K i t s a p M i n e r a l a n d G e m S o c i e t y November, 2012 Elected Officers for 2012 President: Nate Schackmann (360) 372-2777 yamaha4nate@yahoo.com Vice President: Leslie Wing (360) 275-5247 wingleka@msn.com Secretary: Linda Shadel (360) 698-1562 mathislr@comcast.net Treasurer: Patt Jolly (360) 876-6618 crazyj@tscnet.com Celebrating 73 Years! The Hard Rock News http://www.kmgs.org A Message From Our President, Nathan Schackmann: We did it! We have successfully nominated club members for every office position in less than twenty minutes! Who would have thought? However, we are not done yet. We still need to vote and elect them into office. This means there is still room for more nominees. If you are interested, be sure to step on up for any position. This includes committee positions including but not limited to, refreshments/kitchen duty and junior leader. Please feel free to volunteer and try one of these positions. There are numerous members willing to help guide you through the task. Make sure to take the time to thank all Inside this issue: nominees! It is because of people like them our awesome club lives on. 2012 Fall Festival of Gems is practically here! Get this thought off President s Message 1 Meeting and Membership Announcements Meeting Minutes 3 Graveyard Point to Hampton Butte Editor s Field Trip Graveyard Point to Hampton Butte continued Graveyard Point to Hampton Butte continued Graveyard Point to Hampton Butte continued November Horoscope, and Birthstones, 2 4 5 6 7 8 the back burner and bring it forward. It is time to get serious. Volunteer for watches, demonstrating, and/or booths. Sign up for a display case or two. Let us make this show another one to remember- on a positive note! With everyone pitching in a little effort, this show will be a piece of cake and should be painless. Drink plenty of water to reduce the chance of cramps and watch out for splinters on the tables and cases. I hope to see you all at the next meeting and the show. Let s make it count! Sincerely, Nathan Schackmann KMGS President November Birthdays and Anniversaries, Refreshment Schedule, Festival of Gems. Christmas Potluck Upcoming Events, Editor Contact Info 9 10
THE HARD RO CK NEWS PAGE 2 November News: Meeting News: Is it Time for Your Membership Renewal? Make sure you ve paid for the THE NEW YEAR! Yearly DUES were due July 1 $10.00 for Adult Membership $20.00 for Family Membership $3.00 for Single Junior You can renew at Club Meetings or mail your renewal to: Bobbie Sack PO Box 3015 Belfair, WA 98528 If your membership has lapsed, this will be your last newsletter. Make sure you re current! Green Hard Rock News Now is it time to change to email copy of the Hard Rock News. Remember it now costs $1.03 for each newsletter mailed out, and that doesn t include the driving or handling. Total annual cost for printed newsletters is about $750 for the 76 people who still receive them. The email copy gives you an added bonus, you will receive your newsletter sooner and all the photos will be in color. During this time of budget shortfalls and energy The November General Meeting will be held on Friday, November 9th at 7:00 PM in the basement day care center (entrance in the back) of Chico Alliance Church, 3670 Chico Way NW, Bremerton, Washington. The Program will be about the Mentoring program club members provide for KMGS. November Board Meeting: The next Board Meeting will be on Thursday, November 15th at 6:30pm at the Chico Alliance Church, in the Juniors Activity room. All Members are encouraged to attend board meetings and participate. Display Table: There will be a Display Table for our November meeting. Please bring in any fossil, mineral, or lapidary-related item of your choice. For something a little different, you could bring in stones with fall colors in them. Also, it's always good to see the results of your recent projects like beading, wire-wrapping, cabbing, faceting, silver working, etc. -Garry Mahan The Hard Rock Beaders The Hard Rock Beaders Beginning Wednesday November 7, they will meet on the first Wednesday of every month, at 6:30 PM at the Steele Creek Mobile Home Park Community Center on Old Military Road, Bremerton. Please call Linda Shadel at 360-698-1562 for information and directions. awareness, it s time you went GREEN? Please send your current email address to kmgsmail@yahoo.com. Most Hard Copy newsletters will Fall Festival of Gems -Linda Shadel be phased out in the next few months. -editor The show will be held November 17th and 18th.
THE HARD ROCK NEWS KITSAP MINERAL AND GEM SOCIETY PAGE 3 GENERAL MEETING 12 OCTOBER 2012 October 12th, 2012. A KMGS junior led the Pledge of Allegiance. The meeting of the Kitsap Mineral and Gem Society was called to order by President, Nathan Schackmann at 7:04 pm. Visitors: No new visitors. Announcements: Delta 18 scroll saw and a jet 14 3 speed bandsaw for sale, contact Del Sack for more information. Print Shop Deluxe for Mac computers only for free from Ruth Brooks-Butler. Nominations were lead by President Nathan Schackmann. Leslie Wing was nominated for president and seconded by Gay Fawcett. In absentee Shane Schackmann was nominated for president and seconded by Heather Schackmann also in absentee. Pat Fagan was nominated for vice president and seconded by Patt Jolly. Stephanie Prado was nominated for treasurer and seconded by Del Sack. Willis Robert was nominated for secretary and seconded by Pat Fagan. Leslie Wing announces club mentors and passed around a list for new member sign-ups. Program: The program was on tumbling and led by Pat Fagan and Leslie Wing. Cheer: Jim McClure is in the hospital for a clogged artery, announced by Dave Reimers. Show and Tell: Jack Eads brought a bucket of rocks, one of the rocks being Azurite with Malachite, donated to raffle. Jan King brought beaded cabochons, one being a polished agate with interesting characteristics that was black and brown, and another being a Meteorite. Leslie Wing also bought a couple wire wrapped stones. Juniors: Juniors were released to Sierra Schackmann for building Ming Trees. Refreshments, raffles and visiting rounded out the evening. Being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 pm. Respectfully submitted, Nathan Schackmann KMGS Chairpersons: Please keep our members informed about what you need from them. Put a note in the newsletter regularly.
THE HARD ROCK NEWS PAGE 4 One Last Fall Trip From Graveyard Point to Hampton Butte For most Rockhounders, October is time to clean up and put away all the tools. Time to give the forests to the hunters and tuck in during the upcoming months to work on the past year s findings. For my wife Karen, and our dog Shadow, it s time for our last rockhounding trip for the year. We love this time of year, the temperatures during the day are only in the 70 s, and the 20-30 degree temps at night have sent most of the snakes and scorpions to bed for the winter. One disadvantage is that there hasn t been any rain, so no new float will be exposed and there have already been hundreds of footprints covering just about everywhere. The challenge is to find where others haven t been, or where they quit. We left Wednesday October 3, planning to drive most of the night on Interstate 84 east towards our final exit in Ontario, Oregon, just across the line from Idaho and about 30 miles northwest of Boise. Our first destination was Succor Creek, Oregon. This is an Oregon State Park that follows Succor Creek through open sage country, then narrows to a steep canyon with several hundred foot Rooster Combs (volcanic pillars and walls of rock). Our camp under the Rooster Combs at Succor Creek A very spectacular area! This area is known for geodes and picture jasper. The geodes weather out of the Rooster Comb formations and the picture jasper is scattered throughout the open sage country. We planned to camp and rockhound here for the next four or five days and make a couple day trips over to Graveyard Point, just 30 miles away. We arrived in the canyon and setup camp at noon on Thursday and spent the rest of the day checking out the area and getting ready for our first trip. Since we setup camp on Thursday, we de- Looking down on camp from the Rooster Comb cided to go to Graveyard Point on Friday and Monday, to let the other rockhounders have the area for the weekend. Friday morning we left for Graveyard Point. Graveyard Point is a mecca for rockhounders, known for it s plumey seam agate, it s open sage country about 2500 ft elevation, and extends for acres and acres. There is a big loop road, almost bordering the area and several connecting roads, along with roads that go More Rooster Combs at Succor Creek
THE HARD ROCK NEWS PAGE 5 right up to the top of the hills where the rock outcroppings are or were uncovered. It has rock outcroppings scattered around and many other hidden under the surface. This area will satisfy the hard rock workers attacking the seams, and the walk around searchers looking for the beautiful float hidden throughout the hills and washes. First we had to visit the Graveyard Point Monument. It was erected by rockhounders here years ago, in memorial to the cemetery that is close by, and yes, there is agate laying around to the keen eye here. From there, we left and went to the main area and decided to start at an old dug rock outcrop midway up a hill with a road right to the agate. Karen stepped out of the truck and was immediately awestruck by the agate laying in chips and pieces all over the The Monument at Graveyard Point places, out came her collecting bag and hoe and she started searching the hillside. This is rattlesnake country and even in October you never reach down to pick up a rock without first flicking it out hoe, pick or rake. One An old dug pit at Graveyard Point year here in early May, I picked over a rock only to find an angry scorpion underneath. I had been to this spot before and this time I wanted to attack the old seam that had been worked by many people over the years. Somehow, I saw things different this time and after removal of a few chunks of parent rock, I exposed a thick, unmolested seam of white and clear plume agate. I managed to remove a good amount including a 14 lb unfractured piece. After all afternoon in this wonderful area, we The open sage country of Graveyard Point finally headed back to camp with a full load of seam agate and float. But we had only visited a couple spots. On Saturday morning, we stayed a Succor Creek and while I was Geodes from the hillside waiting for the sun to hit camp, I climbed up the talus slope above camp under a Rooster Comb. While warming in the sun, I noticed the hillside was littered with agate lined geodes, beautiful broken geodes laid everywhere. I had collected geodes here before and most had mixed dirt center of no real consequence. This was a new unexpected find. After a warming breakfast, we grabbed our collecting bags, hammers and hoes, and made our way up the hill for some serious collecting. As we methodically made our way up and across the hillside, we carefully picked through the assortment of geodes, when Karen made the find of the day, a large piece of
THE HARD ROCK NEWS PAGE 6 Carnelian from the hillside above camp gorgeous green seam agate laying on the slope. As we reassessed our location and surroundings on the hillside, we became aware of pieces of seam agate littering the hillside. Over a millennia it had weathered out of the Rooster Comb walls at the top of the canyons and now just lay waiting for the picking. The hardest part was carrying our stash back down the hill. When we made it all the way up to the base of the rock wall, you could see the seams of agate in the wall and piles at the base as the freeze/thaw cycle eventually broke it loose. After a couple of days here, we had a wide selection of different and multi-colored agate and jasper material for our collection, even banded carnelian. On Monday we went to Graveyard Point again and this time we went to the top of the main hill, the whole top was like one big pit. Again I found an old worked out seam, and again after moving a couple of host rocks, I had access to more of the wonderful old seam agate of blue agate with golden plumes. We continued checking other locations, because every location produces different color of plumes and agate. We finally completed our Graveyard Point trip and headed back to Succor Creek for one more night. We left Succor Creek Tuesday morning and on the way out we realized we didn t get any picture jasper, we stopped at the next road junction and sure enough, a short walk out away from the road, Karen uncovered picture jasper laying in pieces scattered around the area. After selecting a few pieces, we continued on and headed west on Highway 20 across Oregon towards Burns. Our next stop was Glass Buttes for some Obsidian. We spent the rest of that day and the next camped at the main camp near the watering hole. On the next day, we made the loop drive around Little Glass Butte, visiting the Aurora Borealis, the Red Pit, the Rainbow Pit and the Midnight A nice Obsidian nodule of Triple-Flow Lace pit. What a wonderful little day trip exploring the sage and juniper countryside, picking through gorgeous different patterns and colors of obsidian. Blue with gold plumes first slices Karen at the Aurora Borealis area After leaving Glass Buttes on Thursday, we continued west on
THE HARD ROCK NEWS PAGE 7 Highway 20 to MP 51 and Van Lake way. This is the southern entrance to Hampton Butte, it s 12-1/2 miles in to Hampton Butte. Since we first came here years ago, it has became our favorite. We usually like to spend at least a week here, and now even though there was an RV here when we arrived, it left the next day and we had to whole place to ourselves. This place has been dug up. Many areas and many trips by unscrupulous people have devastated this area, trees dug A relaxing camp at Hampton Butte to the roots, holes left uncovered. It was very disappointing to see such a wonderful place treated with such wanton disregard. This is a popular area and we have seen Rockhounding field trips here. We watched in horror as diggers side by side, dug up the whole area. We must say we disagree with Digging like this will surely kill the tree this practice and believe all field trips should be size limited and no one goes home until the area is policed and restored, it is actions like this that will get the rockhounders banned from the woods. If their actions are like this, maybe they should. We devoted some time to restore around the beautiful old Juniper trees. After digging in three different areas within 50 ft of our camp, we were rewarded with some prized green wood A nice collection of green wood casts, even after all these years nothing compares to this wood. At the end of our second day as we prepared to leave the next, a light rain came up and sprinkled the entire countryside, the smell of the fresh juniper and sage is a fragrance that should be bottled, and a nice reminder of our last trip for the fall. We finally got home on Saturday the 13th logging 1433 miles on the truck. To some the money we spent on gas may seem excessive, but we had the opportunity to stay in some very wonderful places and see some beautiful country, and you can t get that staying in a hotel. This isn t refilling your hole! It doesn t matter that I hurt my back unloading and sorting all the rock, it doesn t matter that we have to rearrange where all the new rock will go, what we do have is a new selection of rocks to cut from, and memories that will last a lifetime. We had our fall adventure, our treasure chests are full for now. Now it time to plan the next trip. -editor
THE HARD ROCK NEWS PAGE 8 November Birthstone: Topaz/Citrine- Scorpio (October 24 November 22) Scorpios are the most intense, profound, powerful characters in the zodiac. Even when they appear self-controlled and calm there is a seething intensity of emotional energy under the placid exterior. They are like the volcano not far under the surface of a calm sea, it may burst into eruption at any moment. But those of us who are particularly perceptive will be aware of the harnessed aggression, the immense forcefulness, magnetic intensity, and often strangely hypnotic personality under the tranquil, but watchful composure of Scorpio. In conventional social gatherings they are pleasant to be with, thoughtful in conversation, dignified, and reserved, yet affable and courteous; they sometimes possess penetrating eyes which make their shyer companions feel naked and defenseless before them. In their everyday behavior they give the appearance of being withdrawn from the center of activity, yet those who know them will recognize the watchfulness that is part of their character. They need great self-discipline, because they are able to recognize the qualities in themselves that make them different from other humans, and to know their utterly conventional natures can be used for great good, or great evil. Via astrology-online.com Topaz is the November Birthstone and the Sagittarius Zodiac stone. Blue topaz has been considered a valid alternate birthstone for December, and is given on the 4th anniversary. Golden topaz is given on the 23rd anniversary. Topaz is associated with the values of strength, wisdom, and courage. Topaz is a common gemstone that has been used for centuries in jewelry. Its golden brown to yellow color is classic but is confused with the less valuable citrine, which is sometimes wrongly sold under the name topaz. The blue topaz that is often confused with aquamarine is rarely natural and is produced by irradiating and then heating clear crystals. Topaz is the hardest silicate mineral and one of the hardest minerals in nature. Topaz crystals can reach incredible size of several hundred pounds. Topaz can make very attractive mineral specimens due to their high luster, nice colors and well formed and multifaceted crystals.topaz may be colorless, yellow, orange, red, blue and green. Citrine is the traditional birthstone for November, and is an alternate Zodiac stone for Scorpio. Citrine jewelry is given as the gemstone gift for the 13th and 17th anniversaries. Citrine is associated with the values of hope, cheerfulness, youth, health, and fidelity. Citrine is any quartz crystal or cluster that is yellow or orange in color. Although often cut as a gemstone, citrine is actually somewhat rare in nature. Most citrines on the market have been heat treated. Specimens of low grade, inexpensive amethyst or smoky quartz are often cooked at high temperatures to produce the more profitable orange yellow citrine. Citrines whose colors have been produced by artificial means tend to have much more of an orange or reddish cast than those found in nature, which are usually a pale yellow. Much of the natural citrine may have started out as amethyst but heat from nearby magmatic bodies may have caused the change to citrine. Interestingly, a popular gemstone on the market is a mixture of half amethyst and half citrine and is given the name ametrine. The manufacturer takes an amethyst stone and heats it, which converts it to citrine. He then bombards a portion of the stone with beta radiation which converts citrine back to amethyst. By using a metal mask (possibly in the shape of a heart) to block a portion of the beta radiation, an unusual citrine and amethyst gem is produced. Unfortunately for citrine it is often confused with the more expensive orange-yellow topaz and is at times sold as topaz by unscrupulous dealers. This practice has soured many potential citrine fanciers who see citrine as a fake topaz and not as a legitimate gemstone. The finest citrine gemstones have a pure yellow color that cannot be duplicated by golden topaz, which will always have hues of orange or brown to darken the gem. Via Firemountaingems.com
THE HARD ROCK NEWS PAGE 9 Need Cooks for December 14th Potluck! The Christmas Party/Potlock is at the Sons of Norway Hall in Bremerton on the evening of December 14th. We need volunteers to cook two hams with gravy and two turkeys with gravy. Meat cookers are reimbursed by KMGS for the cost of the meat they bring so please save your receipts and submit to the club Treasurer. We also need two volunteers to bring mashed potatoes. Volunteers need to let President Nathan Schackmann know at the November meeting. More on the potluck in the December newsletter. Refreshment Rotation for 2012-13 We rely on our club members to provide snacks for our General Meetings. Here is our schedule for 2012: If the first letter of your last name begins with a O, P, Q or R, you will be responsible for bringing refreshments for the November meeting. November O, P, Q and R and anyone that was inadvertently missed earlier in the year December Christmas Pot- luck January A B C February J K L March M N April A G U V W May H I X Y Z June E F July-Club Picnic We encourage finger food that can be placed on a napkin. We also encourage healthy snacks as well as those yummy treats that we are all used to having at the meeting! The club provides the beverages. Re- Our 29th Year of the Fall Festival of Gems Kitsap Mineral and Gem Society s first show was held at the Trident Building off Kitsap Way. We had $26.00 in our treasury. We were there several years then moved to CK High School cafeteria before moving to the Kitsap Fairgrounds. Bobbie Sack November Birthdays Bonnie Aubrey (11-10) Lyndsey Barnhill (11-5) Stevie Butterfield (11-28) Duane DeBoer Wilma Eads Sam Holcomb Cassandra Engman (11-24) Dana Farley (11-11) Justin Gniot (11-9) Carl Hendrickson (11-29) Rose Olivo (11-15) James Reid (In Memory Of) Larry Rodgers (11-4) Bob Sahli (11-27) Amy Summers James Thompson Arne Urdahl November Wedding Anniversaries Jason and Rhonda Boddy (11-24)
"The Hard Rock News" Save Those Stamps PO Box 3342 Silverdale, Washington 98383-3342 November, 2012 TO: The Hard Rock News is the Official Publication of the Kitsap Mineral and Gem Society. Meetings are held at 7:00 PM on the second Friday of most months at Chico Alliance Church Daycare (entrance in the back). Address: 3670 Chico Way NW, Bremerton, Washington. The object of the Society is to provide a general dissemination of knowledge pertaining to the earth sciences; to sponsor regular meetings and field trips for the benefit of the membership and to be helpful along these general lines to one another. The Society is social and educational in character. Our club is a member of the Washington State Mineral Council, and the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies. Upcoming Events... Update Your Home Calendars! Fall Festival of Gems November 17th and 18th setup on the 16th Christmas Potluck, December 14th scribesite.home.att.net Editor Contact Information: Gordon Eslava kmgs@q.com Phone: (360) 830-4638 11160 NW Holly Rd Bremerton, WA 98312 Deadline for November 2012 Newsletter: November 25, 2012 Past issues of Hard Rock News are online at www.kmgs.org Feel free to contact me if you want to put an announcement in the newsletter. Keep in mind the monthly deadline and that the newsletter usually arrives around the beginning of each month, so plan your announcement accordingly. Contact information is at left. - Editor