President s Message. Marge Conley President PAGE 1

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1 P.O. Box 8443 Boise, Idaho VOL 69 NO 10 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Marge Conley President Willa Renken 1st Vice President Phil Neuhoff 2nd Vice President RECORDING SECRETARY Jason Madsen Joe Nielson Ed Moser Terry Tomberlin Twila Gallaher Dan Phillips TREASURER Kathy Griffin NFMS DIRECTOR Charles McCreath EDITOR Doug Renken CLUB WEB SITE President s Message We will be voting at the November meeting for new board members. The nominees biographical sketches are included in this issue. Get acquainted with the ones who are in the running and elect those members that you feel will do the best job for what you want your club to do. This is one way you can have a say in how you want things to be so take an interest in this. I m sure all of you who were able to attend last month s meeting thoroughly enjoyed the presentation by Gene and Brent Stewart. It was one of the best, most interesting I have ever attended. If you want more information check Stewart s web site. If you couldn t attend, you really missed a very good program. November meeting is the last chance to get your lottery ticket for the new Gem State license plate. We will be drawing at the November meeting before the refreshments so get your tickets early at the meeting and be ready! I mentioned the Project of the Year in my last month s message. It is coming up very fast and all you talented people, and the ones who don t think you are talented, should be ready to display your works so the members can vote on your project. We will be doing this in December so you have about four weeks to get ready. There is an auction this month. Remember, it helps pay for our banquet. Try to bring some nice pieces of rock for the auction for all to share. This is a big help with our banquet expenses and everyone likes to find an unsuspected treasurer. REMINDER: DUES ARE DUE!! Get your money in to Kathy Griffin, our Treasurer, as fast as you can. You will not receive The Grindings after the first of the year if you are not a current member. Sincerely, Marge Conley President PAGE 1

2 MINUTES OF THE IDAHO GEM CLUB GENERAL MEETING OCTOBER 20, 2009 Marge Conley called the meeting to order at 7:30. Guests that attended were Valeri Estabrook, Richard Bradshaw, and Ben Bowlden. Door prizes were won by Ron Mummy, Shirley McCreath, Clarence Buersmeyer, Ferman Amsel, Earl Allen, Sharon Allen, Steve Ostrander, Carl Woodland, Debora Burns, Mary Ostrander, Robert Turner, Richard Bradshaw, Ben Bowlden, Gary Philips, Bill Marsh, Sandy Blodgett, Jim Clinton, and Kathy Griffin. Youth prizes were won by Tenaya Madsen and Sarah Storns. Building fund prize was won by Deana Moser. Changes to the minutes included Fossils donated by Bob Turner and Marge Conley. A motion was made by Jim Storey to accept the minutes. Carol Woodland seconded the motion, and the motion was carried. New members were Valeri Estabrook, Steve and Mary Ostrander, and Richard Bradshaw. Secretary s report Jason Madsen reported that the club had received several newsletters and the Rock and Gem magazine. Treasurer s report Kathy Griffin reported on balances and disbursements. Federation report Chuck McCreath had nothing to report on the Federation. Marge Conley commented that dues are due and reminded the club that elections for the Board are next month. Committee Report Field trip Kathy Griffin reported on behalf of Tony Griffin that the trip to Carey went well and every one found wonderful stuff. Next months trip will be to Three Fingers Butte area to look for thunder eggs and petrified wood. Librarian Terry Tomberlin inquired about the bookcase for the Library. He encouraged members to return overdue materials. Juniors -Ed Moser encouraged youth to enter the kid s contest in the Rock and Gem magazine. Editor Doug Renken asked for members to sign up for ing them the Grindings. He encouraged members to send him articles, field trip pictures and the like for the newsletter. License Plate Charles Osgood reported that he notified the DOT on approving the plate design. He also notified clubs who made pledges. There will be a drawing at the November meeting for reservation on low number plates. Workshop Willa Renken discussed the work shop for the coming Thursday. She thanked Jim Witt for refurbishing the large saw. There was unanimous gratitude offered to Jim from the membership. The November workshop will focus on garnets with Gene Stewart as a featured guest. New Business Joe Nielson asked the club for their interest in ordering sweatshirts with the IGC logo on them. PAGE 2 General minutes continued on page 3

3 General minutes continued from page 2 Sandy Blodgett discussed new policies and procedures for collecting on BLM and other public lands. Ferman Amsel discussed the possibility for the club to use a vacuum pump and furnace to stabilize cracks in specimens. The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 Respectfully submitted, Jason Madsen Secretary MINUTES OF THE IDAHO GEM CLUB BOARD MEETING NOVEMBER 3, 2009 Marge Conley called the meeting to order at 7:35. Board members and officers present were Chuck McCreath, Phil Neuhoff, Terry Tomberlin, Twila Gallaher, Joe Nielson, Ed Moser, Marge Conley, Willa Renken, and Jason Madsen. Kathy Griffin was excused. Guests were Shirley McCreath and Heather Madsen. Terry Tomberlin motioned to accept the minutes as printed in the Grinding. Ed Moser seconded, and the motion was carried. Secretary s report Jason Madsen reported that the club receive the Rock hound Rumblings newsletter. Treasurer s report Marge Conley reported on the clubs disbursements and balances. Federation report Chuck McCreath reported that there is nothing to report on the Federation. Committee Reports Field Trip Jason Madsen reported on behalf of Tony Griffin that red and gray thunder Respectfully submitted, Jason Madsen Secretary eggs were collected at the October field trip. Marge Conley reported that the November field trip will be to Graveyard Point. The group will meed at 8:30 and leave at 9:00. Program Phil Neuhoff reported that the November program will be an auction. Juniors Ed Moser reported that the Juniors will meet after the door prizes. Editor Willa Renken reported that submission for the newsletter are due Saturday. Building Fund Joe Nielson discussed ordering t-shirts and sweatshirts for the club. A motion was made by Willa Renken for Joe to invest in more t-shirts and sweatshirts for the club. Phil Neuhoff seconded the motion and the motion was carried. Old Business Jason Madsen discussed that the bookcase for the library should be completed by the November general meeting. New Business Willa Renken lead a discussion on policies of the workshop to stop abuse of the equipment. Members who attend the workshop will be required to sign a new waiver. Phil Neuhoff reported on the nominations for the new board members. Deana Ashton, Rick Corbett, Ed Moser, and Brent Stewart were nominated for the elections at the November general meeting. Membership applications were received from Valorie Estabrook, Richard Bradshaw, and Ben Bowlden. Willa Renken made a motion to accept the applications, Twila Gallaher seconded, and the motion was carried. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45. PAGE 3

4 NOMINEES FOR NEW IGC BOARD MEMBERS The Nominating Committee, composed of Phil Neuhoff, and Jason Madsen, submit the following names for your vote as new Board members of the IGC. Three of the positions are the normal three-year terms. The fourth position is a one-year term. The actual voting will take place at the November general meeting and those selected will assume their responsibilities at the annual IGC banquet in January The floor will be open prior to the election for additional nominations. PAGE 4 Following is a list of Nominees: Ed Moser: Ed was born and raised in Nampa and graduated from Nampa High. He retired from the State of Idaho as a building inspector. He works with Fish and Game as an instructor in Bow Hunter Education. Ed has also done volunteer work with Nampa and Caldwell youth and recreation groups in bow hunter education. He enjoys field trips and learning about rocks and geology. Brent Stewart: My name is Brent Stewart and I would like you to consider me for a position on the Board of Directors. Born and raised (third generation rock hound) right here in Boise and I love this beautiful state of ours The Gem State. I have spent my life digging, cutting and selling our great stones and love to see people find a passion for rocks. One of my favorite things in life is to share my knowledge of rocks with school children. I feel it is important to keep the kids educated and interested in this hobby and some even may go on to become geologist, just from my influence. After all, the children are the future rock hounds and supporters of clubs like ours. I have been guest speaking in the schools around the valley for a couple of years and really enjoy the children s enthusiasm. I get this interest of educating from my late grandfather Dudley Stewart, and my father Eugene Stewart. I am getting ready to start an on line schooling adventure through the G.I.A. Institute of America. Not only would this education support our gem business, but it will allow me to pass even more of my knowledge in other gem related areas more is always better in the rock world. Thanks for the consideration and hopefully an opportunity to serve on the Board. Rick Corbett: Hello, I m Rick Corbett. I was born in San Diego, Calif. to Navy parents. We traveled a lot with the Navy until I was 16. Dad retired and mom and dad bought a house in Meridian, where I graduated 30 years ago. I went to BSU and got an auto mech. degree, also sold real estate and did a little cooking. I ve been driving a taxi for the last 20 years. I m divorced with 2 cats and my beautiful daughter is 23 years young. I ve been rock hounding most of my life. I ve done a lot of digging, prepping and mounting of fossil fish from Kemmerrer Wyoming. I ve collected a lot of fossil leaves. I have done silver smithing and jewelry making. I paint oil landscapes and I love to cook and bake cookies. I enjoy riding my motorcycle and a little gardening too. Deana Ashton My name is Deana Ashton. Thank you for your nomination to participate with the Board of Directors for our club. I am a private home health care/hospice provider. I have a background in art, marketing, sales, medical, fundraising, volunteering and rockhounding! It would be a pleasure to Continued on page 5

5 Continued from page 4 add ideas and assist our group in expanding and enriching the lives of rock lovers. I joined IGC last year is because of the fun and positive experience my friends and I had as attendees to last years Rock and Gem Show. We went as a group of 7, adults and children. We stayed all day until closing Sunday. We all commented on what we learned, how much fun we had and how friendly and welcoming every club member was that we came into contact with. There aren t a lot of clubs around who embrace children like IGC. I am proud to be a part of it. The second reason I would like to be nominated is to honor my late Great Aunt Recene V. Ashton- Priest who was an avid rockhound and educator. She was in the Who s Who Book of American Women as an innovator and Professor of Geology. She passed down a lot of her teaching materials and ideas to create interest in what forms our earth. She resided in Silver City, NM and founded an science education center there, focusing on rocks and gems and gold and silver prospecting and processing. I would love to share some of her ideas with our group. Thank you for your consideration! Beacon Hill On October 10th we had a special trip to the clubs claim at Beacon Hill. After navigating through the road construction we all regrouped at the bottom gate to the claim. It was a cool fall day, but the road into the claim was dry. The trip was well attended with members from, Magic Valley Gem Club, Eureka Gem Club, Owyhee Gem & Mineral Society and the La Grande Oregon Gem Club. I counted over thirty vehicles in the caravan. There was a truck with a horse trailer on the claim side when the caravan approached the gate at the top of Beacon Hill. Apparently the land our claim sits on was changing hands and this was the son of the new owner. After I had introduced myself and talked with him, explaining who we were and why we were there, he allowed us to pass. While talking to him he gave me his dad s phone number so I called his dad, the Monday after the trip, to introduce myself and stay in a good working relationship with the land owner. The new owner was very cooperative once I had explained our plan of operation he had only one request for future trips. He would like us to be aware of when opening day of deer season is in the fall and schedule our trip so it does not occur at the same time. I assured him we could schedule the trip accordingly next year. Once we arrived at the claim, everyone scattered and started digging for geodes. Some walked around the hill tops looking for surface material. Others just enjoyed the spectacular view from the claim. The weather stayed cool and we had no precipitation. You just had to keep digging which helped with keeping us warm. Most folks found at least a half a bucket full others who dug did find more. This area seems to keep producing you just never know how much or little you might find. I would like to thank Walt Barnett & Gene Alvey for bringing the Owyhee Gem Club s porta potty. The time in setting it up and taking it down is appreciated. Thanks for all the participation and we will look forward to getting in there again come spring time. Doug Renken Sunshine Lady Arlene Bailey is the club sunshine lady. Her job is to send some cheer to members who are ill or just need some cheering up. But she needs your help in doing this job. If you know of someone who has been recently ill let her know so she can send them a card. Her phone number is Thank you in advance for your help. PAGE 5

6 HAPPY NOVEMBER 11/1 Peggy Dean 11/2 Robert Griswold 11/5 Tom Johnson 11/5 Deborah Every 11/6 Tom Menten 11/7 Peggy Blickfeldt 11/7 Terrie Bybee 11/7 Christopher Brewer 11/9 Maria Longstroth 11/11 Jim Kirschbaum 11/12 Penny Dudley 11/14 Robert Burns 11/20 Andrew Every 11/20 Anna Picano 11/21 Gary Hanes 11/22 Christa Wakefield 11/22 Ricky Renkamp 11/23 Marge Conley 11/24 Gary Smith 11/25 Ava Cryer 11/26 Phil Neuhoff 11/27 Jim Ingle 11/28 Amanda Loewen 11/28 Robert Hoffman 11/28 Diane Perkins 11/29 Ferman Ansel November Birthstones Faceted - Topaz or Citrine Cabochon Amber PAGE 6 BIRTHDAY DECEMBER 12/1 Joella Brown 12/3 Tom Duke 12/4 Jack Trevithick 12/4 Tenya Madsen 12/7 Diana Cryer 12/8 Lillie Rogers 12/9 John Sandmeyer 12/10 Joan Alvey 12/10 Cheryl Link 12/10 Tucker Longstroth 12/11 Bill Jordan 12/11 Michael George 12/14 Harold Holloway 12/16 Kerri Chipman 12/16 Conner Ingle 12/17 David Alderton 12/18 Dan Phillips 12/18 Michael Snyder 12/19 Robert Burns 12/19 Doug Renken 12/19 Rich Nickelson 12/19 Shirley Murphy 12/21 Dee Hanes 12/23 Joe Nielson 12/23 Christi Hogle 12/27 Mary Ann Bowman 12/27 Fred Friel 12/30 Tony Griffin December Birthstones Faceted - Blue Zircon Cabochon - Turquoise DATES TO REMEMBER GENERAL MEETING: 3rd. Tuesday of every month November 17, 2009 Church of the Brethren 2823 N. Cole Road, Boise, Idaho Meeting Starts at 7:30 pm. BOARD MEETING: 1st. Tuesday of every month December 1, 2009 Church of the Brethren 2823 N. Cole Road, Boise, Idaho Meeting Starts at 7:30 pm. November Refreshment Committee Chair: Robert Burns Ron Mummy Belle Witt Dana Robinson REFRESHMENT COMMITTEE GUIDELINES Need approximately 15 dozen cookies. Wrapped door prizes are also needed. Arrive early enough to set up the chairs. The chairperson brings the coffee urn, coffee, punch, cream, sugar, cups and napkins. Afterward, put meeting tables & chairs away, clean kitchen and sweep the room. Gather and take all the trash with you. Don t forget it is the responsibility of the chair for the coming month to pick up the coffeepot, take it home and bring it the next meeting. December Refreshment Committee Chair: Kathy Griffin Diana & James Cryer Cathy Parsons Vicki Stark

7 IDAHO GEM CLUB NOVEMBER FIELD TRIP Graveyard Point for plume agate When: Saturday, November 21st meet between 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. We will leave promptly at 9 a.m. Total drive time should be less than an hour including a stop at the Ion Truck Stop. Where to meet: Kmart parking lot on Karcher Rd (Highway 55). We will caravan from Kmart. How to get there: Travel West on I-84 to Exit 33A, the new Highway 55 exit. Travel West on Highway 55 through Marsing to the Intersection of Hwy 55 and Hwy 95. Continue straight through this intersection, Highway 55 becomes Hwy 95. Proceed to just past Milepost 31 where we will turn left onto Graveyard Point Rd., continue until the pavement ends at Sage Rd., go left for about a mile. The road will curve to the left again; just before this curve you will see a bridge that crosses the canal. Just over the bridge there are signs that state No trespassing ; continue straight onto BLM lands! From here there are numerous dirt roads that go to various claims, if you have been to our claim in the past and know how to get there, continue on. If you haven t been to the claim before, you will probably need to have some one take you in. Equipment needed: Rock hammer, chisel, shovel, safety glasses, appropriate clothing for the weather and location, food for the time you will be there, water, full tank of gas, and any items you need for your personal use. If you would like more information, please come to our Gem Club meeting. November 17th, 7:30 p.m. at the Mountain View Church of the Brethren 2833 N. Cole Rd. or Call our Field Trip Chairman Tony Griffin Field Trip Chairman home phone cell phone. tonygriffin@heritagewifi.com DUES ARE NOW PAST DUE. Rates are as follows: $12.00 per person $15.00 per couple $17.50 per family Dues are due by October 31 each year. Please pay at the next meeting or send them to Kathy Griffin, Treasurer P.O. box 8443 Boise, ID November Program For the November and December programs we will continue our tradition of having an auction to benefit the club. Usually, the November auction is focused more on rough rocks and the December auction more on finished works and gifts (in order to help out with those pesky Christmas lists). Of course we will welcome any items you want to donate, as well as generous bidding! This is a great opportunity to clear out some space for next year s rocks and to acquire that special piece that you didn t know you need Phil Neuhoff SAVE STAMPS Just a note to remind people to save their postage stamps to donate to the Federation. The stamps are sold and the proceeds are donated to cancer research. Cut at least 1/4 inch margin around the stamps. You can turn them into Chuck McCreath at our next meeting. THANK YOU! PAGE 7

8 October Field Trip Report Succor Creek/Leslie Gulch Our day started off questioning whether we would be able to get into the area where we might find thundereggs. Clouds and rain on Friday night and early Saturday morning could have prevented us from going. I ve found that where we want to go doesn t always get as large amount of rain as it does in the Valley. We decided to try anyway, the least we could do is collect petrified wood along Succor Creek Rd at Rockville or the leaf fossils just around the bend from the school. We met the OGMS at the Ion Gas station waiting to see what we wanted to do. It was decided that Gene Alvey and I would take both clubs to the thunderegg digs. There were thirty seven individuals on the IGC sign up sheet. I m not sure how many came with us from the Owyhee Club. Quite a bit of mud in the morning caused us to delay going to the red egg dig. We ended up at Succor Creek Camp ground first where Gene and Scott Stuhr said we could find gray thundereggs. We crossed the foot bridge then went north about five hundred yards, to get out of the camping area, to where it is legal to collect. You can t collect at Succor Creek Campground because it is a State Recreation area. I checked out the road to more eggs above the park and cleared a bunch of rock out of the road to make it easier for vehicles to access the dig area which is up above the campground. After lunch I sent those that wanted to go for the gray eggs around the bend and up to where the eggs are located. There were a couple of stragglers we hadn t seen since before lunch so I decided to try and locate them. It s a big area to get lost, if you have car troubles it can be a long walk out. While searching I stopped at the red egg dig and found a few nice specimens. The roads had dried making them passable. Exhausting but a nice, fruitful day with quite a nice bunch of both red and gray thundereggs. Lots of visitors and people new to rock hounding. Tony Griffin Field Trip Chairman home phone cell phone tonygriffin@heritagewifi.com PAGE 8 Photo's courtesy: Robert Burns

9 Yesteryear December 1956 Only 3 cars and 5 people went on the December field trip. They found some limb sections, 2 fossil fish and one skinning knife. Ralph Tuttle was nominated to be President by the Board Members. The annual Banquet would be held at the Basque Lounge January 8th. Dinner was served by the Basque ladies, four door prizes were awarded, some poetry recited, and 2 Basque girls did dances accompanied by an accordion. The club decided that they would have their meeting at the Campus School. It was approved that the President and committee purchase an addressograph, ditto machine, and typewriter. The field trip for April was to the Amethystine mine near Bruneau. In May the club had a dozer to improve the road to the Whangdoodle and to remove some of the overburden. Also they authorized $80.00 for a road to the Morrisonite claim. A picnic was planned for the August meeting at the Municipal Park. A trip to Denio, Nv. Area for fire opal limb sections netted a lot of opal limbs, but very little with fire in them. Displays were set up at the Fairgrounds by Mrs. Nelson and her committee, and also at the Tacoma Show. The Displays at Tacoma won a first award ribbon a second award and two special award ribbons. Patsy Bethel Historian Juniors Report The Junior Rocky Rattlers will meet with Coyote Short right after the door prize drawing. The juniors that want to be at the auction will be able to go to the meeting room when the auction starts. Ed Moser Cell Juniors Chair Project of the Year Please give serious thought to entering a project this year. It would be great to have so many projects that every line on the ballot sheet could be checked! We all tend to forget how much fun it is to look at the projects and wonder which we should vote for. If you think you don t have anything that is worthy of entry, think again. How much time have you spent looking over the projects and wondered which to vote for? Let s really make it a big year for this event so give it your best thought! Remember to collect and bring Teddy Bears to the meetings for our public service project. The bears and other stuffed animals are given to emergency personnel to give to the children at the scene of emergencies. Please give your animals to Debbie Knudsen or Skeeter Eversburg. THANK YOU! PAGE 9

10 FROM THE EDITOR The deadline for articles is the board meeting, if it needs to be typed. If the article is sent via e- mail the deadline is the Saturday after the board meeting. Phone: (208) My mailing Address is: Doug Renken S. Five Mile Rd. Kuna, ID Welcome New Member Richard Bradshaw 2902 Cridden Ave. Boise, ID (208) Valerie Estabrook 3914 W. Cassia St. Boise, ID (208) Electronic Grindings Thanks to those who signed up for the elcrtronic Grindings. Not only does this save the club money it helps save me time putting on lables and postage. Currently it costs around $1.70 per issue or $20.40 per year to print and mail each newsletter. If you would like to receive the Grindings newsletter through let me know. Please send an to and I will add you to our list. The Grindings will be sent in PDF format. CODE OF ETHICS I will respect both private and public property and will do no collecting on privately owned land without permission from the owner. I will keep informed on all laws, regulations or rules governing collecting on public lands and will observe them. I will, to the best of my ability, ascertain the boundary lines of property on which I plan to collect. I will use no firearms or blasting material in collecting areas. I will cause no willful damage to property of any kind such as fences, signs, buildings,etc. I will leave all gates as found. I will build fires only in designated or safe places and will be certain they are completely extinguished before leaving the area. I will discard no burning material - matches, cigarettes, etc. I will fill all excavation holes which may be dangerous to livestock. I will not contaminate wells, creeks,or other water supplies. I will cause no willful damage to collecting material and will take home only what I can reasonably use. I will practice conservation and undertake to utilize fully and well the materials I have collected and will recycle my surplus for the pleasure and benefit of others. I will support the rockhound project H.E.L.P (Help Eliminate Litter Please) and will leave all collecting areas devoid of litter, regardless of how found. I will cooperate with field trip leaders and those in designated authority in all collecting areas. I will report to my club or federation officer, Bureau of Land Management or other authorities, any deposit of petrified wood or other materials on public lands which should be protected for the enjoyment of future generations for public educational and scientific purposes. I will appreciate and protect our heritage of natural resources. I will observe the Golden Rule, I will use Good Outdoor Manners and will at all times conduct myself in a manner which will add to the stature and Public Image of Rockhounds everywhere. THE is the monthly newsletter of the Idaho Gem Club, Inc., associated with the Northwest Federation of Mineralogical Societies. Permission to copy is freely granted when proper credit is given to both the publication and the author. Articles without bylines are written by the Editor or President. CHECK OUT THE CLUB WEBSITE! PAGE 10

11 Workshop Report Our next workshop will be on Thursday November 19th. This month's work shop is going to be quite exciting as we will be having Gene & Brent Stewart out teaching the ins and outs of cutting star garnets. They should be able to answer any questions you may have about the different kinds of materials and offer advise on any personal rocks you may have to cut. As I am sure this event will be well attended if there is more interest in conducting another workshop on this same topic or if there are too many people to see everything we will get them back to do it again. There are going to be some new rules conserning the use of the club's equipment. Be sure to read and initial that you understand the requirements before using any of the equipment. These machines were bought to provide the club members an opportunity to cut cabachons not face polish large rock. I will be going over the new requirements at each meeting so you will know what is expected. We welcome one and all to S Five Mile Rd off of Kuna Rd. If you are interested there will be a sign up sheet at the next meeting or you can give me a call. We hope you will come and enjoy the fellowship. Willa Renken Workshop Chairmen Workshop address: S. Five Mile Rd. Phone PAGE 11

12 The purpose of the Idaho Gem Club is to promote mutual, educational and scientific interests and benefits of its members in mineralogy, geology, gemology, the art of lapidary and kindred arts and sciences. Dues: $12.00 per person $15.00 per couple $17.50 per family The Whangdoodle Bird (Often seen on field trips) Subscription: $10.00 per year General Meeting: 3rd. Tuesday of each Month at 7:30 p.m. Idaho Gem Club, Inc. P.O. Box 8443 Boise, Idaho