Feb 2013

Sedona Gem and Mineral Club
P.O. Box 3284, Sedona, AZ 86340
www.sedonagemandmineral.org
General Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of the
month at 7:00 PM at the Sedona Library in West Sedona.
The Board of Directors meets the second Tuesday of the
month at the home of Greg Capatch in Sedona.
Members and guests are always welcome to attend.
FEBRUARY, 2013
Volume 59, Issue 2
MEMBER AMERICAN FEDERATION OF
MINERALOGICAL SOCIETIES
MEMBER ROCKY MOUNTAIN FEDERATION OF
MINERALOGICAL SOCIETIES
Newsletter Editor: Patti Polk
Email: [email protected]
General Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM at the Sedona Library in West Sedona.
For membership inquiries, please contact Marge Schwartz at: [email protected]
FEBRUARY PROGRAM
Medicine Wheel & Ceremonial Circles
by Dana Ross
Circles of the stone
represent ancient symbolic
tools of connection
between man and Mother
Earth, Father Sky, the
Star People and the Great
Mystery. What do our Native
American Medicine wheels
teach us and can we use
the wisdom they represent to better our lives and reach our
higher potential? Can we too use these tools to help create
sacred space and connection in our lives?
Dana has been a Sedona resident for over 20 years. He
brings his experience and wisdom as a body & energy
worker, former jeep tour driver and his love for communing
with nature to offer a deeper understanding of our
connection, oneness and interdependency with all forms
and expressions in nature and some of the unique qualities
the “rock people” share with us.
Happy Valentines Day !
2013 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President: Greg Capatch; 928-554-4615
Vice President (Field Trips): Darryl Berghorn;
949-939-3375
2nd Vice President (Programs): Evelina Dunton;
928-284-9590
3rd Vice President (Newsletter): Patti Polk;
928-649-3744
Treasurer: Gayle Macklin; 928-649-2163
Secretary: Ann Capatch; 928-554-4615
Directors: Barbara Cadwell, Pat McMahan, Amy Koba,
John Brown.
Past President: Garry Kappel
Membership Dues
Please be sure to pay your membership dues for
2013. See Marge Schwartz to pay your dues. A
single membership is $15 and a family membership
is $25. You will not receive your newsletter or be able
to go on fieldtrips without paying your dues. Bring a
check to the February meeting and join the fun!
Honorary Member Elaine Marstad
Elaine Marstad received an honorary membership
to the Sedona Gem and Mineral Club at the January
meeting. She was presented with a certificate by
Pat McMahan who spoke of her service to the
club. Elaine was taken by surprise and accepted the
award and Ann Capatch returned her membership
check to her followed by a round of applause.
Congratulations Elaine!
Sedona Gem & Mineral Club
Page 2
FEBRUARY BIRTHSTONES
FEBRUARY Field Trip
The Gregorian Calendar has poems matching each month with
its birthstone. These are traditional stones of English-speaking
societies.Tiffany & Co. published these poems “of unknown
author” for the first time in a pamphlet in 1870.
TUCSON GEM AND MINERAL SHOW FIELD TRIP
Field trip dates: Wednesday Feb. 13 thru Friday Feb. 15, 2013
Here is the poem for February:
Accomodations: Best Value Inn
818 E. Benson Hwy
Tucson, 520-884-5800
The February born shall find
Sincerity and peace of mind
Freedom from passion and from care
If they an amethyst will wear
Call and reserve a room for: Wed. night and Thurs. night
Cost per room: $59.99 plus tax 2 double beds or 1 king bed.
Traditional Birthstone - Amethyst
Amethyst is the purple variety of the mineral quartz and is a
popular gemstone. Although it must always be purple to be
amethyst, it can and does have a wide range of purple shades.
Its color is unparalleled, and even other, more expensive purple
gemstones are often compared to its color and beauty. If it
were not for its widespread availability, amethyst would be very
expensive.
The name “amethyst” comes from the Greek and means “not
drunken.” This was perhaps due to a belief that amethyst would
ward off the effects of alcohol, but most likely the Greeks were
referring to the almost wine-like color of some stones that they
may have encountered.
Amethyst can occur as long prismatic crystals that have a
six sided pyramid at either end or can form as druze that is a
crystalline crust that only show the pointed terminations. As a
mineral specimen, amethyst is popular for its color and nice
crystal shapes that produce a handsome, purple, sparkling
cluster.
However, amethyst is not the same everywhere. Different
localities can produce a unique amethyst to that particular
region or even to that particular mine. Experts can often identify
the source mine that a particular amethyst came from. The
key to this is the specimen’s color, shape of crystal, inclusions,
associations and character of formation.
The color purple is traditionally the color of royalty and amethyst
has been used since the dawn of history to adorn the rich and
powerful monarchs and rulers. Today, amethyst is a lovely and
affordable gemstone that is fortunately available in a wide variety
of cut and uncut stones that we can all possess and admire.
Prasiolite is the leek-green variety of quartz, rare in nature
but used as a gemstone, sometimes (wrongly) called Green
Amethyst.
Alternate Birthstones
Bloodstone is a very interesting form of Chalcedony used as an
alternate birthstone.
Bloodstone (also called heliotrope) is green with distinctive
red spots that resemble blood, giving this stone its name. The
bloodstone was used to stop bleeding especially nosebleeds.
There is a legend that says the bloodstone was formed from the
blood of Christ dripping on the green earth and solidifying. It was
also called heliotrope by the Greeks and was thought to bring
change. The bloodstone has been used as an amulet to protect
against the evil eye. Bloodstone is the symbol of justice.
Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy Birthday to those born in
February. See you at the meeting and bring your dues for 2013!
from Marge Schwartz
Directions: I-10 south to exit 262 (Benson Hwy. South) Go one
quarter mile south on Benson Hwy. Best Value Inn will be on your
right on the northwest corner of Park Ave. and Benson Hwy.
Arrive Wednesday hopefully early enough to get your feet wet and
do a little shopping. Dinner will be at 6:00pm. Meet at the hotel
lobby at 5:20pm for a brief orientation. We’ll be having authentic,
tasty, Mexico City Mexican food. We’ll eat at:
La Parilla Suiza
2720 N. Oracle Rd.
Tucson, 520-624-4300
Pat McMahan will furnish FREE directories and other free guide
books which give information about the shows.
The directories will be available for you to pick up at Amy Koba’s
house, outside by her front door, Friday, Feb. 8.
Her address is 85 Ross Rd. Sedona. Take 89A to Northview then
south to Ross Rd. then right to 85 Ross Rd.
This is the biggest and best rock, mineral and fossil show in
the world. People travel many thousands of miles to come to
this event. It’s almost in our backyards. (about 3 and one half
hours drive from Sedona). Guaranteed lots of fun. About 20 club
members went last year and had a great time. Last year there
were 43 shows. There should be enough rock and jewelry for all
of us.
Tucson field trip coordinator
Pat McMahan, 928-300-8333
SALT MINE FIELD TRIP
Besides the Tucson trip with Pat McMahan, we will have a local
trip to the Salt Mine area in Camp Verde led by Garry Kappel on
February 23rd .We will be looking for various salt minerals such
as Glauberite, Halite. Calcite, Aragonite and Gypsum are found
as pseudomorphs after glauberite, that is the crystal form is that
of glauberite but the mineral occupying the form is either calcite,
aragonite, or gypsum.
Pseudomorphs can be found in washes and walls of the washes
surrounding the salt mine.
We will meet at 9am at the west end of the McDonald’s parking lot
at the junction of the 260 and I-17 and proceed the short distance
to the the mine from there. Bring a collecting bag and something
to wrap your specimens in. A mattock, rock hammer, spade or
small shovel would be useful tools. Don’t forget sun glasses as the
glare from the salt can be annoying.
Hope you all can make it.
Darryl Berghorn, Intrepid Field Trip leader
Sedona Gem & Mineral Club
Letter From the President
Greetings fellow club members.
In February, our main field trip is an adventure south to
Tucson during the annual rock and gem show. If you
have never been there, it is a trip you should consider
making. Our club gets special pricing on a hotel close
to the show, and for those making their first trip- several
locations are chosen for a ‘guided tour’- if you will. It can
be quite overwhelming since it is the largest rock and
gem show in the world - but with the guidance provided
(especially if you are a first timer) navigating the show
becomes a bit easier. Additional details are provided
elsewhere in the newsletter if you are interested in
heading down.
Some changes have been made to the newsletter
format. You will notice that all members of the board
are listed, and that contact information is provided for
the officer positions. Should you have any questions or
concerns, please feel free to contact one of us.
I would also mention that annual dues are due. Please
bring them along to the next meeting so we can keep
everyone on our active roster. If you won’t be at the
meeting, please consider mailing them to our post office
box. The address is SGMC, PO Box 3284, Sedona, AZ.
86340.
Lastly, I would encourage you all to come to this month’s
general meeting. We have an interesting speaker in
Dana Ross, and his topic is medicine wheels. Ann and I
have known Dana for a while - we first met him when we
went to a garage sale at the house he was in at the time.
He had 17 different medicine wheels on the property.
Many of us have ‘yard rock’ and rough material laying
around - and a medicine wheel is a unique way to display
these rocks as part of your landscape. Dana helped us
put a medicine wheel on our property - which is based on
the wheel the Dakota Indians have been using for many
hundreds of years. It is quite beautiful, and the history of
their use is interesting as well.
Hope to see you at the meeting,
Greg Capatch
At right, a picture of our trip to Wickenburg and
Amethyst Hill taken by Brandi Drummond. The find
of the day was made by new member Dale Kershner
who worked hard to pull out a good sized chunk of
amethyst. from Darryl Berghorn
Page 3
Annual Club Dues Are Due!
Our annual club membership dues are due
in January, so please be sure to bring your
checkbook with you to the February meeting if
you would like to renew your membership.
Membership dues for one year are as follows:
Individual membership: $15.00
Family membership: $25.00
Junior (9-18 yrs old) membership: $5.00
If you would like a club badge, please include $6.00 (per
badge) with your application.
Club membership entitles you to all the benefits of belonging
to the Sedona Gem & Mineral Club, including meetings with
educational programs and speakers, raffles, special classes,
club functions such as the summer picnic and Christams party,
field trips, our newsletter, and our fantastic annual gem and
mineral show. And also, just as importantly - the opportunity to
get to know a bunch of friendly (and a little crazy) rockhounds
for fun and adventure!
MEMBER NEWS
Unfortunately, we have very sad news to report this month.
Longtime club member Roland Michaelis passed away
on January 16th at his home in Prescott at the age of 84.
He is survived by his grand daughter. He was a former
employee of NASA. In the Sedona club he was the Display
Chairperson, and was also a member of the Prescott club,
where he served as president in the early 90’s. In Prescott,
he was a member of the computer club, the astronomy
club, and the Questers (an antiquing club). He was a
Christian Scientist, and no services will be held. Roland will
be missed by many.
Sedona Gem & Mineral Club
CLASSIFIED SECTION
This is a section dedicated to club members for sharing
information about personal items that they would like to buy,
trade, or sell.
If you would like to submit information to be included in the
classified section, please email Patti P. with your complete
announcement at:[email protected] before the end
of the month to be included in the next month’s newsletter.
Unfortunately, we can no longer run ads at this time for
paid services that members are operating outside of the
club sanctions. In the future, we will be considering paid
advertisements that members and non-members can use to
promote their businesses.
For Sale: White Mineral Oil
White mineral oil for lapidary saws. $20.00 per gallon.
Call Garry at 300-3582 for more info or directions.
For Sale: Large Rotary Tumbler with 2 Barrels
This is a used 12 (or 15 lb.?) tumbler made by Contempo
Lapidary. That company no longer exists, but replacement
parts that would fit are available from Lortone.
This is a fairly large tumbler, and the whole unit measures 14”
x 13” x 9.5” high (without the barrel). The actual barrel (not
across the top) measures 8.5” across, and is 8” deep.
The barrels ride on rods supported by oilable bronze bushings
contained in pillow blocks.
The machine is in good used condition and runs well. The unit
is powered by a 1/3 HP Dayton motor that runs smooth. The
barrel liners are in good condition, and the barrels each come
with two lid gaskets.
Comparable new machines with only one barrel sell from
$400.00-$600.00, but I am asking $200.00 for everything.
Call Patti at 649-3744 for more info.
Contempo Lapidary Tumbler
Page 4
Wanted: Boxes, Boxes - and More Boxes
Hello fellow club members. For the show next year, we are
planning a bigger signage campaign. To do this, we need
some boxes - but only one type of box so the signage is
consistent. We are looking for the heavy duty office boxes
that reams of paper come in. If you have office boxes of
this size, please bring them to the meeting. Please do not
bring in anything other than this size or type - as we cannot
use them. Thanks.
Sedona Gem and Mineral Club Februar y Newsletter, 2013
2-17 TUCSON, ARIZONA: Wholesale and retail show; The Rock
Show; Kino Sports Complex; 2500 E. Ajo Way; Daily 9:30-5:30;
free admission; minerals, jewelry, cabs, slabs, beads, lapidary
equipment, rough rock, crystals; contact Trym Gibbons, PO Box
246, Cortaro, AZ 85652, (800) 983-0133.
e-mail: [email protected]
FEBRUARY 2013
Many shows in Tucson this month, check online.
1-28 QUARTZSITE, ARIZONA: Wholesale and retail show;
Desert Gardens RV Park; Desert Gardens RV Park; 1055 Kuehn
St.; Mon. 9-6, Sun. 9-6; free admission; crystals, minerals,
rough, polished, jewelry, lapidary equipment; contact Sharon
(manager), 1055 Kuehn St., Quartzsite, AZ 85346-2818, (928)
927-6361; e-mail: [email protected].
Web site: www.desertgardensrvpark.net
Sedona Gem & Mineral Club
P.O. Box 3284
Sedona, AZ 86340
14-17 TUCSON, ARIZONA: Annual show; Tucson Gem & Mineral
Society; Tucson Convention Center; 260 S. Church Ave.; Thu. 106, Fri. 10-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; adults $10 (2 days $17), Active
Military and seniors (62 and older) receive $2 off on Fri.; contact
Tucson Gem & Mineral Society Inc., PO Box 42588, Tucson, AZ
85733, (520) 322-5773; e-mail: [email protected].
Web site: www.tgms.org
16-17 MESA, ARIZONA: 47th annual show; Apache Junction
Rock & Gem Club; Skyline High School; 845 S. Crismon Rd.; Sat.
9-5, Sun. 10-4; adults $3, students with ID $1, children (12 and
under) free; dealers, jewelry, gems, cabochons, beads, rocks,
specimens, slabs, fossils, lapidary equipment and supplies,
hourly door prizes, silent auction, grand raffle, gem tree-making
activity, Wheel of Rocks; contact Kelly Iverson, (480) 325-2705.
Web site: www.ajrockclub.com