“PETRIFIED WOOD “ Steven Wolfe”

Steven Wolfe will take us from how wood becomes petrified in the first place to how you identify specific species of petrified wood, touching on plate tecton-ics along the way. Steve will bring along a wide array of specimens for display and for purchase. I heard his talk at the Zzyzx Gallery of Natural Science last year and the slides he shows of the wide range of petrified woods are beautiful. If you have a piece of petrified wood which you would like identified, bring it to the meeting. See Steve’s artistic cabochons from petrified wood, whale bone and unusual agates and more at www.wol-felapidary.com

Ellen MoeProgram Chair

Monday, Apr 11 at 6:30 PM Executive Meeting

Monday, Apr 11 at 7:30 PMGeneral Meeting

Program : “PETRIFIED WOOD” presented by Steven Wolfe

APRIL 2011

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

PAGE 1 APR 2011 THE NUGGET

CULVER CITY ROCK AND MINERAL CLUB P.O. BOX 3324 Culver City, Ca 90231

APRIL PROGRAM

April is here already and with it comes warm weath-er, wildflowers and getting out and about before it gets to hot at our favorite collecting sites. For all those who made it out to Stoddard Wells it seems ev-eryone had a good time and maybe even found some good deals, I know I did. It was great to see some of our members out there enjoying this event. I want to give a shout out to Steve Dover and Sue Acosta for their efforts to support our club and our show. Steve has taken most of our slant top show cases and refinished them while Sue Acosta is mak-ing new liners for the cases. This way we’ll have shiny, well furnished cases to display our treasures in at this year show in July. Remember that Sue is also in leading the charge to make the cloth bags we use for our ‘grab bags’ at the show. Please join me in ap-plauding these two members for all their hard work in supporting our club. Please remember to stop by and see or call Robert Thirlaway about where you intend to volunteer for the show. He’ll have sign-up sheets at all the meet-ings.

Rick ShafferPresident

310-391-8429

MINUTES OF THE EXECUTIVE MTGMAR 14, 2011

PAGE 2 THE NUGGETAPR 2011

MINUTES OF THE GENERAL MTGMAR 14, 2011

• Those present: Rick and Mary Ellen Shaffer, Steve Dover, Grace Sato, Dolores Dace, Minda and El-len Moe, Leda Rogers, Robert Thirlaway, Charlene Aspray, Jette Sorensen, Bruce Mensinger, Lynne Lukert, Sue Acosta• The meeting was called to order at 6:35pm by presi-dent Rick Shaffer. • The California State Mining and Mineral Museum Association has solicited our membership @$1.00 per member per year. It will be presented to the members for a vote.• Ken Rogers has gotten us a table and a display case plus 5 free admissions at the Bead Show this Sunday.There was discussion. Set up will be at 9:30am Sun-day. • Membership Chair Grace Sato said the deadline for paying dues and being included in the Roster no lat-er than this meeting. There are extra Nuggets at the Shop which should brought to the meetings. We have 79 paid members as of now. • Show Chair Robert Thirlaway reported that the Mem-bership table should be moved to the front entrance freeing up space on the stage. There was discussion of the location.• Shop Chair Bruce Mensinger said the saw blades are being replaced as needed. There was discussion. • Publicity Chair Charlene Aspray reported on sources for the Show publicity. • Education Chair Dolores Dace reported on her pre-sentation to the Daisy G.S. in Hollywood and several future presentations to be made. • Grab Bag Chair Sue Acosta accepted 2 more sets and informed that Mignon Tree has volunteered to make 200 bags!• Treasurer Mary Ellen Shaffer reported we are sol-vent. • Jette Sorensen Webmaster said the site is OK . She needs a list of vendors to feature them on the site.• Program Chair Ellen Moe said tonight’s program will be on “Diamonds in North America”

• The meeting was called to order at 7:40pm by presi-dent Rick Shaffer who led the Pledge of Allegiance. • There being a quorum, the minutes were approved as published in the Nugget.• There were 5 visitors: Ken Mooney, Bart Bradbury, Vic Martinez, and Bay and Larry Garcia. • A letter was read asking for colored rock slabs for an intarsia project.• Ken Rogers has obtained a presentation table for the Club at the Bead Bazaar to promote the Club. Jette Sorensen said lapidary examples as well as jewelry are needed for the display should be e-mailed to her at webmaster@culvercityrocks.org by Wednesday• The solicitation of members by the California State Mining and Mineral Museum Association in Mariposa, CA @$1.00 per member per year. After discussion it was moved, seconded, and passed to join. Members get free admission to the Museum by mentioning the Club.• We need volunteers to help with membership at the Show and after. Also ads and Show flyers need to be passed out at various locations. • Members need to pay their dues by the end of the month to be included in the Roster. The 18th is the absolute deadline for the Nugget. • Show case Chair Steve Dover has a sign up list for the refurbished display cases. There are 28 done and 22 available for our show. • Show Chair Robert Thirlaway needs volunteers for the Show and has a sign up sheet available for mem-bers to sign up for 2 hour blocks Saturday or Sun-day or for set up on Friday and take down on Sunday. We have new table covers and are using 3 rooms this

• The picnic will not be in the usual place, Carlson Park, but will be at Lindbergh Park on August 14 from 11am to 3 or 4 pm.• The meeting was adjourned at 7:30pm.

Sue AcostaRecording Secretary

THE NUGGET PAGE 3APR 2011

PROGRAM REPORT

“Diamonds in North America” ..........presented by Walter Lombardo, a geologist of the Ne-vada Mineral and Book Company. In 2009 there were 39 billion wholesale value gem diamonds sold. The U.S. bought 35%. At the beginning of the 20th Cen-tury there was a push by Tiffany and the De Beers Mining Co. to promote diamonds as preferred stones. Diamonds are formed in the earth’s mantle about 100 miles deep and come to the surface in kimberlites and lamproites. They are actually formed in eclogites and peridotites by a volcanic type action (heat and pres-sure). They are much older than the rocks, they are found in about 3.2 to 2.4 billion years old. Diamond host rocks: Kimberlite is where most dia-monds are found. Typical six minerals compose kim-berlite. Canadian kimberlite also contains other min-erals. Lamproite is explosive volcanic action in pipe clusters and dyke swarm that erupt. It has a different mineralogy: olivine rich it contains more diamonds. The Argyle Mine in Australia is the richest source of

fancy colored diamonds, 25% of the world’s produc-tion. They get 6.8 carat per tonne which is very rich. They produce yellow, pink and brown ones. The Ma-jhgawan Mine in India was first mined in 1827 and is where the famous Kohinoor was found. Diamond indicator minerals: Cr-Pyrope (red), Cr-Diopside (red,green), Cr-Spinel, Chromite, Mg-Ilmenite and micro diamonds. Worldwide Gem Diamond Production: Botswana is 1st, then Russia, Canada, Angola, South Africa, Congo, Namibia, Guinea, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Central African Repub-lic, Guyana, Australia, Tanzania, Brazil and China. The Canadian diamonds are in kimberlites and those in Russia are similar. Diamonds are widespread in Canada in Ontario, the NW Territories. There are 5 mines on production. In 1991 two geologists, Fipke and Blusson, misled others by saying they found a source at Point Lake when it was really the Lac De Gras area in the NW. The Ekati Mine because kimberlites are found in lake bottoms had to pump out a lake Territory in 1997. At first of 150+ pipes only 7 or 8 were economically viable but by 2007 they produced 3% of the world’s production, about 6.5 million carats. Canadian dia-monds are clean, of good color and premium quality, but best of all they are “conflict free” unlike many Af-rican sources (“blood diamonds”). The Diavek Mine is a partnership of Harry Winston’s parent company and Rio Tinto, in 2003 had 70+ kimberlite pipes producing 3.2 carats a ton (rich) or approximately 10 million carats a year. They make cement out of the extra waste rocks and fill in the holes, thus solving the problem of what to do with the excavated rock. The Jericho Mine, a partnership of Tahera Diamond Corp. and Teck Comineo( First Americans) in Nuna-vut was founded in 2006. It has a small production but is high in the % of large diamonds (15 carats). Russia and Australia weakened De Beers hold on the diamond market. In 2007 Snap Lake Mine ,NW Terr. was developed by De Beers. The kimberlite was in a dyke rather than pipes.

year.• Ken Rogers said he was giving a talk on fake stones used in beads.• This is the last day for comment on the By-Laws. • • The meeting was adjourned at 8:05pm.

Sue AcostaRecording Secretary

PAGE 4 APR 2011 THE NUGGET

Diamonds in the U.S.: In Arkansas in 1843 they were found, also in North Carolina Piedmont in gla-cial till, in Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Illi-nois (probably from Canada), Louisiana and the Ap-palachians about 20 or 22 states. Volcanic ones were found in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, Mon-tana, Oregon and Washington. At Prairie Creek, Ar-kansas, diamonds were found in 1906 in lamproite like in Australia. In 1972 It was bought by Arkansas State and turned into “Crater of Diamonds Stat Park” where for a fee you can look for diamonds and keep what you find. The largest one found was the “Uncle Sam” at 40 carats rough and 17 carats finished. In 1872 “The Great Diamond Hoax occurred in California. Two Prospectors asked a San Francisco to safe guard a bag of diamonds they had found. The news spread and many rich San Franciscans bought shares. They were led blindfolded to the site which had been salted with many gems, not only diamonds, were found some even faceted. The investors bought out the prospectors for $660,000. Later a geologist Clarence King burst the bubble. An investor suppos-edly said:” They might as well have put pearls there, too” There was a diamond find at Kelsey Lake on the bor-der of Wyoming and Colorado but it was not viable and was closed in 2002. However Wyoming could develop mines like Canada. They have found 20+ pipes. In California 500 -600 diamonds were found in 1848 in conjunction with gold strikes, mostly in the Sierra Nevada and Klamath Mountains. The first dia-mond was found by a minister near Placerville close to the site where Marshall found gold. They were also found in Amador County at Volcano, Fiddletown, In-dian Gulch, and Plymouth( 2.57 carats in 1937) Lots of diamonds have been crushed in the processing of gold. In Butte County at Oroville the Cherokee Flat mine produced the most (6 carats in 1868). Also in El Dorado County at Placerville in the 1980’s some were found. In Northern California in Siskyou county the

Fiesta of Gems 50th Anniversary, “Silver, The New Gold” July 9-10 2011. We have 3 volunteers to help with the Vendor Chairperson position. A great big thank you to Merrill Barr, Janet Ferguson ,Grace Bru-no with assistance from last year’s Vendor Chairper-son Lucia Pasquinelli for taking on this very impor-tant responsibility for the show’s success. In addition to the Vendor Chair we added A Classes Chairperson to coordinate the 2nd year of having Jewelry making related classes at the show. It is with great apprecia-tion to announce Brad Smith volunteered to manage this wonderful addition to the Fiesta of Gems Show. Please contact Brad if you would like to present a class during our show. The Display Case Chairperson, Steve Dover, is looking for assistance to help refurbish the Club’s dis-play cases. Some cases need to be refinished, most

SHOW REPORT

largest in California were found: 14.33, 32.99, 17.83 carats; but they were not gem quality. All have been found in places where placer gold ming occurred.This was a fascinating presentation.

Sue Acosta,Recording Secretary

PAGE 5THE NUGGET APR 2011

need new liners constructed and all need new lighting options to be installed. If you have a talent in any of these areas please contact Steve Dover to volunteer. We want our 50th anniversary to look great this year and with your help we can. Steve is also taking res-ervations for using a display case at the show, active members have priority, then dealers, then outside dis-plays from other clubs or organizations. We currently have 20 Display cases to fill with your precious items. Please contact Steve Dover for more information. Publicity Chairperson Charlene Aspray is busy put-ting our club show dates and information about the show in the all the Rock and mineral related publica-tions. If you have any ideas or publications that we may not have thought of please contact Charlene with the information. Hospitality Chairperson Sue Acosta’s other respon-sibility is making the Grab Bags out of material and yarn. She has requested assistance from members to help make the bags. She created a step by step in-struction sheet, provides the material and the yarn al-ready cut to size in kits of 25 bags. She is requesting volunteers over the next 5 months to help make the es-timated 500 bags needed for the show. She will have the bag kits at the monthly club meeting to hand out to volunteers. Please help Sue and the club with this great show favorite. We are trying out a new Software product to sched-ule volunteers. Contact info for each area is available on the website. You will be able to schedule a By Day, Time Period, and Interest Areas you would like to work on. The Web Site is address is: https://www.yourvolun-teers.com/?eid=Z24WP78YQ56JX93CK62 Your info is encrypted and kept safe. You can go to the website if you would like more information on how it works the Web Address is: www.yourvolunteers.com .We will be putting a list of volunteer positions we need to fill to make the show a success on the CCRMC web-site. There will be a description and contact informa-tion available for you to make volunteering very easy.

All we ask is a couple hours of you precious time so we can continue to provide Culver City with a quality Fiesta of Gems Show again this year. Starting at the April club meeting we will have available the Fiesta of Gems Raffle tickets. Every ac-tive member gets a pack of 20 tickets. We ask you to please either buy the tickets, 50 cents ea. or $10 for the book of 20 or sell them to your friends and family. All the money collected is used for donations to the Culver City Schools, the Boy Scouts and the Culver City Senior Center. Since we (CCRMC) are not a tax deductible Non Profit organization 90% of the money collected is required by law to be donated to another organization. CCRMC donates 100% of the proceeds from our raffle, we do not deduct costs incurred to present the raffle. Please help us to help more Culver City organizations this year by selling your tickets.Thank You,

Robert Thirlaway, Show Chair,

fiestaofgems@gmail.com 310-462-2269

SHOW DISPLAYS

50th ANNIVERSARY SHOWDISPLAYS NEEDED!

The club needs members to display their creationsand or collections at our upcoming 50th anniversaryshow July 9th and 10th. We provide the display case,liners lights and security during the show. All you have to do is arrange your display Friday evening orSaturday morning before the show opens and pick itup Sunday after the show closes. If you need help set-ting up your display it will be available at the show. Please sign up at our meeting or contact me directly at skdover@yahoo.com or call me at 310 -477-2279 to reserve a case.

Steve Dover,Displays.

PAGE 6 THE NUGGETAPR 2011

SHOP REPORT

Lapidary Slab Saw Use: Tips and Techniques

Job 1: Check that the saw is ready to use; oil level, rock secure in the vise, etc.Oil level: Saw blades need both a coolant and a ve-hicle to carry rock dust out of the kerf to prevent clog-ging the cutting edge. Rock is not neatly sliced or split in a diamond saw. Instead, the diamonds simply smash the rock they encounter, turning it into dust and some-times small chips. Heating at the interface is intense. Water is inadequate because it boils at a low tempera-ture, oil is better. Our shop we use a pump to circulate cutting oil. Oil is pumped to a slotted dish straddling the saw blade. The blade is cooled and carries some of the oil into the kerf. The oil falls to the bottom of the saw and drains into a settling bucket below the saw. Much of the rock dust settles in this bucket and the cleaner oil overflows into another bucket containing the pump, thus com-pleting the loop. What you need to check is that the oil level in the buckets is adequate and the level of cutting mud is low enough so the pump can operate. Next, secure your rock in the vise: The feed mecha-nism pushes the rock into the saw blade’s cutting edge

Call for volunteers to help post fliers for the Show the two weeks prior, June 27th to July 8th. Do you have a few hours to spare at your leisure to post our show notice with a few businesses such as Whole Foods, Libraries, etc.? Please email or call me if you do. Thank you to Lonne Hunt, Kathy Mainzer and Pete Stern who volunteered during the March meet-ing.

Charlene Aspraycharlene@gossamerbijou.com

with considerable force. This is a combination of hori-zontal, vertical and twisting which varies as the cut proceeds. If the combined forces exceed the holding forces the rock will move in the vise. This will jam the saw, break the rock, bend the saw blade or some combination of all three. What you need to check is that the rock is solidly clamped. Push and pull it, twist it, wiggle it just as if you were trying to free it from the vise; that’s what, in effect, the saw will do while making the cut.Job 2: Start the kerf manually. The angle formed where the saw blade initially meets the rock surface is usually not a 90 degree angle. If the blade slips a little on the slope before it digs into the rock, the kerf will not lineup with the natural plane

of the saw blade. This will not always correct itself and leads to ‘dished’ blades. At first, the flex in the steel blade allows the cut to proceed. But as the cut proceeds deeper, the side diamond becomes buried in the kerf and side-to-side self-correction ceases. If the cut is long compared to the blade radius a point will be reached where the flex is spread over a too short dis-tance and the steel bends. This is the start of a dished blade. With repetition this can break the center out of a saw blade. What you need to do is start the kerf manually inline with the neutral plane of the saw blade. Push the vise so the rock and blade just touch. Grip the saw blade and turn it in the normal rotation direction while

PUBLICITY REPORT

Photo: courtesy of Bruce Mensinger

PAGE 7APR 2011THE NUGGET

WEBMASTER REPORT

Back in 1980, one of the great convenience products was introduced by 3M – the Post-it note. We have all gotten so used to it – we use them as bookmarks, as reminders attached to the door, as notepads on our desk. It is hard to imagine a world without these little colorful sticky slips of paper. On our website, we use Post-it notes on the front page to remind you of club meetings and events, to alert you when the latest issue of The Nugget is avail-able, even on occasion to guide you to a specific file or download mentioned at a meeting. Most Post-it notes on the front page has a link to a specific page on the site, like the “Meetings” page for information on the upcoming monthly meeting, open-ing the current issue of “The Nugget,” or to direct you to something mentioned at a recent meeting, for ex-ample opening a copy of the Bylaws. These little sticky notes are there to make your visit to our website as hassle-free as possible. To get rid of a note, just double-click it and it’s gone. Make it a habit to drop by culvercityrocks.org frequently.

Jette Sorensen Webmaster

pushing the rock gently against the cutting edge. Con-tinue until both edges of the blade are trapped in the kerf. To check your work, pull the vise away then push it forward again while observing the re-entry of the blade into the tiny kerf. If it is off to one side either re-cut the starting kerf or move the vise side-to-side to match the blade and kerf. Make the manual kerf deep enough so the blade will not wander when you start the power cut.Job 3: Engage the feed clutch on screw feed saw. Close the cover.Job 4: Start the saw and watch for proper oil circulation. Engage hydraulic or gravity-feed if present. Listen to sounds for signals of problems.Job 5: Monitor the progress of the cut. Promptly stop the saw when the cut slab drops or mon-itor as the last nub is cut then stop the saw. Avoid long over-cuts. Typically, the slab drops off leaving a pro-truding ‘nub’ on the main rock in the vise. Frequently, especially on hydraulic and gravity fed saws, this nub will deflect the blade and act as a cutting tooth against the side of the saw blade.Job 6: After cuts are made, clean up spills, drips and chips.

Bruce MensingerShop Chair

BENCH TIPS

MODIFY TOOLS FOR PRONG SETTINGWhen setting stones in a prong mount, avoid slipping by grinding a groove in the face of your prong pusher or one jaw of your flat-nose pliers. Easiest way to cut the slot on the pusher is with a file., and the easiest way to cut the slot on your pliers is with a cutoff wheel in the Foredom or Dremel.

LOOSE HEADSFlying off the handle is never good, particularly if it’s a hammer head. The traditional way to tighten a loose hammer head is a bit of work, but there’s a fast and easy solution available for about 50 cents - superglue. Simply put a couple drops in from the handle side, let it set up, and then a few drops from the top side. Be sure to get the thin superglue, not gel. It penetrates better. Packages of two superglues each are usually available at the 99 cent store

More Bench Tips by Brad Smith are at:groups.yahoo.com/group/BenchTips/or facebook.com/BenchTips

PAGE 8 APR 2011 THE NUGGET

FEDERATION REPORT

CCRMC YEAR OF THE CHILD

A recent Los Angeles Times article about the re-opening of a rare earth mine in California included the statement that they had to look to China to hire young geologists. So, how will the US attract more students to geology in the future? And, more importantly, how will our club attract more families and children?

Our meeting schedules are frankly not family friendly - running too late on a school night. Our shop has recently raised the minimum age to 18 due to lead paint being discovered. So what are other options for our club to get local children and families interested and involved in rocks and minerals? Can we do more as a club than donating the proceeds of our annual raffl e to help buy geology books for the Culver City schools?

Delores Dace on her own has led the educational outreach, taking presentations and specimens to nu-merous schools and scout groups. Recently several members have volunteered to help her assemble the specimens she takes to schools. This is a good start. Each of us can help to collect and donate specimens for these donations to schools. I always take an ex-tra bucket when I go collecting and try to fi nd chunks approximately the size that will fi t into egg cartons. When I go to estate rock sales, I try to request dona-tions to our club for education. Are there other pos-sible donation sources you might contact - like shops that deal in rock countertops which might have small leftover pieces or landscaping fi rms that have decora-tive rock? It doesn’t take long to stop and ask or send a letter or email. Or, if you have miscellaneous piles of rocks stashed around your yard and garage, consider doing an inventory and donating some of your excess to the club for the schools and for the show.

At our show, I talk to a lot of children who love the free specimens we give them and who return to the games many times and buy grab bags to add to their collections. Anthony has tried in the past to reach out to scout groups to use the show to meet badge require-ments. How can we capture these children for future activities? Perhaps we could schedule one or two fam-ily-friendly fi eld trips in August and September and have specimens and fl yers available at the show. We have tried to upgrade the free specimens and the va-riety of minerals used as game prizes. Do members agree that the games do not need to earn extra money so that we can put a little more funds to continue to improve these specimens?

We need all members to join in an ongoing discus-sion on “The Year Of The Child.” There never seems to be enough time at the monthly meetings and it is so hard to fi nd a time when enough people can come to yet another committee meeting. I propose we start using the internet more to network about this subject. Please post your ideas, thoughts and comments on our Yahoo group - ccrmc and/or on the facebook page- Culver City Rock and Mineral Club.

Ellen MoeFederation Chair

THE NUGGET APR 2011 PAGE 9

Official state what?

Benitoite is a rare mineral, found in locations includ-ing California, Japan, Montana and Arkansas. It was first discovered in 1907 by Jim Couch, who thought he had discovered blue diamonds (or sapphires, depend-ing on your source) in California. He sent a sample to Dr. George Louderback at the University of California, Berkeley, who determined that the discovery was a whole new mineral. Dr. Louderback dubbed the new mineral ‘Benit-oite’, as it oc-curred near the headwaters of the San Benito River in San Benito Coun-try, California.

Mr. Couch had been grubstaked by R.W. Dallas to prospect the upper region of San Benito County. Therefore, he traveled up the San Benito River on the New Idria oil road to prospect the Idria Quicksilver Mine area, and discovered the gem in a hillside across from one of his camps. Mr. Dallas filed a claim for his company, the Dallas Mining Company, in 1914.

In the San Benito locality, it is found in natrolite veins within glaucophane schist, within a serpentinite body. (As a side note, I think it’s interesting that our

state rock and state mineral occur in close proximity.) It also occurs within a serpentinite body in Japan, cut-ting through in a magnesio-riebeckite-quartz-phlogo-pite-albite dike.

Benitoite ranks as a 6 to a 6.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, and has a white streak. Its hexagonal crystals are typically blue, with the colorless (white) variety being even more rare. It is a barium titanium silicate mineral, with a vitreous luster.

Although Benit-oite is found in both the United States and Japan, gem quality material has only been found in its home state of California. There are currently mines in five counties within the Golden State: Fresno, Kern, Mari-posa, Tulare and San Benito. In October of 1985, California adopted Benitoite as its official state gem.

It is one of the minerals that fluoresce under short wave ultraviolet light. It can appear either bright blue or blueish-white, while the white specimens fluoresce red under long-wave UV light. Crystals can be either transparent or translucent.

Minda Moe Mineral Chair

MINERAL REPORT

Photo: courtesy of John Veevaert, Trinitry Mineral Co

MEMBERSHIP REPORT

2-3 LANCASTER, CA: Antelope Gem & Mineral Society; Lancaster High School, 44701 - 32nd Street West; Hours: 9-5 daily2-3 LEMOORE, CA: Lemoore Gem and Mineral So-ciety; Trinity Hall, 470 Champion Street; Hours: 10-6 daily8-10 VISTA, CA: San Diego County Council of Gem & Mineral Societies; Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum, 2040 N. Santa Fe Avenue; Hours: 9-5 daily9-10 MARIPOSA, CA: Mariposa Gem & Mineral Society; Mariposa Co. Fairgrounds, Fairgrounds Road, Hwy #49, 1.8 miles South of Mariposa:Hours: Sat. 10-6; Sun. 10-59-10 PARADISE, CA: Paradise Gem & Mineral So-ciety; Elks Lodge, 6309 Clark Road; Hours: Sat 10-5; Sun 10-415-17 SAN JOSE, CA: Santa Clara Valley Gem & Mineral Society; Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, 334 Tully Road; Hours: Fri 9-5; Sat & Sun 10-516-17 NEWBURY PARK, CA: Conejo Gem & Min-eral Club; Borchard Park Community Center, 190 Re-ino Road; Hours: 10-5 daily23-24 SANTA CRUZ, CA: Santa Cruz Mineral & Gem Society; Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, Corner of Church and Center St; Hours: 10-5 daily30 - May 1 ANAHEIM, CA: Searchers Gem & Min-eral Society; Brookhurst Community Center, 2271 W. Apr 2 Erica Mascola

Apr 5 Anna MotzerApr 8 Richard Shaffer Ilene Siegel

BIRTHDAYS

We’ve had a slew of new and old members renew their membership last month. Many thanks to all those who have sent in their dues, they will be included in the new 2011 Roster. To all that missed the March cut off date, I will still accept your yearly member-ship dues but will not be included in the roster. If you want to continue receiving the Nugget, you will have to send in your dues by April 30. I ‘d like to welcome all the newest members to our club. It’s so nice to see all the new and old members come to the meetings. I’d like to extend the kudos to Charlene Aspray, our publicity chairman, and Jette So-rensen, our Webmaster. They’re both doing an excel-lent job getting our club info accessible to the public.

Welcome New MembersJohn DonnellyEsther Feldman

Nancy KrimAnna MotzerCole Rhodes

Randal RhodesRuth Shapiro

Pete Voigt

APR 2011PAGE 10 THE NUGGET

APRIL SHOWS

CFMS SHOW & CONVENTIOnNorthern California Treasures

May 13, 14 and 15, 2011

Shasta District FairgroundsBriggs StreetAnderson, CA

(Hours: Fri. & Sat. 9-5; Sun. 10-4)

Hosted by:Superior California Gem & Mineral Society

Shasta Gem & Mineral Society

Apr 13 Paul LoverdeApr 14 Joan FlorreichApr 12 Frederick ReinhornApr 18 Jette SorensenApr 23 Kisa Sato Lisa SchriberApr 26 Monique Escamilla

The purpose of the CULVER CITY ROCK & MINERAL CLUB is to bring together persons interested in the earth sciences, to engage in research and study in this realm, and to assist members in the collection and preservation of rocks and minerals and in the study of lapidary and related arts.........................................................................................................................http://www.culvercityrocks.org

APR 2011THE NUGGET PAGE 11

Officers for 2011

2011 Slate of OfficersPresident - Rick Shaffer

Vice-President - Steve DoverTreasurer - Mary Ellen Shaffer

Recording Secretary - Sue AcostaCorresponding Secretary - Leda Rogers

Education - Dolores DaceFederation Director - Ellen Moe

Field Trips - openHistorian - Bruce MensingerLibrarian - Bruce Mensinger

Co- chair - openMembership - Grace Sato

Minerals - Minda MoeParliamentarian - Leda RogersPhotography - Sylvia Binkley

Programs - Ellen MoePublications - Lynne Lukert

Co - Chair - Barbara FierPublicity - Charlene Aspray

Shop - Bruce MensingerShow - Robert Thirlaway

Social - Sue AcostaSunshine - Lili Gelberg

Trading Post - Steve DoverWeb Master - Jette Sorensen

Board of Directors:Anthony Ferrari (2011)

Leda Rogers (2011)

Lynne Lukert (2012)Woody Shaffer (2012)

Mary Ellen Shaffer (2013)(Male) open (2013) open

MEETING SCHEDULES

General Meetings are held the second Monday of every month* at 7:30 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room in the Veterans Bldg., 4117 Overland Ave. Enter from the rear door. Guests are always welcome.

Executive Committee Meetings are held the second Monday of every month*in the Multi-Purpose Room in the Veterans Bldg Veterans Auditorium. All club members are welcome.

*Meeting days occasionally change due to Monday holidays or, in July, because of the Fiesta Of Gems show (July 2007).

DUES & FEESOne time Initiation Fees:

Individuals $20.002 Persons/Same Address $25.00Juniors $15.00

Yearly Membership Dues:Individuals $25.002 Persons/Same Address $35.00Juniors $10.00

(After July 1, dues are $15.00, $25.00 and $5.00 respectively.)

SHOP INFORMATION

The shop is open to all members in good standing over the age of 18 who sign an indemnification form. Instruction is available at all sessions. Practice slabs are available.Location: 10866 Culver Blvd. in Culver City (behind the Boy Scout clubhouse and next to the paddle tennis courts)Shop Phone: (310)836-4611Hours: Tuesday 7:30pm - 9:30pm Bruce MensingerWednesday 10:00am - 2:00pm Vern Lowe (open by appointment)Thurdsay 10:00am - 2:00pm Woody ShafferSaturday 12:00am - 4:00pm Lynne LukertSunday 1:00pm - 4:00pm Bruce Mensinger

If no one shows, the shop may close early. If you plan to arrive at the shop more than a half hour after the opening time, phone the instructor

The Nugget The deadline for all submissions is generally the 15th of every month. All articles or notes without a byline are written by the Editor. Permission to copy is freely given as long as proper credit is noted. The Nugget accepts paid advertisements by club members and non-members. The cost for an eighth of a page (approx.. 2” high x 3.5” wide) is $7 per insertion, payable in advance. Ad location is at the discretion of the Editor. Ad layouts, copy, or business cards must be received by the 10th of the month. Send materials directly to Lynne Lukert, Editor, 513 1/2 N. Norton Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90004

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FIRST CLASS

CULVER CITY ROCK & MINERAL CLUB

the Nugget Lynne Lukert, editor 513 1/2 N. Norton Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90004