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Board
Corner
Gerry Naugle
The recent show last December was a good success in terms attendance (about
1925) and net of revenues for the club. The FMC Board wishes to thank all
of the member-volunteers who worked at the show, and will be holding a
"club volunteers appreciation" session at the Clover Admin Bldg
of the Boulder County
Fairgrounds on Wed, Jan 11th.....where we met last year, start at 7:00pm.
Any members who worked a shift
or more of volunteering at the Dec show are eligible to attend.
Refreshments will be provided by the club.
Happy New Year in 2012! And, we will be starting a new season of
field trips and other club activities.
Do mark your new calendars for Sat, Aug 25th, for the annual club
picnic at North Boulder Park, start at 11:00am, just like in 2011.
The January 2012 Club Meeting
will be held on Thurs 12th at the West Boulder Senior Center with Dr. Bruce
Geller of the Colorado School of Mines Museum, presenting, start at
7:10pm. Dr. Geller is a dynamic
speaker and is always very interesting; hope to see you there. (More
information beflow.)
****************
Winter Club
Programs
January
12: Bruce Geller, Director of the School of Mines Geology Museum. Bruce's
talk is "The Good Earth: A
Visit to The Geological Museum of China and then some..."
February
9: Bill and Beth Sagstetter will be joining us in February to present a
program on their explorations of ghost town sites. Here is a description of their talk: "Have you ever been to a deserted
mining camp site and seen old, rusted contraptions and wondered what they
were and what they might have originally been used for? Or walked through
log cabin ruins and wondered what was once performed in this place?-- was
it an assay office, blacksmith shop or lodging?" The Sagstetter’s
slideshow will be an introduction on how to decipher these mysteries. They
have also written a book, The Mining Camps Speak, which addresses these and
other questions. This book will also
be available at our club meeting for a special price.
Here’s
an interesting website on Colorado ghost towns, if you want to do some
background research beforehand: http://www.coloradoghosttowns.com/ghosttown-tours.htm
****************
Jr. Geologists
Activities
Jr. Geologists
Study Stone Age Tools and Art
This
fall the Jr. Geologists have been studying how American Indians and other
Stone Age peoples used rocks and minerals in their everyday life. They had an opportunity to grind corn and
to use minerals for making paint to create their own rock art. Terry O’Donnell talked with the Jr.
Geologists about the various types or rocks the Indians used to fashion
their tools and showed them how spear points and arrow heads were made by
flint knapping.
Stone
Age Tools and Art badge
Beginning
in 2012, there will be five new badges for us to work on – Fluorescent
Minerals, Minerals with Special Properties, Thumbnails and Micromounts,
Reaching Across Generations, and Mapping.
Lots of fun things are coming next year!
January
21 (Saturday): For January, we will
be taking part in the Snowmass Fossils and Denver Museum Tour, where we
will be joining kids from other rock clubs for a special day at the Denver
Museum of Nature and Science. In the morning we will have a special private
presentation and tour of the Snowmass fossils with Ian Miller. In the afternoon we will tour the
Prehistoric Journey and the Coors Mineral Hall exhibits with Steve Veatch
as our guide
The
Jr. Geologists program is open to all Flatirons Mineral Club families. Each month we learn about some aspect of
geology, plus earn badges for different earth science activities. For information about the Jr. Geologists
program, please contact Dennis
Gertenbach.
Specimens
Wanted: For the Jr. Geologists, we
are looking for smoky and clear quartz crystals, calcite for hardness kits,
and specimens that are too big for grab bags that the kids would like. As you are cleaning out your collection
this winter, think about donating your unwanted specimens to the kids. Contact Dennis if you have specimens to
donate.
Helpers
Wanted: We are looking for adults
that would like to work with the kids.
Currently, we are looking for club members with lapidary skills and
equipment, computer expertise to help the kids set up a website, and
helpers who enjoy teaching kids about geology and rock collecting. See Dennis if you would like to help
with the Jr. Geologists program.
Terry
O’Donnell shows the Jr. Geologist flint knapping techniques
Cassidy
Crittenden and Kartherine Codrescu grind corn with Gerry Nagel looking on
Gavin
Morrison, Iain Crittenden, and Quinn Cormier using the paint they made from
minerals they ground
****************
An Elephant Never Forgets!
A
friendly reminder that the annual dues to the FMC are due on October 1st,
2011. The dues are still only $18
per individual (and) their immediate family. You can pay in two ways: SEND A CHECK
MADE TO “Flatirons Mineral Club” (or)
“ FMC “ P.O. Box 3331 Boulder, CO 80307
(or) pay Gerry
Naugle, Treasurer (or) Kristi
Traynor, Membership Co-Chairs at any FMC monthly meeting. One of them is at or near the sign-in
table upon entering the room for the monthly meetings. Your receipt is your new annual 2011-12
FMC membership card.
You
can pay by CASH at these FMC meetings.
Please do not send cash to the Club P.O. Box 3331 by USPS mail. Remember you can receive electronic (or)
paper club newsletters containing the general meetings information, guided
club field trips information, annual show opportunities, silent auction
opportunities and an annual club summer picnic when you are a current
member of the FMC. The 2011-12 dues
must be received by the club by Jan. 20th, 2012 in order to stay current
with the member benefits.
****************
FMC Booth at Boulder Creek Festival
Anita
Colin
The Flatirons Mineral Club will have a
booth at the Boulder Creek Festival for Memorial Day weekend, 2012! This
will be a first for the club. We will have posters and specimen displays
advertising our club, as well as some activities for children. We will also
be selling grab bags and individual specimens with the proceeds going to
educational activities. The FMC booth will be on 13th Street in downtown
Boulder from 5 PM on Saturday, May 26 to 5 PM on Monday, May 28. We will be
looking for volunteers to help "man" (or "woman") the
booth. Consider it your Memorial weekend "field trip" with the
club. (Drinks and snacks will be provided!) Submitted by Anita Colin
****************
Tucson
Tips
Dennis
Gertenbach
The
Tucson Gem & Mineral Show, coming up in February (Feb 9-12), along with
all of the peripheral shows and exhibits over a 2-week period, is the
premiere annual gem and mineral event in North America. Several of our club members attend every
year, and to encourage more club members to avail themselves of this
extraordinary and nearby opportunity, John & Jeanne Hurst have put
together a few “tips” to make your Tucson experience more productive and
enjoyable:
Best
scenario: Tag along with an old hand who knows the ropes. Motel
reservations 6 mo. to 1 yr. ahead.
Second best: Pick the brain
of above mentioned old hand.
We
suggest you obtain a Colo. Resale license ($16 for 2 years) with your own
business name. Many shows are wholesale only. Bring 20-30 copies of the business resale
license. Ditto for business cards.
Internet: tucsonshowguide.com
for information about ca. 50 different venues
Tucsongemandmineralshow.com
(plan your trip with the 58th
annual Feb. 9-12 “main show”.)
http://www.johnbetts-fineminerals.com/jhbnyc/articles/tucson.htm
. Register online early for any wholesale show you want to attend. (Saves
standing in long lines later.)
After you arrive
in Tucson:
We suggest having
a car or van, start early at Tucson Electric Park- pick up a copy of the
Tucson EZ Guide. It is usually
available at all 50 venues. Shows are spread out. Shuttles are slow, but they avoid parking
hassles and the $5 parking fees along I-10 from Congress Ave. to 22nd Ave.,
where non-wholesale dealers are located.
Wholesale
venues are spread out around Tucson.
Plan to arrive 30 to 60 minutes early for close in parking. Most venues have handicap parking. Plan 1
venue per day, possibly a 2nd after late lunch.
Jeanne
& John Favorites (W=wholesale, R=retail):
Bead
Shows – To Bead True Blue-W, Gem Mall-W, Kino Veterans Center-W, Windmill
Inn-W
Books-Bookman’s
Bookstores-R
Faceted
Stones Show-W– Starr Pass Marriot
Tucson
Electric Park— Retail unless “W” --Kent’s Tools, Diamond Pacific, Village
Originals-W, Enter the Earth, Orr Trading Co., Driftstone Pueblo, Peru
Minerals, Gem Center of El Paso, Blake Brothers-W
Gem
Mall and Holidome- all Wholesale- Tikka Opals, Natural Gems, many Pearl
& Bead dealers, DAH Beads, Beauty and the Beads, Findings, Watches,
Silver and Gold Chain, Turquoise, etc.
Interstate
10 – El Paso Rock Shop, Gem Shop, 2-3 Fire Agate dealers, Condor Agate-Ana
De Los Santos, Brazilian Agate Dealers, Western Woods, Australian Dealers,
etc.
Best
Fast Lunch—Beyond Bread (two locations arrive early for faster service),
Chipotle, Panda Express
Best
sit down Lunch/Dinner—Old Pueblo (Broadway & Craycroft), La Fuente (N.
Oracle)
Best
Sweet Treat- See’s Candy (E. Broadway), Gelato (N. Oracle & Ina Rd.-SW
corner)
Cheapest
gasoline—Safeway at Broadway and Campbell, just east of downtown Tucson.
The
theme of this year’s Tucson show is “Minerals of Arizona.”
A highlight will be the debut of the Minette borate collection. Dave Bunk Minerals will be at the
Westward Look and TGMS shows, and Lehigh Minerals will have the wholesale
portion of the collection at the Oracle Wholesale Show, and individual
specimens at the TGMS show.
And
while you’re in Arizona for the Tucson show, you might want to visit the
Heard Museum in Phoenix where there is a special exhibit on the history of
the bolo tie:
Bolo Ties at the Heard Museum
By Richmond Times-Dispatch Staff | The
Associated Press, Dec. 11, 2011
The
sometimes plain, sometimes heavily decorated neckties are a symbol of the
West, worn with everything from jeans to tuxedos.
Texas
links the bolo to the romanticism of the pioneer era and suggests that
anyone who wears one refuses to be bound by convention. New Mexico says
they reflect the state's cultural heritage of Hispanic, American Indian and
Anglo influences.
In
Arizona, where the bolo tie was declared the official state neckwear in
1971, an exhibit honoring the ubiquitous western neck adornment is at the
Heard Museum in Phoenix. The braided leather cord with an ornament on a
sliding clasp has decorated the necks of cowboys, politicians and runway
models, reflecting the bolo tie's versatility.
"I
just like it because it's a distinctive look," said Norman Sandfield,
a Chicago resident who donated his collection of bolo ties to Phoenix's
venerable native arts and culture museum. "It makes me look confident.
It's a conversation starter."
The
exhibit, "Native American Bolo Ties: Vintage and Contemporary,"
showcases native designers who have brought unique designs with traditional
inspirations to the bolo. Small ornaments made with silver and a single
turquoise stone have evolved into elaborate pieces with numerous stones or
jewels.
The
bolo tie emerged as a form of men's neckwear in the 1940s, but it's
difficult to pinpoint its exact origin, said exhibit curator Diana Pardue,
who co-wrote a book on bolos with Sandfield that accompanies the exhibit.
Although the authors found pictures with bolos in magazines and other
publications from the 1950s and '60s, Pardue said there was little written
about them.
One
common story is that Wickenburg, Ariz., silversmith Victor Cedarstaff hung
his silver-trimmed hatband around his neck on a windy day in the 1940s
while on horseback to keep it from flying away. Someone commented about how
nice his "tie" looked. Cedarstaff later patented it. Others say the
bolo tie as fashioned by American Indian artists appeared much earlier.
Western television personalities including the Cisco Kid, Hopalong Cassidy
and Roy Rogers helped popularize the bolo.
The
bolo tie long has been a staple of western wear in Arizona, New Mexico,
Texas and surrounding states, and generally is an acceptable replacement
for a cloth or bow tie. Popular with men and women, bolos have carried over
to more trendy fashion.
New
Mexico lawmakers declared the bolo the official state tie in 2007 —
following up on a nonbinding memorial nearly 20 years earlier. What
legislators wore around their necks prompted spirited debates about which
chamber had the more professionally attired members — the bolo-sporting
senators or the representatives whose rules didn't allow bolos on the floor
until 2009.
Said
Sandfield, "The simple rule is — if there are any rules — is that the
higher you wear it to the collar, the dresser it is. The lower you wear it,
the more casual it is."
The
Heard has 350 bolo ties on display, with the exhibit running through
September.
Richmond
Times-Dispatch © Copyright 2011 Media General Communications Holdings, LLC
****************
Jim
Hurlbut Inducted into the Micromounter’s Hall of Fame
Larry
Havens
On
October 1 James Hurlbut attended the Paul Desautels Micromount Symposium
held annually by the Baltimore Mineral Society. That evening Jim was inducted into the
Micromounter’s Hall of Fame.
According to the Baltimore Mineral Society, the mission of the Hall
of Fame is “to honor those who have served this hobby to the highest
degree. They are the leaders, the movers and shakers of the past and
present who have shown the way for the rest of us. They have not only built sizable
collections, but they have also have earned and deserved a worldwide
reputation among mineral collectors in general and especially among
micromounters.”
Jim
is a past president of the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies,
Friends of Mineralogy, Inc., and the local chapter of the Friends. He has been actively involved with a
number of national and international professional, mineralogical societies,
including the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals, the International
Mineralogical Association and the British Mineralogical Society to name a
few. Locally, he has held membership
in the Colorado Mineral Society, and currently is a member of the Littleton
Gem and Mineral Club, the Friends of Mineralogy Colorado Chapter, and the
Rocky Mountain Micromineral Association.
Jim
has volunteered in the Geology Department of the Denver Museum of Nature
and Science since the early 90’s, accumulating 1000’s of hours of
service. Jim contributed to the
update of Minerals of Colorado.
Jim’s micromounting “career” was kick-started when Micromount Hall
of Famer Paul Seel and his wife Hilde visited Colorado one summer from
their Philadelphia home. The Seel’s
decided to donate their large and renowned micromount collection to the
DMNS. The collection of well over
10,000 specimens is comprised of Seel’s own specimens, those of a number of
historical collectors with whom Seel traded or purchased specimens, and a
specialty suite of over 2000 mounted diamonds. Virtually every “old-timer” member of the
Hall of Fame is represented by specimens in the historical sub-collection.
Jim
happily accepted the daunting task of curating and cataloging the
collection. In addition, he oversees
the micro collection of Shorty Withers (local micromounters and Hall of
Fame member) and has, since 2003, with his assistant Larry Havens, created
a supplementary micromount collection now numbering near 2500
specimens. For this latter
collection, Jim has been mounting surplus material from Seel’s stock,
museum specimens and from purchases he makes at various micromineral
symposia.
Currently, with
the guidance and encouragement of Whitey Hagedorn, Curator of Geology at
DMNS, Jim and Larry are working on a book about the Museum’s micromount
collection, complete with expansive catalogs of the major collections and
photographs of some of the spectacular microminerals.
****************
Where
Did All Our Gold and Platinum Come From?
Dennis
Gertenbach
Although
minable deposits of gold, platinum, and other platinum group metals (iridium,
osmium, palladium, rhodium, and ruthenium) are fairly rare, geologists have
long pondered how even these amounts of precious metals are found near the
surface of the earth. During the
formation of the earth, molten iron and nickel sank to the earth’s center
to make the core. The molten iron and nickel would have taken the vast
majority of the planet's precious metals with them as a metal alloy. Similar chemistry is used today in the
commercial recovery of platinum group metals from ores.
So,
if the molten iron and nickel would have scavenged nearly all of the gold
and other precious metals from the surface of the earth as the core formed,
why do we still find gold and platinum deposits near the surface?
Research
recently published in Nature provides an answer. Using ultra-high precision analysis of
some of the oldest rocks on Earth, researchers at the University of Bristol
provide clear evidence that these near surface deposits were the result of
a massive meteorite bombardment more than 200 million years after Earth was
formed. These gold- and platinum-rich meteorites added precious metals to
the earth’s surface, which were not lost to the deep interior because the
surface had solidified and the core had already formed. Later geological activities dissolved and
re-deposited these meteoric precious metals into the deposits that are
mined today.
Dr.
Matthias Willbold and Professor Tim Elliott of the Bristol Isotope Group in
the School of Earth Sciences analyzed ancient rocks from Greenland that are
nearly four billion years old. They determined the various isotopes of
tungsten, which is another rare element that would have been removed from
the earth’s surface as the core formed.
Like most elements, tungsten is composed of several isotopes, which
are atoms that have the same chemical characteristics but slightly
different weights. The amounts of the various tungsten isotopes were used
by the researchers like a fingerprint to determine of the origin of the
rocks. Their analysis pointed to a
massive meteorite bombardment as the source.
Dr.
Willbold commented, "Our work shows that most of the precious metals
on which our economies and many key industrial processes are based have
been added to our planet by lucky coincidence when the Earth was hit by about
20 billion billion tons of asteroidal material."
Gold
specimen from the Breckenridge District, Summit County, Colorado (Credit:
Rob Lavinsky through Wikimedia Commons)
****************
Fossils
in the News
Dennis
Gertenbach
Artificial
Intelligence Helps Pinpoint Fossil Locations
Hunting
for fossils has traditionally meant studying maps and roaming the
countryside, looking for likely rock outcrops that might contain
fossils. Finding fossils was pretty
much hit-or-miss, depending on a good dose of luck. Now, a new software model has been
developed by researchers at Western Michigan University that uses
artificial neural networks (ANNs) - computer networks that imitate the
workings of the human brain – to pinpoint likely fossil sites. With information gathered from maps and
satellite images, such as elevation, slope, terrain, and many other
landscape features, the ANN learned to use details of existing
fossiliferous areas to accurately predict the locations of other fossil
sites in the Great Divide Basin in Wyoming. The basin is of interest to
paleontologists, having yielded mammal fossils dating from 50 to 70 million
years. Testing the software in the
field, the ANN correctly identified 79% of the known fossil sites in the
basin, and 99 percent of the sites it identified contained fossils. It was also able to identify four fossil
sites in the nearby Bison Basin using the information it learned from the
Great Divide Basin. Next, the software will be used to search for early
hominid fossil sites in South Africa.
Giant Monsters
That Preyed on Ichthyosaurs
Ichthyosaurs,
giant marine reptiles that resembled dolphins but grew larger than a school
bus, were pretty much at the top of the food chain during the Triassic
Period. However, recent research by
Mount Holyoke College paleontologist Mark McMenamin indicates that there
might have been something even bigger in the Triassic seas. The evidence is at Berlin-Ichthyosaur
State Park in Nevada, where the remains of nine 45-foot ichthyosaurs,
Shonisaurus popularis, have been discovered. Although the fossils at the Park have
been studied since their discovery in 1928, they have long perplexed
researchers.
The
Shonisaurus bones show different degrees of etching, suggesting that the
nine creatures were not all killed and buried at the same time by some
cataclysmic event. The fossils show
more broken ribs than would be expected from a mass die-off. Even more strange, the bones look like
they had been purposefully arranged in curious linear patterns with almost
geometric regularity. That it got McMenamin thinking about a particular
modern predator that is known for just this sort of manipulation of bones –
modern octopus. McMenamin thinks that a giant octopus or other cephalopod
captured the shonisaurs, took them to their midden, and then took them
apart. But could an octopus really have taken out such huge swimming
predatory reptiles? Check out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9A-oxUMAy8 to see what a modern octopus can
do to a shark.
Restoration
of Shonisaurus popularis (Credit: Dmitry Bogdanov from Wikimedia Commons)
Shonisaur
vertebral disks arranged in curious linear patterns. (Credit: Mark
McMenamin.)
Saber-Toothed
Squirrel from South America
Researchers
from at the University of Louisville and the Universidad Maimónides in
Argentina recently reported in Nature two fossil skulls of a Late
Cretaceous mammal. Named Cronopio
dentiacutus, the animal lived about 100 million years ago a vegetated river
plain. The shrew-sized animal (about
4-6 inches in length) was an insectivore, eating insects, grubs, and other
bugs. The most unusual aspect of
these fossil skulls is the extremely long canine teeth in a narrow muzzle
within their short, rounded skull. Dr. Guillermo Rougier, leader of the
research team, commented that "it looks somewhat like Scrat, the
saber-toothed squirrel from 'Ice Age,' "
Artist's
depiction of Cronopio dentiacutus (Credit: Jorge Gonzalez)
The True Colors
of Fossil Moths
The
bright colors of butterfly and moth wings are due to tiny patterns in the
scales, rather than from chemical pigments.
As reported in PLoS Biology, paleobiologist Maria McNamara (Yale
University) and colleagues have reconstructed the colors in fossil moths
that are 47 million years old. The
fossil moths came from the Messel oil shale in Germany, a site famous for
outstanding fossil preservation. So
exquisite is the fossil preservation, the researchers were able to
reconstruct the original colors in the wings from the tiny color-producing
patterns in the fossilized moth scales.
Their research indicates that the wings were mostly yellow-green,
which provided the moths with a dual defensive function, camouflaging the moths
while at rest and acting as a warning signal while feeding. The moths are thought to be an extinct
relative of modern forester moths, which feed on flower nectar. Modern forester moths synthesize cyanide,
making them taste bad, and their ancestors may have already developed this
capability. Thus, the yellow-green
coloration may have been a deterrent to predators.
Reconstruction
of the original colors of a 47-million-year-old fossil moth. (Credit: Maria E. Mcnamara, Derek E. G.
Briggs, Patrick J. Orr, Sonja Wedmann, Heeso Noh, Hui Cao)
****************
Upcoming
Events
Feb
9-12 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show (“Minerals of Arizona”) www.tgms.org/2012show.htm. (See
above)
Mar
23-25: The Fort Collins Rockhounds Club presents the 51st Annual Gem and
Mineral Show on March 23 (Friday, 4-8 p.m.), March 24 (Saturday, 9 a.m. - 6
p.m.), and March 25 (Sunday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.) at The Ranch/Larimer County
Fairgrounds in the Thomas M. McKee Building, Loveland, Colorado. This
year’s exhibits feature Fossils and Quartz. Demonstrations including
lapidary and wire wrapping will be presented throughout the weekend. Door
prizes, mineral specimen grab bag sales and the silent auction are ongoing.
Gem and mineral dealers sell everything from rockhounding equipment and
ore-grade specimens to fine jewelry and stone beads. Adult admission is
$4.00 for one day or $7.00 for a 3-day pass. Student (12-18 years old)
admission is $1.00. Children under 12 free when accompanied by adult. For
more information, www.fortcollinsrockhounds.org/,
e-mail fcrockhounds@yahoo.com or
call the show chairman at 970/493-6168
Sat.
& Sun., March 31 - April 1, Hands of Spirit's 15th Annual Spring
Mineral and Jewelry Open House from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. You're sure to find an incredible
selection of the finest crystal and mineral specimens, stone carvings, and
a lovely selection of jewelry. Refreshments will be served. Call 303-541-9727 for directions and
further information. www.handsofspirit.com.
****************
Some Highlights from our Annual Show
Thanks
to the hard work of the Show Committee, and many club member volunteers, we
had another very successful show—record attendance, and excellent revenue.
The
FMC Show Committee wishes to congratulate the following catagory winners:
Senior Division
* Personal Field
Trip - Gabi Accatino
* Club Field Trip
- Anita Colin
* Minerals - Pete
Modreski / USGS
* Lapidary &
Jewelry - John Hurst
* Fossils -
Jordan Sawdo
* Best of Show -
Ray Gilbert
Junior Division
* Personal Field
Trip - Preston Dailey
* Club Field Trip
- Gavin Morrison
* Minerals -
Clayton Maxwell
* Lapidary &
Jewelry - Clayton Maxwell
* Fossils -
Charles Mock
* Best of Show -
Shayleen Kent
Gavin
Morrison with his winning display case
Learning
the lapidary arts with Terry O'Donnell
Grand
door-prize winner George DiBisceglie and son with the Dugway Geode
****************
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Updated 2/7/12
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