ROKTOK - JUNE DGMS prepares for its 60 th gem show this year! The DGMS purposes are to promote:

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1 ROKTOK - JUNE 2017 DGMS prepares for its 60 th gem show this year! The DGMS purposes are to promote: 1. Interest, knowledge, lapidary art skills, and metal-working (embodying the use of polished gems and minerals when appropriate). 2. Interest in rock and mineral collection, and increase knowledge of geology and related earth sciences. This includes holding annual shows, sharing common interests, and a better understanding of member activities.

2 2 President: Steven Buehler First vice president: Second vice president (shop): David Pirnie Treasurer: Jack Sorrow Secretary: Sean Neeley 6 th member: Mike Russell Appointed positions: RokTok editors: Sean Neeley Weekly items editor: Burt Breedlove Monthly meetings are the 3 rd Tuesday of every month at 7pm at The American Legion Hall, # 104 Plano Rd., Dallas Shop address & phone number: Dallas Gem & Mineral Society PO Box Dallas, TX Lapidary workshop hours are Mondays & Thursdays, 6-9pm, Saturdays, 8am-1pm.

3 3 Table of Contents Meeting Minutes 4 The Lure of Fools Gold by Shauna Young 5-6 Ring Pop..6-7 DGMS Buy & Sell..8 You Rock Facts..9 Noteworthy June Dates DGMS Rock Stars Classes at Our Shop June Birthdays June Birthstones June Field Trips & Events 15 Other Local Gem & Mineral Clubs.16 Shop Rules Call for Newsletter Submissions....19

4 4 MAY MEETING MINUTES Dallas Gem & Mineral Society General Meeting Plano Rd. Suite 104 Dallas, TX May 16, 2017 Called to order by club president, Steven Beuhler at 7:10 pm. Presentation: none We voted on donating to The UTD Scholarship Program and new member Jarred Carlysle. Shauna Young told us about the trip to Martin Marietta. They brought lots of pyrite to share with the group. Then the group broke for supper. Announcements: 1. We got 4 genies and 4 new wheels. 2. David Pirnie was the door prize winner, receiving a plume agate cab. 3. Jim Senseman took the floor at 8:15, talking about the field trip to Colorado. DGMS was not mentioned, and he is surprised. We still plan to go with Gerald Pennington as the new coordinator. Meeting was adjourned at 8:20 PM. Attendance: 21 members signed in 0 visitors Raffle income: $34 Minutes submitted by Sean Neeley

5 5 by Shauna Young Twenty-two intrepid rock hounds got up early and were ready to hunt for fossils and pyrite/marcasite at the Martin Marietta cement plant on Saturday, May 13. Martin Marietta provided us with an excellent guide, Doyle, eye-catching t-shirts, and a beautiful day. Thank you so much, Martin Marietta. First, we explored the area around the pit where the Atco Formation and the underlying Eagleford and overlying Austin Formation are exposed. These are marine sediments deposited in the Western Interior Sea Way about 90 million years ago. The Atco fm. has a relatively high fossil content that includes various marine fossils but is noted for shark, ray, and Mosasaur material. Fossils were a bit elusive, but people found some nice Ptychodus and Cretodus shark teeth. Then we went to the septarian nodule pile. These are calcite concretions out of the Eagleford. It was so nice of Martin Marietta to pile them up for us! Last, but not least, we were off to hunt for pyrite/marcasite in the Austin fm. We found plenty of that! To remove any remaining limestone, you can soak it in either hydrogen peroxide or vinegar. It is worth doing this just to see the nice chemical reaction. If the specimen has rusty, try some Iron Out on it. I use a brass or nylon brush. Then brush it with the household cleaner Simple Green. This works best on samples that weren t exposed at the surface very long. They will continue to rust/oxidize if you don t dry them out. I do this by either putting them outside on hot days, or put them in the oven at 200 degrees for an hour. After that, keep them inside or they will continue to oxidize.

6 6 Last, but not least, is that burning question: is it pyrite of marcasite? What s the difference? Pyrite and marcasite are polymorphs. That means they have the same chemical composition (FeS2 :1 iron and 2 sulfur atoms), but a different crystal structure. The best-known polymorphs are diamond and graphite. So, what is the difference between our polymorphs? Pyrite has two crystal habits. It most commonly forms cubes, but it can also form pyritohedrons or octahedrons. Marcasite crystals are usually bigger and form curving or cockscomb groups. Pyrite and marcasite often form together, and both can be found in the same sample. The smaller, brightyellow crystals tend to be pyrite and the bigger curving crystals are marcasite. I think the sample in the photo is marcasite, but some may disagree. There is also chalcopyrite in some samples. No one was eaten by the pit monster, and Martin Marietta said we could come back and hunt again in the fall. All in all, a good day! On May 18, 2017, instructor Laurie Eley offered a pharaoh ring class at the shop from 6-9pm. She helped about 3 students and yours truly turn streams on 22-gauge wire and nickel-sized cabochons into stunning rings. The process is a bit complicated, and takes laser-fine concentration and motor skills, but the result was well worth it. Laurie gave us excellent tips, too, and index cards with ring sizes on them for future reference. Check out these beauties we created.

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8 8 Lapidary lovers now have a blog just for us! has just come online and I hope you will check it out. It s an online community for lapidary lovers where I ll post a new blog entry every other Wednesday. Yes, rocks and slabs whisper and tell me what they want to be, then I commit lapidary on them to bring out their stories. You may receive it automatically every other Wednesday by subscribing to it in the little space at the top of the right side column. I d love to hear what you think about the blog. Let s enjoy this wonderful art and craft together! - Your Lapidary Whisperer, Donna Albrecht Looking for gems and minerals to buy/trade, selling some, or know of a place to get some? Please Sean Neeley at msseanc@aol.com.

9 9 Why do they use quartz in watches? Quartz crystals regulate watches and clocks movements by maintaining a precise frequency standard, thus making timepieces accurate. The corolla spider puts pieces of quartz around its burrow for the same reason. It can feel its prey s vibrations through the rocks, signaling dinner time!

10 10 NOTEWORTHY JUNE DATES Ø Sunday, June 18: Father s Day Ø Tuesday, June 20: DGMS monthly meeting Ø Mondays: June 5, 12, 19, 26; shop open 6-9pm. Ø Thursdays: June 1, 8,15, 22, 29; shop open 6-9pm. Ø Saturdays: June 3, 10, 17, 24; shop open 8am-1pm.

11 11 I would like to take a moment to recognize some DGMS shining stars. Steven Buehler, for coming up with awesome door prizes at meetings every month. Gerald Pennington for getting us guest speakers, and alerting me about goings-on in the rockhound community for this newsletter. Laura Eley for her patience and advice during the pharaoh ring class. Did another DGMS member go above and beyond the call of duty? me about it at msseanc@aol.com. Cheers, Sean

12 12 Please call to register, or put your name on the list to be called when the class is scheduled. Most classes take a minimum of 4 people to make. Feel free to call the following to register, too, or with questions. Johnnie: The shop: Other Wire Wrapping Classes: 1. Basket bezel 2. Braided bezel 3. Gem tree, standing 4. Gem tree, necklace 5. With cabs 6. With prongs Other Crafts: 1. Beading 2. Kumihimo, Japanese braiding 3. Metal-smithing 4. Metal clay 5. Molds The shop qualifying fee is $30. It is for 4 classes, 3 hours each.

13 13 Please wish the following Geminis and Cancers in our club very happy birthdays! Terry Cooper June 1 Jeff Bair June 12 Delbert Brown June 13 Beverly Ross June 15 Diana Case June 19 Bill Candler June 20 Cheryl Oliver June 20 Eduardo Blanco June 26

14 14 June s birthstone is pearl. Geminis and Cancers share this strikingly iridescent gem that comes in hues of optic white, ivory, pink, gray, black, green, and yellow. A rope of these small sea stones around a lady s neck instantly evokes elegance. The ancient Egyptians revered pearls so much that they buried people with them. Greeks prized pearls for their unrivaled lustrous quality, and associated them with love and marriage. Pearls grow in live oysters, very different from their gemstone sisters, which are mined from the earth. That s what makes them so unique and precious. Oysters get irritants, like sand, inside them and begin to secrete nacre a smooth, yet hard crystalline substance around the irritant in order to protect itself. These nacre layers eventually yield a pearl. Cultured pearls are manmade by introducing the irritant into the oysters to make this process happen.

15 15 June 2 4, Tulsa, OK, Gem Faire Inc., Expo Square, info@gemfaire.com, June 9-11, Ventura, CA, Ventura G&MS and AFMS Convention, and You are invited to join us for a class... Metal Detecting for Beginners Learn about how detectors work, basic techniques and what you can find. A little classroom time for basics and then some field instruction. Should be a fun day sharing with a couple of seasoned detectorists that will present the information. When: Saturday, June 10 12:30-2:30 or 3pm Where: The Rock Doc Cost: $10 at the door RSVP to cindy@therockdoc.net *required* - limited space Look forward to seeing you! June 16 18, Carlsbad, NM, Carlsbad G&MS, Living Desert State Park,

16 16 Arlington G&M Club, 1408 Gibbons, Arlington, 1st Tuesday, at 7:30 pm Cowtown Gem, Mineral & Glass Club, 3300 Bryant-Irving Road, Ft Worth; 2nd Tues., at 7:00 pm Dallas Bead Society, address pending; 3rd Thursday at 7:30 pm Dallas Gem & Mineral Society, Plano Rd, Dallas; 3rd Tuesday, at 7:00 pm Dallas Paleo Society, EMGI (Bldg. H, Brookhaven College, 3939 Valley View Ln); 2nd Wednesday at 7:30 pm Fort Worth Gem & Mineral Club, 3545 Bryan Avenue, Fort Worth; 4th Tuesday at 7:30 pm Lockheed-Mar n Stone Steppers, 3400 Bryant-Irving Road, Fort Worth; 2nd Tuesday at 7:30 pm

17 17 A. Manipulation of shop equipment for commercial purposes will not be tolerated. The on-duty Shop Supervisor shall insure all persons shall have access to the Shop equipment. Exchanging of monies inside the Workshop for private enterprise must first be approved by the Workshop Supervisor on duty. B. Only current members in good standing of the Dallas Gem and Mineral Society may use the workshop and equipment. C. Members can not remove equipment and supplies from the workshop for their own personal use. D. All members will be required to attend and complete the appropriate classes to be determined by the Workshop Committee, prior to the use of any piece of equipment in the workshop. E. No equipment is to be used unless a Workshop

18 Supervisor or Class instructor is present. F. All classes will be scheduled. No other activities will be performed in the workshop while classes are in session unless approved by instructor and workshop committee. G. All classes held in the workshop are considered Club Functions. Instructors holding classes in the workshop are expected to volunteer their time. H. If the class instructor travels in excess of 100 miles, one way, to teach a class the instructor may be reimbursed for expenses to a maximum of $ The instructor must submit an expense estimate in advance. The class fee will be increased to pay these expenses, and any reimbursements must be approved by the Board. 18

19 19 We re always looking for juicy geology information to put in front of our club members. Please send your stories about gem and mineral discoveries, events, lapidary information, and related information about said subjects to me at to appear in RokTok. The deadlines are the 27 th of every month. Thank you! Sean