` Island Rock Hounds, Inc. ROCK BOTTOM FACTS May 2012

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1 . ` Island Rock Hounds, Inc. ROCK BOTTOM FACTS May 2012 Website: BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT Cheryl Neary (516) VICE-PRESIDENT Nancy Colburn (516) RECORDING SECRETARY Peg Stein (516) TREASURER Nancy Walordy (516) CORRESPONDING SECRETARY Pat O Rourke (516) MEMBER AT LARGE Karen Ottendorfer (718) FIELD TRIPS Janice Kowalski (516) BULLETIN EDITOR Cheryl Neary (516) ciervo.neary@gmail.com EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE SHOW CHAIRPERSON(S) Cheryl Neary (516) Janice Kowalski (516) DEALER CHAIRPERSON Nancy Colburn (516) MEMBERSHIP Janet Zenk (631) EDUCATION Jonathan Schaffer (516) HISTORIAN Nancy Colburn (516) LIBRARIANS Isabel & Howie Katz (516) PROPERTY Dave Cascio (516) HOSPITALITY (Monthly) Mary Haugh Bellmore Memorial Library 2288 Bedford Avenue Bellmore, NY (516) islandrockhounds@hotmail.com Hello Fellow Rockhounds, President s Message I had a great time at Wildacres! I did think about everyone at one point and was wondering how the evening project was turning out for all participants. Thanks to Marty Besso for arranging the activity hope all enjoyed telling tine on their new clocks! Please read page 4 to find out all about my recent Wildacres trip. I m already planning on going next Spring and would love to have your company! We will be having a post show meeting at 7:00 pm prior to our regular meeting. Please come to the meeting a share your comments and critiques. In addition, we will briefly discuss the 2013 Joint Show. Please see page 6 for more information. This show will be held at Sheraton Long Island the first weekend in June! This month we also will be voting for next year s Board of Directors. I always think that if you do not attend this meeting that we should be able to vote you in for a position- What a novel idea! Following the elections, Tom Caggiano of Lost World Fossils will be our guest speaker as he takes us out to the Tucson show. Do not miss this exciting evening! Cheryl Neary, President Inside This Issue Upcoming Events. Page 2 Birthday Wishes/Picnic...Page 2 Between a Rock & a Hard Place.. Page 3 Tidbits Page 4 On the Road Again...Page 5 How to Clean Your Jewelry.Page 5 Slate of Nominations/ 2013 Show Chairs Page 7

2 2012 UPCOMING EVENTS June :00-5:00 July 21 July :00-5:00 August 11 September 8 9-4:00 September Celinka Lady of Mt. Carmel, Patchogue NY Picnic Hecksher State Park 31 st Annual Gem, Mineral Jewelry & Fossil Show Mattituck Cutchogue High School Springfield Bus Trip $39.00/person- Need 50% nonrefundable deposit- See Janice (Host: LIMAGS) Toveco-Tripp Quarry Pegmatite Minerals (Plan on staying over at least Friday night) New Hampshire Mineral Collecting Limit to 1 st 22 people (Host- LIMAGS EFMLS Harrisburg, Pa S e Rita Bartenbach Jennie Cascio Janice Kowalski Cheryl Neary Joan Ott Happy Birthday ` To Our May Babes! Picnic Hecksher State Park! Saturday, July 21 st (Rain date: Sunday, July 22 nd ) Field 1@ 11:00am Please note the change in month! Plan on bringing chairs and a dish to share. Notify Roberta Besso with your choice of ! 2

3 BETWEEN A ROCK & A HARD PLACE: A SYNOPSIS OF APRIL S MEETING: Marty Besso demonstrated the art of making time fly! Beautiful agate slabs were utilized to make clocks. Everyone who had participated enjoyed the evening. NEW BUSINESS: MAY MEETING: 05/09/12 Lecture by Tom Caggiano of Lost World Fossils Tom will be taking us on a trip to Tucson, Arizona to visit the world renowned show! So come on down and enjoy the evening presentation. (I say field trip next year?) Also, this month we vote for the new Board of Directors. See the slate on page 4. Thanks to Nancy Colburn for providing the refreshments in April!!! At our last meeting we spoke about finding a new home for the library, which the Katz s have housed for several years. Due to technology changes over the years, it is now possible to retrieve information over the internet. Due to the lack of members utilizing the library, it has been decided that we will auction the books to members. Beth has volunteered to research the value of the books (thanks to the internet!) At our June auction, we will be auctioning the books separately- for those still interested in reading a real book. I m sure many of the books will not be available for the on-line books. AS A REMINDER: Please wear your IRH badge at the meetings! We have new members and it would help everyone with matching the names with the faces! Also, as an incentive, if you wear our badge you will be eligible for an additional chance to win the monthly raffle. If you misplaced your badge, the cost of the replacement badge is $1.00. Please speak to Janet Zenk (Membership). AUCTION: The auction will take place next month, with viewing at 7:30pm. If you have any earth science objects to donate, pleasebring to the May meeting or call Cheryl and inform her of the object to be donated! Cheryl Neary Editor, Island Rockhounds Newsletter ciervo.neary@gmail.com 3

4 T Tidbits! mountains, bnmbjmhbjkhjkgjkhjk we have a good view of the budding rhododendrons! FffFFF Wildacres My Wildacres adventure began Monday evening, as I traveled the LIRR to Penn Station to wait for my Amtrak train to Richmond Va. The Amtrak cost me less money than I would have paid filling my gas tank and the tolls! In Richmond, my sister-in-law Diane met me and we began a beautiful drive to the hills of North Carolina (I ll speak about this later!).. As we approached the town of Little Switzerland the road twists and turns and we follow an 18 wheeler around the curves- me holding my breath as the truck stretches itself onto the opposing lane- thankful that no cars were approaching from the other side! The truck continues ahead as we turned off at the sign welcoming us to Wildacres Retreat. We slowly drive up to the mountaintop and are welcomed by the many participants, many of A whom returned for another year. The air so fresh, wraps around us to welcome us to this quiet refuge. The wind softly blows to remind us that spring is still around the corner. Diane eager to see our room heads for the lodge. Although our room is not overlooking the We arrived just in time for the orientation and meet the instructors. I was enrolled in glass engraving and etching for the first two days and glass bead making for the last two days. Diane was enrolled in the silversmith class. The days are full of activity. The mornings start with a wonderful breakfast, followed by a lecture by the guest speaker, Jeff Scovil. Jeff is a renowned photographer of rocks, minerals, fossils and jewelry. Many of his photographs are viewed in the magazine Rocks and Minerals. After the morning lecture we attend the classes followed by a lunch hour, then class time followed by dinner time and an evening lecture, or auction or phun night. In between we do get a few minutes to enjoy the surroundings, enjoy the fellow participants and yes, the solitude! Now back to the mountains of North Carolina. North Carolina's mountains contribute to three primary ranges: the Black, Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Mt. Mitchell, at 6,684 feet, is the highest mountain in the eastern United States. The Uwharrie Mountains in Montgomery County are thought to be the oldest mountains in North America and are among the oldest in the world at more than 600 million years old. Schedule : June 13- Annual Auction Bring your money!!!!! 4

5 On The Road Again Lewis & Clark Trail Lewis and Clark traveled 8,000 miles in three years. They named almost two-thirds of the American continent. Lewis & Clark impacted the new nation and that of future generations. (Article will be printed in June newsletter!) Nancy Colburn submitted this article: How to Clean Your Jewelry at Home: (Woman s Day) Find out the proper way to make your trinkets sparkle By Amanda Greene A quick Web search will turn up hundreds of different methods for cleaning your jewelry like using toothpaste to make diamonds sparkle, beer to shine gold and ketchup to polish silver. These are exactly the kind of clever tricks you d love to try just not on your own jewelry. So instead of experimenting with Grandma s heirlooms, we talked to the pros to find out how to safely care for your jewelry. Pearls When pearls are visibly dirty, wash them in 1 teaspoon of Woolite diluted in 1 quart of water, says Kathy Higginbotham, Silpada Designs director of quality control. Immerse them for 10 to 15 seconds, wipe with a soft cotton cloth and lay flat to dry. Store them in a cotton bag never plastic separate from other jewelry. To ensure that they stay lustrous, think outside the jewelry box: wearing them regularly will keep them polished, thanks to your body s natural oils. When you take them off, wipe them with a dry cotton cloth. Diamonds The best way to clean a diamond is with warm soapy water and a soft-bristle brush or old toothbrush, says Loretta Castro, vice president and international jewelry buyer for Jewelry Television. Pat it dry with a soft cloth. You may have heard that using toothpaste gets your diamond to sparkle; it s not a great idea, says Castro. While toothpaste won t harm the diamond, it is abrasive enough to harm the softer metals next to the diamond, like silver, so it is not recommended. Gold Always remove gold jewelry before showering or cleaning because soap and chemicals can cause a film to form on karat gold, which makes it appear dull and dingy, says Castro. While there are plenty of commercial cleaners available, it s just as effective to clean gold with what you already have. For untarnished jewelry, mix a few drops of mild dish detergent with warm water, and scrub with a soft-bristle toothbrush. If it s tarnished, mix a few drops of ammonia into soapy water, submerge the jewelry and carefully brush with a soft-bristle toothbrush. Rinse it with lukewarm water and allow it to dry. 5

6 Avoiding chlorine is key to keeping gold jewelry looking good. Chlorine at high temperatures, like in a hot tub, can permanently damage or discolor your gold jewelry, says Castoro. Sterling Silver Sterling silver is a soft metal that can scratch easily, says Higginbotham. Scrubbing it or using a cloth with even the slightest abrasiveness will harm the surface. She advises using a silver polishing cloth or a very soft, clean sponge with no residue to polish and get rid of tarnish. Jewelry with a Textured Surface A brass brush, which can be found in the paint department of a hardware store, with soapy water works especially well on textured 14 karat gold jewelry, says Nantucket-based jeweler Jessica Hicks. The tiny bristles get in the grooved surface to clean. The brass metal of the bristles help give it a nice satin polished look. For silver jewelry with an intricate design, use a silver-cleaning paste to get into the grooves, and wipe with a soft, clean cloth. Turquoise According to Carly Wickell, author of About.com s Guide to Jewelry, you should clean your turquoise in warm, sudsy water and dry it immediately with a soft cloth. Don t submerge the stone in water it is very porous and liquids can easily seep in and cause discoloration. Avoid commercial jewelry cleansers, as they can also discolor the stone Note: While commercial cleaners, including dip treatments, often work on most jewelry, our experts agree that products you have around the house will be just as effective no need to run out and buy anything. As for the ketchup, beer and other grocery store stand-ins? None of our experts endorse them, but we haven t found any evidence that they don t work. Dear Cheryl, This is the I received from the Sunday Grand Prize Winner: Thanks again for dropping off our prize - it has a place of honor in our living room. We look forward to attending the Rockhounds show again next year. Best, Patti Miller PS I meant to tell you bow much my children loved the scavenger hunt (and appreciated the generous number of prizes they received!). What a great way to get kids involved in learning about rocks and minerals - bravo! 6

7 Nominations: Board of Directors is the same Slate as this year with the exception of: Corresponding Secretary: Nomination: Michael Nedbalak The May Meeting is our annual business meeting in which the Board of Directors is voted by you! 2013 Show This show is a joint show hosted by IRH and SGMC. Each chair has a representative from each club. Wanted! 2013 Show Chairperson for the following open positions: Security Chair. Demonstrator Chair Children Activities Chair Showcase Chair Club Table Chair Please see Cheryl if interested. This is a commitment! We will be having a minimum of (4) meetings, which you will be expected to attend. You will need to attend the show min. of one full day. There is a tentative meeting scheduled for either Tuesday, May 29 th or Wednesday, May 30 th at the LI Sheraton- off Exit 53 of the LIE. 7