THE TULIP CITY CONGLOMERATE

Transcription

1 THE TULIP CITY CONGLOMERATE Bulletin of the Tulip City Gem & Mineral Club, PO Box 2082, Holland, MI Website: Volume 49, Edition 7 Picnic/Board/General Meeting 1p Jul 30, 2016 Sherwood's,South Haven, MI Ishpeming, MI Aug 6, 2016 Annual Show Keweenaw Peninsula, MI Aug 9-13, 2016 Keweenaw Week 4th Annual Tailgate Holland, MI Aug 13, 2016 Sam's Club Lot Rice Lake, WI Aug 13-14, 2016 Annual Show Board Meeting Aug 17, 2016 HMCC, Zeeland, MI South Bend, IN Aug 19-21, 2016 MWF Convention & Show Italics are non-club events. This Edition July Picnic/Meeting... p1 Show Corner... p1 Club Calendar/Board... p2 Silent Auction/Board Positions. p2 Articles/Condolences/Herrick... p2 Displays Requested... p3 Ishpeming/Thank You/DVDs... p3 Display Case Workday/Shirts... p4 End of an Era... p5 Joe Moran Scholarship... p6 Clement Museum & Trip... p7 Agate Excitement... p8 Pics/About Us... p9-10 Saturday, July 30th Picnic/Meeting! This summer's Picnic/General Meeting will be hosted by Bob and Julia Sherwood at their home on 966 Lake Street, South Haven. Please arrive anytime after 1pm to enjoy swimming, rock hunting, sunning and getting acquainted. Bring lawn chairs if convenient, some are available. At 4:30pm, there will be a brief Board Meeting. At 5:00pm, there will be a very brief General Meeting. At 5:30pm, the potluck supper begins. Please bring a dish to share, and base the quantity on the size of YOUR group. And, don't forget your own table service: plates and utensils. The Club will furnish lemonade, water and coffee. Bring other beverages if you desire. 9:07pm Sunset! A beautiful sight over the Lake. Directions: I-196/US31 Exit 26. (Pullmand Rd.) Drive 1mi W to Blue Star Hwy. Turn N. (right) at stop sign, go to 1 st street on left (Lake St.), go nearly to the lake, 966 is on the left (rocks everywhere!). Parking is limited, so please drive to the house to drop off people, food and chairs, before being directed to your parking area. Please observe the 5 MPH speed limit. Show Corner The show is coming up in less than 2 months! Final plans are coming together and the Show Committee is excited the new things we're doing. We need all Club Members to help to make the Show a success, so please consider what area you would prefer to help, and what times you are available. Sign-ups will begin during the picnic on July 30. In addition to volunteering for a few hours, show off some of your collection by creating a display! This year's theme is Field Trips ROCK! Finally, if you have rocks you can donate to Club Sales, please contact Bob Sinke, and arrange to get it to him so that it can be sorted before the show. Let's make this an awesome show! Sue Goedert

2 Page: 2 Show Silent Auction Material Club Calendar Aug 24 (Wed) Show Meeting, 7p, HMCC, Zeeland, MI Aug 27 (Sat) Display Case Workday Plumert's Compound Aug Peoria, IL Annual Show Sept 9-11 Toledo, OH Annual Show Sep Tulip City Gem and Mineral Show Sep Lincoln, MO Annual Show Sep Howell, MI Annual Show Sep Oshkosh, WI Annual Show Sep Joplin, MO Annual Show Sep 24 Alpena Field Trip, Alpena, MI Sep Traverse City, MI Annual Show Oct 1-2 Springfield, IL Annual Show Oct 1-2 Jefferson, WI Annual Show Oct 8-9 Fairfield, IA Annual Show Oct 12 (Wed) Board Meeting, 7p, HMCC Oct Fort Wayne, IN Annual Show Oct 15 Ben E. Clement Field Trip, Marion KY (Tentative) Oct Warren, MI Annual Show Oct Clio, MI Annual Show Oct Mason, MI Annual Show Oct 26 (Wed) General Meeting 7p, HMCC Nov 5 (Sat) Blue Lake Field Trip (Vondalee's) Nov 16 (Wed) Board Meeting, 7p, HMCC Nov 30 (Wed) General Meeting, 7p, HMCC Dec 7 (Wed) Board Meeting, 7p, HMCC Dec 21 (Wed) General Meeting, 7p, HMCC The "HMCC" is the Howard Miller Community Center, located at 14 South Church Street, Zeeland, MI Italic listings are non-club events. Major source material was from: Officers and Board of Directors President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Fld Trip Coord. Historian Jr. Club Coord. Jr. Club Coord. Liaison Membership Newsletter Ed. Show Coord Social Coord. Dir. at Large Dir. at Large Bob Sherwood Open Krystin Grenon Julia Sherwood Bob Sinke Betty Hoekstra Rick Smith Linda Winkelmann Linda Plumert Christine Silich Rudy Silich Sue Goedert Open Patti DeGroot Art Edson bobandjulia@accn.org klgrenon@gmail.com bobandjulia@accn.org bobsinke@comcast.net kbhoek@att.net smithr@hope.edu lindawinkelmann@att.net rlplumert@gmail.com CSDS77@icloud.com tulipcitygemnews@charter.net sonbeams2000@yahoo.com dgrootd@sbcglobal.net art@aedson.com For 2016, there are fourteen (14) positions, which have one vote each. There are fourteen (14) persons on the Board (two persons share one position, and one position is open). If you plan on putting items in this years Silent Auction, please drop it off at the Soccer Stop before noon on Friday. Please attach a bid slip securely to each item, or place your item with a bid slip in a baggie or box (bid slips are available on our web site). Please place all of your items in a cardboard box, wooden box or plastic tote with your last name clearly printed on the end. Door Prizes: We could use a few new items. It would be great if everyone bringing items to the silent auction could set aside two items for door prizes. Thanks for your help! Steve Miller Board Positions Open The Social Coordinator Position and Vice President's position are OPEN. If you are interested, please contact any Board Member. Articles Articles from Club members are always welcome! Exercise your penmanship (or typing skills!) Please submit them to tulipcitygemnews@charter.net. Condolences The Club would like to extend its condolences to C.H. Falstad on the passing of his mother.our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. Herrick Fest Bob, Julia, Dan, Chris, Rudy, Deb, Rick, Linda, Betty and Ken manned a booth in Kollen Park in Holland as part of Herrick Fest, and provided information about the Club, our Sept. Show and the August Tailgate to the public. We distributed 255 bagged specimens of Arizona chalcedony to the kids.

3 Page:3 Show Displays Requested The theme of our Show this year is Field Trips ROCK!. Almost everyone in our club had gone on some kind of field trip. By making a display for the show of your favorite field trip, you can show the public how much you enjoy rock collecting and field trips. Displays are easy and fun to make. We will give you all the information and help that you may want or need to put it together. If you would prefer to make a display that does not have a 'field trip' theme, that would be fine. Please sign up at our next meeting or call Linda Plumert at Go find the rocks that are stored in boxes in the garage or basement. We need your help to make our show a success. Linda Plumert Field Trip to Ishpeming, August 4-7 Come and expand your collections with Jaspilite, Specular Hematite, Verde Antique Marble, Kona Dolomite, and more! We plan to stay at Wonderland Motel near Ishpeming, # Book your rooms early; price for 2 persons, queen is $61.48 tax inc./day Be advised there is a Shriners Convention in town that week and many motels are already booked full. There are several small motels in the Ishpeming/ Marquette still available at this time. In addition to the Ishpeming Show (August 6), we plan to collect at the Republic Mine ($ fee), Champion Mine, Lindberg Quarry (small fee), Verde Antique Marble site, Incline Mine, Jackson Pit, & Doug Trudell s Lapidary workshop. Suggest bringing: Safety glasses, hard hat, safety vest, substantial footwear, (all mandatory at the Republic Mine and Lindberg Quarry), rock pick, crack hammer, chisels, pry bar, spray bottle, garden claw, Insect repellant, sunscreen, light colored clothing, wide brim hat, fresh water, canned food for Friday collecting, gas up cars by Friday am, and t.p. for emergencies. Note: Seaman Museum is closed on Sunday! If your additional plans are to visit the new facility suggest travelling up on the 3rd and visiting on the 4th before the trip activities begin. Detailed information including trip itinerary is available from Bob Sherwoodbobandjulia@accn.org or Bob Sinke- bobsinke@comcast.net Agate Expo DVDs DVDs will soon be available from the 2016 Agate Expo held in Cedarburg, WI. The DVDs will be comprised of a Symposium Set, Exhibit Hall Set, Show Talks Set, and Show Highlights Set, which include the Art Gala and Banquet. Sets can be pre-ordered individually or as a complete set. DVD: thegemshop.com/collections/publications-1 Souvenirs:

4 Page:4 Display Case Work Day On August 27th, you are invited to the Plumert's 'rural compound' to assist in inspecting and repairing the Club's inventory of display cases. These cases are over 40 years old, and have not really been repaired or upgraded (other than the occasional broken glass) in that time. They were constructed after the Club's first Show in Dan DeGroot has volunteered to inspect/review/improve the light bars. Please speak to Bob Sherwood, or Ray Plumert for more information. The four photos below show the smaller displays being constructed. CLUB SHIRTS FOR SALE Pre-paid orders for Club Shirts will be taken at the July Picnic as well as the General Meetings on August 31, Delivery will be at the Show setup in September Wearing the shirts during the Show and at other Club events, helps the public to identify members of the Club. It also helps us to spot one another across the crowded Show floor! Sizes & prices: Crew neck: Sm. to 1X = $8.75 / 2X to 5X = $11.00 Polo shirt: Sm. to 1X = $13.00 / 2X to 5X = $15.50

5 Page: 5 The End of an Era by Kreigh Tomazewski (reprinted from the MWF News June 2016 Issue No. 553) Fifty one years ago the Indian Mounds Rock Club of Wyoming, Michigan, received its Charter from the Midwest Foundation in a ceremony held 85 feet underground in the Alabastine Gypsum Mine. After 51 years of access for our club, the mine owner is closing the mine. The mine was started in 1908 and the shaft was completed in For about 35 years, the miners came in each morning to clear the rubble from the previous night's blasting, and spent the afternoon drilling holes for the current day s blasting. At the end of the day, the holes would be loaded with dynamite and touched off, and the dust was allowed to settle overnight. They came back in the next morning and started all over again. The highest level of automation was hydraulic drills. They had help from donkeys pulling carts on rails to move the gypsum; the gangue was hand stacked on the sides of emptied tunnels/rooms. Wallboard had not been invented yet; the mine output went into Alabastine Paint. The gypsum was crushed and mixed with paint to make paint that sparkled from the selenite crystals once it dried. The lack of automation (and some bad management) finally caused the mine to fail in the 1940s. The current owner s family bought the mine and property shortly afterwards and turned it into a food warehousing business. The natural 50 degree mine was great for food storage. Rock is a good insulator and they could freeze a tunnel to 0 degrees, and it would take a year before it reached 32 degrees. Over the years, they expanded into records storage and even hosted a secure data center underground. The business uses about 1/3 of the six miles of tunnels and rooms in the mine. Our club has had access to the remaining 2/3 of the mine that does not have cement floors or lights. They used to give tours of the mine, and one employee led them all day. Every hour of the day school busses would arrive full of school kids, Boy and Girl Scouts, Sunday school classes, and every other group you could think of. They would get a half-hour tour of the facility, ending with fifteen minutes of collecting in a dead-end tunnel. This went on eight hours a day, six days a week, at $2 per child, for almost 40 years. Everyone in the Grand Rapids area had been to the gypsum mine as a kid, from the 50s to the 80s (my first visit was in 1960). In the 1990s, the liability insurance rates finally forced the mine owner to close the mine to public access. The Geology Departments at the local colleges, and our club, pressed the owner to give us restricted access. It took a few years, but we worked it out on a handshake. As Trip Chairman for my club, I have had the honor of taking up to 40 currently affiliated rockhounds into the mine every other month for six hours of collecting. We would show up on our arranged date, sign club waivers, pay a $3 access fee (to nominally cover the cost of running the elevator), and enter through the door they left unlocked for us. We ran the elevator and walked through the warehouse to the mine, where we had unlimited access for six hours. We were allowed take out as much as we could carry, in as many trips as we wanted, as long as we only used hand tools, and wore a clean pair of shoes when going through the warehouse. Yes, I did give a safety lecture. Over our 51 years of access, there have been occasional ceiling collapses years apart (caused by groundwater seep) that have blocked access to parts of some tunnels/rooms. The mine is basically arranged as a large square of main tunnels, with side tunnels/rooms off both sides of the north/south main tunnels (and a lot of random connections between side tunnels/rooms). The past 18 months has seen three significant collapses, two of them associated with an earthquake in nearby Kalamazoo, Michigan. I grew concerned about safety and contacted the mine owner and the Geology Department at Grand Valley University about the collapses (there seemed to be a paper waiting to be written and wondered if they were on it already). It ended up with a trip into the mine with the owner and five Ph.D. Geologists to assess the recent collapses. We were able to confirm there was no throw, so the failures did not occur during the earthquake. Two collapses were due to weakening of the bedding planes during the quake, but occurred after the earthquake. The third was due to groundwater seep. For years, the mine owner has been under extreme pressure from his insurance company and lawyer to stop all public access. The public records storage people, and the data center, are also concerned about public access. This warehouse is a major component in the food supply chain, and that also generates security concerns about public access. The recent collapses tipped the scale. As far as I have been able to find, our club was the only one in the world that has had regular access to an underground mine in the past five years. We knew that access would end someday. I have been amazed that we have had unlimited access to the mine, on a handshake, for so many years. The mine owner has graciously allowed our club to take the last two trips we had scheduled after announcing the closure. I understand his desire to make sure any potential future injury in the mine occurs under Workman s Comp. I went to the mine at 9:00 a.m. to wait for the 40 attendees of this next-to-the-last visit. As expected, the door was open and there were no employees in sight. My usual trip has included seven clubs, but today I only had three; most of those attending were from my club. We went in as a group at 10:00, but needed five elevator trips to shuttle everyone and their carts, buckets, and hammers (the mine owner prefers we use the small elevator instead of the big freight elevator). Once down, I gave my usual safety lecture laced with some of the history of the mine. Then it was through the warehouse part of the mine (about 1/3 of the mine s six miles of tunnels) to the unfinished portion we collect in. Time to change from shoes to boots, turn on our lights, and head into the darkness. We need clean shoes to go back through the warehouse part so we don t track the sticky muck that is shale enhanced drywall mud on the nice clean concrete floors. (Continued on Page 7)

6 Page: 6 Joe Moran Geology Scholarship Established by the Tulip City Gem & Mineral Club The Tulip City Gem & Mineral Club of Holland has recently developed an additional scholarship named for our Club s founder, Joe Moran, who as Director of the Recreation Department, City of Holland, established the Club in This new scholarship recognizes Junior Club graduating high school seniors who plan a career in Geology or a related Earth Science field. Since 1975, the Club has provided scholarships to geology majors at Grand Valley State University and Hope College. All scholarships are made possible through proceeds from the Club s show. For 2016, the Joe Moran Geology Scholarship recipients are Marcus Brinks, a graduate of Holland Christian High School, and Virginia Cistero, a graduate of West Ottawa High School. Both have been active in the Junior Club for a number of years and their parents have been involved as well. Each will receive $500 to use toward their college education in geology. For many years, Marcus and his father, Kurt, have been hooked on searching for fossils in Florida during Christmas vacation. At age eleven, he found his first mammoth tooth in a Florida quarry. For the past seven years he has participated in Science Olympiad. As a Junior, he placed first in the Fossil category and as a senior, took second place at Regionals in Geographical Mapping and Hydrogeology. Marcus credits the Club for expanding his interest and knowledge of rocks, minerals and fossils, and opportunities to associate with members with similar interests. Marcus will attend Hope College this fall to study Geology and Environmental Engineering. Virginia is looking forward to a career as a Geophysicist or a Geo-engineer. It is obvious from her letter to the Board of Directors she has given considered thought to her field of study and what she wants to do as a career. As a geophysicist she could assess geologic hazards, look at water aquifers under the crusts to determine potential sources of contamination. Or she might pursue her ultimate dream, study seismic and magnetic activity of Earth with the higher purpose of better understanding the planets in our solar system. What she most likes about geology is the way it can be used to help others by finding accessible resources, keeping water clean, and saving lives through geological analyses. Virginia will begin her studies at Michigan Tech in Geological Engineering. Thanks to the influence of our Club founder, Joe Moran, the Club for many years held its meetings in the Holland Civic Center and since 1971 has hosted an annual Gem & Mineral Show there under the auspices of the Recreation Department. The City s planned renovation of the facility required the Club to move at least temporarily to a new location. This year, the Show is being held at the Soccer Stop Sportsplex in Holland on September 16, 17, and 18. Agate Creek, Queensland, Australia Agates My camera did not capture the label :(

7 Page: 7 October Field Trip to the Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum and Private Dig A special field trip is planned to Marion Kentucky on Saturday, October 15, 2016 to visit the museum and collect fluorite and related minerals. Some are fluorescent under black lights. The cost will be $25.00 per person. The collecting fee will be collected in advance at the time you sign up with me. This trip is open to ages 7 and above. We plan to meet at the museum at 9:00am (to sign waiver forms) and then travel about 15 minutes to the collecting site. This trip will be available if at least 15 members sign up, as there is a minimum cost for this special trip. Required equipment includes safety glasses and covered toe shoes/boots. Suggested additions: Geologists picks, chisels, sun screen, insect repellent, appropriate clothing. gloves, rain gear, water, buckets, lunch, and a change of clothes as the fluorite is contained within a red clay matrix. The distance from Holland is approximately 470 miles and about 8 hours driving time. I suggest staying at the America s Best Value Inn, located about 20 miles East of Marion in the town of Princeton KY. (Speak with Christine or Rudy Silich for additional information the hotel.) As double occupancy rooms with wifi, microwave, refrigerator, television,& cont. bkfst. are available for about $60.00 per room. You must be a current member and contact me at the below number prior to October 1,2016 if you plan to go. If you sign up and must cancel, let me know of your change of plans by the same date as I must let our guide and hosts know how many are coming. Bob Sinke, Field Trip Chair bobsinke@comcast.net or Rudy at the Fluorite site in Kentucky. One of many displays at the Clement Museum. The End of an Era (continued from Page 5) Most people made several trips back to the surface to empty their buckets or carts into their vehicles so they could continue collecting. I estimated the average rockhound took out over 250 pounds today, against the mine s variable gravity (the closer you get to the elevator the heavier the rocks get). Alabaster in white and salmon. White and red pencil selenite. Two pockets with one inch double terminated water clear selenite crystals were found. And fish and shark coprolites from the shale layer at the top of the 12 foot thick gypsum bed. We also had lunch downstairs (food tastes better underground). All too soon it was 3:30 and time to pack it out so we would be off the property by 4:00. Time to take a few final photographs and say Good-Bye to an old friend. It was a good ride while it lasted.

8 Page: 8 AGATE EXCITEMENT by Shari Luttikhuizen The Agate expo was held in Cedarsburg, Wisconsin from July 7 10, I heard about it over a year and a half ago, and immediately planned to attend. There had only been 2 other ones before this one, and they are held 4 years apart. Who knows where the next one would be? I just had to go. There were about 20 members from the club who made the trip. Rance Westover found a great deal on a hotel a short distance from Cedarsburg, Wisconsin. Many of us showed up early. It started on Thursday with a symposium, a day of talks from agate experts all over the world. I decided to skip this day, the cost was $125 per person, and the board had already announced that they were going to buy the DVD so we could hear the talks later. Besides, $125 would buy a lot of agates, right? Thursday I headed to a local beach with Sue and Jerry Goedert, and Rudy and Christine Silich. We found a lot of pretty glacial till, and a few fossils. Other members decided to drive to Madison, Wisconsin and look up a few rock shops. We all met up for dinner, then afterwards the hotel had a small conference room where we all showed off what we had bought or found. Friday the show opened, and it was amazing! There were 45 vendors, and there was something for everyone. Some of the vendors specialized in selling cabachons and jewelry, others carried agates from Germany, Argentina, Australia, and all over. I saw Thundereggs, petrified wood, fairburn agates and some really cool dino bone with agates in the small cells. And of course, there were Lake Superior Agates! Agates with unbelievable colors and patterns, polished or rough, or even slabs. There were books, posters, hats, mugs, something for everyone. The vendors were all quite friendly, and my daughter and I had a lot of laughs, and learned a lot. We bought a few posters from Doug Moore, the gentleman who spoke at our banquet in April, and some people were getting their picture taken with Scott Wolter, the author of many Lake Superior Agate books, and who had a TV show specializing in solving mysteries from our past using geology. Visiting the exhibit hall was time well spent. It contained 128 cases of the most amazing (and coveted) agates, jaspers, agatized corals, from all parts of the world. I would stop by a case and be awestruck by the beauty and perfection of Mexican agates, then move on to the next case and be just as amazed. Of course, I found a few new types of agates I hadn t heard of before, and headed back to the vendors to try and find some. One of the best parts of going to the expo was getting to know some of our fellow members of TCGMC. We often would arrange a place to meet for dinner, and then after, whoever wanted to, could hang out in the conference room, share stories, show off treasures, and relax. I think I will start to save up for the next Agate Expo! See you there! Another Wonderful display at the Agate Expo. Christine, Rudy and Shari are not stoned.(agated?)

9 Page: 9 More Agate Expo Photos (and one from KY) Large agatized specimens. Backyard of The Gem Shop Polyhedrals. Agated Kevin Ponzio Spheres with eye agates. Free Car Ferry to Cave-In-Rock Carnelian at The Gem Shop

10 To become a member, complete the form at Our club is a non-profit organization sponsored by the Holland Recreation Department. it is a member of the Midwest Federation and the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies. The general purpose of this club is to develop interest in and increased knowledge of minerals, rocks, gems, fossils, and the lapidary arts. The objectives of this club shall be promoted whenever Possible, through family participation. The deadline for submissions is 5p the Thursday after the Board Meeting. Advertising rates for club members are: $5 for business card size, $10 for ¼ page, $15 for ½ page, $30 for full page. non-member rates are double. Make check payable To: TCG&M with ad copy to Editor. Gypsum and alabaster, from Grand Rapids Meetings are held monthly on the last Wednesday of the month at the Howard Miller Community Center, 14 S. Church Street, Seeland, MI at 7pm, unless announced otherwise in the TULIP CITY CONGLOMERATE. Junior Club welcomes young rockhounds and meets separately during the meeting. 416 West Mae Rose Ave Holland, MI Rudy Silich, Editor