volume 27, issue 12 december 2017 name that rock
TRANSCRIPT
Volume 27, Issue 12 December 2017
NAME THAT ROCK
The banner photo (above)
will change each month -
can you identify what type of
rock it is? Answer is on last
page but don’t peek until
you’ve tried to guess!
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Meetings & Events 2
Words from the
President 3
Junior Rockhounds 4
Features 6
Announcements 7
List of Club Officers
& Committee Chairs 8
Board Meeting
Minutes 9
General Meeting
Minutes 10
2017 Rock Show Exhibit Win-
ners: Jim Mills, Doren Strane,
David Nelson, Don Hunting-
ton, and Don Pierce.
Rockhounds hauling a boulder up the side of a
riverbank during the San Simeon field trip.
Junior Rock-hound Colby,
staffs the Kids Activity Booth
at the 2017 Rock Show.
Continued on page 5
Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 2
Santa Lucia Rockhounds (SLR)
is a non-profit public benefit corporation with the specific
purpose to promote the study of mineralogy, including (but
not limited to) the fields of lapidary, metal working, jewelry
design and fabrication, geology and conducts field trips for
collecting and education. We encourage learning and good
citizenship in a congenial atmosphere. We respect both pri-
vate and public property, and we strive to protect natural
resources. Meetings are held during the third Monday of
each month, except December, at the Templeton Communi-
ty Center.
We are a member of the California Federation of Miner-
alogical Societies (CFMS) and affiliated with the American
Federation on Mineralogical Societies (AFMS). Santa Lucia
Rockhounds, Inc. is also a member of the American Lands
Access Association (ALAA).
Annual dues are $20 for the first adult and $8 each
for every additional member of the same household. Annual
dues are payable between August 1 and the third Monday
of December, in person at club meetings or by mail to P.O.
Box 1672, Paso Robles, CA 93447.
The Rockonteur
This is the official monthly newsletter of the SLR and an in-
dependent publication containing news and information
consistent with the mission of SLR and of interests to its
members. Circulation is approximately 100 copies per is-
sue.
Member submissions are encouraged and may be
sent to the editor. We reserve the right to accept or refuse
submissions inconsistent with the objectives and purpose of
the SLR. Submissions may be edited as needed without
consent. Deadline are due by midnight of the last day of
the month but early submissions are highly appreciated and
strongly encouraged.
Newsletter Editor/Publisher: Amy Phillips
Website: www.slrockhounds.org
Website Manager: Atascadero Web Designs
MEETINGS & EVENTS
Jan. 2 @7pm
Board Meeting at Ra-
bobank Meeting Room,
Templeton
Jan 15 @7pm
General Meeting at Tem-
pleton Community Center
Show 'n Tell! Members
bring their favorite/prized
rock or specimen and sto-
ry to go along with it. Eve-
ryone votes for their fa-
vorite rock/story and the
best one wins a prize!
January 20 - 21
Tule Gem & Mineral
Show, Exeter Veterans'
Memorial Building 324 N.
Kaweah Avenue. Sat 10 -
5 and Sun 10 - 4.
www.tulegem.com
Feb. 19 @7pm
General Meeting at Tem-
pleton Community Center
The Morros, a Geologi-
cal Anomaly by John
McCabe
This presentation will dis-
cuss the geographic and
geologic characteristics of
the Morro Rocks and when
they were formed.
Mar. 3-4
Ventura Gem & Mineral
Show, 101 W. Harbor
Blvd Ventura County Fair-
grounds
http://vgms.org/
Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 3 Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 3
Words from the President
December Greetings!
As the shortest day of the year approaches, so does the end of my term as
President. I would like to take the opportunity to thank each and every club
member for being a part of our club! I've appreciated the chance to get to
know so many of you on a much deeper level than I ever would have other-
wise.
Instead of writing up a list of everything the club has accomplished this past
year, I thought I'd share with you my personal "top ten" favorite moments as
Club President.
10. Finding out 96 of our club members renewed this past membership cycle!
9. Watching Chris Driesbach demo his rock polisher at the Club Picnic.
8. Seeing the steel map of the fairgrounds area John Hollenbeck gifted to our
club.
7. That people showed up to the Rock Show.
6. Having at least three months with a full Board (no, I'm not going back to
count).
5. Don Pierce offering to call Cambria property owner Jon Pedotti.
4. Getting to see Galen Moyer's incredible Thunderegg collection.
3. Finally being able to identify the gigantic hunks of blue chist, chert, and
basalt that make up our rocky coastline - thank you John McCabe.
2. Seeing how many "rockhounds" it takes to winch a several hundred pound
boulder up the side of a San Simeon Creek bank.
1.Mary Caparone keeping our club alive by stepping up to be President and
Doren Strane for volunteering to help her as Co-President.
The top item on my list is the most important! Without it, there would be no
favorite "Rockhound" moments for me to have next year. Mary & Doren, along
with our new Board and dedicated Committee Chairs, going to make an incred-
ible team to carry the club forward into the New Year.
Thanks for rockin' it with me!
Tina Clark
By John McCabe, VP of Education
Eight Junior Rockhounds (JRs) earned
badges in Lapidary Arts, Collecting and
Rocks & Minerals in November. In Janu-
ary, we will begin work on the Earth Pro-
cesses award where Juniors will learn
about rock types, plate tectonics and the
rock cycle. They will then start a collection
of rocks.
EARTH PROCESSES
While the ground beneath our feet may
seem solid and stable, our Earth is actual-
ly an amazingly dynamic and fluid planet.
Huge sections of the crust, called “plates,”
are constantly on the move, spreading
apart from each other at some places, like
under the Atlantic Ocean. The crust is also
sliding past each other at places like the
San Andras Fault, and crashing together
at still other places to life up mountains
like the Himalayas. This unit will teach
you about
such process-
es, the defini-
tion of a rock,
and how rocks
Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 4
INTRODUCING OUR
ELECTED OFFICERS FOR 2018:
President
Mary Caparone
Co-President/Senior Director
Doren Strane
VP of Membership
Galen Moyer
VP of Education
John McCabe
VP of Communications
Chris Driesbach
Secretary
Rachael Denny
Treasurer
Tina Clark
Junior Director
Lisa King
Past President
Barbara Bilyeu
We’ve got a new
HOSPITALITY COORDINATOR!
Cathy McIntosh has graciously accepted
the role as the club Hospitality
Coordinator.
PROGRAM IDEAS NEEDED
Please let the new program coordinator
know what kind of presentations you’re
interested in for 2018:
Check out this website to learn about earth
processes: http://www.onegeology.org/
extra/kids/earthProcesses/home.html
Organic weathering happens when plants break up rocks with their growing roots or plant acids help dis-solve rock. (from be-low listed website)
Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 5
Mary Caparone in creek on
the San Simeon field trip.
She will serve as the 2018
Club President with Doren
Strane as the Co-
President.
John McCabe educating the next generation of rock-
hound enthusiasts.
BIG THANKS Tina Clark
for all your hard work and dedication as the 2017 Club President!
Rock Doc's Jim Mills and Wayne Mills help new club
members identify a specimen at the Rock Show.
Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 6
By Barbara Bilyeu, Past President
Here on the Central Coast we are very
fortunate to have a wealth of beautiful,
colorful specimens of brecciated jasper.
Brecciated is a term that refers to rock
fragments that have been broken into an-
gular pieces and then cemented together
by a different substance.
In our area, this means we have frag-
ments of jasper usually cemented by chal-
cedony, which can lead to some striking
color combinations. The standard for-
mation theory is that the jasper was origi-
nally fractured by tectonic activity
(earthquakes) and then the spaces be-
tween the pieces were filled with a high-
silica groundwater solution. That makes
sense up to a point.
Another theory is that the jasper
cracked due to drying out, which makes
sense in other ways. Of course, we don't
really know, and no theory covers all
kinds of jasper formation! What we do
know is that the brecciated jasper of the
Central Coast is a joy for rockhounds!
Brecciated jasper can be found in
many locations in the Santa Lucias and
the Coastal Ranges, and rockhounds can
often find beautiful specimens in local
stream beds and beaches. San Simeon
Creek is one of many excellent locations
for collecting, and our club has taken
many good trips there. Probably the most
well-known location for brecciated jasper
in our area is Stone Canyon. This area
between San Miguel and Parkfield features
a large seam of very fine, world-class jas-
per that is easily recognizable and highly
(Continued on page 8)
BRECCIATED JASPER,
a local treasure
Stone Canyon field trip from 2000 with Sherm Griselle and Ralph Bishop.
Cayucos jasper
Stone Canyon jasper
Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 8 Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 7
By Tina Clark, President
The Santa Lucia Rockhounds recently
made a donation to the California State
Mining & Mineral Museum Association
(CSMMMA). We are considered a Gold
Level Member and expect to receive a
complimentary museum pass for each
member of our club. Once we get our
passes, it is our hope to set a field trip
date so we can set up a special tour.
The California State Mining and Miner-
al Museum, is located in historic Mariposa
and became a state park in 1999. This is
the region where explorers John C.
Fremont and Kit Carson found the rich
Mariposa Vein and opened the first mill to
crush ore and extract gold in California.
The museum houses the official mineral
collection of the state of California and
invites you to discover California’s miner-
al wealth, colorful history and geologic
diversity.
The collection, which began in 1880,
contains over 13,000 objects including
mining artifacts, rare specimens of crys-
talline gold in its many forms, as well as
beautiful gem and mineral specimens
from California and around the
world. The collection was moved to Mari-
posa in 1983 after residing in San Fran-
cisco, for over 100 years.
The Museum is proud to display the
Fricot “Nugget”, a rare and beautiful spec-
imen of crystallized gold discovered in the
American River in 1864. This spectacular
13.8-pound. specimen is the largest re-
maining intact mass of crystalline gold
from 19th century California, when these
finds were more common but usually were
simply melted down. Patrons can also
take a trip back in time by walking
through a mine tunnel and seeing how
gold was mined in the mid-1800s, when
California was a wilderness, being trans-
formed by rapid development. The assay
office and working scale model of a stamp
mill will help you discover how gold was
found and extracted from the rocks.
Photo of Fricot “Nugget” from the California State
Mining & Mineral Museum.
WE'VE HIT GOLD!
prized because of its fall-like colors. It is
an exceptionally good material for lapi-
dary artists. The location is, unfortu-
nately, no longer open to collectors, alt-
hough we were able to make special ar-
rangements in 2000 to take a large
group in for a special event. However,
you can still find Stone Canyon Jasper at
shows in rough, slabs, and finished piec-
es. Brecciated jasper can be found in
many places rockhounds enjoy, so keep
your eyes open for its bright colors and
patterns!
(Continued from page 6)
San Simeon jasper with rare red agatized cinnabar coloration from a 2012 club field trip .
Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 8
LOCAL ROCKS Feature by Wayne Mills, Ore Cutts
December 2017 Newsletter
When they were first discovered near
Templeton, scientists thought they were
a new form of fossil clam. Biconoids have
a similar bi-lateral symmetry to clams
(two equal halves), but they are also bi-
radial (meaning that if you cut them per-
pendicular to their midpoint, both halves
are approximately equal. They look kind
of like the stereotypical UFO.
Biconic means “two cones” which, in
fact, describes the perfect bi-conoid—two
squashed cones joined in the middle.
These sedimentary quartz rocks appar-
ently weather out of rhyolite (an igneous
rock) like those found on Highway 46,
about Post Mile 8. Many biconoids are
found weathered out of their matrix off
Las Tablas Road near the Twin Cities
Hospital in Templeton.
The January 2003 issue of the Ore
Cutts has an article about biconoids by
Bea and
Sherm
Grizelle,
former
members
of the
Santa
Lucia
Rock-
hounds.
Biconoid
from Ralph
Bishop
Collection.
December’s birthstones offer three ways to fight the winter blues: tanzanite, zircon and turquoise
– all of them, appropriately, best known for beautiful shades of blue. For more info: https://
www.americangemsociety.org/page/decemberbirthstones
Attendees:
Tina Clark, John McCabe, Doren Strane,
Galen Moyer, Barbara and Gene Bilyeu,
David Nelson, Lisa King, Mary Capa-
rone, and Rachael Denny.
The meeting was called to order at 7:01
pm at the Rabobank Community Room
in Templeton.
Minutes:
Barbara moved to approve the minutes
with this correction, Doren Strane se-
conded the motion, and the minutes
were approved by the Board.
Correspondence:
The Club received a notice of the ex-
piration of our CD, the A.F.M.S. news-
letter, passes to the Santa Barbara Gem
Fair, a Cuesta College magazine, bills
for Post Office box renewal and website
maintenance, an invitation to the Cali-
fornia Construction and Industrial Min-
erals conference, and a donation re-
quest from the Mining and Mineral Mu-
seum. If the Club donates a dollar per
member, the Club members get free
passes to the museum. Barbara Bilyeu
made a motion to donate at this level,
Galen Moyer seconded the motion, and
the donation was approved by the
Board.
Treasurer's Report:
Tina presented the Treasurer's re-
port. Last month, the Club made
$332.75. At the general meeting, we
received $116 in membership fees, $18
from the drawing, $40 from the silent
auction and 75 cents in badge
fees. The Club took in another $60 in
membership fees outside the meet-
ing. Tina has paid the bills for website
maintenance, the Porta-Potty, and the
newsletter. The Club's CD account is ex-
piring soon, and we need to think serious-
ly about what we want to do with the
money. This will undoubtedly be a topic
of further discussion.
Education Report:
David Nelson brought in a book on
Rock and Minerals, published by National
Geographic, with a suggestion that the
Club might like to order additional copies
for the junior members. Barbara Bilyeu
moved to use money from the Library
Fund for the purpose, Galen Moyer se-
conded the motion, and the purchase was
approved by the Board.
The Club did not award a scholarship
this year, because of the lack of response
to the applications. There was some dis-
cussion of whether the scholarship money
should be used for another purpose, such
as purchasing rock kits for the schools, or
sponsoring field trips. John McCabe will
send out the applications again this year,
but the topic will probably come up for
discussion again.
Membership Report:
The Club has a total of 79 mem-
bers. Tina will send e-mails to everyone
who has not yet renewed their member-
ship, and make a membership list for the
C.F.M.S.
Museum Report: Barbara and Gene
Bilyeu and Lisa King represented the Club
at the Pioneer Museum on Pioneer Day.
Merchandise Report: David Nelson pre-
sented a list of Club merchandise present-
ly in stock, and said that when next year's
budget is being put together, he will re-
quest $600 to get hats and T-shirts for
(Continued on page 10)
DEC. 5 , 2017 BOARD MEETING MINUTES
Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 10
the show. The drawing was a little low
last month, and, as noted earlier, we need
someone in charge of Hospitality. Doren
Strane has sold some of the Club's old ta-
bles, and hopes to sell some more.
Newsletter: Amy Phillips is in charge of
the newsletter, and she needs content, if
anyone has something to contribute.
End-of-the-year Party:
At the last general meeting, a majority
of the members voted to have the Club's
end-of-the-year holiday party at the Culi-
nary Arts Institute again. Tonight, there
was some discussion as to whether to
have the party on December 11th or De-
cember 18th, and a majority of those pre-
sent favored the 18th. There was also
some discussion of whether to have Ital-
ian food, as we did last year, or to try
something different. Tina Clark will make
the necessary arrangements, and see
what options are available. The cost will
be about $20 per person, and it was de-
cided to continue the practice of charging
$15 for adults and $10 for children, with
the Club making up the difference. Mary
Caparone will handle the sign-ups and col-
lect the money at the next general meet-
ing. Anyone wishing to participate in the
gift exchange should bring a gift worth ap-
proximately $10 (no alcohol, please).
Website Report: Changes and updates
to the Club's website are still ongo-
ing. There was general agreement that
the Club should purchase the domain
name slrockhounds.com in order to pre-
vent it being used for unscrupulous pur-
poses.
Show Report: The Club's annual show is
scheduled to take place at the fairgrounds
(Board Minutes continued from page 9)
The meeting opened at 7:03 P.M. with
the Pledge of Allegiance. Kevin Brehm did
the badge check, and Ruth Pritchard led
the singing of "Happy Birthday" to those
Rockhounds born in the month of Novem-
ber.
Tina Clark welcomed everyone to the
meeting, and thanked all who have re-
newed their membership, with a reminder
that tonight is the deadline to renew be-
fore being dropped from the membership
rolls.
Elections were held in November, and
the following slate of officers was present-
ed to the membership. President: Mary
Caparone. Co-President/Senior Director:
Doren Strane. Vice-President of Member-
ship: Galen Moyer (assisted by Lisa
King). Vice-President of Education: John
McCabe. Vice President of Communica-
tions: Chris Driesbach. Secretary:
Rachael Denny. Treasurer: Tina
Clark. Junior Director; Lisa King. Past
President: Barbara Bilyeu. Tina Clark
asked if there were any objections to the
proposed slate of officers. Hearing none,
(Continued on page 11)
on April 21-22. Tina Clark has submitted
a write-up to Westways magazine, and
hopes to distribute the dealer packets in
the coming week. The theme of next
year's show will be jasper, and Tina
brought a list of jasper related slogans to
consider.
The meeting adjourned at 8:45 PM.
Minutes submitted by Rachael Denny, Act-
ing Secretary.
NOV. 20 , 2017 GENERAL
MEETING MINUTES
Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 11
the slate was elected by acclamation in
accordance with the Club's bylaws.
The next Board meeting on December
5th will be a transition meeting, and both
incoming and outgoing officers are urged
to attend. This meeting might also be of
interest to any Club members who are
considering serving on the Board in the
future.
The Club's traditional end-of-the-year
party will take place on Monday, Decem-
ber 18th at the Culinary Arts Academy in
Paso Robles, starting at 6:30 P.M. The
cost is $15 per adult and $10 per child (16
and under). Anyone who wants to go,
and didn't get a chance to sign up at the
meeting should send a check to P.O. Box
1672, Paso Robles, California, 93447 by
December 14th.
For the dinner, the Club voted to have
a grilled salmon and tri-tip buffet, with
salad, garlic bread, and assorted des-
serts. The incoming officers will be in-
stalled at the party, and then we will have
our traditional gift exchange. Anyone who
wishes to participate should bring a rock-
related gift worth around $10-no alcohol,
please.
Doren Strane will be serving as Co-
President next year, and will need to step
down as Hospitality Coordinator. Cathy
Macintosh has volunteered to take his
place. John Hollenbeck has made a large
scale map of the fairgrounds, which will
be useful in planning the location of exhib-
its at the Club's upcoming show.
Wayne Mills presented the C.F.M.S. re-
port. At this time, no club has offered to
host the C.F.M.S. show for 2018, so no
show is being planned. The A.F.M.S.
show will take place in Raleigh, North Car-
olina in April. F-100 and 10-99 forms are
due by November 30th, and there is a
(General Meeting Minutes continued from page 10) new safety manual posted at
CFMS.org. Wayne also has passes for the
Santa Barbara Gem Fair.
At the last business meeting, the
Board voted to make the Club a Gold Lev-
el member of the California State Mining
and Mineral Museum Association. This
means that the Club will donate a dollar
for each member, and each member will
receive a museum pass. If any members
wish to add to the donation, there is a jar
available for this purpose.
John McCabe reported that the sale of
material from the Robinson estate at Cliff
Brewen's tailgate sale brought in $156 for
the scholarship fund. Abigail and Ruth
Pritchard and Sam Terry received their
Lapidary badges, and Madison Waterfield
and Rachel Phillips received their Rocks
and Minerals badges.
Barbara Bilyeu announced that there
are books for sale, as well as issues of
Rock and Gem, and Arizona High-
ways. Karen Clark and Sam Alvis an-
nounced that the drawing prizes include
some pieces of Christmas jewelry. The
guest rocks included a biconoid cut and
polished by Wayne Mills, and some pieces
of sagenite collected by Richard Smithen.
Tina Clark introduced Amy Phillips,
who is the Club's new Newsletter Editor
and Program Coordinator. Amy would
very much like input from the member-
ship regarding the newsletter.
The featured speaker for the evening
was Kathy Clarke, who, with her grandson
Colby, gave a fascinating presentation and
demonstration of the art of rock balanc-
ing. Kathy is a photographer as well as a
rock balancer, and she had some beautiful
pictures of the rock art that she has creat-
ed.
The meeting adjourned at 8:29.
Minutes submitted by Rachael Denny, Act-
ing Secretary.
NAME THAT ROCK Depicted on the cover is an agate found at Mount Bullion, Marine Corps Air Ground
Combat Center, 29 Palms CA. Photographer unknown. Source: https://
www.pinterest.com/SRMGS/rockhounding-in-california-you-found-that-where/?
lp=true
P.O. Box 1672
Paso Robles, CA 93447