North Alabama Shell Club

The North Alabama Shell Club (NASC) has members in Huntsville Alabama and surrounding communities as well as outside the local area.  The non-profit club was formed in 1988 to bring together people interested in collecting and studying mollusk shells, to encourage shell-related interests such as shellcraft and shell art, and to encourage others to discover the beauty, uses, mysteries, and fascination of shells. 

The club typically meets the third Saturday of each month at 1:00 p.m. unless special meeting dates or times have been previously arranged.  The location is typically at a member’s home with a presentation and refreshments provided by the host.

Club membership is for the calendar year with dues payable in January; dues are $5.00 for single membership and $7.50 for family memberships.  For more information on the club and membership, contact  gmdeuel41@gmail.com .

The Alabama State Shell is the Scaphella junonia johnstoneae Clench, 1953; designated by law on April 19, 1990.

2015 North Alabama Shell Club Officers

President – Travis Payne

Vice President – Larry Alexander

Treasurer – Joan Skoglund

Secretary – Marion Deuel

Hospitality Chairperson – Sharon Griffin

History of the Club

In 1988, the North Alabama region lacked an organized forum for sharing information on shells, but it did not lack people who shared a deep love for and interest in them. At the Conchologists of America (COA) Convention that year, Glenn Deuel, Marion Deuel, and Travis Payne from Alabama and Barbara Elliot from Punta Gorda FL decided to form a non-profit organization that would promote public interest and education in shells.

In the late fall of that year, an organizational meeting was held in Huntsville, Alabama. Advertisements were placed in local newspapers to announce a January 1989, meeting. Ten people attended this first public meeting, and the North Alabama Shell Club was born.

In the spring of 1990, the club adopted Nautilus pompilius Linné, 1758, the Chambered Nautilus, as its logo and on May 17, adopted its first set of bylaws. These bylaws were amended in December 1990 and again in January 1991. In September 1990, the club began publishing a bimonthly newsletter, The Nautiloid, originally edited by Glen Deuel, a founding club member. The newsletter is used to disseminate information to members about shell-related topics and Club activities. Newsletters are exchanged with other shell clubs and these other newsletters are available for Club members to read.  Publication of The Nautiloid resumed in 2014 after a lengthy hiatus.

Public awareness programs have included "shell talks" by Club members to schools and civic organizations in the area, and exhibiting shells in local public libraries. A shell exhibit was placed in the Decatur Public Library (1989), in the Huntsville Public Library (1990, 1994, 1996-1998), and in a local art museum (1992).  Club members donated seashells and made kits for school classes in Decatur and Huntsville with the shells named and a shell book included.  Seashell books have been donated to the Huntsville Public Library in memory of or in honor of a club member.

The NASC presently maintains a shell exhibit at the Huntsville Public Library in memory of Glenn Deuel, one of the principal founders of the club.  Glenn was a principal driving force in the original club and the original editor of the club newsletter, The Nautiloid.


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