Flatirons Facets

Published by The Flatirons Mineral Club

Volume 45, No. 10                                                     October 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.

 

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President's Corner

Evan D. (& Andrea)  Elliott 

 

Hello all show volunteers. Those of you who have not signed up can just come to the next show meeting, and we will help you decide what you would like to do. Thank you. The last meeting before our show will be Tuesday October 7th at 7pm. The location is at the Boulder Elks Lodge (the actual location of our show). We hope to see all of you wonderful club members there, helping to make your show a fine event! There will be no Board meeting in October-Board members are encouraged to attend the Show walkthrough on Oct 7 instead. Call Andrea Elliott with any questions you may have.

 

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CLUB MEETINGS

 

September Meeting-We held our regular September meeting at the Senior Center. Alex Cook selected a video narrated by Bob Jones from the club library. Evan Elliott and Brad Willcomm gave door prizes of epidote they collected at the Calumet Mine. We welcomed a new member, Cory Olin, and hope the other guests come again.

 

October Meeting-Our newest member, Cory Olin, has been attending the Wednesday night

sessions at Charlotte's house and cutting rocks he has had for years. He has gone to the Calumet Mine twice and brought us back the door prizes for the lucky winners who come to the club meeting October 9, so be sure to be there!

 

November Meeting-This will be our annual Towel Show, at which club members display specimens they have collected during the year, on Club field trips as well as on their own, prizes to be awarded. So start preparing your best specimens now!

 

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DENVER SHOW REPORT

Charlotte Morrison

 

The Denver Show in September at the Merchandise Mart was another success under the leadership of Barbara Melby and the show committee, including FMC members Alex Cook and Carl and Naomi Bird. Many thanks to the club members who helped at the club table: Hallie Cook, Shirley Mehta, Joyce and Ray Gilbert, Dorothy Horton, and Jim Armitage. Lew Yoder helped with setup on Wednesday and transported Charlotte and our display on Thursday. We changed some of the Touch Me rocks and added Cliff  Whitney's field trip photographs on our long table (see photo, p. 3).

 

Jim Armitage entertained visiting children on Saturday afternoon. He brought his frog collection and his "Mineral Match" game. He will leave his game  with us for use at our show in November, when he and Doris leave for Arizona.

 

Our new member Donn Cook won the Friday door prize and chose a wire-wrapped charoite pendant for Cathy. Other members from Flatirons volunteered at many locations. Rick Olmstead from Boise and Eric Teot from Breckenridge were selling. Several members joined in attending the Saturday night silent auction and heard Ed Raines' program on the Gilman mines.

 

Sunday evening Paul and Martha Ralston helped Lew Yoder and Charlotte gather as many plastic table cloths as possible to cover the many tables we will need for our November show.

 

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Get Involved in 2004

 

Interested in getting more involved with the club?  We are seeking volunteers who would like to help to continue the great meetings, programs, and field trips we have had these last few years. 

 

This year, we are approaching these jobs differently this year. In the past, each of these activities fell on only one person to do the job. This year, we will have several people working in each area to spread out the load. 

 

Here are some opportunities:

 

Meeting Programs:  Several people are needed to help find speakers for our monthly meetings. 

 

Field Trips:  Paul Boni will continue to serve as field trip chairman, but is looking for others to help him plan and lead these trips.

 

Club Show:  The club show next month looks to be even bigger and better than the last two.  Become part of the planning group for 2004.

 

To volunteer to help in one of these areas or if you have further questions, please contact Dennis Gertenbach

 

Get Even MORE Involved - Be a Club Officer!

 

We have several members who have volunteered to be officers in the club next year. However, there are still several slots that need to be filled. For those who wish to become more involved, consider serving the club as an officer.  These officers include:

 

President:  Dennis Gertenbach

 

First Vice President (Monthly Programs):  OPEN

 

Second Vice President (Field Trips):  Paul Boni

 

Third Vice President (Club Show):  OPEN

 

Secretary:  OPEN

 

Treasurer:  Gerry Naugle

 

Board Member (three needed)

1. Trick Runions

2. OPEN

3. OPEN

 

Contact Dennis Gertenbach to find out what is involved in serving the club as an officer.

 

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November Show Lineup

 

The Flatirons Mineral Club Fall Show (Nov 14-16) is shaping up to be one of the best ever!  Here is a partial list of vendors who have signed up:

 

Amethyst Rose, Westminster CO (jewelry)

Bad Boys of Cripple Creek (minerals)

Best Little Ore House, Boulder (minerals)

Bonanza Stamps & Minerals, Boulder (minerals)

C&N Lapidary, Louisville (lapidary)

D&J Rare Gems, Salida (gems, jewelry)

JJ&L Rocks, Hickman NE (minerals)

Tom McSherry, Boulder (variety)

Paul E Moot, Cheyenne WY (variety)

Silver N Stone, Denver (lapidary/jewelry)

Timberwolfe Minerals, Canon City (minerals)

 

In addition to the above commercial vendors, there will be many demonstrations, mini-classes, and representations from organizations such as the US Geological Survey.

 

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Vested Interest?

Charlotte Morrison

 

Members who have a vest with a club patch are asked to wear it to the club meeting October 9.  We have been giving patches as door prizes, and would like those members without a vest to decide how to wear them to the show. Cleaning the shed we found material for two or three vests. Come to see how we will identify ourselves at the November show.

 

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It's October, so your annual club membership dues are now due!

 

In case you forgot, dues to FMC were due on October 1. They are still only $15 per family.

 

You can pay in several ways:

 

 MAIL A CHECK TO: Flatirons Mineral Club

                               P.O. Box 333l

                               Boulder, CO 80307

 

Pay only Gerry Naugle or Melinda Thompson at an FMC meeting. One of us is at the sign-in table when you attend a meeting.

 

Mail a check  MADE OUT TO FMC to:           Melinda Thompson

                                     695 Emporia road

                                                                   Boulder, CO 80305

 

If you pay by cash, be sure to GET A RECEIPT.

 

Remember you receive monthly newsletters, monthly meetings and guided field trips when you belong to the Flatirons Mineral Club.

 

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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.

 

Sat., Oct. 4, 10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., Dinosaur Discovery Day (last of the year), guided tours of Dinosaur Ridge. Park at or on the road near the Dinosaur Ridge Visitors Center, 16831 W. Alameda Parkway (between the C-470 overpass and the Dakota Hogback).

 

Tues., Oct. 7, 7-9 p.m., "Fireside Chat" public lecture, "Dinosaurs that did not die: dinosaurs that survived the K/T extinction episode", by Dr. Jim Fassett, U.S. Geological Survey. Red Rocks Elementary School, Morrison CO (Sponsored by Friends of Dinosaur Ridge)

 

Tues., Oct. 7, in Colorado Springs, the Friends of the Florissant Fossil Beds, Inc., and Colorado College's Environmental Science Department present, Modern and Fossil Forests: the Link to China by Dr. Herb Meyer, paleontologist for the  Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, 7 p.m., Colorado College, Tutt Science Center, room 122 (enter by west door) 1112 Nevada Avenue; I-25 Uinta exit east, turn right on Nevada. For further info please call Steve Veatch at 719-748-5010.

 

Thurs., Nov. 6, 7-9 p.m., Fireside Chat, "Recent developments in K/T extinction theories", by Dr. Doug Nichols, U.S. Geological Survey.  Please check the Dinosaur Ridge website for an announcement of the exact location of this lecture in Morrison.

Nov. 14-16 - Flatirons Mineral Club Annual Show. Boulder Elks Lodge, 3975 28th St., Boulder, CO. Info: Andrea Elliott. Dealer info.: Gerry Naugle or John Hurst.

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Invitation to join Geological Society of America

Clark Burchfiel, GSA President

 

Those who attended the June FMC Club meeting will recall the excellent program on the Australian Gold Rush by Gary Davis of the Geological Society of America. He left some brochures about the GSA, but we have also received the following letter from the president of GSA, inviting FMC members to join and/or participate in GSA activities:

 

Dear Colleague:

I am writing to you to strengthen the bonds between the Geological Society of America (GSA) and the Flatirons Mineral Club. We at GSA appreciate the great work that clubs and societies like yours do to promote Earth Science to a wide range of people across our society. Without your efforts, many people, young and old, would never appreciate the wonders of geology and the treasures hidden in our Earth.

 

GSA also has an important role to play in promoting the love of geology. Our education efforts, for example, will reach into most high schools across the country this  year, and we place geoscientists in many National Parks and Forest Service lands to provide better interpretation for the general public. We also nurture young  people studying geoscience at the college and university level.

 

Working together, I believe our organizations can have amore far-reaching impact into the community.

 

To that end, GSA is offering a range of activities to your members. For example, GSA has been operating a number of exciting field trips called GeoVentures every year for its members. These trips take people across the Unites States and beyond to discover the wonder of geology. Next year we will explore Mono Lake, Grand Canyon, Alaska, Mongolia, and Kamchatka.

 

For the first time, we are offering places on these trips for your members. If two or more members from your group wish to participate, they will be entitled to attend at the discounted GSA member price. See more details at http://www.geosociety.org/geoventures and join our free e-news mailing lists for updates on these trips.

 

GSA offers Affiliate Membership for those who have an interest in geoscience, but who are not trained or working in geology or related disciplines. Affiliate members stay informed about happenings at GSA through GSA Today, our monthly magazine, and GSA Connection, our monthly e-newsletter. GSA has a number of other member categories that cater to all backgrounds, including schoolteachers. You can check out the requirements for each type on our web site.

 

In addition, the GSA bookstore carries field products of interest, like rock color charts and hammer holsters, and Affiliate Members receive the same full member discounts on selected items.

 

So I hope you will consider letting all of your members know how much we at GSA appreciate their efforts in promoting our great science, and suggest that they visit http://www.geosociety.org/ to learn about all the ways that we can work together while we continue to enjoy the wonder and excitement of geoscience.

 

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The Mineral of Progress

by HH "Tom" Odiorne (from Highlites, April 2002 via Tips & Chips (Denver Gem & Mineral Guild) February 2003)

 

It seems to me like it was just a few years ago (around the 1930's) that coal was the major source of energy in this country. Of course, this came after firewood, whale oil and other materials. Back in New England, ships entered every harbor to unload tons and tons of black coal on docks where it piled high as small mountains awaiting delivery by wagons and dump trucks to businesses and residences all winter and summer long. Its major source was the northern Appalachians, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Illinois and Kentucky.

 

That was then, but now all over the United States coal has been found and mined for many years out of sedimentary-layered beds in numerous states. I got to thinking about this as I counted the nearly one hundred rail cars in a coal train on the tracks one day recently as they made the trip south from Wyoming to an unknown destination.

 

My personal experience with coal harks back to when I was perhaps eight or ten years old when black smelly dust was created by clods of bituminous coal as it crashed down a chute through a side window into our basement. Every house had a "coal bin" and it was there that it was my job to clean up and sweep up the mess after the deliveryman left. But it was also here that I found my first fossils from ancient swamps many millions of years ago. Interbedded shales and ultrahardened coal layers revealed beautifully preserved ferns, calamites and intricately patterned lepidodendron tree bark. Many years later as a field geologist, I always became intrigued with outcroppings of coal and its many variations whenever they could

be observed.

 

Technically, mineral coal is a hydrocarbon, a fossil fuel having formed by the transformation of plant material of ancient swamps into peat, then into lignite, into bituminous coal and finally into anthracite. There are many other varieties, such as canned coal and jet. Bituminous coal, the kind we used to burn in our furnace back home, was usually called "soft coal", anthracite was "hard coal".  Long before TV, a popular radio program was the "Green Hornet", a detective thriller sponsored by "Blue Coal", an anthracite coal distributor. Top quality anthracite reflects beautiful bright colors from conchoidal fractures and large chunks were frequently displayed on living room fireplace mantles. A black bituminous limestone or marble is often described as anthraconite, and anthraxolite is a term frequently found in geological literature as describing bituminous and anthractic matter as enclosures in igneous rocks. Cannel coal is a dull, firmly compacted coal that often contains plant spores. It has a distinct conchoidal fracture and burns with high intensity.

 

Lightning frequently set peat bogs on fire back along the shores of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and early day emigrants from Europe dug spots for lignite, just as they had done for cheap fuel to heat their homes back in Ireland, France, etc. This brown coal represents an intermediate stage between peat and soft coal. Jet is actually a dense black form of lignite. It takes a remarkably good polish and used to be for "mourning jewelry". Identification of true jet is iffy at best in this day and age and it is now considered a collector's item.

 

When I used to conduct field studies in northern Pennsylvania and New York, it was not unusual to enter a town like Scranton or Pittston and see the streets lined with huge tailings, piles of coal and mine debris, especially adjacent to railroad track beds, and at Wilkes-Barre, one could see gift shop window displays of attractive statuary and even large flat ashtrays for sale. I never purchased any, unfortunately, and I have not seen any for many years.

 

The use of coal to generate electricity and to convert into coke with its extremely valuable byproducts, such as gas, ammonia, light oils, coal tar, etc., has been phenomenal over the last one hundred years. Without coal, the iron and steel industry would not exist as it does today and such items as plastics, detergents and a host of other items that we use every day do owe their presence to coal.

 

So, mineral collectors, as you look over your displays of gems, crystals, micromounts and fossils, do you have even one sample of a specimen any more valuable to the human race than coal?

 

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What is a Mineral?

by Sandy Riekeman - WGMS

 

"A mineral is a naturally occurring homogenous solid, inorganically formed, with a definite chemical composition and an ordered atomic arrangement" (Mason, et al, 1968)

 

Although graphite is a rather common mineral it is seldom represented in mineral collections due to the rarity of good quality crystals. It has been said that near ideal crystals of graphite may be more rare than diamonds.

 

Graphite is a soft, crystalline form of carbon. Other forms are diamond and fullerenes ("buckyballs"). It is gray to black, opaque, and has a metallic luster. It is flexible but not elastic.

 

Graphite occurs naturally in metamorphic rocks such as marble, schist, and gneiss. Graphite has a sheet-like structure where the atoms all lie in a plane and are only weakly bonded to the graphite sheets above and below. Graphite can only be confused with the mineral molybdenite, which is metallic bluish silver in color. However, molybdenite is much denser and has a silver blue streak.

 

Graphite exhibits metallic properties including thermal and electrical conductivity and nonmetallic properties including inertness, high thermal resistance, and lubricity. It does not fuse at very high temperatures or burn easily.

 

Some of the major end uses of graphite are in high-temperature lubricants, brushes for electrical motors, friction materials, and battery and fuel cells. The so-called "lead" of pencils is in reality a mixture of graphite with clay. Crucibles required to withstand high temperatures and also electrodes are commonly made of

graphite. It is also used in stove polish, and in some paints.

 

Graphite is found in various parts of the world, Russia; Mexico; Greenland; India; Brazil, the British Isles and on the Continent, and in Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and Siberia, in the United States it can be found in Nevada, Michigan, Rhode Island, Alabama, North Carolina, New York and Texas.

 

sources:

http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/info/jaszczak/graphiteover.html

http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/graphite/

http://mineral.galleries.com/Minerals/elements/graphite/graphite.htm

http://www.1upinfo.com/encyclopedia/G/graphite.html

 

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Jerome Csotty

 

Flatirons Mineral Club members extend their sympathy to the family of Jerome Csotty who died in a car accident last May.  He did not come home one night and after many weeks his car was spotted down an embankment west of Lyons.  He was buried in September.

 

His grandparents are James and Marianne Csotty.  His name will be added to our Scholarship Memorial book and you may send memorial contributions (make your check to the Flatirons Mineral Club) to Carl Bird, 718 Aspen Way, Louisville CO 80027. Carl will send  a letter to the Csottys and to you to acknowledge your gift.

 

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Minutes of the Board Meeting, September 9, 2003

Emily Epstein, Secretary

 

Present: Paul Boni, Alex Cook,  Evan Elliott, Emily Epstein, Dennis Gertenbach, Ray Horton, Charlotte Morrison, Gerry Naugle, Paul Ralston, Trick Runions, Melinda Thompson, Brad Wilkomm, Lew Yoder.

 

Dennis Gertenbach consented to head the nominating committee for the October officer elections. The other members of the committee are Paul Ralston and Trick Runions. Gerry Naugle agreed to stay on as treasurer, and Trick agreed to serve another term on the board.  We need to come up with replacements for Evan and Andrea Elliott, Alex Cook, and Brad Willkomm, and Emily Epstein.

 

Alex Cook urged those present to consider volunteering for the Denver Show Committee, which is looking for new members. He asked about volunteers to collect discarded table skirts at the end of the Denver Show for use at our show in November. Alex will talk to Barb Melby to finalize arrangements. Gerry Naugle reported that we have 4 boxes of blue and white tablecloths in the shed  which the mice have not touched, so we can use them for the show. Ray Horton reported that he has been working on choosing artifacts as thank-you gifts for volunteers. Paul Ralston said we need more goodies for the grab bags.

 

Alex announced that the September program will be a video, "Collecting the Earth's Natural Treasures."  November will be our annual "Show and Towel" and December will be the holiday party.

 

Melinda Thompson said she will be unable to attend some of the upcoming meetings. Gerry has been acting as a substitute, but she needs a deputy. Gerry said he can continue assisting her until we get a deputy for the membership chair.

 

Evan received a letter from Dick Rodenburgh in August regarding his legislative reports. We haven't been sending him a copies of Facets in which they've been appearing. Melinda said the problem has already been resolved.

 

Brad attended the federation meeting at the Contintail. They have a website.

 

Charlotte Morrison is still looking for the mystery donor of Utah material for the children's wheel so we can thank them properly. Charlotte informed the board that club member Charlie Morris died. Jerome J. Csotty, whose grandparents are members of the club, also died. The board voted $25 contributions to the scholarship fund in their honor. Dennis Gertenbach recently made a $100 contribution to the  fund in memory of his mother-in-law.

 

Wednesday meetings at Charlotte's house continue. They're now working on door prizes and children's wheel items for the show in November.

 

Gerry Naugle presented the treasurer's report. The club is still solvent.

 

Alex announced that he will be unable to attend the council meeting on September 25th. Gerry offered to go in his place.

 

Paul Boni raised the issue of field trip waivers. We adopted a document a few years ago, but nobody can find a copy of the text. After some discussion, Paul offered to draft a new one, to be signed on every trip. We will also ask members to sign it when joining or renewing their club membership. Gerry will modify the membership form to include it.

The next meeting will be on October 7 at Melinda Thompson's home. [But see "President's Corner", there will be no October Board meeting-ed.]

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Updated 1/12/04