“The Hard Rock News”
Kitsap Mineral and Gem Society
Elected Officers for 2011
President:
Nate Schackmann (360) 372-2777
Vice President:
Bob Lavery (360) 871-1458
Secretary:
Linda Mathison (360) 698-1562
Treasurer:
Patt Jolly (360) 876-6618
President’s Message 1
Meetings Announcements ,
Dues Reminder
2
Meeting Minutes 3
Meeting Minutes 4
Meeting Minutes, For Sale,
Buchanan Field Trip
5
Field Trip Continued,
We need Tumbled Rocks
6
Refreshment Schedule, An-
nouncement from Refresh-
ment Chair, Birthdays and
Anniversaries,
7
October Birthstones and Hor-
oscope
8
Show Schedule , Help Dave 9
Looking forward to Novem-
ber and Beyond; Editor Con-
tact Info
10
Inside this issue:
Welcome to the fall of 2011. You know what this
means, cooler weather of course, but more important-
ly, the 2011 Fall Festival of Gems! If you missed the
last club meeting, or didn’t stay for the program, you missed a very im-
portant demonstration on how to set up a showcase. Those of you who
stuck around through the program noticed how simple it is to set up a
showcase. Anyone can sign up for a display! You won’t be judged based on
how you lay out your display or anything else for that matter. This is an
opportunity to show off your pride and joys in probably the best way pos-
sible. The showcases have their own built in lights to show off your display
(s) at its prime. There are ongoing security watches 24 hours a day during
the show to guard and watch over your display. It is free to display! I
know it is easy and the best show to be involved with locally. I have dis-
played for 10 years in a row, soon to be 11. Make sure you sign up
through October because there won’t be a meeting in November.
The year is starting to wind down quickly, make sure you keep an
eye out for people to nominate as your officers and other such roles in the
club. As of January 1st, the previous membership and junior leader will be
stepping down and no longer perform those duties. Please volunteer to
help out in at least one of these positions. Also, we need more help in the
kitchen! Our refreshments lady, Kathy Reimers, needs extra helpers as
she needs to be with her family through difficult times. Ask one of our club
officers if you are interested in helping but don’t know what to do, we can
help you.
There will be an early board/show chairman meeting on October
6th; it is the first Thursday of the month. Unless otherwise specified, we
will meet at the Chico Alliance church as usual at 6:30. We will be sure to
start a nomination committee as well in this meeting.
A Message From Our New President, Nathan Schackmann:
Celebrating 71 Years!
October, 2011 http://www.kmgs.org
Continued next page
MAKE SURE YOU CHECK YOUR
MEMBERSHIP STATUS!
And make sure you’re paid for the
THE NEW YEAR!
Yearly DUES were due July 1
Please verify your membership status
$10.00 for Adult Membership
$20.00 for Family Membership
$3.00 for Single Junior
If you are going to mail in your
renewal, please send it to :
Bobbie Sack PO Box 3015
Belfair, WA 98528
DON’T MAKE THIS YOUR LAST ISSUE!
88 PEOPLE STILL OWE DUES
PAGE 2 “THE HARD ROCK NEWS” OCTOBER, 2011
Meeting News:
The October General Meeting will be held on
Friday, October 14th at 7:00 PM in the
basement day care center (entrance in the back) of
Chico Alliance Church 3670 Chico Way NW
Bremerton, Washington.
October Board Meeting:
The next Board Meeting will be on Thursday Oc-
tober 6th at 6:30pm at the Chico Alliance
Church, in the Juniors Activity room. All Mem-
bers are encouraged to attend board meet-
ings and participate.
OCTOBER DISPLAY TABLE
We will have a display table for our October meet-
ing. Please bring in a mineral, fossil or lapidary-
related item to share with the club. Juniors are
encouraged to participate in this part of the meet-
ing. The special interest item for this months dis-
play table is iris agate. -Garry Mahan
Juniors:
The activity for the Junior's class during the Octo-
ber meeting will be learning to make rock critters,
like the one's we use for prizes at the Fall Festival
of Gems -Wheel of Fortune. A reminder to parents
that all children under 7 need an adult with them in
Junior's class.
Still looking for anyone willing to take the Juniors
Leader position beginning with the January
2012 meeting. I will be happy to mentor and help
anyone get started. -Heather
Schackmann
NWFMS
Refreshments for the October Meeting will
be brought to you by the letters “S” and “T”.
(See page seven for details.)
Festival of Gems
The Annual Fall Festival of Gems is coming again,
it’s time to start preparing your display and sup-
porting the Show. November 19th and 20th.
Setup will be on the 18th.
Make sure to wear hunter’s orange vests and
bright colors if you are out rock hunting. It is fall
after all and hunting season is open. Be careful on
your journeys.
Sincerely,
Nathan Schackmann
President’s message continued
“THE HARD ROCK NEWS” OCTOBER, 2011 PAGE 3 PAGE 3 “THE HARD ROCK NEWS” OCTOBER, 2011
KITSAP MINERAL AND GEM SOCIETY
GENERAL MEETING
9 SEPTEMBER 2011
The meeting was called to order by President Nathan Schackmann. The Juniors led the Pledge of Alle-
giance.
Welcome back to everyone and especially a welcome to our guests Susan, Kerry, David and Aspen.
Announcements: We have several announcement flyers for upcoming events so please feel free to take
a look and take a flyer.
Cheer: Pam Hall, a dealer from Federal Way, lost her battle with cancer a couple of weeks ago. Our
condolences go to her family and friends. And our own Cheer Lady, Kathy McClure tried to turn 2 steps
into 1 – careful girl, those 2 for 1 deals can really hurt!
Membership: PLEASE PAY YOUR DUES! Eighty-eight people have not paid so please get them in!
Field Trips: No trips are planned for the remainder of this year. If anyone is interested in getting a
group together, contact Dean Norman.
Fall Festival of Gems: Flyers are always available so be sure to pick some up and share them! The Deal-
ers are ready, Fire Inspectors are ready, seems everything’s pretty much ready to go. We need material
for grab bags; contact Jim McClure or Lauren Lownik if you need for them to pick it up from you and of
course VOLUNTEERS!!! This is YOUR show and YOUR time to show off what YOU can do – volunteers are
needed for cases, help with setup as well as tear down, and to help police the area during the show.
Everyone at any time can help keep an eye out for shoplifters – you don’t need the badge to help with
security.
A few words of wisdom that will help prevent hyperventilation by your show committee: PLEASE do NOT
remove your show items until the show has closed! If for some reason you need to take your items ear-
ly, please find Jim McClure, Tony Schackmann or Dave Reimers and allow them to assist you. In fact if
you have ANY questions or concerns, these are the guys to see. And please follow directions during the
disassembly of cases and displays. These guys have this down to a science making the process run
more smoothly and more quickly. Thank you for volunteering to help!
Kitsap County Fair: Doug Leider reported that the Fair was very successful. The Club received a partici-
pation ribbon for approximately 350 hours of volunteer work. A special thanks to Doug Leider and Dave
Reimers for all their hard work and the time they work at the Fairgrounds! And thank you ALL who vol-
unteered your time. It’s always great fun to be there. Doug wants to encourage all Juniors to put in a
Continued next page.
PAGE 4 “THE HARD ROCK NEWS” OCTOBER, 2011
Continued next page.
show case. Meg Fagan was awarded a ribbon for her Junior display! Congratulations, Meg! It’s great
fun and it doesn’t matter how much or how little you have – we want to see what you’ve done! Don’t be
shy!
NW Federation: Jack Eads reported that the Chehalis Show was really great and that Juniors Leader,
Evah Summers received the Junior Achievement Award! Way to go, Evah! The Federation Show will be
held in Kennewick next year so watch for details! Jack also happily announced that he is mentoring a
new web master for the Federation website.
Washington State Mineral Council: Tony Schackmann is the point of contact for anyone who would like
to be the Mineral Council representative.
Work Party: Tony Schackmann asked for a show of hands how many would be interested in a hands on
work party at the Sunnyslope Improvement Center. By special arrangements the SIC allows members to
have an opportunity to learn lapidary skills such as cutting and polishing material, wire wrapping, bead-
ing and faceting. Let Tony know if you are interested.
KMGS Website: Jack Eads has posted photos from the Kitsap County Fair so be sure to check them out!
The website offers lots of information about the Club and links to other valuable information.
Show and Tell: Our favorite part of the meeting! We started out with John Matronic sharing White Fir
Springs Jasper. He also wanted to share that he has a Lortone unit for sale. Details will be posted at the
end of the minutes. Patt Jolly brought a collection of some very nice cabs of plume agate, petrified
wood, dendrite agate, Laguna agate, to name a few. The Club’s own Backyard Rock Hound, Jack Eads,
brought a wonderful box of rocks and donated them to the raffle. Ruth Brooks-Butler visited Colorado
and Kansas and brought a specimen from Durango – a mystery fossil that’s perhaps a piece of Ammo-
nite. Evah Summers has several nice pieces of random things that she collected on a summer road trip
to California and Arizona. She and Heather Schackmann made it a Girls’ Several Days Out and enjoyed
finding these interesting pieces. Leslie Wing had a brown box containing “stuff to show”. Among Leslie’s
treasures was a beautiful stone he was told was from “Mandela’s Throne”. Not sure where the story orig-
inated but it was lovely just the same. He also had amethyst, sage agate, Oregon opal, Rhodocrosite
and Holly Blue agate. Next was Mike Blanton. Did you know you can use bottle glass when tumbling ob-
sidian? The materials are similar in hardness and the glass doesn’t’ damage the obsidian. The things you
learn from other members when you attend the meetings! J Mike is also looking for a large, 8 or 9 cubic
feet kiln – please let him know if you can help. He has buckets of cutoffs from glass blowers and would
like to use a kiln to recycle and repurpose them. Among Mike’s treasures he’s been working on were
“clothes pins” made from materials such as petrified wood and aventurine. Terry Iversen found lots of
interesting materials in Oklahoma, Kentucky, Ohio, Minnesota including geodes and thunder eggs. And
like many avid rock hounders, Terry shared some very interesting experiences. Junior Visitor, Aspen,
Meeting Minutes Continued from previous page
brought some very pretty rocks she dug but said her dad carried them for her. It’s always fun when the
Juniors share their stories.
Following the break and raffles, Jim McClure talked about and demonstrated ways to make your show-
case interesting. We always seem to learn a little something new each time this information is shared
which is why our cases are always so interesting and beautiful.
Being no further business the meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda Mathison
FOR SALE: Lortone Four – 6” wheel grinding and new polishing arbor unit with motor, new pulleys, belt
and more and includes 3 brand new diamond wheels. Originally $1250 will sell complete unit for $650.
Contact John Matronic at 360-731-6351
PAGE 5 OCTOBER, 2011 “THE HARD ROCK NEWS”
Meeting Minutes Continued from previous page
Continued next page.
September Field Trip to Buchanan, Oregon Thundereggs and More
By Nancy Clifford and Maurice Hooks
Tim Fisher, organizer of the 1st Buchanan, Oregon Thunderegg Dig Field Trip, was shocked to receive
more than 300 “I want to attend” RSVPs from rock club members throughout the Pacific Northwest. And
about half of them showed up on Saturday morning, 17 September; by 0830 there were more than 50
vehicles lined up for the event! There wasn’t enough room at the digging site for all of us, so some of us
took off to explore nearby rock hounding areas searching for petrified wood, agate, obsidian, fossils and
more.
Since Maurice and I were in the middle of the pack, we opted for Sunday, but put Friday and Saturday to
good collecting use. Near Malheur Lake we found highly pol-
ished agate, jasper, petrified wood and oolitic agate. Reaching
this site requires a drive through the Malheur National Wildlife
Refuge and a chance to see many birds including ducks, peli-
cans, ospreys, cranes, and herons. We also drove through the
Diamond Craters Lava Fields and toured the historic Peter
French Round Barn. A drive around the Warm Springs Reservoir
yielded more agate, jasper, petrified wood and calcite; later we
discovered that some of the calcite is fluorescent. We also
found wonderstone near Drewsey. Pit 5
PAGE 6 OCTOBER, 2011
WHO NEEDS TUMBLED ROCKS??
Well, we do. The Kitsap Mineral and Gem Society, that's who.
And our annual Kitsap Show is coming up quickly too. We need LOTS of tumbled rocks for the kids cor-
ner and for grab bags.
Please, get those tumblers rumblin'.
You can bring them to a rock club meeting or board meeting, and someone will take them off your
hands, give you a big smile, maybe a hug if you are lucky, and say a huge thank you, thank you, thank
you. -Jim McClure
“THE HARD ROCK NEWS”
Finally Sunday arrived; at 0800 seven vehicles made the trip to the nearby digging site and a half dozen
more joined us later in the morning. We ended up at pit 5 (we were 5th in line) and started digging for
thundereggs in a 12-15 foot deep hole. Two hours and 90 pounds later we stopped our digging and
started sharing our extensive thunderegg collecting experience with
a father and his two sons who joined us in the pit. Tim and Tonya
Fisher showed up shortly thereafter, and gave us all some pointers.
About 10 minutes later the thunderegg ranch owner arrived with his
backhoe and helped us with the hard work. Several other collectors
decided pit 5 was the action place and headed our way. We had a
good time talking with people from Marysville, Portland, Prineville,
Hood River, and Boise. We took lots of pictures, added another 20
pounds to our collection, weighed out, paid, and went on our way.
Many thanks go to Tim Fisher, his wife Tonya and the Mt. Hood Rock Club members who helped make
this very successful two day event run smoothly. They tirelessly shuttled people up and down the hill
(not everyone had a 4-wheel drive, high clearance vehicle), gave advice, weighed our findings, collected
payments for the rancher, and arranged for perfect weather (clear skies, mid-70s). There are tentative
plans underway for a 2nd Thunderegg Field Trip next year; Tim will
provide details to our
Field Trip coordinator
Dean Norman. We
had a wonderful, pro-
ductive time and high-
ly recommend you
make the trip to Bu-
chanan in 2012!
Maurice loading the truck
P.S. Checkout Tim’s web site on Pacific Northwest Rockhounding in-
formation at http://orerockon.com/
A sample of the thundereggs
Continued from previous page
PAGE 7 “THE HARD ROCK NEWS” OCTOBER, 2011
October Birthdays
Bernadine Brooks
Ruth Brooks-Butler (10-11)
Cindy Carroll (10-11) David Davis (10-1)
Shirley Erickson Rosalie Fagan (10-12)
Mark Fawcett Sandy Hendrickson (10-17)
Becke Holmes (10-23) Isaac Hubbard (10-26)
Jack Kienholz (10-26) Joe Lownik (10-10)
Don Mayton Kyle Miller (10-1)
Rocky McNeil (10-6) Paul Morgan (10-15)
Linda Radtke (10-29) Dale Roberts (10-21)
Del Sack (10-24) Ken Schonauer (10-11)
James Soderberg (10-31) Jill Wetzel (10-26)
Stephanie Zegers
October Anniversaries
Cindy Carroll (10-4)
Mark Crooks (10-13)
Leonard and Donna Ballard
Todd and Alma Graf (10-8)
Sue Killins
Guy and Charlotte Kruse (10-28)
Fred and Linda (10-1!!!!)
Richard Otero (10-20)
Rich and Andrea Rudman (10-20)
Ken and Lois Schonauer (10-20)
Richard and Shirley Small (10-4)
If there are any additions or corrections, please contact
Kathy Reimers at (360) 731-5963 or
We rely on our club members to provide snacks
for our General Meetings. Here is our schedule
for 2011, it will repeat again for 2012:
If the first letter of your last name begins with a “A”
,“G”, “U”, “V”, or “W” you will be responsible for
bringing refreshments for the April meeting.
April “A”, “G”, “U”, “V” and “W”
May “H”, “I” , “X”, “Y” and “Z”
June “E” and “F”
July and August—No
Meetings– KMGS
Picnic /Potluck in July
September “B”
October “S” and “T”
November “O”, “P”, “Q” and “R” and anyone that was
inadvertently missed earlier in the
year
December—Christmas Potluck
We encourage finger food that can
be placed on a napkin. We also
encourage healthy snacks as well
as those yummy treats that we are all used to having
at the meeting! The club provides the beverages.
Remember that when it is your
month to bring refreshments, you
need to plan to help with set-up and
clean-up in the kitchen for that
meeting.
- Kathy Reimers
Refreshment Rotation for 2011 & 2012
A Message From Kathy
Hello members, I will not be able to continue as refreshment chairman at the meetings for the forseeable
future. I will be able to make arrangements to be at the Show Potluck and the Christmas Party Potluck
and remain in charge of those events but it will not be possible for me to make it to the monthly meet-
ings. I hope that someone will be able to step forward and take this on until I am able to return to the
job. It is really not difficult, you just have to be able to be at the church about an hour before the meet-
ing to start the coffee. Please let President Nathan or my husband, Dave, know if you are able to volun-
teer for this. Thanks! Kathy Reimers
October Birthstone:
Opal/Tourmaline-Libra
(September 24– Octo-
ber 23)
Libra is the only inanimate sign of the
zodiac, all the others representing either humans or
animals. Many modern astrologers regard it as the
most desirable of zodiacal types because it repre-
sents the zenith of the year, the high point of the
seasons, when the harvest of all the hard work of
the spring is reaped. There is a mellowness and
sense of relaxation in the air as mankind enjoys the
last of the summer sun and the fruits of his toil.
Librans too are among the most civilized of the
twelve zodiacal characters and are often good look-
ing. They have elegance, charm and good taste, are
naturally kind, very gentle, and lovers of beauty,
harmony (both in music and social living) and the
pleasures that these bring.
Via astrology-online.com
Opal is the modern birthstone for October; an al-
ternate Zodiac stone for Aries, Libra, and Scorpio;
and the gemstone gift for the 18th anniversary.
Opal has been associated with hope, faith, and con-
fidence.
Opal has been a popular gem for many centuries. It
has the same chemical formula as quartz with the
addition of 5 to 10 percent water. Structurally it
consists of tiny spheres with water filling the gaps.
These spheres in most Opals are irregular in size
and inconsistent in concentration. Yet in Precious
Opal, the variety used most often in jewelry, there
are many organized pockets of the spheres. These
pockets contain spheres of approximately equal size
and have a regular concentration, or structure, of
the spheres. This has the effect of diffracting light
at various wavelengths, creating colors. Each pock-
et produces a different color, with a different inten-
sity depending on the angle from which a viewer
sees it. The multicolored flashes of light that Opal
emits gives it a truly beautiful and valuable look,
called a play of light. Note that the water in opal's
structure may be critical for the optimal play of col-
or.
Most people consider tourmaline to be a single min-
eral. But in fact it is a group named for several dif-
ferent, but closely related minerals. Members of the
Tourmaline Group are favorites among mineral col-
lectors. Their rich and varied colors can captivate
the eye. Even the black opaque tourmalines can
shine nicely and produce sharp crystal forms. Tour-
malines are cut as precious gems, carved into figu-
rines, cut as cabochons, sliced into cross-sections
and natural specimens are en-
thusiastically added to many a
rock hound's collection.
Tourmaline can be nearly any
color of the rainbow, a fact used
to colorful effect in some tennis
bracelets. Elbaite is the tourma-
line mineral that is most often found in jewelry, as
its color is extremely variable with the most com-
mon colors being red, pink, green, blue, orange and
yellow. Elbaite has many variety names based on
color. A beautiful blue variety is called indicolite
(also known as indigolite), the pink to red variety is
called rubellite, and the green variety is known as
verdelite. Often a specimen can have more than
one color zone in the same crystal, with the most
famous variety being a pink and green combination
called watermelon tourmaline.
There are many unique properties of tourmalines.
First, they are piezoelectric which means that when
a crystal is heated or compressed (or vibrated) a
different electrical charge will form at opposite ends
of the crystal (an electrical potential). Conversely if
an electrical potential is applied to the crystal, it will
vibrate. Secondly they are pleochroic which means
that the crystal will look darker in color when
viewed down the long axis of the crystal than when
viewed from the side. This property goes beyond
the idea that the crystal is just thicker in that direc-
tion. Even equally dimensioned crystals will demon-
strate this trait. This property can be used as an
advantage by gem cutters who may wish to en-
hance a crystal's pale color or weaken a strongly
colored crystal.poor minerals and no quartz. If
quartz were present when the melt was crystalliz-
ing, it would react with any feldspathoids and form
a feldspar. Localities that have feldspathoids are
few. Via Firemountaingems.com
“THE HARD ROCK NEWS” PAGE 8 OCTOBER, 2011
PAGE 9 “THE HARD ROCK NEWS” OCTOBER, 2011
Northwest Shows - October 2011 (via NFMS website www.amfed.org/nfms/)
October 2011
7th 10am - 5pm
8th 10am - 5pm
9th 10am - 2:30pm
Clallam Co., Gem &
Mineral Association
Annual Show
"Nature's Treasur-
ers"
Boy's & Girl's Club
400 W. Fir Street
Sequim, WA 98382
Terry Stockman
PO Box 98 Sequim,
WA 98382
Foster Thompson
October 2011
8th 10am - 5pm
9th 10am - 4pm
Billings Gem & Min-
eral Club
Annual Gem & Min-
eral Show
Billings Hotel & Con-
vention Center
1123 Mulloweny
Lane
Billings MT
Contacts: Lynn Ed-
wards
406-855-3675
or Dealer Contact:
Mark Lent
October 2011
8th 10am - 5pm
9th 10am - 5pm
Marysville Rock &
Gem Club
37th Annual Rock-
toberfest
Totem Middle School
7th Street & State
Ave.
Marysville, WA
Bill Moser
425-238-8222
George Haage
425-339-2272
October 2011
15th 9am - 4pm
Eureka Rock & Gem
Club
Eureka Rock & Gem
Club Show Senior Citizen Center
1000 North 3rd. East
Mountain Home, ID
Margaret Stallknecht
208-740-0937
mestallk-
October 2011
15th 10am - 6pm
16th 10am - 5pm
Hells Canyon Gem
Club
44th Annual Show
"Rocks 'R' Us" Nez Perce Co., Fair
Grounds
1229 Burrell Ave.
Lewiston, ID 83501
Rick Westerholm
208-746-2101
P O Box 365
Lewiston, ID 83501
October 2011
22nd 10am- 5pm
23rd 10am- 5pm
Bellevue Rock Club Rock, Gem & Jewelry
Show Vasa Park
3560 W. Lake
Sammamish Blvd
SE.
Bellevue, WA 98008
(I-90 Exit 13)
Bruce Himko
PO Box 1851
Bellevue, WA 98009-
1851 bellevuerockclub
@comcast.net
Club Website
October 2011
22nd 9am - 6pm
23rd 10am - 5pm
Clackamette Miner-
al
and Gem Club
"Rock & Gem Heaven
in 2011"
47th Annual Gem &
Mineral Show
Clackamas County
Fairgrounds Pavilion
694 NE. 4th Ave
Canby, OR 97013
Bea Settle
503-631-3128
rockhound
@clackamettegem.org
Rick Mauer
(503) 691-6395
tallerricar-
[email protected] Club
Website
The Missing Display Case Front
Dave Reimers is looking for a Tacoma case front. Somehow one got mixed up with a personal display
case. Dave is asking all members with a display case, to please check the front, if it say TAC, then it’s a
Tacoma case and will not fit the other cases. Please help Dave our before it’s time for the show.
If you do have it, Please call Dave at 360 275 5986
Editor Contact Information: Gordon Eslava
[email protected] Phone: (360) 830-4638
11160 NW Holly Rd Bremerton, WA 98312 Deadline for
November, 2011 Newsletter: October 24, 2011
Past issues of Hard Rock News are online at www.kmgs.org
Save Those Stamps
“The Hard Rock News” is the Official Publication of the Kitsap Mineral and Gem Society. Meetings are held
at 7:00 PM on the second Friday of most months at Chico Alliance Church Daycare (entrance in the back).
Address: 3670 Chico Way NW, Bremerton, Washington.
The object of the Society is to provide a general dissemination of knowledge pertaining to the earth
sciences; to sponsor regular meetings and field trips for the benefit of the membership and to be helpful
along these general lines to one another. The Society is social and educational in character.
Our club is a member of the Washington State Mineral Council, the Northwest Federation of Mineralogical
Societies. and the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies.
Plans are in the works for the November show “Fall Festival of Gems” to take place the weekend of
November 19th and 20st. Set-up is November 18th. We need your active participation!
Feel free to contact me if you want to put an
announcement in the newsletter. Keep in mind
the monthly deadline and that the newsletter
usually arrives around the
beginning of each month, so plan your
announcement accordingly. Contact
information is at left. - Editor
October, 2011
scribesite.home.att.net
PO Box 3342
Silverdale, Washington 98383-3342
"The Hard Rock News"
TO:
Looking Forward to November and Beyond... Update Your Home Calendars!