nlOct2011
The Cochise County Rock
Monthly Newsletter of the Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club
http://sites.google.com/site/cochisecountyrock/
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“Finding and Grinding Rocks in Cochise County, Arizona since 1965”
October 2011
This issue edited by Don Hammer
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The next General Meeting of the Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club is on Monday October 10, 2011 at 7:00 pm at the Sunsites Community Center. Our program will be a demonstration of lapidary by Larry Strout.
General Meeting Minutes May 9
Diane Dunn opened the meeting at 7:00 by welcoming the small group to our last General Meeting before the summer break.
After approval of the Minutes and Treasurer's report, the discussion
centered around plans for the annual picnic.
Because of the the dangers of forest fires and high winds this year, Walter and Hanni Sigel invited the club to their home for the picnic. A motion was made to this effect and seconded and all voted in favor.
Zoe Schnabel will organize preparations for the picnic and asks that those who are planning to attend telephone her by May 31st to confirm their intentions. At that time Zoe will ask them to bring a dish which she will specify to round out the menu. The Club will provide brats and drinks, disposable paper plates, glasses, utensils and
napkins. Walter will grill the brats.
NOTE: Meet at the Community Center at 11:00 AM, June 4th, and we will
caravan to Walter and Hanni's home. DON'T FORGET TO BRING YOUR OWN
CHAIR.
Field Trip: Saturday, May 14th at the Lizard Lane marble quarry. Meet at the corner of Lizard Lane and Dragoon Road at 8:00 for departure at 8:15. High clearance vehicles recommended. We will collect finger agate and marble. Several oohs and aahs were heard as Club members examined the beautiful samples of finger agate that Henri brought to the meeting. For those who want to be a little aggressive in searching the agate, bring hammer and chisel. Also, bring water to wash the agate for on site inspection.
Before intermission, Zoe thanked Renate Leduck and Barbara Schmidt, on behalf of the Club, for bringing refreshments.
Following intermission, the raffle was held and the best specimen from the Field Trip to Courtland was awarded to Cherie Robb.
The program for the evening was a video lecture by Dr. Michael Wysession of Washington University in St. Louis, entitled, The Rock Cycle - Matter in Motion, from the series, HOW THE EARTH WORKS.
Respectfully submitted, Jim Brower, Secretary
General Meeting Minutes September 12
1) Introduction and welcome
2) The Minutes from the last meeting along with today's Minutes will be included in the next newsletter.
3) Treasurer's Report, Walter Sigel, Treasurer
4) Field Trip Report, Henri Van den Bos
May - Marble quarry on Lizard Lane for finger agate
July - Big Joe Canyon for calcite and chrysocolla
August - Silver City for flourite
September - Joy Valley for fire agate and chalcedony
October - to be decided
Within the next few months a trip will be planned to visit Rock Hound State Park in view of the fact that it may be closing to rock hounding. We would be looking for thunder agate and orange jasper.
Barbara Schmidt and Cherie Robb provided refreshments.
After the intermission and raffle, the group formed a circle and each one showed his favorite rock and its personal significance.
October Field Trip
We will go to the hill with the cross on it near the Apache Lair restaurant for a red jasper, quartz crystals and a conglomerate that polishes very well. Meet at Sandy’s restaurant near Mustang Mall and the intersection of Highways 191 and 181 at 8:30 to leave at 8:45 on Saturday October 22. Cars are OK. Bring light digging tools, bags or pails, lawn chairs, lunch, water and sun protection. We’ve heard that Sandy has a good breakfast and some of us plan to check it out. She opens at 7 on Saturday.
Summer Field Trips
May
5 vehicles went up Lizard lane on a beautiful May day in search of “finger” agate at the marble quarry. Smaller pieces were found by searching through the rubble in the quarry. Some serious rock hounds went up the slope to find bigger pieces that were still attached to mother earth. Everyone ended up with a reasonable supply of agate, which makes nice cabs and is easy to work with.
July
4 Vehicles made the trip to Big Joe Canyon on the state line. After a short detour (wrong turn) we ended up at the mine.
Nice pieces of chryscolla and calcite were found on the dumps and in a vein above the mine. Some galena (lead) and malachite was also found.
August
It was a little cooler in Silver City for the 10 diggers who made the trip to the fluorite deposit. Some serious effort was put in to getting some nice specimens out of the vein.
Green and purple layers of fluorite covered with iron-stained quartz crystals make for a nice addition in the mineral collection.
But you don’t find out what you really have until it is cleaned thoroughly from the white goo.
September
For a few years we had been waiting for an opportunity to go to Joy Valley north of Bowie. It’s either too muddy, too sandy or too hot to go there. A quick check the night before made sure of good roads. Joy Valley has been known to produce fire agates for many years. 13 enthusiasts showed up for a beautiful day in the desert. A lot of chalcedony was found, some with nice swirls and some showing the brown limonite which might conceal the fire.
Again the buckets filled up and a satisfied bunch headed back home.
Elections
President Dunn has appointed Don Hammer chair of the nominating committee and Don will be asking two of you to serve on the committee to develop a slate of officers for the November elections.
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 Larry Strout (826.3991) or Diane Dunn (826.0278)
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 and Silversmith Classes
Our lapidary, silver soldering and wire wrapping classes are once again available so if you’re interested call Larry Strout at 826-3991.
Wally Hozjan is selling her lapidary equipment – a complete rock shop. Call her at 384-4582.
Dues are due.
Dues are $15 for individuals and $25 for a family. Bring your dues to the next meeting or mail your check to Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club, PO Box 87, Pearce, Arizona 85625. Unpaid members were dropped on March 31.
Club Calendar:
September
29 Board Meeting
October
10 General Meeting
22 Field Trip
November
4 Board Meeting
14 General Meeting
19 Field Trip
December
1 Board Meeting
12 Christmas Party
Upcoming Regional Events
October
8-9 Huachuca Gem & Mineral Club show; Elks Club, Willcox Avenue, Sierra Vista. Maudie Bailey, 520.378.6291, gmbailey@msn.com.
15-16 Sedona Red Rock High School. Susan Read 928.284.9547. pdxprss@earthlink.net
November
18-19 Mazatzal Hotel & Casino, Payson, AZ. Margaret Jones 928.476.3513, barrythebearjones@gmail.com
26-27 Wickenburg Community Center. Beth Myerson, 928.684.0380,
Officers for 2011
President: Diane Dunn 520.826.0278
V-President: Jack Light 520 824-4774
Secretary: Jim Brower 520 826-4672
Treasurer: Walter Sigel 520-826-1009 Deleg-at-Large: Carl Schnabel520.826.0100
Hospit Coord: Zoe Schnabel 520-826-0100
Field Trip Crd: Henri van den Bos 384-0288
Past Pres: Paul McKnight 775-434-8395