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AMERICAN FEDERATION OF MINERALOGICAL SOCIETIES
Volume 56, Number 4 IN THIS ISSUE AFMS Scholarship Foundation News from Jon Spunaugle, President The fiscal year ending October 31, 2002 has been a momentous year for the Foundation. It has been my first year as President and contained many events not anticipated as I took office. In general terms, the Foundation is "alive and well". New Contributions We received in this past year $21,731.82 in contributions, personal gifts, memorials, and fund raising efforts. The prior year comparable total was $16,503.95. The cumulative total of contributions since the inception of the Foundation stands at $822,527.79. Contributions were received from all seven of the Regional Federations, with some contributions, as in the past, coming from non-affiliated sources. The Foundation invests all contributions in a portfolio of investment grade bonds using the income to fund our annual scholarship grants and pay operating expenses. At year end this bond portfolio had a market value of $807,036 with a cost basis of $784,864.23. In addition the foundation had on hand in bank and money market funds $30,678.44 for a grant total of $837,524.67 in assets. The portfolio is comprised of almost entirely A-rated or better corporate and government bonds with maturities ranging out to thirty years. A complete investment report is available upon written request. Income from this portfolio over the last fiscal year totaled $54,883.83. For the past several years, the Foundation has been able to grant two, $2,000 scholarships per year, to two students from the six participating Federations. Thus the total for each student is generally $4,000 per student over two years. This last year students who received grants in the Fall were: California Federation: 1st Year students 2nd Year students Eastern Federation: 1st Year students 2nd Year student Midwest Federation: 1st Year students 2nd Year students Northwest Federation: 1st Year students 2nd Year students Rocky Mountain Federation: 1st Year students 2nd Year students South Central Federation: 1st Year (2002 students not yet determined) 2nd Year students Honorary Awardees Each of the six participating Federations selected an honorary awardee. The Honorary Awardee is honored with a handsome plaque and given the responsibility and privilege of selecting the students to receive the grants. Last years Honorary Awardees were: CFMS - Mike Kokinos long time and very active member for his service to the California Federation of Mineralogical Societies. EFMLS - Dr. Michael A. Wise of the Smithsonian Institute and noted for his work on pegmatites and for his presentations to the members of the Eastern Federation of Mineralogical and Lapidary Societies. MWFMS - Dr. David Hess, Professor (retired), Department of Geology, Western Illinois University for his service and educational efforts on behalf of the members of the Midwest Federation of Mineralogical Societies. NWFMS - Mr. Robert N. Bergantino, Research Associate Hydrologist at Montana Tech for his contributions in historical cartography of the Lewis & Clark Expedition and assistance to the AFMS Lewis & Clark Anniversary efforts. RMFMS - Sallie Webb, for her service to the Museum of the Red River and her education efforts in the State of Oklahoma and for the members of the Rocky Mountain Federation of Mineralogical Societies. SCFMS - Dr. James N. Connelly, Associate Professor, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin for his support and educational efforts for the local area Clubs and Societies of the South Central Federation of Mineral Societies. The Foundation would like to thank all six of the Regional Federation Chair persons for their efforts in the last year Each has done an outstanding job during the year. These are the "unsung heroes of the Federations who process the contributions and inform the Foundation of the source of donations and contributions and help keep track of the club and society percentages. A special thanks goes to Sandy Cannedy for taking the RMFMS Chair position and doing a great job. Thomas D Milligan, EFMLS, did a great job in 2002 and is stepping down. Kessa Stewart (CFMS). Nellie Claxton, MWFMS, Toby Cozens, NWFMS, Jonathan Moehring SCFMS continue to serve both their Federations and the Foundation in the highest "rockhound" tradition. Our deepest thanks to them all. from Ron Carman, President
With warmer weather not far away, we can again think about one of the mainstays of our hobby, field collecting. I have mentioned previously my own enthusiasm for it, and how disappointing it is to see more places getting cemented over or posted off limits. Development occurs by demand of a growing population, but after I have seen some collecting sites left in a mess or littered with trash, I can understand the reluctance of land owners to allow others to enter. If you were a farmer or rancher and allowed some collectors to come on your land, and if this group dug pits and left them for stock to fall into, or left trash behind, perhaps for the wind to blow around, how willing would you be to let more persons come on your land to repeat the actions? Can you blame the owners for not letting anyone come on their property again? Unfortunately, this kind of irresponsible behavior isn't limited to field collecting; you can visit any national or state or local park and you may see similar incidents with trash left around and perhaps public facilities vandalized. I have visited some Texas parks after a long holiday weekend and seen the mess left in public rest rooms and in campgrounds, and to me it's a wonder the park authorities even try to keep the places functional! Seeing names, crude remarks, and profanity spray-painted on the outside as well as the inside of buildings can be equally discouraging. Now I am not accusing everyone of being guilty of such misbehavior. In fact, I am sure that most of our clubs are not guilty of it and they do pick up after themselves, leaving the collecting area as clean or cleaner than when they arrived. Most of us follow the AFMS Code of Ethics very well, knowing that if we respect another's property, he will be all the more willing to let folks collect another time. If we remember to treat another person's property at least as well or better than our own, we should never have trouble. We can say that state and national parks or forests are ours, but remember that they belong to everyone. Collecting is prohibited in national and state parks, but it is allowed in many national and state forests. We all know how more and more "public" lands are being declared off-limits and having their roads closed, so there is no access except by hiking in, and that may be prohibitively difficult. One reason for these closures is that in the past, many persons in recreational and off-road vehicles and motorcycles have run wild over these areas and ruined some of them, biologically as well as aesthetically. Again, I like to think that AFMS members are not guilty of this kind of thoughtlessness, but rather try to avoid and prevent it. Very likely I have been preaching to the choir about all this irresponsible behavior, so I'll quit with the sermon. It just seems to me that as AFMS members we can at least take care of what we do have and encourage others to do the same, mainly by setting the example for them to follow. There are still lots of collecting sites remaining, and I want to be able to enjoy them for years to come. Also, I hope to see some of you at these sites sometime. Good luck and happy collecting! from Marve Starbuck, President-Elect We are basking in the sun out here in the desert in Arizona. So far, no wind, and "NO DUST AND GRIT"!!!! And I hope it stays that way! We hear a lot of complaints about the small number of competitive exhibits at Conventions. In Springfield, I had the opportunity to chat with a long time friend. This person designs and makes beautiful jewelry, and has exhibited it competitively for years. I was admiring her latest piece which she was wearing, and asked if she ever displayed anymore. Her answer: "No, it's so expensive to travel anymore, with the price of gas, motels and food, we just plain can't afford it anymore." Maybe what we need to do is take a tip from the Micromineral Society of Cleveland. When they have a Micromineral Symposium, the members invite the attendees to stay in their homes for the duration of the symposium. This would certainly cut down on the expense of attending. We have a travel trailer (which a lot of rockhounds have nowadays,) and take it to shows. Even though it takes additional gas to pull it, we save enough on food and lodging to offset the price of gas. And it's nice to sleep in your own bed! I think the lack of competitive displays is a common problem all over the country. People that used to display competitively on a regular basis have reached the age that they either aren't able, or can't afford it anymore. So, what's the solution? New and younger people (Yes, they are out there), are displaying, but have never entered a competitive exhibit. Many definitely have a trophy winning case. Eric Peterson, a member of my club, hasn't been collecting very long, but has amassed two eye-catching displays...one of barite, and one of selenite. Both of these were on display at the Springfield Convention. How could these people be enticed to displaying competitively? I feel it would behoove the judges at shows, to take time to go around, take a long look at the non-competitive exhibits, and when they find an outstanding exhibit, look up the owner, and encourage them to enter in competition, and then help them. I have heard people say, "That's "NOT FOR ME", those judges are too picky, and rip you apart!" I remember a Convention several years ago. It was held at a fairgrounds with no air conditioning. It was beastly hot, and beastly dusty (no, it wasn't Kalamazoo). Several of the displays were knocked down because the static electricity had caused the dust to collect in a large circle around the lights. This was a situation the exhibitor had no control over. Shouldn't there be allowances for just such a situation? It had nothing to do with the quality of the material. Judges opinions vary considerably. Again, at a Convention, a junior exhibitor asked to see the judges. Why? He had been told at a previous Convention that the natrolite he had was the best the judge had ever seen. This judge told him he needed to upgrade his natrolite. Which judge was right? Hopefully, the new AFMS proposal to send judges to Wild Acres Judging School will allow for more consistent judging. In the meantime, it would be nice to have judges go around and look for non-competitive displays they feel should be entered in competition and encourage the exhibitor to enter it. And finally, a reminder to all AFMS Committee Chairs and Officers. Since the AFMS Convention is early this year (June), I would like to remind you that I will need your budget request for FY 2004 as soon as possible. Thank you. from Lewis Elrod, Central Office Many clubs have elected new officers for 2003. If you are no longer an officer of your club, but are still receiving the AFMS Newsletter, please let us know the name and address of the correct person to send future issues to. You may e-mail or snail mail your updated information to me at the address shown on page 15 of this issue. Be sure to include the name of your club and, while you are at it, let us also know the name and address of the other officers who should receive the newsletter as well. They are your club president, editor and secretary. Thanks for helping us keep in touch with you and your members. Having Fun - Junior Activities: Building a Collection by Jim Brace-Thompson, Junior Activities Chair As you know from my previous two columns, I'm proposing we initiate a merit badge sort of system for junior members enrolled in the AFMS Future Rockhounds of America program. As part of that proposal, each month I'll describe a different badge we might consider and activities that might be done to earn that particular badge. Last month, I talked about a Mineral Identification Badge. This month, I'd like to turn to one of the things that kids of all ages love to do: collect! Most of us rockhounds are pack rats at heart. We like nothing better than to assemble an assortment of rocks we've found on our journeys, traded with fellow collectors, or purchased at gem shows and rock shops. A proper collection, however, is more than a bunch of rocks tossed haphazardly into a box. The value of a collection lies in its "curation," or in the information included with the specimen: what it is, where it came from, and other unique info. The collection also should be organized and stored so individual specimens can be cared for and retrieved easily. Helping kids curate their treasures provides an educational opportunity to teach them about the specimens they've collected while improving both the scientific and economic value of their collection. Here are some activities toward this goal: Activity 1: Activity 2: Activity 3: I welcome your comments about this idea and ideas I'll be describing in future columns (e-mail me at <jbraceth@juno.com>). Plus, I welcome thoughts of your own about other activities to consider as I work to put together a formal proposal for a merit badge system that encourages and rewards kids for learning while-as always-having fun! by Joy Bourne Quotation marks are probably the most frequently misused punctuation characters in the English language. Especially since they often come next to a comma or an end punctuation mark, and the question becomes "where to place what." The rules for correct usage may be found in any text on grammar. We all knew them once, but often memory dims when we're facing a newsletter publication deadline, and we don't always take time to look them up. Following is a quick summary of these rules, together with examples of their use in sentences. All rules apply to single quotation marks as well. Perhaps this will be of help to our newsletter editors. 1. Use a comma to set off a direct quotation from words like he said. "You were going 80 miles an hour," the State Policeman said. According to the AFMS Code of Ethics "I will leave all gates as found." "Come to the workshop session," he told her, "and I will teach you to wire-wrap." 2. If a quoted question or exclamation comes at the beginning of a sentence, use a question mark (?) or an exclamation point (1) to set it off, not a comma. "Do you want a gad pry or a crack hammer?" Bill asked. "Unbelievable!" Charlie shouted. 3. Commas and periods always go inside the quotation marks at the end of a quotation. "You can't move that alone," said the safety officer. The miner admitted, "Unless we get more help out here, well never get this rock back to the truck." 4. Question marks and exclamation points go inside the quotation marks if the quotation itself is a question or exclamation. The reporter wrote, 'The Jets Won!" Tom responded, "Are you glad?" Are you glad? is a question. Therefore, the question mark is part of the quotation, and it goes inside the quotation marks. Similarly for the exclamation point. 5. Question marks and exclamation points go outside the quotation marks if the sentence as a whole is a question or exclamation. Did she say, "I am going fossiling"? The quotation "I am going fossiling" is a statement. The sentence as a whole is a question. Thus, the question mark goes outside the quotation marks. 6. Single marks surround a quotation within a quotation. "Then," he continued, "Bill shouted, "I found a pocket!" 7. When two or more paragraphs are quoted, place quotation marks at the beginning of each para- graph and at the end of the last paragraph. The closing mark tells the reader that he has reached the end of the quotation. Sources: from Esther Dunn, EFMLS Wildacres Chairman The Eastern Federation will play host to the AFMS Uniform Rules Committee Judges Workshop during the Fall session of the EFMLS Wildacres Workshop. One representative from each of the seven member federations plus the AFMS URC chair will take part in a week-long Judges Seminar conducted by URC member B. Jay Bowman. A similar seminar will be conducted in 2004 and 2005 in order to give additional representatives from the federations an opportunity to compare notes, talk about the existing rules and learn how to interpret them in a more uniform manner. The Eastern Federation would like to invite you to join us at this fall session, or at our spring session for a week of fun and learning in a wonderful mountain setting just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. You don't have to participate in the URC workshop to attend - there are several other classes for your enjoyment. The Wildacres facility is owned and operated by a non-profit organization dedicated towards the betterment of mankind. About 50 groups use Wildacres each year including both the Eastern and Southeast Federations, the Florida Goldsmiths, as well as music, literary, youth training and religious organizations. Wildacres consists of several modern buildings. Lodging is in two modern motel style buildings each with private bath. A canteen, dining hall, auditorium, and numerous classrooms make up the campus. It's peaceful too - no blaring TV's or radio's disturb the serenity of the mountains. Each EFMLS session features an invited speaker, several classes to select from, an auction, free day and "fun night". The cost for the week is very, very reasonable - $270 for room and board. There is a slight additional fee for class materials, but that varies and depends on the classe(s) you take. Our spring session is May 16 - 22 and will feature guest speaker Gordon Austin. He's retired from the USGS and is very knowledgeable about gemstone deposits in the United States. The fall session is September 2 - 8 and will feature a return engagement by Fred Ward, well known author, lecturer and gemologist. He has written articles for National Geographic and has published a series of books on topics including diamonds, pearls, sapphires and rubies. He's a charming and terrific speaker. Interested in coming? You can download an application form from the EFMLS website <www.amfed.org/efmls> with a quick click of a mouse along with a list of classes we plan to offer during both sessions as well as more information about Wildacres. If you don't have access to the internet, snail mail the AFMS Editor and information will be sent to you. from Dee Holland, Chairman The AFMS Endowment Fund has received the generous contributions from : Wendell and Ann Mohr - EFMLS Fossils For Fun, Sacramento, CA - CFMS We thank you for your generous contributions. We will be sending out tickets to all the AFMS Endowment Fund committee people immediately. Pictures of the items that will be raffled off in Ventura are being taken now and will be up on the AFMS website as soon as possible.. A commemorative Cast Iron Dutch Oven celebrating the Lewis and Clark Expedition will be in a separate drawing. In addition there will be an Indian-made five strand turquoise nugget necklace with earrings, a channel pendant, an Indian style tomahawk and an intarsia pendant. A 1.5 carat goshenite beryl set in 14k gold pendant has also been received. Other donations will be gratefully accepted.... Dee Holland, AFMS Endowment Fund Chair from Shirley Leeson, Historian As historian for the AFMS one of the questions I've often been asked is "who has received the AFMS Scholarships?" This month, we'll start listing both the honorary and student recipients since first awarded. I'll do this by Federation - this month starting with the California Federation. 1972 Dr. Richard Jahns 1973 Dr. H. Stanton Hill 1974 Vincent Morgan 1975 Dr. Vincent P. Gianella 1976 Leslie "Les" Darling 1977 Dr. George Tunnell 1978 Dr. Adolf Pabst 1979 Richard C. Erd 1980 Dr. Stephen Dana 1981 Dr. Robert C. Deidrick 1982 Dr. William Wise 1983 Capt. John Sinkankas 1984 Dr. Peter Bancroft 1985 Dr. Bruce Carter 1986 Dr. Anthony R. Kampf 1987 Pansy Kraus, GG, FGA 1988 Lucy Birdsall 1989 Waldo Ford 1990 Dr. Bruce Alan Carter 1991 Robert Evan Reynolds 1992 Richard W. Thomssen 1993 Jessie Hardman 1994 Dr. Peter W. Weigand 1995 Ruth E, Kirkby 1996 Dr. Michael J. Walawender 1997 John I Koivula 1998 Arthur & Rosamond Riggle 1999 Dr. George R. Rossman 2000 Robert W. "Bob" Jones 2001 Gary Peterson 2002 Mike Kokinos AFMS Club Rockhounds of the Year from Bonnie Glismann, AFMS Chairperson Midwest Federation The Spring River Gem and Mineral Club honor Ray Gottschalk with the 2002 Rockhound of the Year Award. A member of the SRGMC for 11 years, Gottschalk accepted leadership as President or Vice-President for 8 for them. He also acted as Field Trip Chairman, Program Chairman, and arranged picnics and Christmas parties. With attention to details, Gottschalk sent out postcard notices of meetings to the membership, passed around the cookie sheet, and wrote out name tags. Gottschalk's dedication ensued in arriving early to set up the meeting room, and staying late to clean it up, besides checking to be certain everyone's car started after meetings and field trips. No job was too big or too small for Ray Gottschalk. The Spring River Gem And Mineral Club is grateful to Gottschalk for keeping the club alive, and For sparking the interest and desire in new members to accept leadership and take over jobs, such as Field Trip Chairman and Program Chairman, to ensure the longevity of the club Submitted by Mary Kocz, President Eastern Federation The Board of Directors of the Gem, Lapidary, and Mineral Society of Montgomery County, MD., Inc. unanimously voted that Nancy Ballard be our "AFMS Club Rockhound of the Year" for 2003. Our nominee has not only taken on the demanding task of newsletter editor for our society but has served for 30 years as of April 2003! Nancy makes the deadline 11 times a year with an interesting and informative presentation. She serves tirelessly at our annual show as hospitality chairperson, mails show announcements, hosts, with her husband Dave, the society board meetings at their home, and manages the holiday season society gathering. Additionally she is part of the "Glue" that helps keep our society together, helping in many other unseen and sometimes unrecognized ways. We are proud and honored to have her in our club. nominated by Wendell C. Mohr Karen Rice, vice president of the New York Mineralogical Club, has been nominated as the AFMS Club Rockhound of the Year. Karen has given of her time endlessly to keep the workings of the club smooth. She attends executive meetings and hardly ever misses a general meeting. She runs the raffle at each meeting, and has generated much of the club's funds this way. Besides her scheduling the lecturers for the club meetings and the show, Karen gives a splendid lecture herself. Karen is very knowledgeable in the area of diamonds and rubies, and has given lectures on her experiences with them. Her quiet demeanor is coupled with her English accent which bowls me over every time we talk. You can usually find her at the club's table unless there are some outstanding specimens for sale. It's always nice to be greeted by her at each meeting I attend, and I look forward to it. nominated by Michael Kessler I would like to nominate Joe Murter for the honor of Rockhound of the Year 2003 from the Gem & Mineral Hunters of Virginia. Joe was one of the founding members of the club. He and his wife, Ruth, have been two of the mainstays of the club. Until two years ago, Joe organized and led field trips into various quarries around the state, in Pennsylvania and upstate New York. Because of his age, 85, he has mostly given up active collecting himself, but he continues to lead. His latest field trip was to the Kibblehouse Quarry and to a former collectors museum in Pennsylvania during the fall of 2002. Each year he schedules coordinates, and conducts a show and tell type of mineral show at the Manassas Mall. These shows usually fall on a weekend in October. Our set up starts on Friday evening and the show runs continuous to Sunday with Joe there every minute the Mall is open. He loves showing the younger set how to use the microscopes to see the best of micromounts. His cabinets of a miniature rock shop and display cases, which he hand made, are two hits of the show. He still maintains membership in the Micromounters club, although he doesn't attend as much as he would like. Joe continues to teach newcomers like myself and my wife, Sallie, tricks of the trade. nominated by Don Garrett, Treasurer and Editor Dave Callahan, 2nd Vice President and Field Trip Director of the Gem and Mineral Society of Lynchburg, VA has been nominated as the AFMS Club Rockhound of the Year. He has done a fantastic job as 2nd Vice President and has increased the number of field trips to new heights. He has gotten the club associated with 3 other clubs to share field trips and gatherings. He is also a most tenacious and tireless rockhound. When he plans a field trip it is not to just one location but to two or more so that the members can collect all day. His planning and mapping skills are invaluable for multiple day field collecting trips. nominated by Steve Gordon, President Lloyd Watson of the Roanoke Valley Gem and Mineral Society has been nominated as the AFMS Club Rockhound of the Year. He has been a member of the club for 5 or 6 years, and for the past two years he has held the office of Second Vice President in charge of field trips. In this capacity he has arranged and lead more than six field trips to quarries and popular "digs" in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He is not only enthusiastic about his and other's discoveries on field trips, but he also brings specimens to meetings that he has collected from vacations out of the area. He assembled a mineral display in the name of the RVG&MS for local schools and libraries, and has been instrumental in arranging joint field trips with the Lynchburg club which has fostered additional interclub activity. nominated by David Katt Bill deLorraine of the St. Lawrence County Rock & Mineral Club of Northern New York was elected president last year with 99% YEA's from the club members that attended that night. Bill was the only one to vote NAY... With Bill being president of our club and handling all of the responsibilities that a club president has, he also had to have a very strong back bone. When Bill encountered a close down at the Zinc Corporation of America in Balmat, NY, he exercised his determination and experience as the best geologist who understands the Grenville Metamorphic Belt to encourage the possibility of reopening. He enjoys giving real nice and even rare minerals away to kids and adults and expects nothing back in return. This type of action of human kindness is rare to see, and I feel as a soldier, a rockhound and as a human being, that Bill deLorraine deserves to be the "rockhound of the year". nominated by Jake Kramer, Secretary We nominate Inga Wells of the Che-Hanna Rock and Mineral Club, in Sayre, PA for AFMS Club Rockhound of the Year. Inga has been a cheerful, faithful, talented and hard working member of Che-Hanna since she joined in the 1970's. She served as the editor of the club bulletin for about 10 years until 1998. As evidence of her concern and love for the kids, she has served outstandingly as Pebble Pups' advisor since the late 1980's. Inga has always given wholeheartedly of her time, energy, love, personal rocks and minerals, books and transportation. She spends the summer taking kids on field trips geared specifically to their interests. She sees that the Pebble Pups are at every club show, operating their own tables - including a working model mini-mine. She belongs to, and is active in, at least four other clubs. Her other activities include teaching cabochon making, soapstone carving, gem tree making and micromounting. She also served the Eastern Federation as Chair of the EFMLS Junior Activities Committee and is presently the EFMLS Slide and Video Librarian. nominated by the Che-Hanna Rock and Mineral Club Dennis Trotter of the Ohio Valley Gem and Mineral Society, Inc. (WV) has been nominated as the AFMS Club Rockhound of the Year. He recruited 6 new members within the last 6 months. He taught 10 members to wire wrap jewelry at 3 meetings. He is teaching 3 members to identify stones and make cabochons, He is also teaching the use and care of the trim saw. They are learning to make silver rings. He is also teaching them to do wire wrapping. nominated by Jennifer Maddox, For over 10 years Michelle Renne' has been a leader in the Gem and Mineral Society of Palm Beach County, FL. Every year, she has graciously given of her time in major leadership capacities such as club President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Committee Chair or Co-Chair for Education, Elections, Annual Show, Classes, Nominations, Programs, Club Librarian, Hospitality, to name a few. Michelle is also President of our local Bead Society. She has taught a spectrum of classes to members of our club. Always friendly, she is a soaring beacon of light to new members, finding out what their needs and talents are so they quickly feel comfortable at meetings and at participatory events. Michelle has taken off from her job to do rock and mineral presentations to school children is extremely generous with the "gifts" she gives to all students involved. They say that no one is "irreplaceable.", but ... Michelle comes pretty close to the exception. It is with great pride that I nominate Michelle Renne' as the AFMS Club Rockhound of the Year. She sincerely deserves the recognition. nominated by Pam Hawthorne Bill deLorraine of the St. Lawrence County Rock & Mineral Club of Northern New York was elected president last year with 99% YEA's from the club members that attended that night. Bill was the only one to vote NAY... With Bill being president of our club and handling all of the responsibilities that a club president has, he also had to have a very strong back bone. When Bill encountered a close down at the Zinc Corporation of America in Balmat, NY, he exercised his determination and experience as the best geologist who understands the Grenville Metamorphic Belt to encourage the possibility of reopening. He enjoys giving real nice and even rare minerals away to kids and adults and expects nothing back in return. This type of action of human kindness is rare to see, and I feel as a soldier, a rockhound and as a human being, that Bill deLorraine deserves to be the "rockhound of the year". nominated by SSgt Jake Kramer, secretary The American Fossil Federation (MD) has selected George Powell, Jr. as their 2003 AFMS Club Rockhound/Fossilhound of the Year honoree. George is a founding member of the AFF which was established in 1989, and he has served in the position of President since 1990. George, a fossil collector for over 40 years, has exhibited his fossil displays in nine states and has spoken about fossils to about 120,000 children and adults at schools, fairs, libraries, mineral clubs, Wildacres, the Aurora Fossil Museum (NC) and other venues. He has donated thousands of fossil specimens to schools (including a permanent exhibit at George Mason High School in Falls Church, VA), the Smithsonian and the Aurora Fossil Museum. In 2000, George was featured in the Catoctin Wildlife Center's Fossil Identification program which was filmed for a Maryland cable network. He also participated in the BBCO's Shark Week 2000 at the Discovery Channel Store in DC. nominated by the American Fossil Federation We're looking for your club's honoree. There are no hard and fast rules. Each club may recognize one individual or couple per year by sending the name(s) plus a brief narrative like those above telling why the person or couple is being selected. Information should be sent to your Federation chairperson who will forward it on to the AFMS where it will be published in an upcoming AFMS Newsletter. Your Regional Federation Chairpersons are: California: Eastern: Midwest: Northwest: Rocky Mountain: South Central: Southeast: We're looking forward to receiving information about your club's 2003 honoree. What a nice way to recognize one of the unsung (or maybe "sung" workers of your club. forwarded by Bill Patillo You need to be aware of a potential personal privacy issue related to the popular search engine Google (<www.google.com>. There is a new feature that makes it possible to type a telephone number into Google's search bar, click the search button, and have a MapQuest page returned as a result. Any person wishing to discover the physical location of a phone number, be it a home or business address, could use this feature to locate a physical street address, and receive explicit directions on how to get there from anywhere in the country. One positive use of this feature could be to determine the location of, say, an adverse party for whom you may only have a telephone number. On a negative note, this feature could also be used by an angry party to find out where you live. Google has made available an option that will allow anyone to remove their telephone number from the database that is linked to the mapping feature. You will first need to check if your number is listed in this manner by attempting a search - entering your full telephone number separated by dashes (e.g., 404-524-5811). If your number is on record, an icon resembling a telephone will appear next to the first or second entry on the results page (your name and address). Clicking on this icon will take you to a page containing a description of the service, and a link to request your number be removed from the database. [Ed. Note: Can't believe how many references there are to our home phone number! Seems as if every AFMS and EFMLS newsletter, website and magazine which has our phone number shows up! We're not easily "finadable" with a map because we use a post office box as our address and our phone is unlisted, but it's pretty mind-boggling to realize just how "public" we all are.] Johnnie Short John "Johnnie" Short, a past President of the past California Federation (1961-62) and American Federation (1964-65) passed away on January 1, 2003 in Tucson, AZ. Johnnie exhibited over the years and received many awards at the regional and national level for his extensive mineral collection. He was also interested in photography and contributed some of his mineral slides to Rock and Gem Magazine. While in the AFMS chairs, Johnnie supported the then new AFMS Scholarship Foundation and as AFMS President he presented the very first award to Professor Richard Pearl at the AFMS Banquet in Yakima, Washington. The grant was for $300. Johnnie didn't fade away after his tenure as AFMS President. He constantly attended AFMS shows throughout the country and also attended CFMS shows. He was among the AFMS Past Presidents who attended the 50th Anniversary in Jackson, MS in 1997. And the last AFMS show he attended was Port Townsend, WA in 2002. Over the years Johnnie lived in the northwest and Tucson, AZ. He involved himself in the famous Tucson Show for many years from 1994 through 2002. He was Treasurer of TGMS for several years. He loved field trips, attending shows, his extensive mineral collection and most of all the many, many rockhound friends he made all over the world. He is survived by his wife Alice, two sons, grand-daughters, a great-grandaughter, several stepchildren as well as two sisters. Johnnie was never seen without a smile. He always had a good word for everyone. He was one of those people who believed he never saw a rockhound he didn't like. And EVERYONE liked Johnnie. We shall all miss you Johnnie..... Any donations in his name should be sent to the AFMS Endowment Fund Treasurer Shirley Leeson AFMS Historian Robert Beachler,
Jr. Bob Beachler, age 82, of Rolling Hills Estates passed away at his home on December 24, 2002 from complications of cancer. Bob was one of the early pioneers in the field of electronics, holding several patents, including parts used in the B25 aircraft during WWII. He received his Bachelors (BSEE) Degree in Physics from USC and was a graduate of the UCLA Executive Program. He then spent over 17 years with North American Aviation, Inc. as Research Engineer and Manager of the Engineering Research Laboratory, Aircraft Division. He later worked for the Craig Corporation as Vice President of Operations and Technical Director from 1964-73. In 1973, he founded and was President of Pioneer Communications of America, Inc. which developed the "QUBE" two-way interactive cable TV system for Warner Cable Communications. He later founded and was President of Pioneer North America, a financial holding and management corporation for six Pioneer manufacturing and marketing companies operating in the United States. Although he retired in 1985, he continued to provide consulting services for such companies as Futurenet Corporation, Telenetics Corporation, and Craig Consumer Electronics. Bob was most recently known for his activities with the California Federation of Mineralogical Societies where he was co-chairman of the All-American Committee with his wife, Dot, and he was a member of the Internet Committee. He was a long time member (18 years) of the Palos Verdes Gem & Mineral Society and has held numerous leadership positions including President and Treasurer. He was also Treasurer of the L Pacifica Show Committee in 1984. Bob recently joined the Long Beach Mineral & Gem Society and was Treasurer at the time of his death. Bob is survived by his wife, Dot, his daughter, Megan, of Menlo Park CA, and his 15 year-old grandson, Ryan Card. Donations may be made to the AFMS or CFMS Endowment Fund or to the AFMS Scholarship Foundation. from the CFMS Newsletter, Feb. 03 from Shirley Leeson, Historian According to my files, these are the living Past Presidents of the AFMS. Those that have a double asterisk have sent me biographies. Those with only one asterisk have bios on file because Cathy Gaber (EFMLS) did a wonderful profile on them. Those of you who have nothing after your name are fair game. If I don't hear from you, I'll assume you want me to write about you…..
from Trudy Martin President SCRIBE, the "Special Congress Representing Involved Bulletin Editors" holds its annual meeting each year in Quartzsite, Arizona. At the just concluded 2003 meeting, the following officers were elected to serve two year terms. President - Trudy Martin, Calgary, Canada Vice President - Leora Alexander Brigham City, Utah Secretary - Don Ogden Diamond Bar, California Treasurer - Pauline Price Salt Lake City, Utah All club newsletter editors, authors and individuals interested in club newsletters are encouraged to join SCRIBE. Dues are nominal - $6 per year for an individual and $8 for a couple. More information and a membership application can be found on the SCRIBE webiste <www.scribesite.home.att.net> from Jon Spunaugle, President As reported in the AFMS Newsletter last year, the Foundation Officers discovered a significant amount funds missing from the Foundations' accounts. Further investigation brought us to the conclusion that the funds had been removed from the accounts by the former Treasurer. This information was brought to the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Based on their findings and investigations, the former Treasurer was indicted in Federal Court in December and a trial has been scheduled for early May, 2003. We remain hopeful that some of the misappropriated funds may be returned to the Foundation. By Law Changes As a result of the discovery of missing funds, several parts of the AFMS Scholarship Foundation By Laws were revised at the last annual meeting. Revisions included requiring annual audits of the Foundations books and records by a CPA and Bonding of the Officers that handle the funds of the Foundation. Other changes required better reporting of the financial information and better directions for the Officers of the Foundation. A complete copy of the Revised By-laws can be obtained by written request to the Foundation. We look forward to a successful conclusion to this trying period in the history of the Foundation, but can assure you that despite our setback, the Foundation is alive and well and continues to award scholarships to deserving students each year thanks to the generous donations of clubs and individuals like you. from Lewis Elrod, Central Office We need your help! Listed below are 24 people to whom we cannot mail the AFMS Newsletter because we have either an incorrect or incomplete address. If you know any of these people, please contact the AFMS Central Office (address on page 15) and provide us with the name and correct address, including zip code (all the numbers as they appear on a magazine or bill sent to the house) so we can send future issues to them.
by Bill Klose, EFMLS Safety Chairman Hammers used by rock hounds come in every size, type and construction, and include rock hammers, bricklayer's or mason's hammers, blacksmith's or sledge hammers, machinist's peen hammers, jeweler's hammers, setting hammers, soft face hammers, lead or copper faced hammers, trimmer's and welder's hammer's, as well as a variety of mallets, such as rawhide, rubber, and tinner's. I have even seen napping hammers (a 3 pound high carbon steel hammer with tapering faces used for forming stones during road construction or similar stone work) and railroad track mauls (used for driving railroad spikes). As it is hard to anticipate what a rockhounds "favorite weapon" will be, I though I would present a list of general hammer safety practices followed by the proper use of some of the more common hammer types. 1. Always select the proper type, size, and weight of hammer for the job. 2. Always wear eye protection. 3. Always strike a hammer blow squarely, avoiding glancing blows and over and under strikes. The hammers striking face should be parallel with the surface being struck. 4. When striking a chisel, punch, or wedge, the striking face of the hammer should be 3/8" larger than the struck face of the tool. Both the striking hammers face and the struck face of the tool should be free of oil. 5. Do not strike another hammer with a hammer. 6. Do not strike a harder surface with a hard surface hammer. 7. Never use a hammer with dents, cracks, chips, mushrooming, or excessive wear. Replace the hammer-redressing is not recommended. 8. Replace worn or damaged handles. A qualified individual should replace hammer handles. Most hardware stores will replace hammer handles for a nominal fee. They can also provide a rubber sleeve for sledge hammers, which will prevent handle damage just above the head. Bricklayer's or mason's hammers are designed for setting or splitting bricks, masonry tile, and concrete blocks. Never use them to strike metal or drive tools such as chisels. The blade of a bricklayer's hammer should be kept sharp by redressing at a 40 degree angle with a bench grinder. Keep the metal cool while grinding by quenching often in water to protect the metals tempering. Hand drilling hammers are used with chisels, star drills, punches, and hardened nails. Never use common nail (claw) hammers for striking metal, such as chisels, as they are designed for driving unhardened nails and their shape, depth of face, and balance make them unsuitable for this use. Machinist's peen hammers (ball, cross, or straight) are designed for striking chisels and punches and riveting, straightening and shaping metal. Blacksmith's or sledge hammers are designed for striking wood, metal, concrete, or stone, depending on size, weight, and shape. When using a hammer, grip the handle near the end where it is designed for gripping and will give you the best control and impact with the least effort. Watch your hands, shins, and feet. It may be advisable to wear gloves, long sleeve shirts, and high lacing safety shoes to protect from flying debris and sharp shards if the situation warrants it. When storing hammers for a period of time, lightly lubricate metal parts, but wipe any oil or grease from rubber mallets or rubber handle grips to prevent damage to the rubber. So get out there and hammer up a storm, safely.
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the time you read this article, we will all notice the days starting to lengthen
and signs of spring returning. I, for one, will be glad to see winter go away.
Can you imagine, here in Texas the temperature actually went below freezing a
couple of times! In all honesty, we in Texas had only a small sample of what
winter is really like, especially in the north and east! Snow and ice storms are
never much fun, and it's hard to go collecting when everything is covered with
snow. (I've done it once, though!)
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