Annual Election of Officers

Elections for our club officers for 2005 will be held at the club meeting on November 11th.  The nominations for officers include:

President:  Dennis Gertenbach

VP-Program:  Terry O'Donnell and Ray Horton

VP-Field Trips:  open

VP-Club Show:  open

Secretary:  open

Treasurer:  Gerry Naugle

Board Members:  Paul Boni, Shirley Mehta, and Alex Cook

As you can see, we are still searching for club members to fill several positions. Consider serving the club in one of these positions.  There is a group of 
people already committed to leading field trips, so the field trip vice president mainly needs to coordinate the dates of the trips.  Likewise, there is a large, 
experienced committee for the club show that will help the club show vice president.  The main function of the secretary is taking minutes at the monthly 
board meetings.  To find out more, please contact me.

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Club Meeting
Alex Cook, program chair

Thursday, November 14, 7:15 PM
West Boulder Senior Center, 9th & Arapahoe

Now that the excitement of the election is over, it's time to think once again about the annual towel show, or the "Show and Towel" as it has been jokingly 
referred to. At the November 11 meeting members are urged to display mineral specimens that they have collected during the year, gaining a chance to win 
either one of the traveling trophies or at least a blue ribbon. Prizes will also be awarded for the best junior exhibits.

Awards will be made in the following categories: (1) specimens acquired on a club field trip, (2) specimens collected on a personal trip, (3) lapidary and 
jewelry arts, and (4) most important of all, the UGLY ROCK award.

Retiring field trip chairman Paul Boni will be in charge of the event, and Paul is requesting that please, please, please do not use a towel larger than a face 
towel. We really don't have room for beach towels. Remember, it's quality, not quantity, that counts. Paul announced that once again we will be making an 
award for the most interesting towel, so be prepared.

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Special Library Display Case Installed

by Charlotte Morrison

Members of the FMC arranged an attractive display in the large double case near the main (SE corner) entrance of the Boulder Public Library on Sunday, 
Oct 31st. The double cases are located just south of the entrance desk.  The Boulder Public Library main entrance is located on Arapahoe Ave, just east 
of the Boulder Senior Center where we have our monthly FMC meetings. 

FMC members are encouraged to promote this display to outside folks, and they will be able to come by and see minerals from Colorado and other 
locations as well as the 2004 Show Grand Prizes, which will be on display at the Library until November 18th. There are a wide variety of crystals, fossils, 
jewelry, agates, fossil wood and examples of crafts from the mini-classes, which will be offered at our upcoming November Show at the Boulder Elks Club 
on Nov. 19th-21st.

The FMC thanks John and Jeannie Hurst, Ray and Joyce Gilbert, Alex and Carolyn Cook, Ray and Dorothy Horton, Charlotte Morrison, Emily Epstein, 
Stephan and Carol Codrescu and Gerry Naugle for the various specimens that they brought in on Halloween to make-up the month-long display case, 
showing through the end of November.

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Final Preparations for FMC November Show!

Volunteers Volunteers Volunteers

Our November 2004 FMC Gem and Mineral Show is rapidly approaching!  We need Volunteers, that's right, we need YOU for the many show tasks--
set-up/breakdown, 2 hour shifts at the ticket tables, youth activity tables, the U-V room, club tables and more. Now is the time for each club member to 
help put on the best show in Boulder.  Call Trick Runions to sign up today.

Two November Meetings--Nov. 9 & Nov. 16-- are on tap to help tie up any loose ends and final needs before the show.  We will meet at the Hurst's 
on Tuesday, Nov. 9 and Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. to resolve final preparations.  We will decide at the end of the first meeting whether the second meeting will 
be necessary.  Additionally, a walk-through of the Elks Lodge for interested Show Committee members will be available from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wed. 
Nov 10th.

Publicity, Publicity, Publicity

Emily Epstein --is placing paid advertisements in the Daily Camera, in addition to free ads in weekly newspapers, numerous websites, the Holiday Bazaar 
section of the Daily Camera, due out around Nov. 14-16, and even more. Let's help Emily by posting our show flyers on your left rear car windows, your 

refridgerator, church & school bulletin boards, at restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, and anywhere we can obtain permission. We just covered two 
rock shops in Colorado Springs on Friday.  

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An Elephant Never Forgets!

A friendly reminder that the annual dues to the FMC become due on October 1st, 2004. They are still only $15 per individual/or/family.  You can pay in
two ways:

          SEND A CHECK TO:
               "Flatirons Mineral Club" (or)  "FMC"
               P.O. Box 3331
               Boulder, CO    80307

(Or) pay only Gerry Naugle, Treasurer (or) Trick Runions, the Membership Chair at any FMC monthly meeting.  One of them is at the sign-in table upon
entering the meeting room.

If you pay by CASH at a meeting, your receipt will be your 2004-05 FMC membership card issued to you by Gerry Naugle. Please do not send cash to
the Club P.O. Box by the USPS mail. Remember you receive monthly newsletters, monthly meetings, guided field trip information, annual show
opportunities and an annual club summer picnic when you are a member of the Flatirons Mineral Club.

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Loveland Archaeological Society

For those club members who are also interested in archaeology, you may be interested in the Loveland Archaeological Society.  The Society is a non-profit
organization based in Loveland, Colorado promoting the study of archaeology pertaining to the Native American cultures in the American West.  The 
individual and collective knowledge of its members is shared within the membership as well as with outreach programs throughout the Community including
schools, museums, and libraries. We currently have over 175 members.

The Loveland Stone Age Fair, sponsored by the Loveland Archaeological Society, is one of the premier cultural events of its kind anywhere and has been a
mainstay of the Loveland community for over 60 years. Held annually the last weekend in September and free to the public, this event features lectures by 
world renowned archaeologists as well as jaw-dropping non-commercial displays of artifacts from collectors throughout the country. 

The Loveland Archaeological Society sponsors the Harry M. Walts Scholarship Fund to promote the continued study of archaeology at the University level.

Meetings are held at 7:00 PM the first Tuesday of each month at the Pullium Community Building, 545 Cleveland Avenue in Loveland. Meetings cover a 
variety of topics and include a program and refreshments. In addition, several field trips are conducted each year.

For more information about the Loveland Archaeological Society, please contact Rich Savino at 303-938-6326 or our website at www.stoneagefair.com.

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Kids' Day at the November FMC Club Show

On Friday, Nov. 19th from 11:00am to 2:30pm we will feature a 'kids day' and invite the local Boulder-area schools to bring in their geology or science 
classes to our show.  They get special tours, etc, and each student gets a small mineral specimen or a polished rock to take home with them.  All 
teachers, parent chaperons, bus or van drivers also get in free of the daily admission fee for the show (which is $2.00).

A poster announcing this event is attached with this issue of the newsletter.  We would encourage you to distribute this information to your home-schooler 
parents and we would look forward to any and all of your group(s) to take us up on this opportunity for your home-schooler students. For any additional 
information, or to RSVP to us, please contact Charlotte Morrison.  Thank you!

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Oil Boom Hits Town

After the discovery of oil, speculation ran rampant.  Investors were promised "oil or money refunded."  Real estate prices soared as land speculation in 
oil leases went wild.  The city's population doubled in 10 years, and people flooded the area to support the oil rush.

Where what this oil boomtown?  Right here in Boulder.  Discovered in 1901, Boulder's was the second oil field developed in Colorado, 20 years after the 
Florence field. Local producers sold the oil for $1 per barrel to local refineries in Boulder and Denver.  The boom hit its peak in 1909, then declined.  
However, several wells in the Boulder field are still producing today.

Boulder's oil was found in the Pierre Formation in a layer of fractured shales and thin beds of Hygiene Sandstone, similar to the rocks in the Florence field.
These same rock formations also contain the oil later discovered in the much larger Denver Basin.

To find out more about oil, how it was formed, and the oil industry in Colorado, check out the April 2004 Rock Talk (volume 7, number 2), the publication of 
the Colorado Geological Survey.  It can be found on the Internet at http://geosurvey.state.co.us/pubs/rocktalk/rocktalk.asp. This site also has other volumes of 
Rock Talk, each featuring a special topic.

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Museums With Fulgurite Displays

A radio drama called "Jonathan Park" is currently in production with an episode in which the main character finds some fulgurites (formations created by

lightning).  The show, which broadcasts around the world, provides listeners with the opportunity to see things related to their show.  They want to let 
families see real fulgurites, and then write back to the radio show with stories about what they learned about these fulgurites. What a great way for families 
to spend some time together, as well as get children interested in exploring our world - and specifically interested in fulgurites.

Pat Roy, a producer for the show is compiling a list of places around the nation in which there are fulgurites displayed for public viewing. Do you know of 
any museums, stores, parks, etc that have fulgurites on display?  It doesn't need to be local - again, Pat is trying to find as many locations as he can 
around the nation.  If you know of a location, please e-mail it to Pat.

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2004 Denver Gem And Mineral Show Award Recipients

Best Fossil - Bill and Marge Hawes, Specimen - Cockroach

Best of Species - Thumbnail - Larry Havens, Specimen - Gmelinite-CA, Nova Scotia

Best of Species - Miniature - Bill and Marge Hawes, Specimen - Stilbite and Fluorapophyllite on Quartz, India

Best of Species - Cabinet - Tie:  Bill Hawes and Jack Halpern, Respective Specimens - Stilbite on Heulandite, India; Green Heulandite

Best of Species - Oversize Cabinet - Bill and Marge Hawes, Specimen - Heulandite on Mordenite, Idaho

Best of Species - Self-Collected - Bill and Marge Hawes, Specimen - Stilbite, Nevada

Best of Species - Lapidary/Jewelry - Bill and Marge Hawes, Specimen - Thompsonite, Michigan

Best of Species - Colorado - Kent Havens, Specimen - Analcime, North Table Mtn.

Club Prospector Trophy - Littleton Gem and Mineral Society, Specimens - Park County Smoky Quartz and Amazonites

Prospector Trophy - Bob and Doris Drisgill, Specimen - Topaz, Teller County

Richard M. Pearl Trophy - Richard Tripp, Specimen - Vanadinite, Morocco

Individual Competitive Case - Barbara Sky, Quartz Thumbnails

Individual Competitive Case - Robert and Ruth Zartman,  South African Minerals, mixed sizes

Museum Trophy - Montana Tech Mineral Museum, Educational Case Regarding Uses of Zeolites

C. E. "Shorty" Withers Trophy - Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals/Rudy Tschernich, Zeolites of the Pacific Northwest               

Best of Show Trophy - Keith and Mauna Proctor, Zeolites

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Upcoming Events, Nearby & Elsewhere

Sunday,  Nov. 7, 2 p.m., Ute Pass Cultural Center, Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center, Woodland Park, CO-"Feathered Dinosaurs and the
Origin of Birds", Dr. Phil Currie, Curator of Dinosaurs, Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology.  Following Dr. Currie's presentation, he will be at the Dinosaur Center at 3pm for a book signing.

A selection of his books will be on sale at the Prehistoric Paradise bookshop. Tickets are on sale at the RMDRC, or you can call 719-686-1820 x 112, or 
visit http://www.prehistoricparadise.com or http://www.rmdrc.com to purchase tickets.

Monday, Nov. 15, 7  p.m. Ricketson Auditorium, Denver Museum of Nature and Science-"Beadwork Around the World: Ancient to Contemporary", Robin Atkins, bead artist. In addition to her own art, Atkins, an internationally known bead artist, gives workshops and lectures throughout the country.  This slide presentation looks at the variety and ubiquitous nature of beadwork.  On dual screens, she will show unique examples of ancient, ethnic, and contemporary work in each of three beadwork techniques: bead weaving, bead embellishment, and bead stringing. $10 DMNS member, $13 non-member.

Saturday, Dec. 4, 10 a.m.-noon, Classroom 302, Denver Museum of Nature and Science-Children's Workshop: Mighty Mammoths (ages 4 and 5).  Travel back to the age of prehistoric mammals as you touch a real mammoth tooth and learn about cave bears and saber-toothed cats. $18 member, $23 non-member.

 Check our own web site for additional events, and further details: http://bcn.boulder.co.us/community/fmc/fmctk.htm

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Hands of Spirit Gallery

Hands of Spirit Gallery announces its Holiday Mineral and Jewelry Open House on November 20th and 21st from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM.  You're sure to find 
an incredible selection of the finest crystal and mineral specimens and a lovely selection of jewelry.  Call 303-541-9727 for directions and any questions. 
(Snow dates are November 27th and 28th.)

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Mineral and Rock Sale

We've received word from a collector named Ray Anderson, who is having a "clean out the house" sale of rocks, minerals, agate, petrified wood, and one 
diamond saw.  The sale was scheduled for the Oct 15, but we did not learn of this until after the October newsletter went to press.  So if you are interested, 
you should call to see if anything is still available. He says his prices are "wholesale". Ray is at 3520 Everett St., Wheat Ridge, phone 303-915-5161.

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Colorado Historical Society Resources

The Colorado History Society has two lists of interest to FMC members:

  a. 1554 Public Archeology - A list of sites open to the public including addresses, phone numbers, and operating hours.

  b. 1555 Dinosaur Remains - A list of paleontological sites open to the public including addresses, phone numbers, and operating hours.

These lists can be downloaded free at http://www.coloradohistory-oahp.org/publications/archaeo.htm

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2004 Show Special Guests

The family (John, Megan and son Casper Whiteis) that found the meteorite recently on their property near Berthoud, CO will be FMC special guests at 

our upcoming show.   If we can't get the astro-rock itself for display, we will have some real keen photos of it at the club table. Ray and Stan Horton with 
Stephan and Carol Codrescu attended the field trip that went out looking for more pieces of that meteorite around Berthoud, they were joined by Jack 
Murphy and many other interested folks from around the area.

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Updated 11/4/04