www.cochisecountyrock.org
“Finding and Grinding Rocks in Cochise County, Arizona since 1962”
November 2007
This issue edited by Don
Hammer
_______________________________________________________________
November
Meeting is Monday the 12th
Our November meeting will be Monday, November 12 at 7
pm at the Sunsites Community Center. Our archeologist member, Casey
Dennis, will speak on early Native American cultures in Cochise County. The focus of the program will be southwestern
archaeology, starting with the coming of the first men into the new world and
finishing with those cultures practicing agriculture in southeastern Arizona
prior to the first Spanish contact.
Casey
Dennis is a third generation native, she was born in Arizona and raised on a
cattle ranch in Cochise County. She
became interested in archaeology as a child as there are a number of sites on
the ranch which her father was interested in.
Following discharge from the United States Air Force she used her GI
Bill to obtain a bachelors degree in anthropology from the University of
Arizona. She spent the next portion of
her professional life as a field archaeologist, adjunct faculty member and
Elderhostel coordinator for Yavapai College in the Verde Valley of
Arizona. Five years ago she retired and
moved back to the ranch.
Ms. Dennis'
program will be at 8 pm on Monday November 12 at the Sunsites Community
Center. The public is invited to hear
her presentation on local archeology.
November Field Trip
The
November field trip on Saturday November 17 will go to the Commonwealth Mine in
Pearce. Meet at the vacant lot north of
the Old Pearce Store at 9 am and plan to leave at 9:15 for the collecting site
just a couple of miles from the store.
We will be looking for lacy agate and amethyst that were abundant when
we visited this site a few years ago.
Bring water, lunch, lawn chairs, sun protection, bags or pails and
digging/rock breaking tools. 4WD is not
necessary.
October
Field Trip Report
Seventeen
members and three guests met at the old Arizona Restaurant parking lot a few
minutes before nine on October 20 and piled into 8 vehicles following Paul
McKnight to the Oak Creek ranch where each registered as per Game & Fish
regulations and then proceeded up Oak Canyon.
As promised the road was suitable for cars and in a few minutes we were
all parked in a row on one side of the road.
Then Paul led us across the road to an abundance of chalcedony that was
eroding out of the hillside. Everyone
got plenty of chalcedony and even some slabable pieces were found. We then continued up the canyon to the creek
crossing for nice specimens of layered (sedimentary) rocks and one nice piece
of jasper. Nestled in the foothills of
the Chiricahuas, the scenery alone was well worth the trip. Consequently many members pulled out lawn
chairs and picnicked in the shade of the oaks along with several mule
deer.
Christmas Party
The Club
Christmas Party will be on December 17 at 6 pm in the Sunsites Community
Center. Don Hammer has two 20 lb turkeys
in his freezer and we're looking for volunteers to cook the turkeys. Potluck for everyone else: those with last names beginning with A – H
bring a salad, I – P bring a vegetable dish and Q- Z bring a dessert. We need help
on the decorating, setup and cleanup committees and if you can help with
any of these call Hanni Sigel (826-1009).
Come on out and join your fellow members in kicking off the holiday
season.
October
2007 Minutes
The meeting was started with our
speaker Laura White giving us a talk about changes for roads in the National
Forest. They are going over all the
roads presently being used in the Forest area.
There will be maps available online.
Laura had some maps of the local areas available for us to see.
Following the speaker, we had intermission
and enjoyed refreshments.
The regular meeting started at 8 p.m. Chuck Merritt was a new guest to our
meeting. Paul asked for approval of the
minutes as published in the newsletter.
It was approved. Walter gave a
financial report that showed no changes since the last report. Debby made a motion to accept the report,
Irvin seconded the motion, motion carried.
Paul
gave a report on the September Field Trip.
5 cars made the trip up to the old marble mine. Paul thanked Larry and Irvin for their help
with smoothing out the wash for vehicles to pass safely. Paul brought samples
of rocks found. No one from the club
attended the Bisbee Mine trip. Our next
Field Trip will be on October 20 to Oak Creek behind the Riggs Ranch. Paul and Beth spoke with the Riggs family. They did much work on the road that accesses
the Forest. It washed out really bad,
and needed attention several times this summer.
They set it up so we will have passes to access the forest. We will meet at the restaurant at the
intersection of Rt. 191 & Rt. 181. at 9 a.m. A member requested we revisit this site, and
samples of rocks found are also on the table.
Paul said he and Carol agreed to be on the Nominating Committee. Larry made a motion to approve the committee,
Don seconded the motion, motion carried.
The Christmas party will be December 17
and there are sign-up sheets for someone to cook turkeys and other food. There will be a Gem and Mineral show in
Sierra Vista next weekend for those that chose to attend.
We held our Rock raffle including the
magazines as last time. Meeting was
adjourned at 8:25p.m.
Respectfully,
Carol Pontious, Secretary
In the
July/August Newsletter Paul thanked several members for their contributions
towards making the Club successful but modestly did not include his
efforts. Since we have many new
members, it may be well to point out that Paul chaired the Continuation
Committee when the previous administration attempted to terminate the club and
disperse it’s assets and he successfully negotiated a settlement with that
administration allowing us to keep the Club assets. He has also served two terms as President as
well as a couple of years and several months when I was absent, as Newsletter
Editor.
I'm not
sure how I overlooked it when we revised the By-laws a couple of years ago, but
most organizations include the immediate past President on the Board. In some cases 2 or even 3 past
Presidents. The Board has approved the
following amendments to the Club By-laws and will bring them to the membership
for approval at the November General Meeting:
Section
1.0 The elective officers shall be the
President, Vice-President,
Secretary, Treasurer and one (1)
Delegate-at-large. The Board of Directors shall consist of five
six members: the four officers of the Club, and the
Delegate-at-large and the immediate past President as a non-voting
member.
Section
1.3 Elective officers and Board members,
shall serve for a term of one (1) year and for not more than two
(2) consecutive terms in any one office as
President.
The annual
Meet the Clubs event will be held from 2-4 pm on November 10 at the Sunsites
Community Center. Carol Pontius and Joan
Hammer will bake pies for our admission fee.
If you can help manning the Club table please call Don Hammer
(384-3105).
The
Nominations Committee of Carol Pontius and Paul McKnight will present the
following slate for approval at the November meeting:
President –
Don Hammer
Vice
President – Henri Van den Bos
Secretary –
Diane Brower
Treasurer –
Walt Sigel
Delegate-at-large
– Jack Light
Lapidary and
Silversmithing
Interested
in lapidary? Irvin Pontious is our lapidary coordinator. Call him at
824-0110. Silver smithing? Call Don Hammer 384-3105.
Club Calendar
12 Regular
Meeting
17 Field
Trip
29 Board
Meeting
17
Christmas Party
January
3 Board
Meeting
14 Regular
Meeting
20 Field
Trip
Upcoming Regional
Events
Lake
Havasu City –
November 10-11. Community Aquatic
Center. Contact Jay Cole
928.764.2854 jaycole@npgcable.com
Green
Valley - November
30-December 1 Arts & Crafts Fair.
West Social Center. Contact John
Vandegrift 520.207.2646. vandegri8@aol.com.
www.gvrlapidaryclub.com/craftschedule.htm.
Wickenburg - 7th annual Gem &
Art Fair. Wickenburg Community
Center. Contact 928.684.5451.
Mesa – January 4-6, 2008. Annual Flagg Gem & Mineral Show. Mesa Community College. Contact Ray Grant 480.814.9086 raycyn@cox.net
www.flagshow.info.
Quartzite – January 4-13, 2008. Rock, Gem & mineral Show. www.tysonwells.com.
Globe
– January 18-20, 2008. 1st
Annual Gila County Gem & Mineral Show, Gila County Fairgrounds 3 miles
north of junction US60 & US70.
Contact Andy Clark 928-473-3042.
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
Hospitality
Coordinator Hanni
Sigel
520-826-1009
SUNSITES GEM AND MINERAL CLUB
P.O. Box 87
PEARCE, AZ 85625