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Inside This Issue

2017 0fficers/Chairs .. 2

09/17 Solar Eclipse .... 2

Show & Tell Themes ... 3

Brad’s Bench Tips ...... 4

WSMC Field Trips ....... 4

Kid’s Corner .............. 5

Puzzle ........................ 5

Editor: Gina Acosta

aquamaria07@gmail.com

Articles not

bylined are by

the editor.

Rock-A-Teer Newsletter of the Puyallup Valley Gem & Mineral Club

P.O. Box 134

Puyallup, WA 98371

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All in All You Really are Normal!

You Know You are a Gem and Mineral Enthusiast When… By Brett Lawrence

1. You’re wife likes simulants too but such just doesn’t sit right with you.

2. You’re asked why go out and dig for rocks when the backyard, not to mention the

whole city, is loaded with them…and you fail to see the hummer in it.

3. You pick around the decorative stone landscaping border you are passing by

looking for anything of interest.

4. Your heart sinks when that set of nice rubies you received as a gift turn out to be

lab created—or those big color-change alexandrite are just too huge to be the

real McCoy.

5. You need to remind yourself newbies to minerals and lapidary don’t yet have a

command of the vocabulary that you enjoy.

6. You have a particular rock you carry around that has spent eons free in the wilds

only to be your personal pet. (Anyone remember pet rocks?)

7. You see hidden patterns in a stone that nobody else (in their right mind) sees.

8. That bucket of rocks you purchased at a gem and mineral show overturns in the

bed of your pickup and makes an ungodly racket with each curve and pot hole.

9. You discover there’s never enough display space for your wonderful collection.

10. You discover no less than a few duplicate books in your library. (You can never

have too many rock and mineral books!)

11. Your dreaming of a nice rockhounding venture, find nice specimens then wake up

and realize it was only a dream. Bummer!

12. You peruse Rock and Gem magazine ads and salivate, which leads to…

13. You dream of the perfect lapidary shop in your garage and even find yourself

figuring out all the neat tools and equipment needed to fill it out.

14. You drive down the freeway and wonder what hidden treasures lie buried in that

river or valley you’re crossing.

15. The next rock club field trip elicits excuses for the sick day from work you’re now

planning. (Cough, cough…hack hack.)

16. Most normal people plan vacations to exotic destinations but you are thinking of

something more down-to- earth, like a mineral dig site.

17. The fee dig sight seems a little exorbitant, but you justify it in your mind with the nice

treasures you tell yourself you will find.

18. Playing in the dirt isn’t just for kids.

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2017 Elected Officers

Title Name Phone E-mail

President: Jim Christian (253) 720-9502 jimchristian_205@hotmail.com

Vice President Glen Ripper (253) 508-7545 glen311944@yahoo.com

Secretary: Karen Lebeter (253) 983-9093 klebeter@msn.com

Treasurer: Larry Hoffman (253) 922-9182 lhhoffman1@comcast.net

Federation Director: John Huber (253) 582-8682 craftyhubers@comcast.net

1 year Director: Alvin Wible (253) 720-2946 alvin.wible2@gmail.com

1 year Trustee: Tony Johnson (253) 863-9238

2017 Committee Chairs Title Name Phone E-mail

Clubhouse Coordinator: Jim Christian (253) 720-9502 jimchristian_205@hotmail.com

Club Show: Nancy LeMay (253) 985-5784

Editor: Gina Acosta (253) 750-4421 aquamaria07@gmail.com

Field Trips: Tony Johnson (253) 863-9238

Junior’s Group: Diana Acosta (253) 862-9527 acosta10717@comcast.net

Library: Brett Lawrence (253) 584-1319 bandslawrence@comcast.net

Membership: Larry Hoffman (253) 922-9182 lhhoffman1@comcast.net

Newsletter: Brett & Sherry Lawrence (253) 584-1319 bandslawrence@comcast.net

Page 2

I wanted to let everyone know about the solar eclipse on August 21,

2017 in case anyone that has not heard about it yet is interested in

traveling to the path of totality. The path of totality is the shadow on

the Earth that is created by the moon passing in front of the sun, the narrow path where the sun is blocked

completely and a total eclipse is viewable. The further north or south of the path of totality that one gets, the

more partial the eclipse will be. The path of totality will hit land just north of Newport, Oregon at 10:15AM, the first

time in 26 years for this spectacle to hit United States mainland. The next solar eclipse to touch U.S. mainland will

not occur again until 2024, and only sweeps through a few east coast states.

My family does not travel much, and with the shadow hitting so

nearby in Oregon, this is probably a once in a lifetime

opportunity for us. So I have began making plans now,

although we are still unsure as to whether we should get a

hotel room in a city that has set up an official eclipse viewing

area, get a camp site somewhere along the path of totality, or

just leave really early for the drive down. If you cannot travel

to the path of totality, do not fret! Over 90% of the eclipse is

viewable from the Puyallup, WA area, still worth turning an eye

to the sky for a few minutes on the morning of August 21.

August 21ST Solar Eclipse

Path of Totality through Oregon

Page 3

Rock-A-Teer

Puyallup Valley Gem & Mineral Club The Rock-A-Teer, our club bulletin, along with our club activities are dedicated to the

encouragement of friendliness, good fellowship, and to inform the members of earth

sciences.

Meetings are the second (2nd) and fourth (4th) Friday of each month except:

August (Potluck Picnic 2nd Meeting).

December (Holiday Dinner 1st Meeting, 2nd Meeting cancelled).

Time: 7:30 PM, except for Potluck nights (times to be announced)

Where: Fruitland Grange (112th & 86th Puyallup, WA) unless stated otherwise.

Board Meetings are held on the Tuesday prior to the 1st meeting of the month.

Dues are $20.00 for a single membership and $25.00 for a family membership.

Date Show & Tell Theme (always +field trip finds) Program Meeting

February 10th Washington State Material

February 24th Pink and Red TBD

March 10th Oregon State Material

March 24th Jerry’s Rock and Gem (Joan & Glen)

Show & Tell Themes and Program Nights

H & I LapidaryH & I LapidaryH & I Lapidary

Amber, Jewelry, Beads, Findings, Gemstones, Slabs,

Rough Material, Fossils, and Aussie items.

Mike & LaVon Siperek 4203 East 99th St. Tacoma, WA 98446

(253) 531-7294 yankees_diesel@comcast.net

The Puyallup Valley Gem & Mineral Club is a member

of the Northwest Federation of Mineralogical Societies

and the Washington State Mineral Council and

affiliated with the American Federation of

Mineralogical Societies. http://www.amfed.org/nfms

February Birthdays

Pamela Zevengergen (1st)

Vernon Sullivan (2nd

)

Gina Acosta (4th)

Johanna Crichton (5th)

Lloyd Poehler (5th)

Jacob Nation (6th)

Emily Hochstrasser (11th)

Diana Acosta (12th)

Jim Nicholls (12th)

Helen A. Hammond (17th)

Brett Lawrence (21st)

WELCOME NEW MEMBER AND GUESTS

BE SURE TO EXPLORE JOHN HUBER'S ROCK GARDEN

IN LAKEWOOD.

LAPIDARY QUALITY MATERIAL NOW FIFTY CENTS

PER POUND.

YOU PICK. CALL JOHN AT 253-582-8682 FOR MORE

INFORMATION.

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Rock-A-Teer

Get all 101 of

Brad's tips in

"Bench Tips for

Jewelry Making,"

and “Broom

Casting for

Creative Jewelry”

on Amazon.

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IDENTIFYING UNMARKED SOLDERS

nickel and arrange

several solders on

it. Ideally, I have a

sample of easy, medium and hard

known solders surrounding the

unknown solder. Then I heat the

plate from the bottom and watch

the order in which the solders melt.

There are plenty of ways to mark

your sheet or wire solders, but

suppose you forget and have a

couple that you can't identify. The

answer is to compare the melting

temperature of the unknown with

that of a known solder. What I do is

take a thick scrap of copper or

Many of us have a Dremel

motor tool to use at home or

when out to a class or

workshop. The one thing

that makes this tool much

more productive is the

addition of one inexpensive

option, an adjustable

chuck.

The basic motor tool as sold

typically comes with a collet

chuck. This means you have

to use a wrench to change

every tool bit, you have to

switch collets to use different

shaft sizes (3/32 or 1/8 inch

bits), and you can't use

ordinary drills at all - only the

special ones that have a

3/32 shaft.

A simple and inexpensive

($12) adjustable chuck solves

Brad’s Bench Tips By Brad Smith

ADJUSTABLE CHUCK FOR DREMELS

all of this. It's available in most

large local hardware stores or

model-making outlets. Tightening

the chuck is done easily by hand

to any size shaft. No key is

required.

DREMEL CHUCK

WA State Mineral Council Field trips As Copied from The Council Reporter

Washington State Mineral Council guided field trips are open to member clubs and the general public. Most trips

are free. For general updated information, go to: mineralcouncil.wordpress.com or contact Ed Lehman at

wsmced@hotmail.com or Home: (425) 334-6282, Cell: (425) 760-2786. Ed is also the contact for both the

Darrington and Marysville Rock Club. The POW contact is Larry Vess, vessel3755@gmail.com, (253) 473-3908.

Steve Tomns can be contacted at (509) 607-1446 regarding the Ellensburg Rock Club hosted field trip.

Date Host Site Meeting Time & Place Material Tools

February 18 Darrington Walker Valley 9AM @ Big Lake Store

Geodes &

Agates

Hard Rock

March 11 Marysville Cedar Ponds 9AM @ East Monroe Jack in the Box Jasper Dig & Hard Rock

April 15 Darrington

Racehorse

Creek

9AM @ Nugent’s Corner IGA

Fossils & Morell

mushrooms

Dig & Hard Rock

April 22 & 23 POW

Saddle Mt.

Mattawa W

9AM @ Mattawa Lep-Re-Kon Market Petrified Wood Dig & Hard Rock

May 13 Ellensburg

Saddle Mt.

Mattawa W

9AM @ Mattawa Lep-Re-Kon Market

Petrified Wood

(possibly opal)

Dig & Hard Rock

Scalpel

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Our January 13th meeting was really awesome, we identified various fossils and drew pictures of them, then

the kids showed them off at Show-n-Tell. We had our largest attendance ever, and I want to thank all the

kids, parents, and grandparents for bringing the kids to the meeting. I also want to thank Anne Welles for all

her help in setting up, helping kids, and cleaning up after the meeting. The kids went home with some

interesting fossils to start or add to their collections.

Our next meeting will be on February 10th at 7:00 pm. We will be completing our Fossil category with a

dinosaur theme that should be lots of fun. Hope to see you there!

KID’S CORNER Diana Acosta

A L E X A N D R I T E W A M L M B

M E T I L O C I D N I S O O O P I

E R K E D I S P O I D E M O R H C

T H G O L E N I P S M A N N K L O

H O V S R U T I L E M S F S Y T L

Y D A U O N A C R E T R O T A N O

S O L N D A E A T O V R N O N E R

T C L S O M L R N C U U Z N I T T

E H F T I D I E U B A I S E T I O

E R L O L N E P Y P R I S T E S U

R O U N E K R P L C I N P I N U R

I S O E H I H T O H O N H L R L M

H I R E T A S N K R I U E A A A A

P T I E T I Z N U K Y D N B G D L

P E T S A V O R I T E P E M L N I

A M E N I D E N I R A M A U Q A N

S P E S S A R T I T E I O L I T E

MY FAVORITE GEMSTONES By Brett Lawrence

1. ALEXANDRITE

2. AMETHYST

3. AMETRINE

4. ANDALUSITE

5. AQUAMARINE

6. BI-COLOR

TOURMALINE

7. CHROME

DIOPSIDE

8. CUPRITE

9. EMERALD

10. FLUORITE

11. GARNET

12. HELIODOR

13. INDICOLITE

14. IOLITE

15. KORNERUPINE

16. KUNZITE

17. KYANITE

18. MOONSTONE

19. PYROPE

20. RHODOCHROSITE

21. RUBY

22. RUTILE

23. SAPPHIRE

24. SPESSARTITE

25. SPHENE

26. SPINEL

27. SUNSTONE

28. TSAVORITE

29. UMBALITE

30. ZIRCON

LOOKING FORWARD Jim Christian

March 24th, 7:30pm program meeting at The Grange. Joan and Glenn from Jerry’s Rock & Gem in Kent, will

be our guests and as usual, it’ll be a full house. March 30th thru April 2

nd at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. Gem

Faire. We participated for the first-time last November and it turned out to be a huge success so we’re doing

it again. We’ll need volunteers so check your calendar and plan to come and play. June 2nd

thru June 4th,

club show at Swiss Park. One of the Clubs’ biggest activities but also one of the most rewarding so -- get

involved -- there’s plenty to do. Check with Nancy LeMay. September 1st thru September 24

th Washington

State Fair. We all know about this event and this year we are talking about being involved in more fair

activities than we have been in the past and this is still in the planning stages so more is to come. First and

third Saturdays of each month are hands-on days at the clubhouse so come and be creative. Tailgate sales.

We haven’t set dates yet but we will probably have one at our annual Picnic in August and another for a

program night at The Grange, so you might want to begin to gather “stuff” to offer for sale on your “tailgate”.

Clip and Donate stamp to the

Club for Cancer Research.

Please leave about 2” of paper

around the stamp if possible.

Rock-A-Teer Newsletter of the Puyallup

Valley Gem & Mineral Club

P.O. Box 134

Puyallup, WA 98371

FEBRUARY 2017

February 2017

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

5PM Silversmithing Class

2

6PM Cabbing Class

3 4

5 6 7

6PM Cabbing Class

7PM Board Meeting

8

5PM Silversmithing Class

9

6PM Cabbing Class

10

7PM Junior’s Group

7:30 Business Mtg

11

10AM Gem Trees

12 13 14

6PM Cabbing Class

15

5PM Silversmithing Class

16

6PM Cabbing Class

17 18

Fossilized Clams

19 20 21

6PM Cabbing Class

22

5PM Silversmithing Class

23

6PM Cabbing Class

24

7:30 Program Mtg

25

10AM Wire Wrapping

26 27 28

6PM Cabbing Class