a pound of gold into the air each day.
Furthermore, the volcano formed a vein of quartz containing gold.
The high - grade vein yields about eight ounces of gold per ton.
Although gold has been found
in other volcanoes, Galeras yields about 100 times more gold than any other
active active volcano.
The gold--bearing vein at the base of the 14,000 foot volcano was
discovered when a guide showed it to a scientist. A sample of the vein was dated
and found to be about 560,000 years old. This
suggests Galeras has been expelling gold while erupting since its beginning.
Most of the gold is in solution in
the volcano's gases and can not be collected.
Galeras is active. In 1933 the volcano
killed nine people, six of them earth scientists.
Access to the volcano has been restricted,
but geologists continue to study Galeras because they have the
opportunity to see an active model of
gold ores being emplaced in the rocks. (Via
The Rockfinder) |