JUNE Catawba Valley Gem & Mineral Club, Inc.

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1 TAR HEEL ROCKHOUND JUNE 2017 Catawba Valley Gem & Mineral Club, Inc Officers and Committees President: Harry Polly Editor: Slade Harvin Show Chairman: Dean Russell Vice President: Joan Glover Field Trip: OPEN Scholarship: George Max Treasurer: Terry Russell Education: George Max Eastern Federation Larry Huffman Liaison: Secretary: Dean Russell Club Address: PO Box 2521, Hickory, NC Regular Meetings: Second Tuesday, 7:00 PM St Aloysius Catholic Church 921 2nd St NE Hickory, NC Annual Dues: Family, $18; Individual, $12; Junior, $6 The purpose of the Club is to increase the individual s knowledge of the earth sciences and to aid in the development of lapidary and related arts and skills; to promote fellowship and exchange of ideas; to hold exhibitions, contests, lectures and demonstrations for educational purposes; to help interest more people in the gem and mineral hobby; and to capture and preserve the beauty of nature, the arts, and the works of man. INSIDE Photo: S. Harvin Fluorite (Hicks, IL) Minutes 2 Program 2 President s Message 2 Raptor Named 2 Richard Sipe Article 3 The Pebbles Corner 3 June Field Trip 4 August Field Trip 5 CATAWBA VALLEY GEM & MINERAL CLUB, INC. Web Master: Mike Streeter A. Slade Harvin, Editor 4971 Old River Drive Hickory, NC sharvin@thewootencompany.com June 2017 Tar Heel Rockhound Page 1

2 June Program The June program will be the Club s Annual Picnic. Please come out and enjoy the fun, food, and fellowship. You don t want to miss it. President s Message IT'S PICNIC TIME!!! The month of June has been set aside in our club for our annual picnic. As has been the practice in the last several years, the picnic will be held at the home of Harry & Janice Polly. The picnic will start at 6:30 pm. The club will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, buns, and condiments, and ice. Everything else we ask club members to provide, salads, slaw, desserts, chips, and drinks. The Pollys will be providing sweet, unsweet, and splenda tea, as well as the signature "nanner puddin". The address is 2821 Blowing Rock Blvd. Lenoir, NC Travel Hwy 321 North through Lenoir. Go through the stoplight at Walmart. There will be two more stoplights that you go through. Continue North on Hwy 321. About three miles out, you will see a caution light. Go through this caution light to the turnaround at the top of the hill. DO NOT TURN AROUND. Make a 45 degree turn across the highway into the private drive beside the three mailboxes. Keep bearing to your right. The driveway ends at my house. If you get lost, call my cell Harry Catawba Valley Gem and Mineral Club, Inc. The May 9, 2017 meeting of the CVGMC was called to order by President Harry Polly at 7:00 PM. There were 31 members and 0 guest present. Minutes: Motion by Norma R., seconded by Rick G. to accept the minutes for the April 11, 2017 minutes. The motion was passed by the Club membership. Treasurer Report: Bank balance was reported. Field Trip Report: 1) Probst Farm has reopened. Possible May Field Trip, watch your . 2) August field trip will be to Kentucky for Geodes. See Tar Heel Rockhound for further information. 3) Keep the dates of June 24-26, 2017 open for a trip to Clark Tripp Mine in NH for Tourmaline. More information to come. 4) The Club needs a new Field Trip Chairperson. Education Committee: The mineral case was delivered to Startown School. Show Committee: Six vendor contracts have already been received. Old Business: None. New Business: 1) Dan Steckel, Daron and Moira Brookshire are new members. 2) Health updates on various members. 3) Motion by George M., and seconded by Harry P. to donate $ to the EFMLS Scholarship Fund in Memory of Jake Canipe. The motion was passed by the Club membership. Door Prizes: Were given out. Closing of Business: The meeting was adjourned at 7:25 PM Program: CVGMC member, Carl Marlowe did an interesting talk on Feldspar Minerals. Respectfully submitted, Dean Russell, Secretary June 2017 Tar Heel Rockhound Page 2

3 Raptor Naming Contest at March Show Ron Ruschman notified us of the winners of the naming contest. The winner s name choice, Roomy the Raptor will become the official name of the dinosaur. Gloria Steabler will have that specimen on display at their Lithos Gallery in Arvada, Colorado. Second place name was a tie between two students. They named the raptor Toothless. Third place was Rikki Tikki. Student prizes come from California, Maine, and Southern Illinois. Student names are not provided since we do not have permission from parents to use the names. We appreciate Ron and Gloria providing this interesting contest at our show and the prizes from the American Mineral Treasures. Warren Richard Sipe Article Published in Rock and Gem Magazine Lynn Varon, editor of Rock and Gem Magazine, notified us of the publication of the Sipe article, Stones that Speak, in the June edition of the magazine. The six page article can be found beginning on page 56 and includes a number of pictures of Sipe s sculptures taken by Richard Sipe, Jr. Ronald Sipe, and Betty Hollar. The script for the article was written by Warren Hollar. Congratulations to Richard Sipe for the feature on his life s passion. We understand that Richard has a new sapphire from India that is now the focus of his creative talents. Warren This section of the newsletter is being started to help generate more interest and interaction with younger rockhounds and to have fun in the process. As indicated, this year s series will focus on each month s birthstone. I realize that several minerals may be associated with a particular month, but I am trying to select the most commonly accepted one for this series. I welcome any information a member may wish to provide to be included in the upcoming newsletters each month corresponding to the particular month s birthstone. June s Birthstone is the Pearl, Moonstone or Alexandrite. This month allows the choice of a birthstone, or the option to just select all three. Pearl: Pearls are formed by oysters. According to Encyclopedia of North Carolina, there are not any native NC oysters that produce any pearls considered to be of any value. The typical use of pearls is for jewelry. Moonstone: Moonstone is a variation of feldspar that forms from two feldspar species that are stacked and allows light to be scattered in many different directions to produce the phenomenon adularescence. Moonstone has a Mohs hardness of 6.0 and is typically used in jewelry. (Source: Wikipedia.com) Alexandrite: Alexandrite is a variety of chrysoberyl, that has the ability to change color depending upon the type of ambient lighting that shines on it. The stronger the colors and color change, the more desirable the stone is considered. Alexandrite is typically used in jewelry. (Source: Wikipedia.com) Photos: Clip Art (L to R): Pearl, Moonstone, Alexandrite HAPPY FATHER S DAY!!!! Until next time.. Slade June 2017 Tar Heel Rockhound Page 3

4 June Field Trip The field trip for June is going to be a new location in Hiddenite. Jeff Schlottman has been digging here for a while and has talked the owner into letting gem clubs come in. They have been finding clear quartz, smokey quartz, mica, rutile, and a few small emeralds. They have unearthed one smoky that weighed over 130 pounds. The rutile is large, some as large as a pencil with double termination. There is a $20.00 dig fee. The date is June 10, a week earlier than usual, but we have to work on Jeff's schedule. We will meet in the Walmart shopping center in Taylorsville off Hwy 16 at 8:00 am. We will meet up with Jeff at the Dollar General in Hiddenite. You will need shovels, small mattocks, scratching tools, hammers, chisels, etc. It was also suggested that screens be brought, since screening was the most effective method for finding rutile. Bring your food and drinks with you. Bring collecting buckets or bags, plus something to wrap your specimens in. Do not forget your rain gear. A consent waiver form is required. Please contact me if you need a digital copy. A copy was included in a separate to everyone on the Club s list. Please print it off, sign and bring with you. This will save us a lot of time at check in. Families can sign one form for all in the group. We Will Miss Jake We lost Jake Canipe, one of our most proficient gem and mineral hunters, to the ravages of the cancer he fought so valiantly. Jake passed away on April 15 and will be missed by his wife, Carolyn, and his loving family. Jake s rock hound friends will miss his friendship, his guidance in search of quality specimens, and his desire to learn as much as possible about the hobby he loved. 3/21/40 4/15/17 Upcoming Auction There is an upcoming auction that will include many rock/mineral specimens. The information for the auction can be found at the following website: Anyone interested in the auction will need to check back several times as many of the items have not been added to the list. June 2017 Tar Heel Rockhound Page 4

5 August Field Trip to Kentucky From Harry I have made reservations at the Days Inn, Harrodsburg, KY for our August field trip. I have blocked off twenty rooms. The rate is $68.00 per night. YOU MUST TELL THEM YOU ARE WITH THE "CATAWBA VALLEY GEM & MINERAL CLUB" IN ORDER TO GET THE ROOM AND RATE. Days Inn, 1680 Danville Road, Harrodsburg, KY Phone: Check in - August 18th Check out - August 22nd Room rate - $68.00, two double beds, or one queen bed, non-smoking Confirmation # This is one week earlier than our normal Labor Day dig, but it coincides with the eclipse that takes place on Monday night, August 21st. This area is supposed to be one of the prime viewing spots. Tentative plans are to go to the Caldwell Stone Quarry, in Danville, KY on Saturday morning, the HWY 150 road cut on Saturday afternoon, to the McLure farm on Sunday, and the Phillips farm on Monday. It should be a very productive weekend. The Caldwell Stone Quarry produced some killer fluorite and calcite last year. This quarry has been closed to rock clubs for several years, but we were able to get in last year with the help of our friend James Johnson from MO. (THANKS, JAMES) You will need to bring crack hammers, chisels, safety glasses, steel toe shoes, and hard hats in order to get into the quarry. A long handle four prong rake (tator digger) is good to pull out geodes from the creek and creek bank. Bring collecting buckets and tubs to put your prizes in, as well as something to wrap them in. Duct tape or electrical tape is good to wrap around the geodes. Bring your food and drinks for each day as there is no place close to get anything. All of the geode collecting will be in the creek beds, so come prepared to wade in the creeks. I prefer wool socks and tennis shoes, as the creek beds are sometimes slippery, and the wool socks will keep your feet warm, wet or dry. Pictures from ClipArt June 2017 Tar Heel Rockhound Page 5

6 Tar Heel Rockhound Official Publication of Catawba Valley Gem and Mineral Club, Inc. Volume 46 Number 6 Tar Heel Rockhound Slade Harvin, Editor Post Office Box 2521 Hickory, North Carolina First Class Mail Club Meeting Tuesday June 13, :00 PM 6:30 PM (This Month) (See Inside for Location this Month) St Aloysius Catholic Church 921 2nd St NE Hickory, NC