A partial listing of Flatirons Mineral Club Meetings

2001-2010

 

2012

January (Jan. 12)  The speaker at our January meeting will be 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  (Feb. 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. If you’d like to do some background reading ahead of time, check the Colorado ghost towns website.

March  (Mar. 8) – Cory Olin, FMC member and proprietor of Olin Minerals, spoke on specimen preparation.

April  (Apr. 12) – Annual Flatirons Mineral Club Silent Auction.

May (May 10) – Field trip announcement meeting.  Donna Ware will be presenting a short program on the digital microscopes that she sells.  Folks will be able to bring in samples and use the scopes to look at their treasures up close.

June (June 14) – In lieu of our regular meeting, we will pick rocks at John Hurst’s house, 7 p.m.

No July meeting.

August (Aug. 18, Sat.) – Annual club picnic. 11 a.m.at the North Boulder Park, Main Pavilion (approx. 300 yards NW of the corner of 9th Street and Balsam Ave.) We will bag up grab-bags and then eat lunch. Folks with last names beginning with A-M please bring an appetizer or side dish.  Folks with last names beginning with N-Z please bring a dessert, fruit, or side dish.  The club will provide the entree and beverages.  Please RSVP to Gerry Naugle by 5 p.m. on August 17th, so we know how much sandwich-entree to purchase.

September (Sept. 20) Meeting moved to 3rd Thursday because of the Denver Gem & Mineral Show. Club member Craig Hazelton will give us a “blog style tour” of some of the gem shows he has been to, focusing on "gems and minerals, half about the rocks half about the people".

October (Oct. 11) – Gary Rowe, a USGS Geologist and the field trip coordinator for CMS will talk about volcanoes and his research in Costa Rica, Japan, and Tanzania.  He promises that his talk will be part Volcanos 101, part science, and part travelogue, with lots of cool volcano pics!

November (Nov. 8) – Annual towel show. Everyone is encouraged to bring specimens they found this past year or lapidary and jewelry project they completed, spread them out on a towel they brought, and then everyone can look at our cool stuff.  During the meeting, everyone gets to vote on the their favorites.  The categories in both the Senior Division and the Junior Divisions are: "Best of" Club Field Trip, Personal Field Trip, Minerals, Fossils, Jewelry/Lapidary, Ugly Rock and Best Display Towel. Ribbons are awarded to the winners in each category.  Also, everyone is encouraged to bring finger food to share.  It’s a fun night to see what others have found, to find possible locations to check out in the future, and to pick up lapidary and jewelry tips. The meeting will start at 7:10pm and set up starts at  6:45pm

December (Dec. 20) – Holiday Party. Bring a wrapped gift worth about $5 and enjoy the “give and take”!

2011

 

January (Jan. 13) —Tom Hendricks of the Cross and Caribou Mines spoke about his mining experiences and current projects.

February (Feb. 10) – Markus Raschke  gave a talk entitled "Rain and minerals - collecting adventures in the Pacific Northwest Cascades". Markus Raschke, a club new member since fall 2010, is professor of physics and chemistry at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He came to Colorado in 2010 from the University of Washington, Seattle. He grew up in Bayreuth, Germany and previously studied and held positions at Rutgers, Munich, Berkeley and most recently Berlin before moving to Seattle in 2006. He and his students use laser spectroscopy to study extremely tiny crystals of metals and metal oxides which are 1/10,000th of the diameter of a human hair. Being smaller than the wavelength of light they can have very special properties and behave for example as optical antennas. The goal is to understand the fundamental mechanisms by which light interacts with matter which allows for the development of faster optical communication, more specific optical medical-diagnostics devices, or new kinds of solar cells.As a diversion from his scientific work, Markus has developed a passion for geology. While living in the Pacific Northwest, he ventured into remote regions of the Cascades to collect minerals. Markus will give an introduction in the geology of the North Cascades. He will show minerals and their localities associated with porphyry copper and skarn deposits. Some of these localities have produced of world class specimen.

March (Mar. 10) – We are pleased to have Joe Dorris as our speaker in March. Joe has been bringing out museum-quality amazonite and smoky quartz specimens from his claims outside of Florissant, Colorado, for a number of years. Having located a number of significant mineral pockets in the Pikes Peak pegmatites, Joe and his family have brought to light dozens of spectacular specimens with amazing color, great luster and fantastic  combinations of other minerals - simply some of the best ever found.

April (Apr. 14)FMC annual Silent Auction.

May (May 12) – Ed Raines presented his program "The Fraudulent Selling of the Colorado Gold Rush".

There were no club meetings in June or July.  There was a July get together on our regular meeting night, Thursday, July 14th, at the Clover Building at the Boulder County Fairgrounds, 7-8:30 to assemble grab bag specimens. 

August (Aug. 20) – Annual club picnic at the North Boulder Park Main Pavilion. Start at 11 a.m. with grab bag assembly. The club provides sandwiches and beverages.  Last names starting A-M are requested to bring a salad or dish, and last names starting N-Z are requested to bring a dessert or watermelon.

September (Sept. 8)   Program to be announced.

November (Nov. 10) – Our annual towel show—show off your best finds and lapidary work from the past year.

December (Dec 16) – FMC annual holiday party and anonymous gift exchange—bring a mineral, fossil, or lapidary-related gift in the $5-$10 range, and some holiday munchies. Beverages will be provided by the Club. This is always a lot of fun, especially for the kids!

2010

January (January 14) – Our annual towel show: bring specimens you have collected or jewelry you have made during 2009 and compete in one of many different categories, including “ugliest rock”. Categories for kids, too!

February (Feb. 11)  Dr. Beth Simmons gave a presentation on "Arthur Lakes and the Petrified Forest of Lakewood".  Arthur Lakes discovered the dinosaur bones outside of Morrison and was an early geology professor at the Colorado School of Mines.  Beth has recently published a book about Arthur Lakes.

March (March 11) – Doug Bamforth, the CU anthropologist who recognized the Clovis era tools found at the foot of Flagstaff Mountain, spoke about the cache and the ongoing study of the artifacts.

April (Apr. 8) – FMC Silent Auction.

May (May 13) — Ed Raines spoke on the Minerals of the Creede Mining District as a preview to the theme of this year's Denver Show in September.

June (June 10) – Gerry Naugle is presenting a set of slides on the "Best of Mineral Specimens from the CSM and the DMN&S Geology Museums 2009.

July (July 8)There is no July meeting.

August (Sat., Aug, 21) – Annual picnic starting at 11 a.m. Main Pavillion of North Boulder Park, (just like last year).  Before eating, we will fill grab bags that are sold at the Denver Show and the Club Show to provide scholarships to college students.

September (Sept. 9) – Tom Hendricks spoke on the Caribou mines.

October (Oct. 14) – Peter Maciulaitis gave a talk entitled  "We always preferred lucky geologists to good ones". It's largely 'set' in Nevada and the modern gold rush once again. It's the story of Franco-Nevada, a Canadian penny stock that grew, in a period of 20 years, to the 5th largest gold mining company in the world and the dynamics of that growth.

November (Nov. 11)  FMC annual Towel Show— bring specimens you have collected or jewelry you have made during 2010 and compete in one of many different categories, including “ugliest rock”.  Categories for kids, too! (Your items must all fit on one towel.)

December (Dec 16) – FMC annual holiday party and anonymous gift exchange—bring a mineral, fossil, or lapidary-related gift in the $5-$10 range, and some holiday munchies. Beverages will be provided by the Club. This is always a lot of fun, especially for the kids!

2009

January (Jan. 8) – FMC and WIPS member Donn Cook spoke on Trilobites.

February (Feb.12) – Ulli Limpitlaw of the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) Greeley spoke on Minerals in Medicine.

March (March 12) – Ed Raines spoke on the Iron Mines of the Mesabi/Vermilion Ranges of Minnesota.

April (Apr. 9) – Spring Silent Auction.

May (May 14) – Gem Cutting and lapidary arts demos—many different skills and types of equipment will be demonstrated—learn how to use a Genie and a faceting machine.

June (June 11) – Dr. Pete Modreski, USGS spoke on the topic of Gems of Colorado.

September (Sept 10) — Perer Maciulaitis spoke on The Development of the Carlin Gold Trend! He says he's a "lucky" geologist, but we think he's just sly like a fox!

October (Oct. 8) — Fall Silent Auction.

December (Dec. 17) — Our annual holiday party and anonymous gift exchange—bring a mineral, fossil, or lapidary-related gift in the $5-$10 range, and some holiday munchies. Beverages will be provided by the Club. This is always a lot of fun, especially for the kids!

 

2008

January (Jan. 10)  Gerry Naugle presented a short show-and-tell on meteorites, with specimens from his collection, followed by the volunteer appreciation awards for the all the show volunteers.

February (Feb. 14)  Ed Raines on the History of Mining in the Gilman Area. 

March (March 13)Dr. Kirk Johnson, Vice President of Research & Collections and Chief Curator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, spoke to us about his book, Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway.

April (Apr. 10) FMC Silent Auction. Preregistration required for sellers. The auction is one of our club’s best fundraisers of the year and the public is welcome to attend.  The Silent Auction is a great place to buy and sell specimens, books, maps, and other rockhounding equipment and supplies.  The auction is one of our club’s best fundraisers of the year and the public is welcome to attend.  The Silent Auction is a great place to buy and sell specimens, books, maps, and other rockhounding equipment and supplies.  Sellers: If you have items to sell at the auction, please contact Bob Smith. Space is still available. Sellers are restricted to three flats and bid slips are attached. Come early to set up your auction items.

The Silent Auction will be held under the following rules:
One table is for young people only, one table is for the club only, as needed, the rest of the tables are divided into thirds.
Each person is allowed to fill only one space (on a table), and spaces are assigned and marked off with blue tape.
Applications for space must be sent to Bob Smith by e-mail at (or) by USPS letter to: Bob Smith, 5704 Rim Rock Ct, Boulder, CO 80301. Verbal and phone requests will not be honored.
Applications must be dated (e-mail date or post marked) no later than the day of the March club meeting, and must include the following information: Name, Address, Phone number, E-mail address (if available), Date sent in, Are you a FMC member (have paid dues for this year)?
Spaces are allotted on a first-come-first-served basis.
After all table spaces have been filled, we will keep the rest of the applications and they will be put at the front of the list for the next silent auction, if these people apply again. All applications are for the current silent auction only. Applications do not carry over from one auction to the next.
We will attempt to notify all sellers who have been awarded a space at least 2 weeks before the silent auction by e-mail, if available, or by phone. It is the seller’s obligation to notify the Dealer Chair of any changes in e-mail address or phone number. We will also attempt to notify everyone who applied too late to participate in the current silent auction and to inform them that they will be placed at the front of the list for the next silent auction, if they apply. They will also be first in line for any no-show spaces at the current silent auction.
Table spaces will be held open for those who are assigned to those spaces until 7 p.m. on the night of the auction. After that time, no-show spaces will become available first to late applicants, then to anyone who did not apply.

 May (May 8)  Ed Raines on Leadville, the EPA, and Me (and Beyond). Ed told the story of the controversy involving the EPA, the city of Leadville, the Colorado State Historical Society, and his own involvement.

June (June 12) – Dr. Robert Amerman on Undersea Movements and their Geologic After-effects. Dr. Amerman is a recent graduate of the Colorado School of Mines and the recipient of an FMC scholarship. He gave a slide lecture about his research in the U.S. and Europe.

July (July 12, Saturday) Annual Field Trip to Charlotte’s Garage.  No Thursday night meeting in July. Contact Gerry Naugle for details.

August (Aug. 23, Saturday) Flatirons Mineral Club annual picnic, in North Boulder Park Main Pavilion, starting at 11 a.m. We will assemble grab bags for the scholarship program, followed by a pot-luck style lunch, followed by a short awards session. All members attending with last name starting with A-M please bring a salad or vegetable and all members attending with a last name with N-Z please bring a dessert. If you are planning to attend, please RSVP to Gerry Naugle  on or before Aug 22nd. We need RSVPs to know how much meat and sodas/water to bring. Vegetarian meat-substitute available upon request with your RSVP. 

September (Sept. 18, 1 week later than our regular meeting date) – Florissant and Douglas Pass shale splitting, at the West Boulder Senior Center (regular meeting place.)

October (Oct. 9) – Officer elections and the new second silent auction. No applications will be required for sellers. There will be a limited number of tables so space will be available on a first-come first-serve basis. Sellers are asked to limit their items to about 1/4th of a table.

November (Nov. 13) – Annual Towel Show—Bring your mineral, rock, and fossil finds or your lapidary arts projects that you have completed this past year to the meeting to show others. Also, bring a towel to put your specimens and projects (hence the "Show and Towel"). It is a chance to let others know what you have found and where you found it. Your lapidary projects may spark an idea with someone else. And, you may go home with a prize. The meeting is a great time to see lots of neat things. The prizes (to be voted on by all club members—this is half the fun!) will be awarded in the following categories:
Best Club Field Trip--Senior Div [& Junior Div]
Best Personal Field Trip--Senior Div [& Junior Div]
Best Lapidary--Senior Div [& Junior Div]
Best Jewelry--Senior Div [& Junior Div]
Best Ugly Rock--Senior Div [& Junior Div]
Best Towel--Both Divisions [combined, just the "Best Towel" in the room.]

December (Dec. 18,  1 week later than our regular meeting date) – Holiday party and gift exchange—anonymous gift exchange of mineral or lapidary-related gifts ($5-$10) related to rockhounding and lapidary. Also, please bring finger food or a snack to share with others.  This is one of our most fun annual events!

2007

January (Jan 11)  - Ed Raines spoke on the geology, mineralogy, and mining history of the Cripple Creek/Victor area. This is one of Ed’s areas of great expertise.

February (Feb 8) - Gerry Naugle presented a slide show of "World Class Mineral Specimens in Colorado Museums".

March (Mar. 8) –50th anniversary celebration with special exhibits and displays of memorabilia, including a display of the beautiful agate bowls of Dr. Martin Hultquist, one of the founders, fifty years ago, of our club. Past FMC presidents were introduced and reminisced about what went on during their tenure in office.

April (Apr. 12) -  Our annual silent auction.

May (May 10)Club member Donn Cook, retired physics and science teacher from Orange County, California, presented a talk and slide show on pseudomorphs, including photos of his own collectionand from other collections.

June (June 14) - Ed Raines will give a talk about the White Raven Mine and mining in the Ward area in western Boulder County. This will be great background information for those going on the White Raven Mine field trip on June 23.

July (July 21) – July’s club meeting was a field trip to the outside northeast corner of Charlotte's house on Saturday, July 21. There is approximately 1 ton of mixed mineral specimens at Charlotte’s home to be sorted.  Everybody went home with some goodies, plus we found things for the annual silent auction and for the annual show prizes. Pizza, chilled sodas/bottled water were provided for all attendees.

August meeting (Saturday, Aug. 25) - The annual club picnic was held under the main pavillion of the North Boulder Park as in past years on Sat. August 25th starting at 11 a.m. For anyone new to Boulder, the main pavillion is NW of the main BCH hospital on ninth street. This year's picnic is open to all FMC members and a spouse or guest and kids. If attending, please RSVP to Gerry Naugle or by USPS mail at our P.O. Box 3331, Boulder, CO 80307 arrival by Friday, Aug. 24th so that we can get an accurate food head-count. Picnic attendees with last name of A-M please bring a dessert or watermelon, and attendees with last name of N-Z please bring a salad or veggie plate or corn. The club will have the meat entree (vegan meatless requests accepted) and soft drinks (diet and regular) and bottled ice-tea and water. Come over and have lunch and a good time with other club members.

September (Wednesday, Sept. 19) – FMC member Harry Covey spoke on the History of Gold-Tellurides Mining in Boulder County.  He brought specimens to examine.

October (Oct. 11) – TBA

November (Nov. 8) – 2007 Field Trips Show-and-Tell, a.k.a. Towel Show. It is an opportunity for you to share those great specimens you found, that beautiful lapidary project you completed, or the jewelry you made this past year. Awards are presented to both juniors and adults in eight different categories, including: Best minerals collected on a club field trip,  Best fossils collected on a club field trip,  Best minerals collected on a personal trip,  Best fossils collected on a personal trip,  Best lapidary work, Best jewelry project, The all important UGLIEST ROCK, And don’t forget the most interesting towel.So bring your specimens and projects, plus a towel to display them on. Set up your towel at 7 and the program starts at 7:15. The Towel Show is a wonderful time to learn about places to go collecting next year and to get ideas for your lapidary and jewelry projects this winter.

December (Dec. 13) – FMC Annual Holiday Party and Gift Exchange .Starts at 7:10. Please bring a wrapped $5-$10 mineral-related gift to exchange and some snacks, thanks.

2006

February 2006 (Feb. 9) – Gerry Naugle spoke on meteorites, talking about the different types and where they come from, illustrated with specimens from his collection.

 

March (Mar. 9) - Terry O'Donnell gave a slide-lecture on his recent trip to East Africa, travel on the Serengeti Plain and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

 

April (Apr. 13) - Annual silent auction. Setup at 6:30. Auction at 7.

May (May 11) – Geology and the ancient Egyptians. Dennis Gertenbach spoke on the important role of geology on daily life in ancient Egypt, illustrated with slides from his recent trip to Egypt.

June (June 8) - Jim Hurlbutt of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science spoke about micromounts.

July (July 15) - There is no meeting on Thursday, July 13, In its place was a special meeting/field trip at the Henderson Museum on the CU campus, Saturday, July 15. The exhibit is from the collection of Charles and Florence McGovern and displays several dinosaur egg nests.  The egg on the cover of the May 1996 National Geographic was found open revealing the baby about to be hatched.  On each of the other nests is a sculpture of the dinosaur baby revealed by X-ray.  This is an interesting exhibit for both adults and children. 

 

August  (Aug. 26) - The 2006 annual club picnic was held on Sat. August 26th at the main pavilion of North Boulder Park. Alex Cook presided over the business part of the picnic. The club bagged up a total of 520 grab bags (26 flats of 20 bags per flat) before sitting down to an excellent potluck dinner. Next year FMC will provide hot BB-Q sandwiches also, as they are “rain-out proof” and no need for the smoky charcoal grill to operate. Hallie Cook brought 450 already completed grab bags from the shed and those were turned over to Carl Bird to take to the Denver Show.

 

Near the end of the picnic time the two recipients of the 2006-07 FMC scholarships awarded to CSM students came forward and were introduced to the picnic attendees. The recipients chosen in April of this year for the next year scholarships are Ms. Chris Johnson and Mr. Austin Gilbert. The FMC scholarship merit awards are $250 per student per semester, for a total of $500 each for this next academic year. Picnic was concluded at 8 p.m.

 

September (Sept. 14) - The September meeting speaker was FMC past-president Dennis Gertenbach, who is a member of the Western Interior Paleontological Society, and he spoke on “The Boulder Area During The Cretaceous.” The land that is now Utah, Colorado and Kansas and adjacent areas were covered by an inland seaway and the fossils found in this area are mostly marine in origin, and some beach type dinosaurs along the front range. The door prizes were fossil books. John Hurst brought an example of a case presentation for our show in December. FMC members Todd Shannon and Paul Boni brought specimens found this past summer on field trips, with Colorado pegmatities and fossil limb casts from the Blue Forest in WY, respectively.

 

October (Oct. 12) - Officer elections, dues due. The program presentation is by Florence Magovern of the “Stone Company” of Boulder which sells minerals and fossils and produces paleontology exhibits around the USA. Florence will present slides and discuss the company dinosaur egg and related exhibits past and present from around the country. One of their current exhibits is titled: “Dinosaur Eggs and Babies” and is running through this December at the CU Museum.

Elections for 2007 club officers will also be held at the October meeting.  Here is the slate of candidates.  Be sure to come and vote.

President:  Gerry Naugle
1st Vice President (Program):  Terry O'Donnell
2nd Vice President (Field Trips):  Dennis Gertenbach
3rd Vice President (Show):  Ray Gilbert
Secretary:  Shaula Lee
Treasurer:  Alex Cook
Board Members:  Shirley Mehta, Bob Smith, and Ed Raines

November (Nov. 9) - The November meeting is the FMC annual field trips (or other member collection activity) towel show. So bring your field trip or other collected mineral specimens from 2006 to the club meeting on Nov. 9th and enter them in a good-spirited competition with senior and junior divisions. We also compete for the ‘ugliest rock’ and ‘best towel’ categories. All winners get a nice ribbon and best of show in senior and junior divisions get their names on the traveling trophies. Charlotte Morrison is also sponsoring a mini-fashion show “how to” on the placement and sewing of patches and badges on to club vests and other garments.

December (Dec. 14) - The December monthly meeting is our annual holiday party at the West Boulder Senior Center. Please bring an approx. $5 to $10 mineral specimen or other mineral, rock-hounding, or lapidary related gift (e.g. book) for our holiday gift exchange, and some holiday finger food or snack foods. This is a fun event, especially for the kids! The meeting will close out the year 2006 for the club.

2005

January 2005 (Jan. 13) -  The program was a screening of Mike Trafton's new video, Rhodochrosite: Red Treasure of the Rockies, with commentary and an update on the mine's status by Mike.

 

February 2005 (Feb. 10) -. Club members Carol and Mihail Codrescu, with other members of their folk-dancing group, gave us a short show (on the stage) of Romanian folk dancing.

March 2005 (March 10) – Dr. Ed Raines gave a slide presentation on " The Geology, Mineralogy, and Mining History of the Aspen District"

April 2005 (Apr. 14) Waverly Persons of the USGS gave a slide/lecture on earthquakes and their effects.

May 2005 (May 12)Jack Thompson of the Colorado Springs Club will talk about the varieties of Colorado topaz and the Colorado Springs Club's upcoming annual mineral show and Federation board meeting on June 17-19th . Jack has very large collection of topazes from Colorado and elsewhere and is a recognized expert on them.  He has won numerous display awards (in all of the major categories) in the Denver Show competitive display competitions. Specimens from last month's trip to Table Mountain will be on display.

June 2005 (June 9)Annual Silent Auction. Sellers' forms

July 2005 (July 16)– Campout, picnic and dig with the Mile High Rock and Mineral Society at the four RAMS crystal digging claims near Crystal Peak area of the Tarryall Mountains.See July Facets for details. Potluck picnic and BB-Q (meat, chips and soft drinks provided by RAMS) at noon on July 16th at a BB-Q pit near one of the claims. FMC is going to provide a large (iced) container of potato salad and watermelon. Rendezvous is set for 10 a.m.near Lake George

 

Those who wish may stay over through Sunday for more collecting plus a side trip to the Florissant Fossil beds on Sunday afternoon. Dry camping is available at the claims Saturday night.  For further information, map, details, and to RSVP for this field trip, please contact Gerry Naugle  before July 8th. Note: Good boots, picks, chisels, pry-bars, rock-hammers and eye protection (safety glasses or goggles), and first aid kit suggested/required while digging in the claims. 

August 2005 (Aug. 20, Sat.) – Club Picnic, 4-9 p.m., Pavilion, North Boulder Park. This event is limited to members and their immediate families. The club provides hamburgers, soft drinks & water. Last names A-M please bring a salad, last names N-Z please bring a dessert or watermelon.  RSVP to Gerry Naugle by Aug. 18th.

September 2005 (Sept. 9) Club member Jim Armitage will give us the basic rock and mineral identification class he presents in elementary schools here and in Arizona.

November 2005  (Nov. 10)  –Annual Towel Show, Thursday, November 10, 7:15 p.m.  It's that time of year, again, time to start planning for the annual towel show, or the "Show and Towel" as it has been jokingly referred to.  Members are urged to display mineral specimens that they have collected and lapidary projects that they have completed during the year, gaining a chance to win either one of the traveling trophies or 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.  Bring your specimens, and a towel to display them on.  Remember, it's quality, not quantity, that counts. And, we may once again be making an award for the most interesting towel, so be prepared.

December 2005 (Dec. 8) – The December meeting will be at the Senior Center a week later than usual. In lieu of our usual meeting at the Senior Center, we'll be having a setup party for our annual show at the Boulder County Fairgrounds, Building A. Any and all help will be much appreciated.

December 15 - Holiday Party and Gift Exchange. Each family attending is asked to bring some party food to share with others. The club will provide the beverages, cups, and napkins.

 

Each person attending should bring an inexpensive (under $10) wrapped gift, relating in some way to our hobby. This could be a specimen, a book, equipment, something you have made, or anything that will help someone enjoy rocks and minerals. Guests are welcome, but please be sure that there is a gift for each person who comes.

 

How our gift exchange works:  All of the wrapped gifts are placed on a center table and participants are seated in a ring around them. Each participant draws a number. Number one selects any gift from the table, unwraps it, and walks around the circle, showing off the gift. Number two may either select a wrapped gift from the center, or take the gift from the first person, who may then select a new gift. Each participant selects a gift in turn until everyone has one, and the exchange ends.

Rules:

1. Each participant selects a gift from the pile of wrapped gifts or takes one that someone else has already opened.

2. Each gift must be displayed to the group.

3. Each gift must remain in plain sight (i.e. no hiding an item so others will forget who has it)

4. A participant whose gift has been liberated selects a new gift before the next sequential number makes his or her selection (traffic control)

5. A participant may not take a gift back directly from the person who took it from him or her. (Cooperative arrangements with family and friends to circumvent this rule are allowed.)

6. If the same item has been taken from a participant three times, both the gift and the participant drop out of  play when he or she retrieves it for the third time. (Otherwise this could go on all night)

Please join us for an evening of  fun, fellowship, rocks, larceny, and great holiday food.

 

2004
January  - FMC President Dennis Gertenbach demonstrated fossil preparation techniques.

February - The February "Valentine" program for the Flatirons Mineral Club monthly meeting was an evening of awards and entertainment.  Paul Boni had ribbons for the winners at the Towel Show in November.  Stefan Codrescu was the only junior present and received two ribbons.  If you were a Towel Show winner but missed the February meeting, see Paul for your ribbon.

Over the years, our program chairman Ray Horton has become acquainted with our members and their various talents, so he arranged he arranged a Musical Showcase for our entertainment.  Stefan Codrescu played the piano.  Paul Lemieux gave selections on his saxophone, and Carol Codrescu, her flute.  Edna Green, one of our senior members, brought her ventriloquist dummy "Granny" and they had a conversation that had us laughing with them.  Carol had music for a sing-along, and Paul Ralston selected a song for a solo.  Ray and Dorothy Horton and Joyce and Ray Gilbert served refreshments.

March - Annual Silent Auction. Thanks to all who helped make this event a success! We had a record number of participants and items this year!

 

April - Dr. Wayne Itano of Boulder gave a slide-lecture on the Fossils of McCoy, Colorado. For more information on Dr. Itano, his fossil collection, and his work in paleontology, see his website.

 

May – Stefan and Carol Codrescu gave a brief musical performance. Board member Ray Gilbert demonstrated lapidary techniques on one of the club’s 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
"All-In-One" machines, which are available for members to check out. Vice President for Programs Terry O’Donnell demonstrated lapidary techniques on 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
his Genie. Treasurer Gerry Naugle demonstrated his new gold extractor, which he will make available to club members.

 

June – William Atkinson, Professor Emeritus of the CU Geology Department, demonstrated the use of blowpipes in the analysis of mineral specimens.  This is a technique anyone can use with simple equipment to apply the “flame test” to help determine the species of a mineral specimen.

 

July - The Video Program "Instructions on Faceting Gemstones" by the Ultra-Tec Mfg. Inc. in California was shown.

 

August  Annual Club Picnic and Grab Bag Assembly Party in the main pavilion in North Boulder Park (W. Balsam Ave. & 9th St., north and west of the Boulder Community Hospital entrance). The picnic is open to all members and their immediate family. The Club will provide meat (hambugers, hot dogs and/or veggie burgers), condiments, beverages, and ice. Members are asked to bring a potluck contribution—those with surnames beginning with A-M, please bring a salad or side dish, surnames beginning N-Z, please bring dessert.

September– Geologist and club member Caren Johannes gave a slide-travelogue of the highlights of the Johannes family's collecting trip through Utah, Nevada and Oregon this summer, plus a show-and-tell of some truly extraordinary specimens of Virgin Valley opal and Oregon sunstone.

October–Club member Bill Harrison gave us a presentation on "How to present your display in a showcase" giving us an expert's advice on how to select specimens from our collection for display, and how to show them off to their best advantage in a showcase. Mike Trafton's Rhodochrosite mining documentary DVD was on sale at the October meeting for $20 to club members!

November– Show and Towel, annual club towel show. Bring the treasures you've collected and/or the projects you've completed in the past year and a towel to display them on. Ribbons will be awarded in both junior and adult divisions for the best: 1) specimen from a club trip, 2) specimen from a personal trip, 3) lapidary and jewelry arts, and 4) the ugliest rock. There's also a prize for most interesting towel. (Please, nothing larger than a face or hand towel—we don't have room to display beach towels!) Plus, club officer elections.

December  - Holiday Party and Gift Exchange. Each family attending is asked to bring some party food to share with others. The club will provide the beverages, cups, and napkins.

 

Each person attending should bring an inexpensive (under $10) wrapped gift, relating in some way to our hobby. This could be a specimen, a book, equipment, something you have made, or anything that will help someone enjoy rocks and minerals. Guests are welcome, but please be sure that there is a gift for each person who comes.

 

How our gift exchange works:  All of the wrapped gifts are placed on a center table and participants are seated in a ring around them. Each participant draws a number. Number one selects any gift from the table, unwraps it, and walks around the circle, showing off the gift. Number two may either select a wrapped gift from the center, or take the gift from the first person, who may then select a new gift. Each participant selects a gift in turn until everyone has one, and the exchange ends.

Rules:

1. Each participant selects a gift from the pile of wrapped gifts or takes one that someone else has already opened.

2. Each gift must be displayed to the group.

3. Each gift must remain in plain sight (i.e. no hiding an item so others will forget who has it)

4. A participant whose gift has been liberated selects a new gift before the next sequential number makes his or her selection (traffic control)

5. A participant may not take a gift back directly from the person who took it from him or her. (Cooperative arrangements with family and friends to circumvent this rule are allowed.)

6. If the same item has been taken from a participant three times, both the gift and the participant drop out of  play when he or she retrieves it for the third time. (Otherwise this could go on all night)

Please join us for an evening of  fun, fellowship, rocks, larceny, and great holiday food.

 

 

2003

January 2003 -  "Fossils From Around the World," slide show by  lecturer, world traveler, and club member Jordan Sawdo on his many and varied trips around the world in search of  fossils.

 

February 2003 -  documentary maker and club member Mike Trafton on making video documentaries about Colorado mineralogy.  Mike has his own consulting business in the aerospace and software area, and is also engaged in providing documentary and educational videos for his clients, for which he set up a separate business called Silver Mountain Productions. One of the first projects was to film the 2002 Denver Gem and Mineral show, concentrating on the theme of "Gemstones of Colorado." In continuation of this theme he is also working on a documentary featuring the famous Sweet Home Mine in Alma, which we all know is famous for its spectacular rhodochrosite. Mike has consented to share with us the results of some of his efforts in putting together these documentaries, showing work in progress and explaining how his videos are created. 

 

March 2003 -  Annual Silent Auction. This is becoming a regular event for our club, and is an excellent way to raise a little additional money for our organization, besides being a great social event and a way to dispose of some of those extra rocks, which we all have lying around (and acquire new ones). So start looking around for items related to our hobby, such as lapidary, faceting, beads and beading, silversmithing materials and supplies, books, magazines, finished jewelry, mineral specimens, fossils, you name it. Whatever you put in the sale, the club will keep 25%. You can donate more if you wish.

 

April 2003 - Alex Cook will present a video on the Cripple Creek Mining District, and then make some comments about the Cripple Creek area. 

 

May 2003 - Identifying Minerals, presented by Jim Armitage. Have you ever found yourself staring at a mineral specimen wondering what in God's name this particular item was? Then you are the perfect candidate to attend our program for Thursday, May 8, to be hosted by another one of our talented members, Jim Armitage, newly returned from his annual winter pilgrimage to Arizona. Jim is well known for his on-going work with children, teaching them about rocks and minerals, a job that he has performed with great success for a number of years. Jim holds contests in which the children try to identify specimens and as a reward receive 13 or more items that they may keep. He does this for around 800 children a year, so multiplied by 13--you do the math--that is a lot of mineral specimens.

 

June 2003 - "Minerals in Australia--the Gold Rush That Never Ended." Gary Lewis, Director of Education and Outreach for the Geological Society of America. He lives with his wife and two children in Canberra, the capital of Australia, from where he commutes frequently to the United States and back.  Gary is both a geologist and a schoolteacher.  His mission in life is working to raise the knowledge of the importance of geo-science in the minds of the populace. We are looking forward to him raising the knowledge of mining in Australia in our minds.

 

July 2003 - Dinosaur Ridge. Our speaker will be Joe Tempel, executive director of Friends of Dinosaur Ridge. Joe is in charge of the Dinosaur Ridge Visitors Center, which organizes groups of people to visit the Ridge, which as we all know, is one of the richest depositories of dinosaur fossils in the Western United States. Joe has been with the Colorado Department of Transportation, dealing with the Environment and Planning since 1967 and was one of the founders of Friends of Dinosaur Ridge when it was organized in 1989.

 

August 2003 - FMC Annual Picnic/potluck. The picnic will be in the main pavilion in North Boulder Park (W. Balsam Ave. & 9th St., north and west of the Boulder Community Hospital entrance). The Club will provide the meat (and veggie burgers), potato salad, macaroni salad, chilled beverages and bottled water. Club members with last names beginning A-L are asked to bring salads or baked beans, and  club members with last names beginning M-Z are asked to bring breads or desserts, including watermelon. Please RSVP to Gerry Naugle by Aug 14th. 

 

September 2003  - The program featured a video on gemstones.

 

October 2003 - Instead of a speaker, the program will feature a video on tourmaline and tourmaline mining in California. Club officers are elected at the October meeting, and plans for our show in November will be discussed.

 

November 2003 - "Show and Towel" , the club's annual towel show. Bring the treasures you've collected and/or the projects you've completed in the past year and a towel to display them on. Ribbons will be awarded in both junior and adult divisions for the best of; 1) a club trip, 2) a personal trip, 3) lapidary and jewelry arts, and 4) the ugliest rock. There's also a prize for best towel.

 

December 2003 - Holiday Party and Gift Exchange. Each family attending is asked to bring some party food to share with others. The club will provide the beverages, cups, and napkins.

 

Each person attending should bring an inexpensive (under $10) wrapped gift, relating in some way to our hobby. This could be a specimen, a book, equipment, something you have made, or anything that will help someone enjoy rocks and minerals. Guests are welcome, but please be sure that there is a gift for each person who comes.

 

How our gift exchange works:  All of the wrapped gifts are placed on a center table and participants are seated in a ring around them. Each participant draws a number. Number one selects any gift from the table, unwraps it, and walks around the circle, showing off the gift. Number two may either select a wrapped gift from the center, or take the gift from the first person, who may then select a new gift. Each participant selects a gift in turn until everyone has one, and the exchange ends.

Rules:

1. Each participant selects a gift from the pile of wrapped gifts or takes one that someone else has already opened.

2. Each gift must be displayed to the group.

3. Each gift must remain in plain sight (i.e. no hiding an item so others will forget who has it)

4. A participant whose gift has been liberated selects a new gift before the next sequential number makes his or her selection (traffic control)

5. A participant may not take a gift back directly from the person who took it from him or her. (Cooperative arrangements with family and friends to circumvent this rule are allowed.)

6. If the same item has been taken from a participant three times, both the gift and the participant drop out of  play when he or she retrieves it for the third time. (Otherwise this could go on all night)

Please join us for an evening of  fun, fellowship, rocks, larceny, and great holiday food.

 

2002

January 2002 -- "Dry Head Agate: Another Collecting Locality in Jeopardy" by John Hurst.

 

February 2002 -- demonstrations of various rockhounding-related crafts by club members and outside artisans.

 

March 2002 -- silent auction.  

April 2002 -- Flint knapping demonstration by Jeff Ferguson.

May 2002--Slide show by Hugh Tanner on sharks' teeth and other fossils gathered on his trip to Florida.

June 2002 -- Mount Antero aquamarines and other minerals by Bill Hutchinson.

July 2002 meeting was held at the East Boulder Recreation Center . "A Morocco buying trip", slide show/travelogue  by Ann Black. Ann took a trip to Morocco, saw the signts, bought some fabulous mineral specimens, and shared the experience. Minerals were on display and available for purchase.

August 2002 -- annual picnic, at the Boulder Senior Center. We are not allowed to cook at this facility, so burgers and bratwurst were prepared by a cook provided by East Lake Catering Services (profits going to Meals on Wheels). Last names beginning with A-L, brought salad or side dish, surnames beginning M-Z, brought a dessert.

September 2002 - Professor Bill Atkinson of the University of Colorado spoke about the depositional environments of gold, including a slide show of beautiful gold specimens. Professor Atkinson brings a lifetime of experience and knowledge about economic metals deposits from around the world.

 

October 2002 - Slide show by Amanda Cook on the rich and diverse flora and fauna (plants and animals) of the Florissant Fossil Beds. Amanda has quite a bit of experience in the area and is something of a local expert.

 

November 2002 - "Show and Towel" , the club's annual towel show. Ribbons awarded for the best of; 1) a club trip, 2) a personal trip, 3) lapidary and jewelry arts, 4) the ugliest rock, and 5) best towel, plus junior members' awards in the above categories.

 

December 2002 - Holiday party

 

2001

February 2001 -- snowed out.

March 2001 -- silent auction.

October 2001 -- dinosaur egg slide lecture by Florence MaGovern of The Stone Company and officer elections (at Twin Peaks Mall)

November 2001 -- show and towel

 

December 2001 -- holiday party and gift exchange

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Updated 1/13/13