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1 MWF News October 2015, Issue No. 545 Page 1 MWF News OCTOBER ISSUE NO. 545 WEB SITE - Member of the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies President James Marburger P.O. Box 64 Hickman, NE jm24122@windstream.net 1st Vice President David Rich 1166 Broadview Tallmadge, OH birdman035@hotmail.com 2nd Vice President Tom Whitlatch 1147 Staub Court NE Cedar Rapids, IA (319) whitlatcht@gmail.com Secretary Donna Moore North State Route 97 Cuba, IL MWFSecretary@gmail.com Treasurer Sandy Fuller 8445 Grange Blvd. Cottage Grove, MN MWFtreas@Rock-Biz.biz PRESIDENT S MESSAGE by James Marburger, President Here it is October 2015; where did my year as President of the MWF go? I am finishing up my term with a trip to Austin, Texas for the National Gem Show, as the representative of the MWF. It has been an honor and pleasure to serve as your president. I am amazed at the organization of our federation. We all have a common goal. It is the love of the hobby and sharing with others so they might see and enjoy the full world of rocks and minerals. I have joined some of the groups on Facebook that are rockhound oriented, in the effort to expand the MWF presence on the web. I know there are others in the Federation who are on Facebook and in some of the groups. It is amazing to read the many posts, and to see the pictures that are posted with requests to have the specimens identified. I hope more of us will participate in these groups and help to educate the many newbies who are asking questions. Not only are they looking for answers on the rocks, many of them do not seem to know that rock clubs are in their area so they can get firsthand information. I have posted on many of these that they should check out not only the MWF, but have included the AFMS so they can find help anywhere in the USA. Let us not miss out on the opportunity to grow our clubs; let s help out the multitude of people out there who have our love of the hobby and who are just looking for a club to join. The Federation is in need of people who enjoy the hobby and want to promote it. We still have some chairs that need to be filled, along with a few whose leaders will be retiring in the near future. If you have some free time, and have new or near-new ideas, please let the (Continued on page 8) WHAT S INSIDE? AFMS Endowment Fund... 8 AFMS Show & Convention... 2 All American Yearbooks... 7 Dues & Events Forms Coming... 6 Junior Activities... 3 Last Gasp at the X... 4,6 Logo Policy... 8 President s Message... 1,8 Safety... 7 Scholarship Honoree Nominations... 7 Submission of Articles... 3 Upcoming Events... 5 USPS Standards Affecting Bulletin Editors... 3 Youth Poster Contest... 7

2 Page 2 October 2015, Issue No. 545 MWF News AFMS/SCFMS CONVENTION - THE NATIONAL SHOW & CONVENTION October 23-25, 2015 Austin, Texas Austin Gem and Mineral Society s Annual Gem and Mineral Show GEM CAPERS 2015 This year s theme is PEGMATITES Rocks ~ Gems ~ Minerals ~ Fossils ~ Jewelry ~ Beads ~ Exhibits ~ Children s Activities ~ Live Demonstrations Over 30 dealers participating! Palmer Events Center 900 Barton Springs Road Austin, Texas Admission Adults: $8, Seniors: $7 Ages 13 18: $2 Ages 12 & under proudly sponsored by: SILICON LABS The Kids will enjoy: Wheel of Fortune cost is only $1.00 for a spin of the wheel every spin is a winner! Gem Mine cost is only $1.00 for a two minute hunt for polished rocks in our mine best value in Austin! Jewelry Making - Take your find from the Gem Mine and have it turned into a lovely piece of jewelry. All for only $1.00! Illumination Station - For $.50 you can tour our display of fluorescent rocks and minerals. See if you can guess what changes will happen! Touch Table Imagine a table full of rocks and minerals that YOU CAN TOUCH. That s right, a table full of rocks and minerals that can be touched, and a volunteer ready to answer any questions you might have. And this event is free. Stop on by! (below) As published in the A.F.M.S. Newsletter, Volume 68, Number 6 - September, 2015 For more information and registration forms, visit the AFMS website < and click on the Convention and Show link on the home page.

3 MWF News October 2015, Issue No. 545 Page 3 USPS STANDARDS AFFECTING BULLETIN EDITORS by Mark Nelson, AFMS BEAC Chair As published in the A.F.M.S. Newsletter, Volume 68, Number 6 - September, 2015 Postal processing centers around the U.S. are adopting regulations which affect our lapidary society bulletins. Lapidary club bulletins which are 8.5 x 11 inch sheets folded to a final 8.5 x 5.5 inches for mailing are considered Folded Self-Mailers (FSM). Other sizes of informational mailers may also be included in the folded self-mailer standards. Some Post Offices and postal sorting stations are currently returning FSM mailers that do not meet the standards. All postal stations are expected to enforce the standards this year. When mail is returned the reason for the return is not always specified, and left for the editor/mailer to figure out. Do you get feedback from your members complaining that their bulletin arrived in poor condition? As a result of the high incidence of damage caused to the mailers, and to the modern high-speed processing machines, new standards have been put in place effective January 5th, 2013 in the U.S. and January 14th in Canada. These standards are: 1. Maximum dimensions: height of 3.5-6, length of Canada: max 245 mm in length, 156 mm in width and 5 mm in thickness. 2. Weight: Up to 3oz (Canada-50 grams or 1.7 oz). Standards can be referenced on-line at: 3. Paper minimum weights: 1oz or less = 70 lb book grade paper (28 lb bond paper), >1oz to 3oz = 80 lb book grade paper (31 lb bond paper). Canada: 60 lb book grade paper (24 lb bond paper). 4. Folding: It is very important to make the final fold on bottom edge. 5. Panels: are formed when sheets of paper are folded for mailing. A typical small 8-page bulletin of 4 two -sided 8 ½ x 11 pages, folded in half for mailing, will result in 8 two-sided panels. The maximum number of panels allowed is Sealing: Use 1 round mailing seals. Do not use staples. The use of staples puts the mailer in the hand-process category and will cost the sender an additional 21 each. Place one mailing seal high on the leading edge (right side as you look at the address). Place a second mailing seal high on the following edge (left side as you look at the address). 7. Address panel: Allow a 5/8 clear space along the bottom of the piece above the fold line for the USPS routing barcode to be applied. JUNIOR ACTIVITIES by Michelle Cauley, MWF Junior Chair Welcome to fall and the return of many geology club meetings across the country. As we start to get back involved with our local clubs, much emphasis this fall will be on What I Did on My Summer Vacation. Although many clubs will separate out juniors and adults in the popular show-and-tell moment of these meetings, I would encourage you to keep the kids in the room! Let them have their spotlight showing off what they found or made in front of the adults as well as let the adults show off and share with the kids. Juniors will be impressed and inspired to see what the pros have come up with over the past couple of months and will also love to be a part of the big kids show-and-tell group. A great way to inspire the junior geologist is to allow them to feel successful in their finds and creations!

4 Page 4 October 2015, Issue No. 545 MWF News LAST GASP AT THE X by Kevin Ponzio, MWF Mineralogy Chair I gave a silent gasp because my brain was unable to tell my lungs to inhale, while looking down at the boulder that I had just split in two. Every year in August, dozens of people make their way to the copper mines in the U.P. Michigan. Rockhounds come from all continents to take part in the Keweenaw Mineral Days (KMD) collecting experience. Most of the rockhounds that go there are from the Midwest, however. It had been a few years since I had participated in the KMD and the excitement was building with each day as it grew near. The Seaman Museum was coordinating the event this year without the Copper Country Rock & Mineral Club. The CCRMC had coordinated the enjoyable event for many years prior. There were some glitches in the event this year, but none were insurmountable. The Keweenaw event would go on as planned. I had signed up for the Central Exploration mine on Thursday, August 6,2015 of the KMD. There was Prehnite, Copper, Silver, and the highly prized Michigan gemstone, Chlorastrolite/ Greenstone. Silver had eluded me in the past, but I have found specimens of all the rest. Many rumors that all the tailings had been removed and crushed some years before were circulating among the rockhounds. I was a little apprehensive of the meaning of prepared surface listed for the Central Exploration mine. I pulled up to the mine to see that 6 to 8 feet of the tailings, below the road level, had been removed. The back third of the original mine tailings still remained. There would be plenty of material to look through. It began at 1:00 p.m. and was to last until 4:00 p.m. Three hours seemed a short time to prospect, but we had a little help. The remaining mine tailings were being turned over while we waited to enter. The cars began arriving one by one at the mine dump, until there was a line of cars out of sight along the road. Everyone had their names checked off and anxiously waited with metal detectors, rock hammers, and buckets in hand. The time to enter finally arrived and everyone swarmed the piles. The sound of metal detectors filled the air. At times, the different beeping sounds became a chorus that would have made a good soundtrack for a science fiction movie. The beeps were followed by the sound of hammers splitting basalt. I had a slow start, finding only a few broken specimens when I was chased off by yellow jackets. I was breaking a rock too close to their nest in the ground. I took the less-than-friendly warning and moved away. Small specimens of Prehnite, Datolite, and Copper were slowly filling my bag. I walked over every inch, turning rocks over and breaking open some hopefuls. The pile was not yielding as much to me as in the past, so I decided to take a water and food break. I dropped off what I had found while on my break. The time to collect was running out with only an hour left. Replenished, I returned to the rock piles. There were a couple of large boulders with some smaller debris that had been pushed next to the road. They had been there for a while because they had been under water and were covered in dried mud. Water was still standing in some low spots around the boulders. I noticed a lump that appeared to be a Greenstone sticking out the side of one of the boulders. With sledge hammer in hand, I took a swing at the basalt to break a section off. A piece cracked off the edge and there was a Chlorastrolite/ Greenstone the size of a quarter. My eyes widened with amazement. It had a broken edge and I could see the turtleback pattern. With heart pounding, I stopped to examine the specimen. Meanwhile, another rockhound was walking by and saw the flake I had removed from the boulder. He was impressed with the find. As we stood there admiring the specimen I had found, we noticed that the little pile of rock we were standing on had Greenstones in them, too. His son and my friend joined us as we began filling buckets with the smaller pieces of basalt. With buckets filled, they cleared the space so I could take another swing at the big boulder. The first two whacks didn t budge the rock. The third strike hit true and broke off a larger chunk. Wow! This piece had a Greenstone with the face broken off that was a half dollar in size and extended two inches beyond the broken face! Plus, there were numerous unbroken Greenstones up to half dollar size, still in the basalt. (Continued on page 6)

5 MWF News October 2015, Issue No. 545 Page 5 UPCOMING EVENTS

6 Page 6 October 2015, Issue No. 545 MWF News LAST GASP AT THE X - CONTINUED (Continued from page 4) It was hard to imagine how dozens of rockhounds could have walked by this boulder for years without looking closer at it. The excitement had risen to a whelming level. If those large specimens were in the smaller chunks of the boulder, what could still be left in the rest of it? We were about to find out. I positioned myself with firm footing and gave the remaining chunk a hearty strike with the sledge hammer. The boulder fell open. I gave a silent gasp because my brain was unable to tell my lungs to inhale while I looked down at the two halves. My eyes couldn t have bulged out any further as I looked at a Greenstone measuring 3½ inches across! The specimen had split in half, showing the dark green velvety center with laumanite filling part of the void. Both halves of the rock had near equal parts of the gigantic Greenstone. There were abundant Greenstones up to and over two inches across in each rock surrounding the big Greenstones. My hands and body were trembling with excitement. I decided to stop there and take the large pieces home to work on. With only minutes left to collect, I didn t want to rush preparing these superb specimens in the field. I spent the rest of the day seeing Greenstones every time I blinked. At home, I carefully began dissecting the larger boulder pieces. Even more Greenstone amygdules had been hiding just beneath the surface. Almost all of them had the beautiful turtleback pattern showing. I gathered well over a pound of loose amygdules for tumbling. Traditionally, most Greenstones are free of the matrix and are polished for use in jewelry. Should I break it all up for gems or keep it as a specimen? I finally decided to leave the largest chunk of the boulder unaltered. It is a wonderful museum specimen on the surface, in spite of what gems may be waiting inside. After prepping and cleaning the specimens, I looked at them in complete amazement. They are all numbered now for my collection and will make a superb display for shows. At last, I think of how little material is left at the Central Exploration mine and that this may be my last gasp at the X DUES AND EVENT FORMS COMING IN NOVEMBER by Sandy Fuller, MWF Treasurer The 2016 Midwest Federation forms for renewing club memberships will be coming in the November Midwest Federation News. Watch for them! Meanwhile, please alert club officers to begin collecting information for the forms. One important piece of information needed is the total number of individual adult and youth members during your most recently completed year. You will need these figures for dues and insurance calculations. The rationale is that your total membership is usually very similar from year to year, so you always pay the current year dues based on your most recent experience. The treasurer needs this information before January 15 so dues can be submitted on time. indicate this on the form. However, please provide us with contact information so we can reach you. Ask your show and event chairs to provide details on their upcoming activities, using the form we provide. If this information is submitted with the dues, we will make sure it gets to our website, newsletter, and directory. If it is submitted later, or separately, it is more likely to get overlooked. Finally, and probably most important to many, the membership rates for 2016 will be the same as the 2015 rates. Dues will be $2.00 per adult and $.50 per youth. These rates have stayed the same for several years, thanks to MWF Endowment Fund support for many of our federation activities. Ask your secretary to provide a roster of current officers, including preferred mailing addresses, phone numbers, and address. If an individual does not want this information published, there will be a place to Insurance will increase to $4.00 per individual to be covered by the policy. Please include all active members (attended/participated in an activity during the past year) when computing your insurance premium.

7 MWF News October 2015, Issue No. 545 Page 7 IS SAFETY ON YOUR MIND? by David Rich, Safety Chair Safety sure is on a few MWF member clubs. I have received s about footwear on field trips. High top versus regular safety-toed shoes versus plain leather. It would best to check with the mine owner or property owner first to see if there is a site specific requirement for footwear. Goggles versus regular safety glasses; again, check with the owner before entering the site. I use goggles in very dusty or windy environments, but they can be hot to wear and uncomfortable in the southwestern deserts. On the other hand, your eyes are completely dust free and protected. Traveling around to more areas of the country with other federation clubs, I have been very encouraged with the level of safety requirements utilized on field trips. Hard hats, safety glasses, steel-toed shoes, leather gloves, and orange safety vests have been the field trip dress code. Also, please do not forget the release forms. YOUTH POSTER CONTEST by David Rich, MWF Youth Poster Contest Chair Hot news! The 2016 MWF youth poster contest theme has been selected. This year s youth poster contest theme is Amazing Agates. Also in the news, Andy Carey, President of Summit Lapidary Club, has informed me the membership overwhelmingly voted this past meeting to sponsor the contest again this year! They had so much fun seeing the posters come in to the club last year, they cannot wait to see the new ones. Watch next month s newsletter and our website for the full contest rules. Again this year, the contest is open to all students in grades 1-8. Youth do not have to be members of MWF or any other federation. Here are some submissions to the 2015 Contest: Safety is an attitude: Get it or get hurt. SCHOLARSHIP HONOREE NOMINATIONS Remember to send your Scholarship Honoree Nominations by November 15, 2015, to: Tom Whitlatch 1147 Staub Court NE Cedar Rapids, Iowa or whitlatcht@gmail.com See the September 2015 issue of the MWF News for more information. ALL AMERICAN YEARBOOKS by Liz Burton, MWF Merit Chair I would like to remind everyone that now is the time to start on your club yearbook. I received only two last year. I know it is a lot of work, but a yearbook is such a great history of your club s work.

8 Page 8 October 2015, Issue No. 545 MWF News Sharon Marburger, Editor Midwest Federation of Mineralogical and Geological Societies mwf.editor@windstream.net P.O. Box 64 Hickman, NE Non Profit Org U.S. Postage PAID Fiatt, IL Permit No. 1 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE - CONT D (Continued from page 1) incoming President, David Rich, know that you are interested in helping. I know there are many out there who have a different perspective that will bring in new members to our local clubs and the Federation. I would like to thank everyone who has served on Committees and the Board of Directors of the MWF in the past year. These people have served with love and dedication of our hobby, and they have sharing hearts. Many of these people are continuing to dedicate time and effort in their positions for the upcoming year. Just let it be known that you are available, and willing, to serve your Federation. Thanks to all for a great year. And just as I started with my first President s message, I would like to finish with the same sincere message that I hope you will step up this year. Remember, all proceeds donated to the Endowment Fund are invested and the interest generated is used for various AFMS projects, including the junior badge program and purchase of various programs for your federation library. AFMS ENDOWMENT FUND by Donna Moore, AFMS Endowment Fund Chair Excerpted from the A.F.M.S. Newsletter, Volume 68, Number 6 - September, 2015 The AFMS Endowment Fund Drawing will be here before we know it. The drawing will occur during the AFMS /SCFMS convention in Austin, Texas on October 24th and will be announced during the Awards Banquet that evening. You need not be present to win (but it would be nice!). Please buy tickets for your chances to win some of these nice items. Your [MWF] federation representative still has tickets and will be more than happy to sell them to you. Just send your check, payable to AFMS Endowment to J.C. Moore, N. State Route 97, Cuba, IL Please include a self-addressed stamped envelope, along with your name, address and phone number so we can contact you if you are one of the lucky winners. All mail requests should be received by J.C. Moore no later then October 10th.