Lone Pine Gem & Mineral Society Newsletter

October 2008

Messages from Francis

The following comes from our president, Francis Pedneau.

Upcoming Officer Elections

We have a volunteer!!! I have been informed that a member is interested in taking on the job of President. What great news. I have enjoyed my time as your president, but it is time to step down and pass the leadership of this GREAT CLUB to someone new. We still need someone for, what I think is, the most important job in the club, Treasurer. Alice has done an exceptional job, but she too feels the need to step down. Any volunteers?

Camp Paradise

Francee and I recently returned from Camp Paradise. This is a place where a person can spend a week learning to facet stones, carve soft stone (such as soapstone), carve hard stone, learn lapidary, wire wrapping, glass fusion, lampwork bead making, copper enamaling, metal casting, silver smithing, broom straw casting, precious metal clay, bead stringing, and a gold panning field trip thrown in for good measure.

The cost next year will be $350.00 per person. This includes sunday dinner, three meals a day (Monday thru Friday), Saturday breakfast, a place to sleep with showers etc. or parking for your RV and all the instruction you want. A great deal.

Lone Pine Film Festival

The Film Festival is upon us. Mark your calendars for October 10, 11 and 12. We need help to staff the club booth. We will be giving free rocks to youngsters, operating the spinning wheel, cutting and selling geodes, and promoting our club.

Hosting The Christmas Potluck

Our Christmas potluck and meeting is not too far away. Does anyone want to host? Let Francis know.

Death Valley Encampment

In November, Francee and I, will be in Death Valley being part of the 49ers second annual Southwest Mining, Minerals, Lapidary and craft show. Part of what we do while there is sell club rocks and promote our club. BJ Hayner has been saving her cat litter containers for us to put club rocks in. We are going to need more. Does anyone out there have one or two containers that we could use for club rocks?

Shop Night

The club decided to change the date of Shop Night. It will now be on the second Tuesday of the month 6:30 to 8:30.

October Field Trip

Jeff Lines sends us this information.

On Saturday Oct. 25th we will be heading to the Royston Turquoise Mine in Nevada. Jeff Lines will be leading the fieldtrip. We will meet at the rest stop on Hwy 6/95 roughly 10+ miles west of Tonopah. We met here last year for the fieldtrip. Please note that this meeting location is different than what was said at the September meeting. Please arrive early to the meeting location since we will leave sharply at 8AM.

This fieldtrip will have a 15 person limit and please note that eight people have already signed up. Dean Otteson, the mine owner, requires a $75 per person collecting fee. You are allowed to collect up to one 5-gal bucket's worth. Please bring exact cash or a check made out to Dean.

This is a great collecting locale and everyone has had a great time each year we've visited. The Royston turquoise ranges in color from deep blues to greens and makes wonderful cabbing material. More details about the trip, including a video, will be given at the October meeting.

Turquoise from the Royston mine. Photo taken on last year's trip.

You Might Be A Rockhound

Ray Ramirez has contributed these entries to our popular You Might Be A Rockhound feature. (Pssst, Ray, you might want to seek professional help.)

You might be a rockhound ...

• If your lunchbox has more rocks than food in it.
• If your wife has to ask you to let her know if you would like to be buried or cremated before you go out collecting again.
• If you and your buddy carry a 30 foot extension ladder over hill and dale to try and reach those specimens on the cliff only to find yourself clinging to the gad bar you drove into the top of the cliff to reach specimens at the fingertips of a 40 foot drop off.
• If you feel like you are going through some sort of withdrawal because you haven’t been out collecting since last weekend.
• If you’ve dug yourself into a hole only to find your feet sticking out.
• If your idea of Crockpot cooking consists of oxalic acid and quartz crystals.
• If you sleep with rocks under your bed.
• If you collect empty beer flats from your local grocers.
• If 100 year old dynamite is only a mild deterrent.
• If you wear a hardhat, headlamp and dust mask for fun.
• If you have to drag a rock a half mile down a wash strapped to a hand truck then have to build a ramp to the tailgate to get it into the truck.
• If you’ve been swinging a crack hammer for so long that the ligaments in your forearm sound like a squeaky door when you try to flex your wrist.
• If you don’t mind being a contortionist digging all day and take a week to recover only to do it all over again next weekend.
• If when you go to gem shows with family they see the entire show before you’ve seen the first row.
• If you find yourself digging all day and never think about food until it’s too dark to see.
• If all your gloves have holes worn in the fingertips.
• If you haven’t read a book in ten years that wasn’t somehow related to rocks.
• If you look in the mirror when you get back to the truck and look like rocky raccoon.
• If you use more TP in a day to wrap specimens than it’s intended use for several days.
• If you own more hammers than you have fingers and toes.

Upcoming Events

• Club meeting night: October 6th, Monday, Forum Theatre (141 North Jackson St in Lone Pine) at 6:30 pm. Join us for dinner at the Bonanza at 5:15.
• Shop night: October 14th, Tuesday starting at 6:30 pm and going to around 8:30. Join us at MacDonald's at 6:00 for dinner.
• Field trip to Royston Turquoise Mine: Saturday, October 25th. Meet at the rest stop on Hwy 6/95 roughly 10+ miles west of Tonopah at 8:00 am.. Try to get there a little early as Jeff wants to leave promptly at 8:00.

Our Web Site

You can always find the latest copy of the newsletter at our web site at www.lpgms.org. You'll also find past newsletters and a new membership form. If you are online and would like to receive the newsletter electronically, send me a message saying you wish to do that to linda at lpgms.org.

Contact numbers

• President: Francis Pedneau - 760-876-4319; franceem at qnet.com
• Vice President: Ray Ramirez - 760-872-0624
• Newsletter editor: Linda Jeffries - 760-876-1009; linda at lpgms.org