west seattle petroglyphs · 2013. 6. 23. · west s eattle r ock c lub – g eneral m eeting m...

Happy Happy Happy Happy

WEST SEATTLE PETROGLYPHS

Mike Wall, Editor P.O. Box 16145 Seattle, WA 98116

email: [email protected]

Monthly Bulletin of the West Seattle Rock Club, Inc.

Seattle, Washington

Our Club:

Practices the Rockhound Code of Ethics

Website:

http://www.westseattlerockclub.org

June/July 2013 West Seattle Petroglyphs

Volume 48, Number 6

Meetings:

Visitors are always welcome!

WEST SEATTLE ROCK CLUB, INC. Mailing Address: P.O. BOX 16145, Seattle, WA 98116

The purpose of this Club is to promote the study and enjoyment of the Lapidary Arts with good Rock-hounding and good fellowship; and to further education and lapidary skills for all; to conduct field trips for exploration and collection of minerals, gems, rocks and fossils; to promote shows and displays; to publish a monthly periodical known as West Seattle PETROGLYPHS relating to club activities.

COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS (2013):

2014 Show Co-Chairpersons Programs Refreshments/Hospitality Historian Field Trips

Webmaster

AFFILIATED WITH:

Northwest Federation & American Federation of Mineralogical Societies Seattle Regional Gem and Mineral Show Committee

Washington State Mineral Council ALAA – American Lands Access Association

Meetings are held on the Fourth Wednesday of each month,

except for November which is the FOURTH Wednesday and no meetings in July and December The meetings are held in Adams Hall of the Tibbetts United Methodist Church

3940 41st S.W. (corner of 41st S.W. and S.W. Andover Street) Seattle, WA 6:30 PM – Junior Meeting 7:00 PM – Adult Meeting

Dues are: $20.00 first year (including name badge), then: $10.00 per adult member per year or $15.00 for 2 adults in same family, $3.00 per junior member per year

VISITORS ARE INVITED AND ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO ALL MEETINGS

All material in this Bulletin may be reprinted if properly credited - Exchange Bulletins are most welcome.

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OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS (2013):

President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Federation Director Director at Large Mineral Council Reps Seattle Regional Reps Newsletter - Editor Current Past President

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****************************************************************************************

Michael O’Clair <Open>

Diane Christensen

Audrey Vogelpohl Audrey Vogelpohl Ken Schmidt Leroy Christensen Lyle Vogelpohl Mike Wall Leroy Christensen

(206) 938-1541 <Open>

(206) 938-0790 (206) 932-3292 (206) 932-3292 (206) 932-3626 (206) 938-0790 (206) 932-3292 (206) 935-4953 (206) 938-0790

<Open> <Open> <Vice President>

Janet Francisco

<Open>

<Open> Donn Ullery

<Open>

<Open>

<Vice President>

(206) 940-8344

<Open>

<Open>

(206) 633-0721


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CLUB CALENDAR

June 26, 2013

Junior Meeting (6:30 pm)

Program: Updating our Red Badge Books

General Meeting (7:00 pm)

Program: Auction

Show & Tell: Red, White and Blue Rocks

July 24, 2013

Badge Group-Geocaching (3:30–5:30 pm)

Summer Picnic – Mee Kwa Mooks Park (5:30 pm)

June is here and the summer solstice fast ap-proaching. Member Barry Nevin was kind enough to put together a small club trip to collect agates and crystals at Red Top on June 15th. Sadly, I could not go. Hopefully several mem-bers found some wonderful things they will share with us at our next meeting. Red Top is a gor-geous place to collect and get outside in the sum-mer. I hope our turnout was good. If members are interested in taking other trips this summer, please let me know. Many of our members can also give you suggestions on local collecting spots. Just ask around!

On the first Wednesday of this month I had the pleasure of attending a talk about mineral col-lecting in New Zealand with several other members of the club. The speaker was Dennis Todd of the Palmerston North Rock and Min-eral Club. Dennis gave a lively talk about New Zealand and collecting at several interest-ing mineral localities. He also brought a few specimens along and members attending the talk all left with one or two. Members of the club should follow Dennis’ example and seek

PRESIDENT’S

MESSAGE

WHAT’S INSIDE

Club Calendar 3

President’s Message 3

What’s Inside 3

WSRC Summer Picnic 3

May General Meeting Minutes 4

Greetings from the Badge Group 4

Junior Program 5

Refreshments - June 5

A Safety Note: Spring Cleaning!! 5

Mineral of the Month – Mimetite 5

T.E. & G (Thunder Eggs & Geodes) 6

WSCR – Kid’s Corner 7

WSRC Member Birthdays 9

Shop Tips 9

Field Trips 9

Rock Shows 10


out other rock clubs when traveling.

Here’s hoping you are all enjoying the summer weather and are busy collecting more rocks and minerals for your collections. I look forward to seeing you at the club picnic in July!

Michael O’Clair, WSRC President

WSRC SUMMER PICNIC I believe the WSRC annual picnic will be held next month on July 24th at Mee Kwa Mooks park. This is where we have had the picnic the last few years and is a great location down by the water. There should be a signup sheet to bring food at our next meeting. The picnic will start at 5:30 (following the geocaching expedition). As usual there will be an rock auction and other undisclosed fun. (The picnic is still in planning right now.) So please bring your appetite for both food and rocks. Hope to see everyone there.

WEST SEATTLE ROCK CLUB – GENERAL MEETING MINUTES May 22, 2013

Business The meeting was called to order by President Michael O'Clair. Audrey Vogelpohl reported there were 13 adult members, 7 junior members and 7 guests present. Leroy Chris-tensen won the adult door prize, Oz Hichens won the junior door prize, and Meredith Hailey won the guest door prize. Michael asked if there were any corrections to the previous minutes, since there were none, they will stand as printed in the Petroglyphs. Audrey reported that the NFMS end of the year meeting will be from August 8th to the 10th in Butte, Montana. Lyle Vogelpohl said that sales from the silent and voice auction go an endowment fund. The NFMS is request-ing that each rock club donate 1/2 a bucket of nearby material to the auction. Audrey also mentioned that fellow rock hounds, Dennis and Bev Todd will be visiting the US from New Zea-land and they need a place to stay from June 4th to the 7th and then again for 1 night on the 15th. If you have available space for them please contact Audrey ASAP. The Todd's will be available to give a presentation to our rock club. By vote from the members, Audrey will rent a room at Tibbett’s so they can meet our club and share information about collecting material in New Zealand.

Show and Tell The following members brought items for show and tell: Lyle Vogelpohl, Audrey Vogelpohl, Keir Hichens, Elliot Forrest, Ian Atkinson, Maceo Tinsley, Diane Christensen, Molly Leblanc, JoAnn Churchman, David Clausen, Barry Nevin and Ken Schmidt. David Clausen won the prize.

Program Michael and Lucie O'Clair presented a slideshow about their trip to Arizona. The O’Clair’s were able to collect Fluorite on private property owned by Bob Jackson. In addition to the very informative slideshow, they brought some samples of the Fluorite. Refreshments were served, and the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully Submitted, Diane Christensen, WSRC Secretary


GREETINGS FROM THE BADGE GROUP

ALL MEMBERS WELCOME! We are working on our "Maps" badge and will go geocaching to complete the requirements. We've scheduled our field trip to coincide with WSRC's annual picnic on July 24th. In lieu of our badge group's regularly scheduled meeting, we'll go geo-caching near Mee Kwa Mooks park (location of our picnic), but meet up at 3:30 pm so we can finish by the time the picnic begins (5:30 pm).

If interested in attending the geocaching portion, please email ([email protected]) or call (206-949-6990) your RSVP. I'll send out a reminder with instructions on where to meet and any additional information on this field trip! Looking forward to a fun afternoon! April Hichens, facilitator for the Badge Group


REFRESHMENTS – JUNE

Please take note if you are on the hook for refreshments this month.

Snacks & Drinks: Mike Wall

Thanks to everyone who has brought refreshments this year.

JUNIOR PROGRAM Wednesday, June 26 at 6:30 pm

At the 6:30 Junior Meeting the juniors will be updat-ing our red Badge Books. At the regular meeting the juniors who exhibited at our show will get their cer-tificates and I have some badges to present.

Audrey

A SAFETY NOTE: SPRING CLEANING!! by Owen Martin, AFMS Safety Chair

Down here in the Houston area the weather has started to warm up. Flowers are blooming and bees are buzzing. Similarly many of us have started to do some spring cleaning. Whether in our closets or garages or rock shops, keep in mind that there can be many hazards.

Some of the spring cleaning hazards I’ve encountered already this year include:

1. A spilled box of roofing nails. Luckily I saw the box before stepping on one of the nails. On a side note I was barefooted in the garage so “finding” a nail the wrong way would have been quite painful.

2. Spilled pesticides in the garage. This wasn’t much of a problem this time, but concentrated pesticide liquids can release toxic fumes into confined spaces like garages, closets or cabinets.

3. Expired chemicals and deteriorated containers. I was prying the lid off a rusted paint can and the screw driver (wrong tool) went through the lid. Luckily it didn’t go through my hand. My next door neighbor was opening a can of paint thinner and when she opened it the liquid “sloshed” and splashed on her face. Missed her eyes though!

4. Filled up my old weed eater with gasoline and oil and fired it up. Well it wouldn’t start so I set it down in the garage and went out to mow the yard.

When I came back to the garage it was filled with gas fumes. Apparently the hose from the fuel tank had gotten brittle over the winter and had broken. All the gas leaked out and filled the garage with stinky and potentially flammable fumes.

5. Moving winter clothes around in the closet … one of the hangers broke and snapped back almost hit-ting me in the face.

OK – these are just a few hazards I’ve encountered in the past few weeks. I’d encourage you to be careful in your spring cleanups. Good lighting, the “right” tool, proper lifting techniques, use of gloves, safety glasses, boots, etc. And don’t forget to read the labels on your chemicals so that you know how to use them and store them.

Be safe and I’ll talk to you all again soon. Happy Spring!

(via AFMS Newsletter 6/13)

MINERAL OF THE MONTH – MIMETITE by Junior Rockhound Alexander Carrington,

Everett Rock Club

Some of the most prized specimens of the mineral "Mimetite" are found in the Santa Eulalia District in Chihuahua, Mexico. Eulalia specimens are noted for their fine "cauliflower" crystals and vivid butterscotch color. Mining in the Eulalia district began as a com-mercial venture for silver, zinc and lead. In recent years the emphasis has shifted to specimen minerals. Minerals other than Mimetite found in the Eulalia dis-trict include Smithsonite, Aragonite, and Wulfenite. Mimitite is a member of the phosphate family and is closely related to Pyromorphite. Other famous locali-ties for mimetite include Cumberland, England and Tsumeb, Namibia.

(via Pebbles, 7/10)

Mimetite, Santa Eulalia, Chihuahua, Mexico from the collection of Alexander Carrington


First, wrap your geodes and eggs with electrical tape. This protects the edges from chipping while the speci-men travels around the lap. Use 220 grit for 8 hours, then 500 grit for 8 more hours, cleaning thoroughly as always between operations. For the final polishing I use pure tin oxide on indus-trial felt and polish until I get the finish I want.

Bases can be made from plas-ter of paris [or wood] or the specimen can be sliced on one side to give a flat base. A last reminder which every-one knows but is apt to for-get: If you want to keep your crys-tals in, keep your fingers out! (via Rocky Trails

6/13; vis Carny

Hound, February

1966; reprinted

1/13)

Note: A site with

great thunderegg

pictures with the

source locales:

http://rayerminerals.homestead.com/Verkoop_Thundereggs.html

TRIVIA by Jim Sykes

The Earth gets 100 tons heavier every day due to fal-ling space dust. (via The Tumbler , 6/13; via Rocky Trails, 12/12)

T.E. & G. (THUNDER EGGS & GEODES)

by Ward Chappelle

I have been a rock collector for about twenty years and like most rockhounds tried several different phases of the lapidary arts until I found one I enjoyed the most, namely, collecting thunder eggs and geodes.

For the past thirteen years, I’ve collected thunder eggs and now have specimens from many states as well as

some from Mexico. At present my collection also includes some eight different types from Oregon. As for geodes, I have been collecting them for only eleven years. Be-lieve it or not, before I looked closely and observed their special beauty, I threw them away.

Cutting a thunder egg correctly is sometimes pure luck, as the outside doesn’t give many clues for guid-ance. Some eggs are oblong, some round, while others are just big chunks of rock looking like nothing.

The Priday thunder egg from Madras, Oregon usually has a guiding pattern for cutting, the bottom of the egg being bud shaped. By cutting through this bud, a nice specimen can usually be obtained. Another character-istic of the Priday egg is the agate seams that appear on the outside. If you cut close to one of these seams, there is a good possibility of getting a fine specimen.

I know many rockhounds who have beautiful geodes stuck away in drawers because of past unsuccessful attempts to polish the rims without damaging the deli-cate crystals inside. The secret of working with ge-odes is to keep your lap wet – never let it get dry! In this way, if any grit gets inside the geode, it can be easily removed.


WSRC – KID’S CORNER

Mineral Related Definitions (from Mineral Dictionary – Part 1, Mineral Miners Monthly)

Acicular - A word used to refer to the form or habit of certain minerals. The word

acicular is from a Latin word acicula that literally means a little needle. Acicular crys-tals are minerals that crystallize as long, thin, hair-like needles. Minerals that show acicular habit include millerite (pictured here), artinite and aurichalcite.

Arborescent - Another word used to refer to the form or habit of certain minerals.

The Latin word for tree is arbore. Some minerals, like the copper specimen pictured here grow in forms that resemble tree branches and so are described as arborescent, like this copper specimen.

Bird’s Nest (Calcite) - Calcium carbonate (the chemical formula for cal-

cite) can form as little balls in depressions. Mineral collectors looked at this speci-mens like the one pictured here and said, “Hey, that looks like a bird’s nest filled with eggs.” So, specimens like this one are commonly called “Bird’s Nest Calcite.” The proper, technical term for this formation is pisolitic.

Botryoidal - This word refers to the shape or form of many minerals. Botryoidal comes

from the Greek word botrys which means bunch of grapes. Under the right conditions, some minerals form clusters of round balls that look like bunches of grapes. Malachite, azurite, hematite, mimetite, chalcedony, and marcasite are a few of the minerals which can form botry-oidal specimens.

Bow-Tie Crystals - A bundle of thousands of very thin crystals that grow in a

formation that resembles the shape of a bow-tie. Stilbite often forms bow-tie groups of crystals.

Dendritic - “Branching.” Some minerals form growths that look like branches on a bush or

small tree. They are described as looking like plants. Dendritic is from the Greek word dendron

which means tree. (Notice that this is similar to arborescent.) Copper, silver, gold and pyrolusite are some minerals that are found in the dendritic form.

Eisenrose - A German word that literally means iron rose. A term used for groups of

hematite crystals that have grown together in such a way that the resulting specimen resembles a flower or a rose. Hematite is an iron ore.

Enhydro - Enhydro literally means containing water. There are a number of minerals in

which water plays a part in their formation. Sometimes a little water gets trapped inside a crystal as it grows. In this picture you can see the quartz crystal contains water-filled pockets, and in these pockets are small bubbles of gas. As the crystal is tilted and moved, the bubbles move back and forth, like a bubble in a carpenter’s level. The bubble is included inside the crystal. When anything is inside a crystal, it is called an inclusion. (See also inclusion.)

(Continued on page 8)


(Continued from page 7)

Eye (Agate) - “Here’s Looking at You!” Agate is a form of quartz that has

bands of different colors. Some agate specimens, when cut and polished properly, reveal circular bands that look like eyes. Eye agates are rare. Some experts believe that about 5 out of every 100 agates has an eye formation.

Filiform - “Like a thread.” The word filiform comes from the Latin word filum which means

a thread. When a mineral is described as filiform it looks like fibers or filaments. Here is a silver specimen that grew in the shape of fibers.

Fluorescence - Fluorescence is a special color property of some, but not all,

minerals. When ultraviolet light shines on some minerals, it causes electrons in the minerals to jump around. This “jumping around” creates light that you see as fluores-cent colors on the minerals. Pictured here is a specimen is of a long, light tan wille-mite crystal with two black franklinite crystals all of which are sitting on white to gray calcite. When the ultraviolet light shines on them, the willemite shines bright green and the calcite shines bright orange-red. The black franklinite crystals remain black.

Hopper Crystals - A hopper is a funnel-shaped box that is used to store and

pour out things like coal and grain. A hopper crystal is one where the edges of the crystal have grown faster than the faces. This creates a hollow space that makes the crystal look like a funnel-shaped box.

Leaverite - A word used by mineral collectors in the field when they find a specimen that is not worth

taking home. “That’s a lousy specimen. Don’t take it home . . . leaverite where you found it!”

Luster - A description of the look of a mineral when light reflects off of its surface. There

are two luster categories. One is metallic which describes minerals (like gold, silver, pyrite and galena) that look like shiny metal. The second is nonmetallic. The nonmetallic luster de-scriptions include vitreous, resinous, pearly, greasy, silky, adamantine.

Parallel Growth – The word parallel is a term from geometry which refers

to lines or planes that do not intersect each other, even if they were extended out into space forever. When the conditions are just right, crystals can grow parallel to one another. They look like marchers in a parade, all lined up next to each other. Miner-alogists simply call this parallel growth.

Phantom (ooh! Scary!) - Sometimes a crystal will grow to a certain size and then stop

growing. At a later time, the crystal growth can start again, but the new material can be a different color, or the first crystal may have some other material attached to it. When the growth is all complete, the larger crystal will look like it has a smaller crystal trapped in-side. As you can see in these two pictures, the original, smaller crystal is the same shape as the larger, later crystal. Mineralogists call the resulting specimen a phantom crystal.

Note: To Be Continued Next Newsletter

(via Mini Miners Monthly, 4/13)


1. Use wet/dry sandpaper. Always sand amber wet. Start with 100 grit, take off all outer coating.

2. Dip in water, then hold against strong light to lo-cate insects.

3. Shape and/or round corners with metal tile.

4. Using 200 grit sandpaper, sand until all deep scratches from 100 grit are gone.

5. Finish sanding with 600 grit. Use circular motion to prevent long scratches.

6. Let piece dry. Examine your finish carefully to see if you missed any bad spots. Remove bad spots before proceeding.

7. Put regular toothpaste on wet wash cloth. Make a paste and rub amber to polish (gel type toothpaste is not abrasive).

(via The Tumbler, 6/13; via Conglomerate, 5/11; via The

Lithnics, 4/11; via The Glacial Drifter, 4/10)

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SHOP TIPS

Editor’s Note: Shop tips featured in this bulletin have not been evaluated for safety or reliability. Please use caution when trying out any new idea.

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How To Work Amber – by Frank Monahan

WSRC MEMBER BIRTHDAYS

June

6 – Misty Tinsley 30 – Mark Christianson

July

15 – Kyle Kennedy 17 – Mark Hichens 20 – Maceo Tinsley 31 – Mike Wall

2013 FIELD TRIPS – TENTATIVE

June 26-30 Pow-Wow All Rockhounds Club Field Trip – Madras, Oregon – 8:00 @ Jefferson Fair, Madras OR Agate, Jasper, Petrified Wood, T-Eggs Private farms – contact

http://www.allrockhoundspowwowclubofamerica.com/ for more information

July 13-14 Rock Rollers of Spokane Field Trip – Lolo Pass – 9:00 @ Lolo Pass Resort Parking Lot – matl: Smokey quartz crystals – tools: Shovel, Pick – contact Mike Shaw (509)244-8542 (509)251-1574 for more information

July 20 Marysville Rock Club Field Trip – Gold Mountain – 11:00 @ Show (20,21) Darrington behind IGA – matl: Travertine – tools: Lt hard rock – contact Ed Lehman (425) 334-6282 or [email protected] for more information

July 27 Marysville Rock Club Field Trip – Lake Wenatchee – 9:00 @ Coles Corner – matl: Garnets – tools: Shovel, bucket, 1/4” screen, wading clothes – contact Ed Lehman (425) 334-6282 or [email protected] for more information

Aug 3 Rock Rollers of Spokane Field Trip – Chewelah mines – 9:00 @ Chewelah Safeway – matl: Magnesite – tools: rock hammer, light digging – contact Mike Shaw (509)244-8542 or (509)251-1574 for more information

Aug 17 Northwest Opal Association Field Trip – Little Naches – 9:00 @ 410 &FR 19 – matl: ThunderEggs – tools: Dig & Light hard rock tools – contact Tony Johnson (253) 863-9238 or [email protected] for more information

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See WSMC http://http://www.mineralcouncil.org/FieldTrips_2013.pdf for additional field trips and details

HOW CAN YOU HELP

Your Federation: Save stamps and give to our club treasurer.

Your Hobby: Join ALAA. - Contact Lyle Vogelpohl

Other: Volunteer to teach beginners what you are good at.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ...

Cabbing … contact Lyle Vogelpohl … (206) 932-3292

2013 SHOWS

July 19 10am-5pm Lower Umpqua Gem & Lapidary Society – Annual Rock Show

July 20 10am-5pm Reedsport Community Center, 451 Winchester Avenue, Reedsport, OR

July 21 10am-5pm

July 27 10am-6pm Northwest Montana Rock Chucks – Annual Rock Show

July 28 10am-5pm Flathead County Fairgrounds, 265 North Meridian, Kalispell, MT

July 27 9am-6pm Washington Agate & Mineral Society – Annual Rock Show

July 28 9am-5pm Parkside Elementary School, 301 Central Avenue East, Tenino, WA

Aug 2 9am-5pm Far West Lapidary an Gem Society – Annual Club Show

Aug 3 10am-5pm North Bend Community Center, 2222 Broadway, North Bend, OR

Aug 4 10am-5pm

Aug 9 9am-5pm NFMS 75th Anniversary Show (Butt Mineral & Gem Club) Aug 10 10am-5pm Butte Civic Center, 1340 Harrison Avenue, Butte, MT

Aug 11 10am-5pm

Aug 9 10am-9pm Port Townsend Rock Club – Annual Show Aug 10 10am-9pm Jefferson Co. Fairgrounds, 4907 Landers St., Port Townsend, WA

Aug 11 10am-6pm

Aug 10 9am-5pm Maplewood Rock & Gem Club – Annual Show Aug 11 10am-5pm Maplewood Clubhouse, 8802 196th St. SW, Edmonds, WA

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See the Northwest Newsletter for additional show listings and times.

Available online at: http://www.amfed.org/nfms/newslet2.htm


west seattle petroglyphs · 2013. 6. 23. · west s eattle r ock c lub – g eneral m eeting m...

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