2016-01 MWF News - American Federation of Mineralogical Societies

MWF News
January 2016, Issue No. 548
Page 1
MWF News
JANUARY 2016 - ISSUE NO. 548
WEB SITE - www.amfed.org/mwf
Member of the American Federation of
Mineralogical Societies
President
David Rich
1166 Broadview
Tallmadge, OH 44278
330.630.9625
[email protected]
1st Vice President
Tom Whitlatch
1147 Staub Court NE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
319.551.3870
[email protected]
2nd Vice President
David Root
1051 Meadow Lane
Jenison, MI 49428
616-498-4698
[email protected]
Secretary
Donna Moore
25235 N. IL Hwy 97
Cuba, IL 61427
309.789.6501
[email protected]
Treasurer
Sandy Fuller
8445 Grange Blvd.
Cottage Grove, MN 55016
651.459.0343
[email protected]
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
by David Rich, Your President
Happy New Year to all.
I hope everyone has had a safe
holiday season and is beginning the
new year with enthusiasm for resuming
club activities.
I must remind everyone that club
dues are due. Our super newsletter
editor, Sharon, has boldly printed the requirements in
past newsletters. (Thanks to Sandy Fuller!) Please take
the time to read these, to expedite the process.
Many clubs begin the new year with club elections.
I would like to encourage the returning and new officers
to become more active this year. They are practically
giving away gasoline at $2 per gallon or less! Start off
the year with a full tank, and challenge your club
members into participating.
Motivate your organization! There is plenty to do
this year in the MWF. Just read on! How about
nominating a club member for Rockhound of the Year?
How about entering the AFMS website or bulletin
editors’ contest this year? Fire up some juniors and get
them to enter the poster contest, “Amazing Agates.”
Maybe you could get really bold and crazy and get your
club to submit an entry for the “All American Club
Yearbook” award.
All of this information can be found in your
directory or on the website, and you haven’t even used
any of that cheap fuel for these activities. This could be
the year for field trips and road trips. Be the leader you
were elected to be. Why not join President Andy Carey
of Summit Lapidary Club this spring on the “BIG DIG”
field trip for Ohio Flint? Afterwards, join the MWF
spring meeting, and right next door, the 40th Gemboree
(Continued on page 2)
WHAT’S INSIDE?
AFMS Endowment Fund - Raffle Tickets!! ................... 7
2016 Midwest Federation Convention ........................... 3
Brussels Hill, WI – A meteor impact feature? ................ 3
President’s Message .................................................... 1,2
Checklist for 2016........................................................... 2
Rockhound of the Year ............................................. 4,12
LAST CALL: Dues & Insurance .................................... 2
Submission of Articles ................................................. 12
Dues Form .................................................................... 10
Tetrapodophis: The Snake with Four Legs ................. 8,9
Dugway Geode Collecting Area ..................................... 5
Upcoming Events ........................................................... 6
Events Form .................................................................. 11
Youth Poster Contest ...................................................... 8
Logo Policy ................................................................... 12
Page 2
January 2016, Issue No. 548
IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN - DUES AND INSURANCE
by Sandy Fuller
Yes, it’s time to submit club dues and events for
2016. The deadline is Friday, January 15 (postmarked).
Submitted information will be used to update mailing
lists, promote club events via the MW F News and
federation website, and compile the 2016 MWF Directory.
Use an asterisk (*) to designate any information that
should not be published on electronic media.
What do we get for our dues?
 Approximately 40% of club dues are sent to the
American Federation of Mineralogical Societies as our
fair share of the cost of providing nation-wide
programs, such as the Junior Rockhounds of America
and various awards to recognize and encourage
outstanding performance by clubs and their members.
 About 30% of club dues provide written materials
distributed to clubs, including the almost monthly
MWF News, the MWF Directory, and meeting
information.
 The remainder covers other major expenses such as
providing services to clubs (programs, legislative
alerts, various award programs recognizing rockhound
excellence) and assisting officers with travel costs
when they travel outside of the region to attend AFMS
events. (Officers and committee chairs pay their own
expenses for travel within the region and most of their
out of region travel costs.)
MWF News
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE - CONTINUED
(Continued from page 1)
Show. This will be going on from Friday, April 22 to
Sunday, April 24. The show has approximately 25-30
dealers and is well worth a visit.
Plan for the MWF convention later in the year on
August 20, 2016. The Michiana Gem and Mineral
Society is this year’s host for our convention. President
Bill Foreman promises great Hoosier hospitality. Meet
E-Bear, our own endowment fund-raising teddy bear.
As we start the new year together, be bold:
schedule trips, involve your youth, enter for awards.
Revitalize programs or activities your club has done in
the past or try something new. It’s a brand new year for
rock lovers!
CHECKLIST FOR 2016
by Sharon Marburger, Editor
Dues & Insurance - January 15, 2016
Events Form - January 15, 2016
Bulletin Editors’ Contest - February 1, 2016
All American Club Yearbook - March 15, 2016
Youth Poster Contest - April 15, 2016
MWF Spring Meeting - April 23-24, 2016
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
AFMS Convention - July 27-August 1, 2016
Albany, Oregon
MWF Convention - August 19-21, 2016
South Bend, Indiana
The MWF Endowment Fund absorbs AFMS dues
increases and currently covers about ¼ of the dues
premium. The Fund also provides each member club with
a copy of new federation publications and covers the cost
of special projects.
Check the Upcoming Events for activities near you!!
The MWF Insurance program is designed to be
self-supporting. However, the federation has to collect
club contributions before the actual premium is
determined. In 2015, the actual premium exceeded the
insurance contributions received so the Council of
Delegates (club representatives) authorized a small
increase in club contributions for 2016. Insurance Chair
Marge Jensen negotiates with the Insurance provider on
behalf of the federation and can assist local clubs with
insurance concerns.
The following can be sent in at any time throughout the
year:
Forms are available on pages 10 and 11 of this
newsletter.
I have not heard from the committee chairmen
regarding deadlines for:
Program Competition
Website Contest
Articles and tidbits for the MW F News
Cancelled Stamps
Rockhound of the Year nominations
I’m sure I’m forgetting something important; it is your
job to let me know!
MWF News
January 2016, Issue No. 548
Page 3
BRUSSELS HILL, WISCONSIN – A METEOR IMPACT FEATURE?
by Dr. William Cordua, Geology Chair
The Door Peninsula in Wisconsin is a scenic and
well-known part of the state. Recently its geological
history was enhanced by the recognition of an apparent
meteor impact crater. The rocks in the region are
generally flat-lying sedimentary rocks – mainly
dolostone – of Silurian age. These make up the rocks
exposed in the well-known Niagaran escarpment, and
can be correlated with those in western New York State.
These were deposited in a shallow sea teaming with life,
now well fossilized. The rocks have experienced only a
mild warping and uplift since their deposition 416 - 444
million years ago. So, it is surprising when one
encounters outcrops of tilted and broken rocks in this
area. When the unusual deformation is confined to
circular area, one begins to suspect an ancient impact
crater.
The feature is centered at a topographic high called
Brussels Hill, near the town of Brussels in Door
County, Wisconsin, easily seen on Google Earth at
latitude 44°45'30"N, longitude 87°35'37"N. It was first
described in 2011 in an article by Joanne Klussendorf
and Don Mikolic. They documented an anomaly two
miles across, with broken, tipped, and chaotically
jumbled blocks of carbonate rocks. Some of the
carbonate rocks had unusual vesiculated textures,
suggesting they were brought close to their melting
point. More work was done on the feature by geologists
from Lawrence University, published in 2015. They
documented
further
the
deformation,
noting
microscopic textures typical of the type of shock waves
formed by extraterrestrial hypervelocity impact. They
also described a central area of glauconitic sandstone, a
hallmark of much older Cambrian sandstone which
should be buried deep below the surface in this part of
the state. Impact craters often have this sort of central
uplift, produced by complex rebound after impact when
the overlying rock has been largely blasted away.
Explanation for any feature of this sort needs to
survive geologic scrutiny. The Door Peninsula rocks do
have caves, and an alternative explanation could be that
the deformation was produced by collapse into a cave.
To rebut this, the cave would have to be enormous, and
sinkhole collapse does not cause a central uplift of older
strata. The feature thus is not a sinkhole. Another
explanation is that this could be the result of some
volcanic phenomenon. There are, however, no volcanic
rocks exposed in the region. Some appeal to an origin
involving outbursts of superpressurized fluids from the
earth’s interior to explain such features. However, no
known mechanism can produce pressurized fluids
capable of producing the kind of shock effects seen
here. Plus, there is no creditable evidence for the sort of
mineral alteration one would expect from having such
supercharged fluids pulse through the rocks. Thus, an
impact origin for the feature seems the best model to
explain the observed features.
There are other impact structures known in
Wisconsin, such as that at Rock Elm, Glover Bluff, and
Pepin in Wisconsin, and Decorah in Iowa. Could these
all be related to the same impact? It’s not likely, as
Brussels Hill must be Silurian or younger and the Rock
Elm and Decorah features are known to be much older,
formed in the mid-Ordovician.
Klussendorf, J & D. Mikulic (2011) Possible impact origin
for Brussels Hill, northwestern Wisconsin: Geological
Society of America, Abstracts and programs, vol. 43 #1 p.
117.
Zawacki,E & Bjonerud,M. (2015) A previously
unrecognized impact structure at Brussels Hill, Door
County, Wisconsin: brecciation and shock metamorphic
features
Nevins, C. & Bjonerud, M. (2015) Structural characteristics
of a possible meteor impact site in Brussels, Door County,
Wisconsin
2016 MWF CONVENTION
Page 4
January 2016, Issue No. 548
MWF News
ROCKHOUND OF THE YEAR
by Steve Shimatzki
Thank you to those that send in Rockhound of the
Year (“ROTY”) nominations for their club. If you are
not sure how to send that information in, just provide the
following information by e-mail, snail mail and maybe
even text:
 The Person’s Name
 Accomplishments to warrant the nomination. (How
you would like it to read in the MWF Newsletter
announcement.)
 Name, phone number, and address of where the
award is to be sent, not necessarily the recipient if
you plan to present it to the recipient at a club event.
 The year the award is for.
 Deadline if award is needed by a particular date.
My contact information is:
MWF Rockhound of the Year
c/o Stephen Shimatzki
4295 County Rd. 16
Woodville, OH 43469
[email protected]
Cell: 567-868-8794 (Feel free to call or
text.)
The first batch of certificates went out without
MWF Seals, but I printed it directly onto the award. I
think they turned out really good considering I’ve never
done this before! If they were a little slow on the return,
I apologize because it happens that way sometimes. I’m
sure we all know the life of volunteers! Speaking of
great volunteers, here’s the next one for a 2015 ROTY:
2015 Dayton Gem and Mineral Society
The Dayton Gem and Mineral Society would
like to take this opportunity to nominate Mr.
Albert Sicree for the Midwest Federation 2015
“Rockhound of the Year” award. A native of
Brooklyn, NY, Al moved to Dayton in 1960 to
work as a chemist for the Air Force at WrightPatterson AFB. The Dayton Gem and Mineral
Society (“DGMS”) was founded in 1963 and
Al joined the Society in 1965. By the late
1960s, Al was co-chairing the DGMS Kids
Club, affectionately known as the “Pebble
Pups.” He took the kids on field trips, educated
them in the proper use of tools, and helped
them have a fun and successful collecting
experience.
In 1971, Al moved to Massachusetts as a
Visiting Scientist in polymer chemistry at the
University of Massachusetts and joined the
Springfield, MA rock club where he collected
extensively in Massachusetts, Connecticut,
Vermont, and New Hampshire. Returning to
Dayton, Ohio in 1972, Al held various officer
positions in the DGMS, including President,
Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Al
also was a local coordinator for the Midwest
Federation (“MWF”) Convention when it was
held here at the Dayton Convention Center,
and he assisted in running the event. It was
deemed a great success by the MWF. Al has
also been the DGMS representative at several
MWF conventions and has served as the
MWF Safety Chairman.
In addition to the DGMS, Al has been a
member of the Cincinnati Mineral Society,
where he served as President and Vice
President for two years. Al has actively
participated for many years in its annual
Cincinnati GeoFair held each May, where he
helps with displays and anything thing else
needed to make this large Midwest show a
success. He has also been an active member of
the Friends of Mineralogy.
An avid collector with an extensive collection,
Al has been on numerous field trips over the
years, often serving as field trip leader,
collecting in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois,
Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, West
Virginia, Virginia, Michigan, New York, New
Jersey, Massachusetts, North Carolina,
Georgia, Colorado and Missouri. All of the
members of the DGMS recognize his years of
participation and devotion to the club; they
also greatly appreciate his knowledge and
expertise, his quick wit, and his rockhounding stories that everyone enjoys.
We believe that Mr. Sicree is richly deserving
of this prestigious MWF award.
(Continued on page 12)
MWF News
January 2016, Issue No. 548
Page 5
HELP SAVE THE DUGWAY GEODE COLLECTING AREA
submitted by ALAA
To all Rockhounds Everywhere,
ALAA received this request to help save the
Dugway Geode beds from extinction! If you have ever
collected any of the Dugway Geodes and would like to
collect them again, or would like to collect these one-ofa-kind geodes in the future, now is the time to get
involved in a grass roots action. This is a commercial
mining claim in Utah. Under the mining laws, as long as
the claim is active, access to the claim must remain
open. Utah seems like a long, long way away. It is, but
if you have ever collected there, or know someone who
has collected there in the last 50 years, or would like the
experience of collecting your own, now is the time to
take action and try to save the Dugway Geode Beds. If
the claim is lost, the entire Dugway Geode Beds may be
in danger of complete closure.
Think about it; you can take the power of the pen
and contact the Utah BLM to let them know that this
resource needs to remain open and accessible for future
generations of Rockhounds to enjoy. In your writings to
the BLM, let them know that whether the mining claim
is renewed or not, you are asking the BLM for
assurance that the Dugway Geode Beds and their access
roads will remain open for public recreational
collecting. Below are e-mail addresses to contact all of
the parties involved in the Dugway Geode Beds issue.
Please help Save the Geodes!
The photos below came from:
www.mobileminingexperience.com
www.marulla.com
flikr.com (unidentified owner)
American Lands Access Association
Action Alert Committee
“Happy Rockhounding and Enjoy Your Public Lands”
DUGWAY GEODE CLAIM
Save the Geodes! The BLM is threatening to close
the only commercial claim on the Dugway Geode beds,
in operation for the last 50 years, because the renewal
paperwork was late this year. The claim is run by the
Crapo family under the business name “The Bug
House,” and new mining claims will not be issued by
the BLM for any commercial geode mining because the
geode bed is a restricted area.
Public response to urge renewal of the claim is
critical. The Crapo family has always supported the
rockhound community and made sure that anyone who
collected on their claim came away with lots of good
geodes. Now it’s our turn to support them, so please get
the word out to anyone interested in preserving this
important collection area.
Please send your e-mails in support of renewing
this important claim to the following e-mail addresses
at the BLM and bcc The Bughouse at their address
below, so they can see who is supporting their efforts.
Deputy State Director Lands & Minerals:
Kent Hoffman
E-mail: [email protected]
Minerals Support Supervisor:
Robert L Bankert
E-mail: [email protected]
Bureau of Land Management Fillmore Field Office:
E-mail: [email protected]
The Bug House
E-mail: [email protected]
Thank you,
Golden Spike Gem & Mineral Society
[email protected]
November 29, 2015
Page 6
UPCOMING EVENTS
January 2016, Issue No. 548
MWF News
MWF News
January 2016, Issue No. 548
Page 7
AMERICAN FEDERATION ENDOWMENT FUND
by Cheryl Neary, 2016 Endowment Fund Chair
Published in the A.F.M.S. Newsletter, Volume 69, Number 2 December 2015
The 2016 AMFS Convention is being held in late
July of 2016. So what does that mean?
It means you need to purchase your tickets (yes,
you need to be in it to win it!) before July for the AFMS
Endowment Fund drawing!
This year so far, Carolyn Weinberger has agreed to
once again sell tickets for the EFMLS. We’ll be
announcing the other regional federation “salesmen” in
the February AFMS Newsletter and via the AFMS
Endowment Fund website shortly (www.amfed.org/).
The tickets are reasonably priced at $5.00 per ticket or 5
for $20.00.
Now, if you are unable to purchase tickets, have no
fear because you can help out the Endowment Fund by
donating items for the drawing. The criteria is quite
simple – anything related to our hobby and with a
minimum value of $25.00 and weighing less then 5
pounds.
If you chose to donate – and I hope you do – please
send me a picture via e-mail of your generous donation
so that I can get it posted to the AFMS website and into
the newsletter along with a description, name of your
club and estimated value of your donation. You or your
club will be recognized in the newsletter and on the
website. This is a great way to advertise what your club
does!
Please
contact
me
via
email
at
[email protected] or via cell phone at
516.449.5341 (texts work the best) to let me know of
your intentions to donate. The item can be shipped to
my address, which I prefer, or brought to the 2016
Convention in Oregon.
You can also let your Regional Vice President
know of your intent to donate or buy tickets!
Why the drawing? The money collected is for the
AFMS Endowment Fund. The interest from the monies
generated is used for AFMS special projects, such as
junior badges, judges training, digitizing of slide
programs, just to name a few.
So step right up! Purchase or donate, or why not
both?
The Donations to date are as follows:
 #1 Soapstone Sculpture Bear. Donated by
EFMLS Wildacres Instructor Sandy Cline of
Canada. (You can visit his
website to see the other
incredible work of his at
www.sandycline.com.) The
bear is approximately 7.5 x
4.5” and has an estimated
value of $250. (EFMLS).
 #2 Tigers eye Gem Tree. Donated
by EFMLS Wildacres Instructor Suzie
Milligan of New York. The tree is druzy
quartz on matrix and measures 7.5” high.
Estimated value is $25 (EFMLS).
 #3 Tigers eye bolo tie & matching pendant.
Donated by the Huffmans of the Catawba Valley
Gem & Mineral Club.
The bolo is on brown
and tan leather with
feather tips and the
pendant is tigers eye
wrapped in 14k gold
filled wire. Estimated
value of the pair is
$85. (EFMLS)
 # 4 Amethyst cluster from the Reel Mine, North
Carolina. Donated by J ake Cline of Catawba
Valley Gem & Mineral Club . Estimated value
$250. (EFMLS). Photo to come!
 #5 Framed Wyoming Fossil Fish: Diplomystus.
Donated by Richard
Jaeger, AFMS Past
President. Estimated
value $110. RMFMS
Page 8
January 2016, Issue No. 548
MWF News
YOUTH POSTER CONTEST
MIDWEST FEDERATION YOUTH POSTER CONTEST 2016
“AMAZING AGATES”
Sponsored by the Summit Lapidary Club of Ohio
THEME: “Amazing Agates” A poster illustrating any type of agate, what it looks like, and where it can be found.
ELIGIBILITY: 1st thr ough 8th gr ade. Each gr ade will have a winner .
PRIZES: Ribbons awar ded 1st thr ough 4th place, the 1st, 2nd and 3r d place winner s will also r eceive a pr ize.
CONTEST RULES:
All entries must be presented on paper 12"x18"
Include name and address, age, and school grade of participant on BACK of entry.
No three-dimensional posters accepted.
The title may be on front or back.
List the name of the agate, a brief description of what it looks like, and WHY you chose it.
Artwork on posters can be pen, ink, crayons, magic marker, paint, or any other artist’s medium
All entries become the property of MWF and the Summit Lapidary Club.
SCALE OF POINTS:
Originality and Art Work - 30 points
Design - 25 points
Title - 25 points
Listing of Agate type, what it looks like, and where it is from - 20 points
DEADLINE: Entr ies must be postmar ked by Apr il 15, 2016.
SEND TO:
Poster Contest
617 Wooster Rd. W.
Barberton, Ohio 44203
Winners will be announced at the MWF Convention in South Bend, Indiana, August 20, 2016.
If you have questions, e-mail [email protected].
For more information, visit the MWF website http://www.amfed.org/mwf
TETRAPODOPHIS: THE SNAKE WITH FOUR LEGS
by Bob Sheridan August 8, 2015
Published in PALEONTOGRAPH, Volume 4, Issue 5, December
2015
It has been a while since I saw an article on the
origin of snakes. Snakes have a number of unique
features relative to most reptiles. They have a very large
number of vertebrae (>150), no limbs, no external ears,
and a jaw (with hooked teeth) that is essentially
unhinged from the rest of the skull. It is very likely that
the ancestor of modern snakes was a lizard, but which
lizard is not clear. It should also be noted that longbodied legless lizards, which are distinct from snakes in
having eyelids and hinged jaws, evolved several times.
Many fossils snakes have been identified, the
oldest of which is from the Middle Cretaceous. Some
have vestigial hindlimbs. One classical idea about the
origin of snakes (specifically about how they ended up
limbless) is that their ancestors were marine reptiles,
similar to mosasaurs, if not mosasaurs themselves.
They supposedly lost their limbs to become better
swimmers. Another idea is that snakes are limbless
because their ancestors were borrowing land-dwelling
lizards, and it is better not to have limbs when crawling
through tunnels. Fossil snakes with vestigial hindlimbs
have been found in both marine and lake deposits, so
we cannot use the “primitive” characteristic of having
(Continued on page 9)
MWF News
January 2016, Issue No. 548
Page 9
TETRAPODOPHIS: THE SNAKE WITH FOUR LEGS - CONTINUED
(Continued from page 8)
partial limbs as a way of guessing snake origins. Even
assuming a marine origin, we can probably eliminate
mosasaurs themselves as snake ancestors since snakes
are not genetically related to today’s varanid lizards, of
which mosasaurs are members.
If the ancestors of snakes are lizards, we would
expect to eventually find a snake with all four limbs,
and such an animal is recently described by Martill et
al. (2015). The species Tetrapodophis amplectus (“four
-footed snake”) is based on a single, very well
preserved specimen presumably from the Crato
Formation in Brazil, which is Early Cretaceous in age.
The matrix in which it is found is limestone, probably
from a lake bottom since it contains the coprolites of a
specific fish. This specimen would have been less than
a foot long in life. The specimen is disposed with a
tightly curled neck and tail, and a gently curved body;
obviously it would have been flexible in life.
Tetrapodophis is an extremely modern looking
snake in many aspects. First it is extremely elongated
with 250+ vertebrae. It has a curved lower jaw with
small
hooked
teeth, and an
intramandibular
joint, allowing
each side of the
jaw to move
independently.
This is indicative
of
carnivory.
Indeed it seems
to have some
bones in its stomach area indicative of its last meal.
Tetrapodophis has features expected for
burrowing (as opposed to swimming snakes), including
a long head but a short face, plus a cylindrical (as
opposed to a flat) tail. On the other hand, in
Tetrapodophis, one can distinguish the cervical,
dorsal, and caudal vertebrae, based on the presence and
length of ribs, whereas those regions are hard to tell
apart in modern snakes. The positions of the fore and
hindlimbs in Tetrapodophis are consistent with where
those regions begin and end, as we would expect.
The most interesting aspect of Tetrapodophis is its
limbs. Each is complete from humerus/femur to toes.
To me the bones look not at all like those of a lizard
limb, but a creepy shortened caricature of the human
arm, with parallel fingers and toes. The limbs are very
tiny compared to the length of the body, only a few
millimeters long, so it is unlikely they were used for
locomotion. The authors feel the limbs could have been
used for hooking or grasping prey or mates, or perhaps
climbing.
The authors point out that since Tetrapodophis is
from Brazil, this reinforces the idea that snakes
originated in Gondwanaland (the southern continent in
Cretaceous times), plus being from a lake deposit
suggests a terrestrial origin.
After the paper was published in Science,
Tetrapodophis became a matter of controversy. The
specimen is now on permanent loan to the Museum
Solnhofen in Germany, but before that it was in a
private collection for several decades.
There are no records about where or when it was
collected. The authors assign it to the Crato Formation
based on the characters of the rock in which it was
found. However, is possible that the true origin is not
the Crato Formation, so conclusions based on its
presumed age and location could be wrong. Also, it has
been illegal to export fossil or archaeological material
from Brazil since 1942, so it is possible that
Tetrapodophis was exported illegally. At present that is
not known.
Sources:
Evans, S.; “Four legs too many?”; Science 2015, 349,
374-375.
Martill, D.M.; Tischlinger, H.; Longrich, N.R.; “A fourlegged snake from the Early Cretaceous of
Gondwana.” Science 2015, 349, 416-419.
Page 10
January 2016, Issue No. 548
MWF News
MWF News
January 2016, Issue No. 548
Page 11
Page 12
January 2016, Issue No. 548
Sharon Marburger, Editor
Midwest Federation of Mineralogical and Geological Societies
[email protected]
402.792.2348
P.O. Box 64
Hickman, NE 68372
MWF News
Non Profit Org
U.S. Postage
PAID
Fiatt, IL
Permit No. 1
ROCKHOUND OF THE YEAR - CONT’D
(Continued from page 4)
West Suburban Lapidary Club
The West Suburban Lapidary Club proudly
nominates a team for the Rockhound of the
Year Award 2015:
Arlene and Judee Peterson
Arlene and Judee are active in the West
Suburban Lapidary Club as well as the
Northeast Illinois Gold Prospectors and CGMA.
Both Judee and Arleen hold board positions
with Northeast Illinois Gold Prospectors, Arlene
is the current Secretary and Outings Coordinator
and Judee is the Treasurer. Additionally, Arlene
is the current Co-Secretary with CGMA.
Both Judee and Arlene began their interest as
rockhounds about 15 years ago when they took
a few classes in silversmithing and jewelrymaking, leading them to join the West Suburban
Lapidary Club. In the club, they were exposed
to people of varied interests in rocks and
minerals and they were hooked. Now 9-10
months out of the year they spend their
weekends fossil hunting, gold prospecting, and
participating in shows as demonstrators. Their
enthusiasm and dedication to their hobby
continues to grow with each new adventure.
These ROTY nominees sound amazing! I look
forward to reading the submissions from YOUR club
soon!