www.cochisecountyrock.org
Finding and
Grinding Rocks in
February 2007
This issue edited by Don
Hammer
_________________________________________________________________
Larry Strout has selected
a video on The Making of a Continent The Grand Canyon. The Club extends a hearty welcome to new
members Regina Olson and Jurgen Ziegenhagan of Cochise, David & Alice
Thomas of Bowie and Jack & Debi Breese of Pearce.
January
Field Trip
On Sunday January 21
thirty three members and two guests assembled near the railroad tracks in
Dragoon and Bob Fenner explained the collecting site and requested car
pooling. We then proceeded west
paralleling the railroad tracks to multiple mines/digging sites in the Dragoon
Mining District. At the first stop we picked and dug in tailings finding plenty
of smithite, chrysocolla, and a popcorn aragonite with nice fluorescence. A few even found a pretty blue quartz. We then went a bit farther NW to just south
of
Meet
at the
BISBEE For 95 years, the purpose and
prosperity of this town in the
The community's copper-mining heyday from
1880 to 1975 is the focus of a new permanent exhibit at the
Called "Digging In: Bisbee's Mineral
Heritage," the exhibit was created by designers and artists from the
prestigious Smithsonian Institution...
The 2,000-square-foot exhibit includes a re-creation
of a crystal cave, life-size dioramas depicting miners at work underground, a
display of open-pit-mining techniques and an interactive section focusing on
the many uses of copper in everyday life. Text panels provide details of mining
technology and the life of miners
One attention-grabbing part of the exhibit lets visitors step into
a scene featuring an operator at work in an enormous, full-scale shovel cab.
A mineral display of malachites, azurites and calcites was
designed by Bob Gaethje, a mineral consultant and museum board member who did
the work on a volunteer basis.
Help Wanted - Hospitality
Coordinator(s). No experience
necessary. Duties include passing around
the refreshment sign-up sheet at meetings, notifying Newsletter Editor of who
is signed up for the coming meeting, and calling those who have signed up to
remind them a few days before the meeting.
Optional duties: organizing the June picnic and the December Party. Notify the President, Vice-President, or the
Newsletter Editor when you volunteer for this exciting opportunity.
Wanted: Rocks.
Bring one or more of your favorite rocks to the meeting to be included
in the rock raffle.
Gilbert
D Orozco,
Anyone
with suggestions for speakers or program topics please contact one of the
officers.
January 8, 2007
President Paul McKnight called the
meeting to order. New members and
visitors introduced themselves. There
were 37 people in attendance. Paul asked if everyone had seen a copy of the
monthly minutes for our last meeting. No
one needed a copy of the minutes. Irvin
Pontious made a motion to accept the minutes as published. Larry Strout seconded the motion. Motion carried. Walter read the treasurer
report as of January 1, 2007. Anyone can
see a copy of this report. Larry made a
motion to accept this report. Robert
seconded the motion. Motion
carried.
Jack Weller gave a report on the
recent audit. There were no
discrepancies, and everything balanced to the penny. Richard made a motion to approve the audit
report. Beth seconded the motion. Motion carried.
We discussed the proposed budget that the
board came up with. Paul explained the
reasons for increases in lapidary expense and field trip expense. They would like to keep open the possibility
of purchasing another slab saw. The
ability to pay entry fees for some field trips would also be covered. The total proposed budget was $2600. Paul reminded us that we rarely use all we
budget, but that the membership needs to vote on expenses not in the
budget. We were also reminded that the
raffle held each meeting helps pay for the expense for the use of this
building.
Our January field trip will be held
January 21. We will travel to the
Dragoon mining area lead by the Fenners.
Bob showed us samples of what could be found. A sign-up sheet will be passed around. We will meet on the north side of the RR
tracks on
At the March meeting, we
will hear from Bill Burton who has 35 years experience at exploratory
geography.
At the last Board meeting, the discussion
of club dues came up. We have always
been lax on when the dues were actually due.
Dues must be paid by the March meeting or you will be dropped from the
active rolls. We pay our federation dues
based on our membership rolls, so we need to cut people who are not
active. We will have the raffle for
rocks donated at intermission. Sign-up
sheets for refreshments were passed around.
Fenners donated a first-aid kit for use on field trips. Many thanks for their donation. After
intermission and refreshments, Paul introduced Debby Leschner from the Rocky
Mountain Federation who came to speak to us about what the Federation can offer
us, and show us a DVD made by and about rock hounds. Debby is the Arizona State
Director and helps assist clubs connect with other clubs. She also is our delegate at the meeting in
Respectfully submitted,
Carol A Pontious, Secretary
Interested in
lapidary? It appears we may have a
Thursday afternoon and a Saturday afternoon session call Irvin Pontious
824-0110. Silver soldering meets at 2 pm
Tuesday afternoons call Larry Strout 826-3991. Silver smithing meets at 2 pm
Monday afternoons call Don Hammer 384-3105.
12 Regular Meeting Hosts: Cindy Weller and Carol Pontius
17 Field Trip- Bisbee Mining Museum
8 Board Meeting
12 Regular Meeting William Burton, mining geologist. Host: Karen Grassell
18 Field Trip Whetstones for fossils
5 Board Meeting
9 Regular Meeting
14 Field Trip Swisshelms for jasper and ?
10 Board Meeting
14 Regular Meeting
20 Field Trip
7 Board Meeting
Picnic
Field Trip
Field Trip
6 Board Meeting
10 Regular Meeting
15 Field Trip
4 Board Meeting
8 Regular Meeting
14 Field Trip
8 Board Meeting
12 Regular Meeting
17 Field Trip
6 Board Meeting
17 Christmas Party
Upcoming
Regional Events
March 8 11, 2007 Deming Gem & Mineral Society Inc. 42nd Annual Rocks,Gems, Minerals, Geode Cutting, Auctions, Daily Door Prizes, Guided Field Trips, Breakfast & Lunch & More. Phone (505) 544-8643. dgms.bravehost.com
March 10, 2007
Minerals of
March 16-18, 2007,
June 7-10, 2007. Rocky Mountain Federation
Annual Convention & Show.
President Paul McKnight 520 824-4054
Vice-President Jack Weller 520-826-0625
Secretary Carol Pontious 520 824-0110
Treasurer Walt Sigel 520-826-1009
Delegate at Large Jack Light 520-384-4774
Dues are due. $10 for individual and $20 for family. Please mail your check to Sunsites Gem &
Mineral Club,