Flatirons
Facets
Published by The Flatirons Mineral Club
Volume 45, No. 9 September
2003
Flatirons Facets
P. O. Box 3331
Boulder CO 80307-3331
Flatirons Facets is
published monthly by The Flatirons Mineral Club. The deadline for submission of
articles to Flatirons Facets is the 20th of each month. Permission is granted
for reprint if credit is given to the publication and author unless
specifically restricted.
The Flatirons Mineral
Club is a non-profit organization, established March 9, 1957, and dedicated to
developing and maintaining interest in all aspects of earth science and
associated hobbies. The club meets the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m.
We meet at The
Senior Center, 9th and Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder, CO. Guests and visitors
are welcome. Membership dues are $15.00 per year (beginning October of each
calendar year). People interested in membership can contact the club either by
writing to the above address or by attending one of the meetings.
Deadline for the
October Facets is September 20.
****************
Paul Ralston
hit by West Nile Fever
Charlotte Morrison
Paul Ralston was in Boulder Community Hospital at the time of the
picnic. He was admitted on Thursday,
Aug 14 with a high fever. Under good
care his fever was reduced after four days and he was sent home where he is
recovering. The Public Health tests
confirmed that he was stricken by the West Nile virus. Paul thanks everyone for their concern and
prayers and was glad for the report of 860 grab bags (see picnic report, next
page) to be sold for our scholarship fund for a deserving student at Colorado
School of Mines.
****************
! ! Your Rock Club is having its Gem &
Mineral Show ! !
At the Boulder Elks
Lodge November 14,15, & 16 2003
Be a part of this yearly event!
We need every member of our club to come and represent the community of
Flatirons Mineral Club.
We welcome all of you to share your talents as well as your
time. We have already had a few show
meetings. The next ones will be
September 15 at 7pm and October 13 at 7pm.
The meetings will be held at the Boulder Elks Lodge, just south of Jay
Rd. on 28th. Contact Andrea Elliott.
The meetings are a good way to choose what you will do to
participate. Many of our club members have already pitched in and because of
the many different jobs to fill, we can all use help in our areas.
Paul & Martha Ralston will head up Show Cases and the
Children's Wheel. They will be getting help from Joyce and Ray Gilbert. You can
display a case of recent finds or collections long tucked away. Martha could use some help with the tasks of
sorting material for the wheel and operating the wheel at the show. The grab bags need to be sold too! Any of us can sell to the public and staff
the Membership table. Shirley Mehta is supervising ticket sales and could use a
few folks to staff her table. Paul Boni is organizing demos and will demo a
faceting machine. We would like to have a wire wrap demo, perhaps a beading
demo etc. If you can show the public how to make or do something related to our
hobby we could use you in demos. Emily Epstein will do either demos or mini
classes in addition to the most important work we do to get the word out about
our show, advertising. She might need
someone to make copies for her or do a mailing etc. She is great with opals and files too. Talk to her about doing a
short class too. Terry O'Donnell
climbed on board to help this group. Dennis Gertenbach and Carol are heading up
the youth activities. Just catch them at the next meeting and see what they
need. Charlotte Morrison is making door
prizes at her house on Wednesdays (Craft Night) to contribute to the Show.
Gerry Naugle is our Dealer Chair and, being treasurer, will handle
the funds collected from the event. Gerry has done so many different jobs for
the show, you could ask him just about any question and he might have the answer
for you! John Hurst has hosted one of
our meetings and is responsible for our table layout. Being a dealer himself,
John has helped to sharpen our focus on the dealers' needs. His wife, Jeannie,
sewed many hundreds of grab bags for the scholarship fund and is helping by
selling her wares at the Lodge.
By now you have realized that virtually any talent or interest you
have can be put to good use for this show!
Volunteer for a few hours or 1 to 2 days. Split up your time on a few things you like to do. But DO
IT!!! Make your show a success!
****************
FMC Fall
Show Notes
With this newsletter you should receive a copy of the Flyer that
announces the Flatirons Mineral Club Fall show in November. Please make copies of this and post it
wherever it might help. You can tape it
to the inside of one of your car's rear side windows, too. There will be additional copies available at
our club meetings.
This year's show is shaping up to be the best one ever. There will be many exhibits of interest. Joe Temple from Dinosaur Ridge will set their
display all weekend, and speak on Sunday.
Peter Modreski from the U.S. Geological Survey will bring their
traveling display. The dealer list is full for the space at the Elks Club. So please help spread the word!
Crafts
We will continue to meet on Wednesday or Thursday evening at
Charlotte Morrison's home, 290 Seminole, to prepare material for the Children's
Wheel and hourly door prizes.
****************
Annual
Picnic a Success
On Saturday August 16 about 40 members and guests earned their
steaks and hamburgers at our annual picnic at North Boulder Park. Gerry Naugle had all of the meat and drinks
ready, but our first activity was to fill the cloth grab bags with the
specimens prepared by our Wednesday night crew. Trick Runions brought closet doors that we placed across card
tables to set up the rows of boxes brought in from the shed and from
Charlotte's supply by Trick, Terry O'Donnell, and Lew Yoder. Three ladies had sewn the bags--Jeannie
Hurst made 600, Shirley Beal 160, and Evelyn Linch and Charlotte Morrison about
50 each. All of these needed to be tied
shut after filling, and then Gerry boxed them in 43 boxes, 20 per box, all to
be used at our show in November.
Finally, the meat was grilled, and we sat down to eat and had a
good visit while enjoying our potluck, prepared by so many excellent
chefs. We were glad to see Dave and
Elaine McSherry, the members who had come the farthest, from their summer home
at Howard, Colo. Bill and William
Hutchinson entertained us by showing their summer's collection of
minerals. William's friend, A. J.
Barton was a hard working guest. We
recognized and thanked Jeannie for her many hours of sewing, and we presented
Gerry Naugle a cap with a Flarirons Club logo for his efforts and planning and
organizing the picnic, and his labors as grill cook.
Charlotte wants to thank all the members who have supplied mineral
specimens for the grab bags over the past year. Also, our thanks go to Stan and Carmen Ketchum who sent specimens
via the ContinTail gathering in Buena Vista--glad you are still field tripping
and thinking of us. We will need several thousand more specimens next year, so
please bring back any that were not used at the picnic!
****************
September Field
Trips
Sept. 6: Hans Peak (Steamboat Springs area), seeking quartz
crystals. Trip Leader: Paul Boni.
Start time: 8 a.m.
We will be collecting quartz crystals, which Melinda assures me
are plentiful. The road to the site has been described to me as "light
duty 4 wheel drive", but a two-wheel drive with good ground clearance is
probably all right. The early start is necessary and it might be a good idea to
camp Friday Night.
There are numerous campgrounds in the Steamboat Springs area. Be
prepared for anything from blistering sunshine to cold weather. Sturdy
footwear, rain gear, plenty of water, and a lunch are recommended. Quartz
crystals can be found lying about, by sifting soil, and breaking hard rock. As
of this writing we do not have a solid meeting site, but will communicate
(provide a map) the information to anyone who signs up.
Sept. 20: Florissant Fossil Beds, seeking plant and insect
fossils. Trip Leader: Trick Runions.
Start time: 10 a.m.
Does anybody remember that great talk we had a while back on the
Florissant Fossil Beds? Let's go! This is a fee dig site. The rates are
$7.50/hr for adults and $5.00/hr for children. Tools and instruction are provided.
Nancy Anderson, who runs the quarry, assures me that 1 hour is all that is
needed to find a pile of fossils, but all are welcome to stay longer (and pay
by the hour). We are also working on arranging a tour of the Florissant Fossil
Beds National Monument for this trip. The fellow who does the tours is off
fighting forest fires at the moment so we'll have to work out the details as
the time draws near. This is a national monument and an entrance fee of
$3.00/adult (children 16 and under are free) will be charged. We will meet
either at the collecting site or the monument visitor center, depending on how
our plans shape up. If you are interested in this trip, please sign up early so
we can forward an estimate to the quarry owners. They will then be sure to
provide plenty of rough shale for us to break up. Both sites are along the
county road and there are no special access requirements (any vehicle).
****************
August Field
Trip Report
Emily Epstein
Six club members went on the field trip to Salida. Donna and John
Rhoads were gracious hosts. Everybody found peridot, including some fairly
large pieces, and a great time was had by all.
If there's sufficient interest, we could go again next spring, in late April
or early May, as soon as the snow has melted from the site.
****************
Upcoming Events, Nearby & Elsewhere
Sept. 4-Oct. 7, Denver Museum of
Nature and Science course: Fossils, Fossils, Fossils, An Introduction to
Paleontology, by Bryan Small, preparator, Earth Sciences Dept. Learn the basic methods of fossil
collection, data recovery, curating and study.
Thursdays, Sept 4-Oct 2, 6:30-8:30 PM, Classroom 301 plus field trip,
Sat Oct 4 8 AM to 5 PM. $125 member, $140 non-member.
Sept. 4, bimonthly meeting of the Colorado Chapter, Friends of
Mineralogy, The Eagle Mine, Gilman District, Colorado, by Jack
Murphy, Curator of Geology at the DMNS. 7:30 p.m. in the V.I.P. Room, Denver
Museum of Nature and Science. The
program will include 16mm movies (now converted to video) taken in 1978 during
Jack's activities underground in the mine of retrieving crystal specimens for
reconstruction of a crystal pocket.
(The Gilman District is the theme of this year's Denver Gem and Mineral
Show.) Call Pete Modreski, 303-202-4766
or 303-425-9549, for more information about the FM meeting.
Sept 6, Flatirons Mineral Club field trip to Hans Peak (Steamboat
Springs),
Paul Boni, leader.
Sept 8, Denver Mining Club meeting: "How I found the famous
Camp Bird Mine and made millions", by historian John Stewart,
portraying Thomas Walsh. Meeting is
from 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. at the Country Buffet, 8100 West Crestline Ave.,
Littleton. For more info see http://china-resources.net
or call Dick Beach at 303-986-6535.
Sept 10, The Colorado School of Mines' brand new geology museum is
opening
on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 7:00 pm. to 9:00 pm.
There will be hors d'oeuvres, a cash bar, silent auction, and special
exhibits by Dave Bunk, Bryan Less, and Martin Zinn. The address is 1310 Maple Street, Golden. Abundant parking is close. For further information call 303-273-3823 or
email Paul Bartos.
Sep. 10-14, Denver Gem
and Mineral Show, (Denver Merchandise Mart, Sep. 12-14), and the companion
"Colorado Fossil Expo" (in part of the same building, single
admission for both shows) and the companion "Colorado Fossil Show",
Sep. 10-14 (no admission charge) at the Holiday Inn Denver North, 4849 Bannock
St. (I-25 west side frontage road, just north of I-70)
Sept 17-Oct. 15, Denver Museum of
Nature and Science course: Minerals in the Museum, by Dr. Jack
Murphy, curator of geology, Earth Sciences Dept. Discover the basics of mineral
study and formation. Learn where
minerals can be found in Colorado. Take a trip to the Leadville Mining Museum
and hike to a site in Badger Creek where you may collect peridot. Each student will adopt a mineral from the
geology collection, conduct research and prepare a presentation. The course
serves as basic training for those interested in volunteering in the Geology
Department. Cost includes transportation and one-night motel stay (double
occupancy; single rooms available for an additional fee). Wednesdays, Sept.
17-Oct. 15, 6:30-8:30 p.m., classroom 303; Field trip Sat.-Sun. Oct. 11-12.
$250 member, $275 nonmember, $20 additional for single occupancy motel room.
Sept 20, Flatirons Mineral Club field trip to Florissant Fossil Beds, Trick Runions,
leader.
****************
Geology
Courses at the Denver Museum
This fall, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science has several
geology courses for the public. These
courses run from 3 to 6 weeks and are held one night per week. Here is a list of their offerings.
* Fossils, Fossils, Fossils:
An Introduction to Paleontology
* Minerals in the Museum
* Reading Planet Earth: An Introduction to Geology
* Introduction to Dinosaurs (for age 15 and older)
* Teen Fossil Preparation
* The Geology of Africa
For more information regarding course content, times, costs, or to
sign up, call 303-322-7009.
****************
Club
Officers Needed for 2004
Interested in getting more involved with the club? We are seeking
volunteers who would like to serve the club as an officer or as a director on
the club Board. Several of the key offices that are needed include:
President - presides over the monthly meetings and coordinates the
activities of the club.
First Vice President - responsible for the programs at the monthly
meetings.
Second Vice President - responsible for organizing club members to
lead field trips.
Third Vice President - responsible for the club show in the fall.
Director - provides guidance to the club and club officers.
Also, we are looking for replacements for several of the committee
chair positions. Each of these positions is a one-year commitment, except for
directors who serve for two years.
Even if you have not had much experience helping the club in the
past, do not panic. There are many experienced members who will provide as much
help and assistance as you need to learn your job. To volunteer for one of these positions or if you have further
questions, please contact Dennis
Gertenbach.
****************
The Big Shed
Moving Project
Charlotte Morrison
We owe "thank you" to Gerry Naugle and Paul Ralston for
getting our storage shed moved to a new location. Many members with sturdy backs helped several days to move the
shed. If you asked different helpers
for the story, you would get their various angles of the problems that were
faced.
Gerry Naugle first had a crew move many boxes to a storage locker
so the building would be empty. Then
Paul Ralston cleaned the floor and repaired shelves. He mended the tongue of a nearby trailer and the log home
carpenters used their forklift to get the shed on the trailer. Paul was supposed to wait, but with friends
carefully towed the trailer to the new location before the day allotted to
refill all our gear.
Many more members labeled boxes and moved them into the shed. In
the process we found 450 finished grab bags for the Denver show. Other boxes held our Map and Minerals. Trick
Runions brought all specimens ready to bag to the picnic as he now has a key.
Gerry Naugle will lead a "field trip" to the new shed location in
Niwot.
Thank you Gerry and Paul and the many helpers.
****************
Charles T
Morris
26 June 1939 - 2 August
2003
Our sympathy goes out to the family of Charlie Morris who died
suddenly at his home Saturday, August 2.
Charlie and Marilyn moved to Colorado when the Bell Telephone
Company moved their labs from Chicago. Charlie was a member of the Boulder and National
Rifle Associations. For many years he served with the Longs Peak Council and
Troop 78 of the Boy Scouts of America. He and his family joined the Flatirons
Mineral Club, along with others from the Bell Labs. He would volunteer for the
security detail at our shows, taking his turn as night watchman.
His funeral was held at Atonement Lutheran Church. Several
Flatirons Club members were present at the service for Charlie, and afterwards
were served lunch with Marilyn and his family, Elizabeth of Fort Worth, Texas,
Margaret and Ken Pinson and daughter Alice of Boulder, and son David of
Nederland.
A contribution in Charlie's name will be added to the Flatirons
Scholarship Fund. If you wish to contribute in Charlie's name, send your check
to treasurer Gerry Naugle, or to Carl Bird, 718 Aspen Way, Louisville 20027.
Your contributions will be acknowledged, and a letter will also be sent to
Marilyn, listing those who sent contributions.
****************
Denver Show
volunteers
We hope you have volunteered to help at the Denver Show, Sept
11-14. We are the largest all-volunteer
run show in the United States. You will
get in free if your name is on the volunteer list. There is a festive reception
in the main Mart building Saturday evening, and breakfast in the Hostess room
Sunday morning, and these are free to volunteers, also. Flatirons Mineral Club members will also be
staffing our Club Table, during the main show hours. We will have our
"Touch Me Rocks" with Braille labels--please take your turn.
****************
Polishing
Obsidian
Ted Robles (via Lapidary Digest Nov. '98)
To tumble-polish Obsidian, do not use Cerium Oxide or Tin Oxide;
these, being acidic, react with the Obsidian, which is alkaline, and the best
you can usually expect is a soft matte finish. (I can and have gotten good
results with Tin Oxide using a thick Tide (R) slurry, but that is because the
Tide is so alkaline, it overcomes the acidity of the Tin Oxide. Don't rely on
it though; it takes a long time).
My best success has been with Raybrite (R), which is Aluminum
Oxide, Octagon Process (R) liquid detergent, smashed Walnut shells, screened
thru 1/8" mesh, and only enough water so that the whole mass will move. (I
use a teaspoon!) Put it on and forget it for a week. (Unless you're using a
vibratory tumbler, which I don't recommend because Obsidian spalls like crazy
unless you're using so much carrier that there is no chance for Obsidian to
strike Obsidian). Open it up and look.
Here is the trick that very few people know... Obsidian once
polished, unpolishes-readily! So, once it has almost polished, look at it every
hour or so until it has reached the shine you want. Turn it off at night. I
know, that's a sin you're not supposed to commit, but if it's polished at hour
3, it would probably be unpolished by hour 8!
It's persnickety stuff., but the results are worth the extra care.
Oh, and pellets are a poor choice for carrier on Obsidian; walnut shells or
rice hulls work much better. Leather punchings are good, too.
****************
A Rocky
Mountain Mystery
Murray Nicholson (Calgary Rock & Lapidary Club Lapidary Journal via Rocky
Mountain Federation News, April, 2003 )
Imagine, if you can, a chain of valleys, each different from the
next, but all stretching in a straight line over more than 1,600 kilometers,
leaving a scar so distinctive it is visible from outer space. Add to this the
discovery that the east wall rocks are sedimentary while the west wall rocks
are much older intrusive and metamorphic rocks. These are the mysteries of the
Rocky Mountain Trench.
Extending from Flathead Lake, Montana to the Liard Plain near the
Yukon border, the Trench marks the western boundary of the Rocky Mountains. The
width of individual valleys ranges from 5 to 13 kilometers. Mountain summits on
each side rise steeply some 1,000 to 2,000 meters above the flat-bottomed
floor. Nine rivers, including the Fraser and Columbia drain the Trench, most
entering and leaving through the canyons.
The Trans-Canada Highway crosses the Trench at Golden, British
Columbia. From here, the traveler can see the Trench to the north and the
south. Another highway follows the east wall for 100 kilometers south to Radium
Hot springs. More small communites can be found in the valleys to the south.
Since George Dawson first described the Trench in his 1886 report
to the Geological Survey of Canada, several geologists have studied different
sections. They have concluded that while all of the valleys show signs of
glaciation some were formed by erosion and others by faulting. To date however,
there is no comprehensive explanation of the origins of the Trench as a whole.
Could it be the result of mountain-building, or an old tectonic plate boundary,
or perhaps the evidence of something we don't yet understand? More than 100
years after its discovery, the Rocky Mountain Trench remains a mystery.
****************
Colorado
Rhodonite:
So tough it
was a mill stone
Beth Simmons (From Tips & Chips, April 2002 via Rockbound Ramblings
February 2003)
Rhodonite, a pink manganese silicate, often occurs as gangue (an
unneeded mineral) in silver veins in Colorado. Beautiful massive material from
the Fourth of July Vein in the Sunnyside Mine in San Juan County occurred in
bodies tens of feet wide and hundreds of feet long! Although commonly called
rhodonite, studies made since the 1970's prove that the material really is a
closely related manganese silicate mineral called pyroxmangite. Pyroxmangite,
or "Rhodonite", from the Sunnyside is dense and fine-grained and was
often cut into gemstones.
The "rhodonite" from the Sunnyside contained gold,
running from $25 to $450 per ton. It also carried silver, lead and zinc.
However, like jade, pyroxmangite is very TOUGH material. A stamp weighing a ton
would drop down on the "rhodonite" and it would not crumble or
shatter. Often, the thrust would knock the "rhodonite" out through
the screen, costing a repair shutdown. Early miners were advised to leave the
"rhodonite" be.
In 1914, when fine-grinding ball mills came into the San Juan
mining district, the Sunnyside Mill installed one. Instead of using the
traditional steel balls, the milling men turned their worthless tough gangue
mineral to use. They used the beautiful "rhodonite" to grind down the
silver ore. After the "rhodonite" proved its worth as a tool, the
Sunnyside built a new 500-ton per day mill, and kept 500 men busy night and
day. This was the only mine in the world where gold-bearing rhodonite occurred,
mined and then used as a grinding material, releasing its metal values during
the process.
Miners would collect specimens of the rhodonite before it went
into the mill where it was destined to be ground to pieces. They would pick specimens
out of the ore buckets as they came down from the mine over the tramway and
throw them over a cliff to the canyon below. Later they retrieved their
specimen "lode" from the hide-away place in the deep canyon.
Treasure those pieces of Sunnyside pyroxmangite, a.k.a.
"rhodonite." It could have been mill powder!
References
Speer, Marion A. in Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1977, Timberline
Tailings, p. 291-292
Eckel, et al., 1997, Minerals of Colorado, Fulcrum Publishing, p.
412-413
Tips & Chips Editor's Note: There was a dealer in Tucson
selling "Astorite." Astorite turned out to be rhodonite from
Silverton, that comes from a mine that was owned by John Jacob Astor. It's a
very pretty pink stone, nicely translucent in thin slices, and with good fluorescence.
Nothing like giving a fancy new name to an old rock to raise the prices!
****************
Calendar of
Events
Sept 6 - Fmc Field Trip: Hans Peak Crystals. Paul Boni, Leader
(See announcement)
Sept 8 - FMC Board Meeting, 7:30 PM, At Dennis Gertenbach's house.
Sept 11 - FMC Club Meeting, Boulder Senior Center, 9th &
Arapahoe, 7:15 PM, Program TBA
Sept 12-14 - Denver Gem
And Mineral Show, Denver Merchandise Mart (See announcement)
Sept 15 - FMC Show Committee Meeting, 7:00 PM, Boulder Elks Lodge
(See article)
Sept 20 FMC Field Trip: Florissant Fossil Beds, Trick Runions,
leader (See announcement)
Oct 13 - FMC Show Committee Meeting, 7:00 PM, Boulder Elks Lodge
(See article)
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Updated 1/12/04