nlmar2005
The Cochise County Rock
Monthly Newsletter of the Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club
www.cochisecountyrock.org
“Finding and Grinding Rocks in Cochise County, Arizona Since 1962”
MARCH 2005
This issue edited by Paul McKnight
_________________________________________________________________
March Meeting and Field Trip
Our next meeting will be Monday, March 14 at 7 pm. It will be followed by a presentation on wire wrap jewelry by several experts. There is a great field trip planned for Saturday, March 19. See enclosed field trip notice.
Two items of interest were referred to the Board of Directors by the February meeting: One was whether to hold a meeting in June; the other was whether to donate cash to the Sunsites Library. The Board will discuss these items and come up with recommendations for the March meeting to consider.
February Field Trip Report
On February 19, 12 to 14 Club members joined the Huachuca Mineral and Gem Club’s field trip to the Baker Lode Geode Mine near Hermanas, New Mexico. We dug through the tailings, finding little geodes that were small enough to get overlooked by the original miners. These geodes contain either chalky mud or crystals when you open them up. The ones with crystals are very beautiful. Geodes weighing up to 350 pounds have been removed from the mine in the past. The weather was perfect. It was not too sunny, and the rain held off until we were finished digging. We thank HMGC President Bill Jaeger for inviting us, and we thank Retha for coordinating rides.
We had to cancel our own planned field trip when Randy Stewart, owner of the local gold and silver mine we were going to visit, announced that four hours of emergency back surgery the previous week had left him in recovery mode rather than field trip mode. Quite understandable. After the Wednesday surgery, Randy had the strength, guts, and determination to leave the hospital one day early (on Sunday morning) and speak to our meeting on Monday evening. We appreciate his steadfastness. He and Jaclyn have invited the Club to hold our annual picnic at the mine this summer.
Always check the web site for breaking news on planned field trips.
www.cochisecountyrock.org
We now have Lapidary Classes!
I’m writing this after attending my first lapidary class. We learned how to turn rocks into slabs and how to turn slabs into cabochons, which can become pendants, earrings, or mounted stones. The club has a collection of machines to help us perform all the steps in the process and we have an able instructor in Larry Strout. My wife Beth began by cutting slabs on the gravity feed slab saw. Cindy Weller and I began by using the trim saws to cut our slabs down to the proper size. Jack Weller began with a preform that he affixed to a dop stick for the initial grinding into the desired shape. Time flew and before we knew it 3 ½ hours had passed! Larry had transformed us from rank beginners into people who can cut and grind rocks.
Anyone who would like to get started with lapidary training should contact Don Hammer at 384-3105 or Larry Strout at 826-3991
Upcoming regional events
March 10-13, The 40th Annual Deming Gem and Mineral Society Rockhound Roundup, at the SW New Mexico State Fairgrounds. We have traditionally sent members to this event, which includes field trips and lots of interesting vendors. If you are interested in going for all or part of it, contact Retha Brouhard at 826-1684.
Help wanted
Anybody want to be the Club Librarian? Duties would include taking charge of our books and magazines and making them available to members at Club meetings.
Would anyone want to help with transcribing the handwritten historical minutes of the Club to computer files? We would like to publish the entire history of the Club on our web site. We have one tentative volunteer.
List of Club Officers for 2005
President Paul McKnight 520 824-4054 paulmc@vtc.net
Vice-President Curt Kelly 520 826-1136
Secretary Don Hammer 520 384-3105 dahammer@vtc.net
Treasurer Larry Edgett
Board Member at large Marie Sherman 520 826-4004
Club Calendar
March
12 Board Meeting
14 Regular Meeting – wire wrap demonstration
19 Field Trip – Black Hills Rockhound Area and Mule Creek lead by Don Hammer
April
9 Board meeting
11 Regular Meeting followed by Public Meeting on early Chiricahua Apaches (as early as the 1400s), co-sponsored by The Amerind Foundation
24 Field Trip – Dinosaur tracks and Jasper led by Ed Fenn
May
7 Board Meeting
9 Regular Meeting – demo of
14 Field Trip – Johnson Camp Mine by Clive Bailey?
June
Picnic or field trip
July
Field Trip or picnic
August
Field Trip
September
10 Board Meeting
12 Regular Meeting – public meeting on
17 Field Trip
October
8 Board Meeting
10 Regular meeting - demo
15 Field Trip
November
12 Board Meeting
14 Regular Meeting – elections, no speaker
19 Field Trip
December
5 or 12 Christmas Party – potluck
Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club
P.O. Box 87
Pearce, Arizona 85625
General Meeting Minutes February 14, 2005
Attendees: Paul and Beth McKnight, Jeannine Paterson, Richard & Barbara Yeager, Keith McRobert, Larry Strout, Hanni Sigal, Jack & Cindy Weller, Ken LaFayette, Don & Harriet Krey, Ed Fenn, Carol Thomas, Curt Kelly, Don and Joan Hammer, Retha Brouhard and Marie Sherman.
President Paul McKnight called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm and asked for any changes to the minutes of the previous meeting as published in the newsletter. Seeing none, he asked that they be approved as published. He then asked each member to take a few minutes and tell us a little about themselves. Don Hammer explained the results of the lapidary class survey and asked interested members to sign up for the day and time they would like to attend. Larry Strout explained we shared the lapidary room with the ceramics folks and they would be using it on Wednesday and Thursday though we could use it on Wednesday evening.
Paul then explained the Web page was up and running and would be used to update members on events. Advertisements would be differentially charged to members and non-members. Persons living outside the county and wishing to be members of the Club would be offered a reduced membership rate if they received their newsletters via email. Randy Stewart has undergone back surgery and will be unable to lead the Saturday field trip. The Huachuca Club is going to the Baker Ranch in New Mexico for red geodes and our members are welcome to go along. For those interested a sign up sheet is on the membership table. Check the Web site for directions to the second meeting place. The Stewarts agreed that the Club could hold their summer picnic (June or July) at the Stewart’s mine site in the Dragoons. The March meeting will feature a wire-wrapping demonstration by Larry Strout, Bob Peterson, Keith McCord and Don Wells. The program for the April meeting will feature a U of A archeologist presenting evidence that the Chiricahua Apache were in the Stronghold in the 15th century. We presently have about $5,500 in the treasury. The Christmas party will be potluck with Curt leading the cooking of the entree. Retha moved that the Club make a $50 donation to the Garden Club for beautification of the entry signs of Sunsites – Ironwood, Treasure Road and High Street, Jeannine seconded and a discussion ensued. The donation is a substitute for rental on the Senior Center, some felt the town realtors should donate. The motion passed with 11 ayes and 2 nays. Retha proposed that the Club donate $250 to the Friends of the Sunsites Library fund. The County provides the books and salary for a part time librarian. The Friends provide the building, maintenance, utilities and volunteer staffing. Discussion points included we have already donated to the Bookmobile this year, in the past we have donated books and perhaps the Club could donate an item for the auction at Elegant Dessert Night. Paul suggested we refer this matter to the Board. Larry moved and Beth seconded the motion to adjourn at 7:45 pm.
After refreshments Randy Stewart explained the intricacies of locating and laying claim to a gold mine and the results they have had to date with their mine in the Dragoons. Considerable discussion followed his presentation.
Members interested in lapidary agreed to hold one class on Wednesday evening and one class on Saturday afternoon with Larry Strout instructing both classes.
Respectfully submitted,
Donald A. Hammer, Secretary
Field Trip Notice for Saturday, March 19, 2005:
Meet at the Safeway Parking lot in Willcox at 7:45 am. We will depart at 8 for the Black Hills Rockhound Area east of Safford where we will pick up or dig out Fire Agates. We will then proceed to Mule Creek just east of the New Mexico border where Apache Tears are easy picking.
Stuff to bring:
Clothing for cold air at Safeway and hopefully warm air during the day
Digging tools
A bucket
Lunch
Water
Camera
A portable chair if desired
A Rockhound in Iraq
(Your editor went to a week-long Agate trip in New Mexico in the fall of 2003. The leader of this adventure was Yonis Lone Eagle. Every morning at 8 am, we would line up our cars behind the lead vehicle driven by Yonis and head for Agate and Jasper areas. Yonis was an officer with the Rocky Mountain Federation. He brought his wife and his 18-month-old son Dusty on the trips. Last month I emailed him a copy of our newsletter. I was surprised to get a return email from Iraq asking if we would be interested in publishing a series of articles from a rockhound on duty in Iraq. This is the first in that series.)
Intro – 31 Dec 2004
Howdy fellow Rockhounds. Sergeant Yonis Lone Eagle from the Rocky Mountain Federation here writing to y’all from Camp Virginia in Kuwait. We reported to our unit on Christmas day and left for the Middle East on the 26thof December. We are here at a staging area with over 5000+ other U.S. troops and coalition forces from at least a half a dozen countries waiting for our turn for a flight north into Iraq. I’m currently assigned to the 228th Combat Support Hospital as a senior Bio-Medical Equipment Technician or BMET. The 228th is from Fort Sam Houston, Texas. I will be stationed in Tikrit, Iraq where we will set up and operate a 44 bed field hospital to support our brave troops during “Operation Iraqi Freedom.”
Being a very avid Rockhound for almost forty years now, I find adventure in every new field I hunt in. But to go hunting for rocks and fossils in a foreign country called Iraq during the ongoing “War on Terrorism” is something totally different. One must be very careful not to step on any old forgotten land mines and to keep your head low for all the flying bullets.
Therefore, I thought I would share my adventures with my fellow Rockhounds. I will be writing periodically on war, the geology and rock & fossils I find over here. I hope everyone will enjoy these stories and I look forward to your comments. Y’all can e-mail me at rockymountainrockhounds@yahoo.com . This first report is more about the country that I will be working in for the next year. Hopefully it will give you a better idea of where I’m located.
Rock Hunting in an Iraqi Combat Zone
(Rockhounding at its Extreme)
PART 1 of ???
by
Yonis E. Lone Eagle
With a current population of almost 25 million, Iraq is a very ancient country with its birth dating back to near the dawn of civilization almost 10,000 years ago. Some of the world’s greatest ancient civilizations such as Assyria, Babylonia, and Sumer developed in the area of Iraq. It is bordered by Turkey to the north; Iran to the east; by the Persian Gulf, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia to the south; and Jordan and Syria to the west. The physical geography is made up of a combination of a arid sandy rocky desert and mountains that covers almost 170,000 square miles with a green vegetation zone between her two major rivers, the Euphrates to the west and the Tigris to the east.
The northern portion of Iraq, known as Al Jazīra, is mountainous. Near her northern border with Turkey, elevations reach around 7,000 feet above sea level; in the northeastern part of the country, near the border with Iran, there are higher peaks. The highest is Mount Ebrāhīm with an elevation of almost 12,000 feet above sea level. Farther south the country slopes downward to form a broad, central alluvial plain, which encompasses the valley of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. West of the Euphrates, the land rises gradually to meet the Syrian Desert. The extreme southeastern portion of Iraq is a low-lying, marshy area adjacent to the Persian Gulf.
There are two different types of soils in Iraq. Heavy alluvial deposits, containing a significant amount of humus and clay, make up one type and are very useful for the numerous construction projects in the region. The lighter soils, lacking in humus and clay content, contain wind-deposited nutrients. With its large quantities of water, supplied by the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, semi-rich soil has been deposited along and between the two rivers for centuries. A high saline content mars the otherwise rich composition of these deposited soils. Flood-control projects and irrigation on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers help increase the agricultural production of this area. About 50 percent of the land is arable.
Iraq is predominantly an agricultural country. Approximately 12 percent of the land is under cultivation. Most farmland is in the region of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Agricultural production averages included 550,000 metric tons of wheat, 465,000 metric tons of barley, and 130,000 metric tons of rice annually. Before the imposition of UN sanctions, exports of dates from Iraq accounted for a major share of the world trade in dates. Other fruits produced include apples, figs, grapes, olives, oranges, pears, and pomegranates.
The natural resources of Iraq are primarily mineral. The country is well endowed with petroleum and natural gas. Petroleum is the most important natural resource of Iraq. The country is estimated to have about 10 percent of the world’s supply of proved petroleum reserves. The oil fields are located in two main regions: in the north-central part of the country, near Kirkūk and Mosul, and in the southeast part of the country, just inland from the Persian Gulf, near Ar Rumaylah. There are also small deposits of various other minerals that include ores of copper, gold, iron, lead, silver, platinum, and zinc. Gypsum, salt and sulfur are fairly abundant, and seams of brown coal are numerous.
On a rockhound note… While still in Kuwait and out on a nearby weapons range to test fire our rifles, which is located out in the middle of the Kuwaiti desert, I found a good size chunk of well tumbled light gray & tan agate. About the size of a grapefruit and weighing about 5 or 6 pounds, it was very weathered and polished from the blowing desert sands. I’m looking forward to getting back to the states and cutting it open. I suspect it will be banded inside.
There were also several more much smaller tumbled stones that covered the entire area, evidently, an ancient riverbed. I also found a smaller, less rounded two-toned rock slightly larger than a golf ball. Half of the rock was a dark purplish-brown color and the other half was a tan color. The blowing desert sands or sandblasting too had polished it. And walking to the chow hall at our base camp the other day, I found a small piece of tumbled Brown Moss Agate, a nice little surprise.
Well folks, I hope y’all enjoyed this first report. I will be writing more once I get up north to Tikrit. Everyone take care and happy hunting.