The Cochise County Rock
Monthly Newsletter of the Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club
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“Finding and Grinding Rocks in Cochise County, Arizona since 1965”
December 2012
This issue edited by Diane Dunn
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Christmas Party
The Club Christmas Party will be at 6 pm on Monday, December 10th. The Club will furnish our Christmas turkey. The members are asked to bring a side dish. If you did not sign up at the November meeting, but plan to attend, call Cherie Robb at 805-231-2143 by December 6th. Cherie will coordinate the side dishes. Be sure to bring a gender neutral, preferably rock-related, $10 (or so) gift for the gift exchange. Please note that the party is in lieu of our meeting and starts an hour early. We are looking forward to a really good time.
Pearce Days:
The Club set up a display in the old Captain's Store in Pearce for the Pearce Days celebration. There was a good turnout for the festival on both days. Several closet rockhounds came in to admire our collection. Thanks to Jim and Cherie Robb, Gail and Glenn Renell, Robert Nykamp, Wally Hozjan, Larry Strout, Elliot Hendricks, and Larry Edgett for helping to make our display a success.
General Meeting - November 12, 2012:
The general membership meeting and elections were held on November 12, 2012. The Minutes will be published in the January newsletter.
The next General Membership Meeting will be held on January 14, 2013.
The Treasurer's Report for December and January will be presented at that Meeting.
If anyone knows of interesting public speakers, please contact Don Hammer.
Club Dues
Club Dues are due for 2013. Dues are $15 for individuals and $25 for a family. Walter Sigel will be collecting them at the January meeting or you can mail your check to Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club, PO Box 87, Pearce, AZ 85625.
Nominating Committee Report: Thanks to Carl Schnabel and Bette Greene who presented a slate of officers at the November General Meeting. The slate was accepted without additional nominations and voted in unanimously. Congratulations to our newly elected Club Officers. May you have a Rocking Great New Year!
Field Trips:
November Field Trip
On November 17th we revisited our favorite amethyst hunting ground on the back side of Pearce Mountain. The good amethyst now requires more effort to find. Our members have created several mining pits to dig out our purple gems. If nothing else, it was fun to visit the members in each of the pits. Henri and Levi, Zoe and Carl, Walter and others were deep into heavy digging. Everyone found a bit of purple to take home. By the way, the Greeks believed amethyst gems could prevent intoxication, while medieval European soldiers wore amethyst amulets as protection in battle in the belief that amethysts heal people and keep them cool-headed. You never know when your amethyst could come in handy.
There will be no Club organized field trips in December. Exploring on your own is always an option. If anyone has ideas for future trips, please contact Henri Van den Bos.
Club Website
The address of the Club Website is on the masthead of this newsletter. The Website has past newsletters, photos from almost all of our field trips and other Club information.
Lapidary Lab Update
Larry Strout and Don Hammer will meet at the lapidary lab at 10 am on Tuesday morning December 4th to see what can be done to get lapidary working again. It is a big job and they can use any help they can get. The Lapidary Lab will be closed until the repairs are done.
The Club Library
The Club has an impressive collection of rock and mineral books including field identification guides, guides to collecting areas, lapidary manuals and related topics. If you are interested in checking out any of the books, please call Don Hammer at (520) 507-6600.
Club Calendar:
December
10 Christmas Party
January
3 Board Meeting
14 General Membership Meeting
19 Field Trip (tentative)
31 Board Meeting
February
11 General Membership Meeting
16 Field Trip (tentative)
AGAIN . . .
CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU TO OUR NEW OFFICERS!!!
Upcoming Regional Events
January 2013 Miami, AZ
Gila County Gem & Mineral Society annual show.
February 2013 Tucson, AZ
Tucson Gem & Mineral Society annual show.
If you have not been to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, think about taking a day for the adventure. Vendors from all over the world come every year to Tucson with rocks and minerals more beautiful than imagination. It takes at least a day to see only a part of the show.
Click here: 2013 Tucson Gem and Mineral Shows, Fossil, Meteorite, Arizona
Officers for 2013
President: Jack Light - 520-824-4774
Vice-President: Jim Robb - 805-660-0074
Secretary: Zoe Schnabel - 520-826-0100
Treasurer: Walter Sigel - 520-826-1009
Delegate-at-Large: Carl Schnabel - 520-826-0100
Hospitality Coordinator: Cherie Robb 805-231-2143
Assoc Hospitality Cdr: Gail Renell - 520-507-1896
Field Trip Cdr: Henri Van den Bos -520-384-0288
Meeting Speaker Cdr: Don Hammer