Each one teach one Stone ChipperMinerals SIG Meeting The next Minerals SIG meeting will be Tuesday,...

The Stone Chipper

August 2012 Vol. 51.8

Austin Gem & Mineral Society

Each one teach one

Presidential Message

Hello, everyone,

This month is the annual auction on the 23. We need good items to auction, as this is our onlyfund raiser besides the show. Instructions on how to donate are found elsewhere in the Chipper.But whether you donate or not, come and enjoy the fun. Prices are definitely better than from adealer or online.

Your Board has been working for the last three years on bring the Standard OperatingProcedures up-to-date. This is information for all club members, and we will be placing a hardcopy in the foyer at the clubhouse, putting them online on our web site, and sending themthrough the AGMList in the next few days.

Chip Burnette will be offering wire wrapping classes starting in November. Details will be sentout later.

Best advice for the “dog days” of August (does anyone know why they are called that?) is tohunt for rocks only in the morning or much farther north or at higher elevations. Keep cool andhydrated. Make it a good month!

Pauline Denson

THE AUSTIN GEM AND MINERAL SOCIETY, INC. (AGMS) is a member in good standing of the South Central Federation of Mineral Societies and the American Federation of Mineral Societies. Its editors are also members of SCRIBE. The club address is 6719 Burnet Lane, Austin, Texas 78757, and phone (512) 458-9546. The AGMS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Visit our website at www.austingemandmineral.org Contact our webmaster for website updates at [email protected].

PURPOSEThe purpose of the AGMS is to promote interest and education in the various Earth Sciences and other related subjects.

MEETINGSThe society meets at 7:00 p.m. the fourth Thursday of every month except October, which is show set up day. The November meeting will be held on the THIRD Thursday. December is the Officers’ Induction Banquet held on a date to be determined. Board meetings are held the first Tuesday of every month. Show committee meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month. All meetings are open to anyone. Society officers are listed on the second page of this publication. Please feel free to contact any of them for information

Dues for 2012Annual membership dues are:

Adult-$15.00 Couple-$20.00 Junior--$4.00

Table of Contents

Officers & Board Members...................................Page 2Library Donations.................................................Page 2SIG Meeting..........................................................Page 2Kingsley North Supplies.......................................Page 2Hunts & Events.....................................................Page 3Annual Club Auction............................................Page 32015 AGMS/SCFMS Planning.............................Page 3July Board Meeting Minutes.................................Page 4July General Meeting Minutes..............................Page5July Show Committee Meeting Minutes...............Page 5 The Kaleidoscope Jasper Mine.............................Page 6.

2Stone Chipper August 2012

Officers

President—Pauline [email protected]

1st VP—Richard [email protected]

2nd VP—Paul [email protected]

Treasurer—Wing [email protected]

Secretary—Joyce [email protected]

Board Members

Lou Pulliam -- [email protected]

Marilyn Gilbreath –[email protected]

Sian Schilhab –[email protected]

Harold Von Rosenberg –[email protected]

Terry [email protected]

Stretch [email protected]

Library Donations

Committee Chairs

Annual Show - Susan Postlethwait [email protected]

Education/Classes - Joyce Hrapsky [email protected]

Field Trips - Chip Burnette [email protected]

Junior Advisor - Jackie Fisher [email protected]

Co-Librarians - Diann Hill, Terry Barry, Roger Waguespack, Harriet Streiber [email protected]

Newsletter Editor – Carolyn Perkins [email protected]

Building Chair - Glen Gilbreath

Display Cases - Jackie Fisher

Federation/Conservation - Paul Good

Historian - Vacant

Hospitality - Kathleen Howard

Membership -Tonya Barry

Scholarship - Stretch Young

School Programs - Wing Evans

Sergeant-at-Arms - Jackie Fisher

Sunshine - Fran Ellis

We would like to acknowledge and thank Laird Fowler, Cathy Brandt, and Tony & Lou Pulliam for their recent generous donations of books to the library. If anyone else has donated materials to the libary recently and not been acknowledged in the Stone Chipper, please contact Roger Waguespack ([email protected]) so we can correct the oversight.

Minerals SIG Meeting

The next Minerals SIG meeting will be Tuesday, September 11th. It will be a show-and-tell meeting so attendees are asked to bring mineral samples, photos, and stories from their summer mineral adventures.

Kingsley North Supplies

The AGMS Board has approved purchase of a substantial amount of workshop supplies from Kingsley North, Inc. In order to get a better discount for the club, the Board will allow members who wish to order supplies or equipment from Kingsley North to add their order to the club’s order.

Orders must be listed with item numbers from the Kinglsey North web site or catalogue and accompanied by a check made out to AGMS for the full amount of the order. Orders should be sent to Ewing Evans, Treasurer, before the next gneeral meeting on Thursday, August 23, or brought to the meeting and turned in to Ewing at the meeting.

Hunts & Events

3 Stone Chipper August 2012

Metalsmith SIG (if I’m not there, talk to Brian) on August 13th from 6:30 PM to around 9:00 PM and during the Show Committee meeting on the 16th which starts at 7:00 PM. I’ll send out another email about which weekends I or someone else will be at the club.

Please put the donations on one of the tables set up along the walls in the general meeting room. If you cannot make it to any of the workshop nights, let me know and I’ll make arrangements to be there at other times during the week or on weekends. donations can also be dropped off during scheduled meetings. Just place the items on the table by the door with a note and we’ll put them out later. Please include a note with each donation with your name, what the item is, and where it was collected.

We also need two volunteers to be runners to assist the auctioneer with the auction items and two cashiers. Please email me directly at musicand [email protected] if you can help.

Thanks, Richard Dorsey.

2015 AGMS/SCFMS/AFMSPlanning Meetings

August 25-26, Jasper TX SCFMS Annual Meeting & Show sponsored by the Pine Country Gem & Mineral Society, Jasper, TX. Sign up for a petrified wood hunt at nearby Lake Sam Rayburn on August 23 or 26. Advance registration deadline, July 7. Questions? Call Dona Ducote at 409-384-5653.

Annual Club Auction!

Well folks, it’s auction time again. it will be held on August 23rd, in lieu of this month’s general meeting, and will start at 7:00 PM. Items may be viewed prior to the auction at 6:00 PM. There will be bid sheets by each item to write your name and the amount of your bid.

Information About the Bidding:• There will be an initial starting bid when the

item is auctioned;• items that do not get a starting bid may not be

auctioned if there are a large number of items to be auctioned, and;

• this is not a silent auction.Please have your bid sheets completed no later than 6:50 so the auction can start at 7:00 PM.

We need donations for the auction: Rocks (of course!)--rough, slabs, cabochons, mineral specimens, finished jewelry, and lapidary equipment.

All proceeds from the auction go directly to the club. Donations can be dropped off on Wednesday nights during workshop hours from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM, They can also be dropped off during the

Sept 13 2015 Meeting at clubhouse in general meeting room--7 pm

Dec 13 2015 Meeting at clubhouse in general meeting room--7 pm

Susan Postlethwait-2012 Show Chair


AGMS Board MeetingSynopsis August 7, 2012

The AGMS Board of Directors held a regular meeting on August 7, 2012. Below are listed thehighlights of this meeting; a complete set of minutes is available upon request.

Attendees: A quorum of officers and directors was present as well as six club members.

Minutes:The June 5, 2012 minutes were accepted (the Board did not meet in July).

Treasurer’s Report: The July 2012 Income and Expense Budget was presented. Richard Dorseynotified Wing that the jewelers’ group that used our building did not pay for the second use. Pauline Denson explained that we have not yet received the rebate on the new air conditioner; thecity had to re-inspect because of a change in personnel and lost paperwork.

Old Business:Review of final copy of SOPs: At the June meeting, changes to the Standard Operating Procedures Articles I-VII and the Appendix B Class Structure and Fees text were made and adopted. A clean copy was reviewed prior to tonight’s meeting and the changes confirmed. After Joyce Hrapsky adds some 06/05/2012 adoption dates, Pauline will send the finalized SOP to Diann Hill to be posted on the AGMS website.

Private Email Protection: Diann Hill reported to the Board on a method that would enable AGMS email address holders to reply to club-related emails without using their personal email address.

New Business:Auction: Richard Dorsey reported that a flat lap has been donated and that there are still mineralspecimens from Linda Northcote’s estate to be added to the auction items.

Insurance Claim:Susan Postlethwait reported that the original adjuster left the company. The insurance company contracted with Quality Research and Replacement Services and Sue has given them pricing information and guidance on many of our stolen items. She is waiting to hear whether they have found a replacement trailer.

Key Lock Box: Susan Postlethwait proposed that a key lock box be purchased to hold miscellaneous labeled keys such as for the sheds and trailer. A motion passed to give Susan the authority to spend up to $50 on a key lockbox.

Wire Wrap Class: Chip Burnette submitted a syllabus for five 3-hour wire wrap classes to be held in November and December. A different project will be completed at each class (all are Chip’s original designs). A motion that Chip’s syllabus for wire wrap classes be accepted as amended passed. A second motion passed raising the proposed class fee of $10 to $15. Chip will send the syllabus to Joyce Hrapsky who schedules classes and determines if there are calendar conflicts.

Other Business (not on agenda):Workshop Supply Request: Gef Fisher gave Wing Evans an itemized, priced list of Kingsley North supplies needed for the shop. Wing said the request exceeded the budgeted amount. Three members had also made out personal orders and attached checks to cover them. A motion was made that we place the Kingsley North order Gef Fisher gave us plus the other orders submitted with it and that we ask other interested members to join the order. The motion passed with one opposed. Pauline will send out an invitation to join the order on the AGMSList.

Honoree Plaques: Susan Postlethwait proposed that the club get a plaque to list past patrons and add the new patrons each year. The idea could be extended to plaques for Rockhound(s) of theYear, past AGMS

presidents and Show Chairs. Susan was authorized to get bids and report back.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 pm.

Marilyn Gilbreath for Joyce Hrapsky, 2012 Secretary

AGMS General MeetingJuly 26, 2012

Stone Chipper August 2012

Paul Bordovsky introduced club member Alan Cherepon who narrated his slide show, Fluorescence and the World of Fluorescent Minerals. Alan said Sir George Stokes named and explained the phenomenon of fluorescence in 1852. Alan also talked about the UV electromagnetic spectrum, activators and quenchers of fluorescence and phosphorescence. Alan’s top locality for collecting is Franklin and Sterling Hill, NJ. Texas localities for fluorescent calcite are: Terlingua, Lampasas, Llano, and Karnes and Travis Counties.

Pauline Denson welcomed six visitors (many became new members) and one junior. The minutes were accepted as published in The Stone Chipper. Treasurer Wing Evans reported that the club is solvent.

Pauline said that a volunteer is still needed for Club Historian. She also reported that our insurance claim for the stolen trailer and contents is still not settled. Susan Postlethwait is handling the claim.

Hospitality: Kathleen Howard said that we need volunteers to sign up or we won’t have refreshments forthe next meeting.

Field Trips:Chip Burnette reminded members of the Jasper, TX, show and SCFMS annual meeting August25-26 with field trips on Thursday the 23rd and Sunday the 26th. The trips to hunt petrified wood (you must register in advance) will be to property on Lake Sam Rayburn that is not otherwise open to

hunting. Pauline asked Chip to look into a field trip to Temple.

Library: Harriet Strieber complimented Roger Waguespack on his work organizing periodicals. She alsosaid the catalog notebook in the library is updated and she will see about having the online version updated.

Tonya Barry assisted Pauline in the door prize drawings and the winners were: Mindy Waters, Ron Guzman, Cathy Brandt, Dennis Miller and Charlotte Morriss.

Show and Tell: Pauline Denson showed a garnet found while hunting with her grandson at the Green’s Farm Garnet Mine in CT. Dennis Miller brought a handsome chunk of calcite from Lordsburg, NM.Paul Bordovsky showed two nice pieces of amazonite. Ron Guzman showed several flats of calcite, aragonite and azurite from Mexico.

Attendance: 45 members, 6 guests, and 1 junior.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:24 p.m. with refreshments following.

Marilyn Gilbreath for Joyce Hrapsky, 2012 Secretary

Show Committee Meeting MinutesJuly 19, 2012

The Show Committee meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m.

Minutes: Minutes for May were presented for review and then submitted with one correction.

Treasurer:Brian advised beginning balance for June.

Dealers: Stretch brought the applications for selecting the new dealers. The dealers selected are the following:

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Stone Chipper August 20126

• VMP Minerals, LLC, • Earth’s Rocks Minerals,• Lifewire Wire Trees, • The Cutter’s Bench Gemstones, • Crystal Monster Minerals, • S&J Fine Jewelry • Stretch advised that he has not heard from or

received the application and payment from Marc with Monarch Minerals. Also would like to get more information on Natural Selection dealers.

Insurance Claim on Trailer: We have replacement cost coverage but the adjuster that Susan was working with has left the company.they contracted with another company to obtain the items for replacement but he did not know what some of the items were except the trailer. Susan explained what several of the items were and that they were built by club members

Show Pin:We selected the calcite figure with the chemical composition and axes.

New Dealer Application: Susan is going up to Minnesota and she is taking the one page application with her on the off chance that she finds a good dealer that would like to come to our show.

Postcards:Discussed changing the postcard and adding a QR barcode. Stretch was able to create one for our show which links people to the Show website. Susan will contact Craig about the price of the postcards,changing picture to a collage and maybe a different gauge of cardstock.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:20.

Robert Morriss

THANKS!

The Austin Gem and Mineral Society would like to thank Jim and JoAnn Wiersema of Horizon Environmental Services, for their continuing support of the club by printing The Stone Chipper each month.

Refreshments are needed for the August meeting!

The Kaleidoscope Jasper MineIn Oregon

For the past three years, a new multi-patterned, multicolored jasper stone has been available via e-bay from the privately owned Kaleidoscope Jasper Mine located in central Oregon in an area not noted for jaspers, agates, opal, or any other lapidary rock.

The mine site was discovered during the winter of 2008/2009 by Dale Rhode and his sons Brian and Derek. Dale is a 4th generation Oregon rockhound, and, before his Kaleidoscope discovery, he prospected locally for plume agates, petrified wood, feldspar, and picture jaspers that he would sell on the internet’s e-bay site and out of his rock shop.

When the national (and local) economy took a turn for the worse (along with his health) during the winter of 2008, Dale had to sell most of his lapidary machinery to make ends meet. He believes that divine providence had a hand in leading him and his sons to this jasper deposit just as they were hitting rock bottom.

After establishing an exclusive mining claim, he began listing Kaleidoscope Jasper on e-bay in mid-February 2009. Within four months, Dale was receiving 250 to 300 e-bay visits during a seven-day auction period with Kaleidoscope rocks selling for an average of $50 to $75 per pound depending on pattern and color variety. One month, his on-line Kaleidoscope Jasper store had more than 5,000 views. That first year, he gave away at least 500 pounds of Kaleidoscope Jasper rock as gifts to his rock shop

August 2012Stone Chipper 7

Photo #1 “Common” Tapestry Kaleidoscope Jasper

Photo #3“Candy Stripe” Tapestry Kaleidoscope Jasper

customers. Since then, Dale has slowed down in order to manage his health and balance his family’s mining versus selling activity and now moves an average of 50 pounds per week on e-bay in a small number of auction listings.

It’s the pattern and color variations that make Kaleidoscope Jasper so interesting. So far, the Rhode family has identified and named over 15 such varieties. The rarest of these is Tapestry Kaleidoscope Jasper of the “common” sub-type shown in Photo #1. These varieties (which Dale calls “types”) sometimes have variations or “sub-types”, and for Tapestry Kaleidoscope, Dale has named four sub-types so far: (a) common, (b) green, (c) owl eye, shown in Photo #2, and (d) endeavor.

Occasionally, Kaleidoscope Jasper rocks, much like other Oregon Jasper/Agates, will have multiple

internal fractures that cause slab break-up and loss of useable material. Dale often opens his more valuable Kaleidoscope rough with a saw cut to confirm rock color and pattern as well as internal surface integrity. He calls this a “cut-n-proven” stone. Dale guarantees his e-bay sales such that “if you cut it and it’s junk, send it back right away” along with some e-mail feedback, and he’ll do right by you.

Dale’s other named Kaleidoscope Jaspers types are: Candy Stripe Kaleidoscope Jasper (see Photo # 3),

Photo #2“Owl Eye” Tapestry Kaleidoscope Jasper

one of the rarest of Kaleidoscope with a Schiller effect if cut at the proper angle which requires you to experiment with the rock. Candy Stripe has multiple colors often in parallel but not linear layers.

Gold Stripe Kaleidoscope Jasper is similar to Candy Stripe except for its single-color or double-color (gold & burgundy) stripes. Gold Stripe Kaleidoscope, like Candy Stripe Kaleidoscope, can have a Schiller effect similar to Schiller aspectsof sunstone and moonstone. Photo # 4 depicts the double-color (gold & burgundy) Gold Stripe Kaleidoscope Jasper.

Stone Chipper Auigust 20128

Photo #5 Red Cherry Picture Kaleidoscope Jasper

Picture Kaleidoscope Jasper has four named sub-types so far: (a) Purple, (b) Agate Vein, (c) Red Cherry, and (d) Mexican Cherry. Purple Picture Kaleidoscope will have some distinctively purple coloration be it slight or large. Picture Agate Vein Kaleidoscope comes from veins where patterns often appear to represent colors of a leopard’s coat. Red Cherry Picture Kaleidoscope (picture 5) has distinctive red cherry coloration. Mexican Cherry Kaleidoscope, on the other hand, is usually found attached to Picture Agate Vein material and presents

Photo #6 Purple Blazing Flame Kaleidoscope Jasper

spots of unique red-jelly, opal-like translucence.

Endeavor Kaleidoscope Jasper was so named by Dale as a reminder to never ever give up his pursuit of beauty in rocks.

Blazing Flame Kaleidoscope Jasper comes in two sub-types: (a) Red and (b) Purple. Red Blazing Flame Kaleidoscope will sometimes have a green base-color perhaps because the deposit is about 50 yards from the Coat-Of-Many-Colors deposit which typically has a green base-color. This name comes from the intensity of the red and orange color rather than the pattern. On the other hand, Purple Blazing Flame (Photo #6) has a purplish hue base-color, and in the wild mix of colors, there are fiery gold colored specks and lines that give it a neon-like, fiery effect.

Christmas Tree Kaleidoscope Jasper is a rich green-base color with spots of bright red like a Christmas Tree with red lights. The patterns of reds and yellows on green are much more random in direction/orientation than the Blazing Flame types of Kaleidoscope.

Gypsy Kaleidoscope Jasper (no photos available due to a prior-year computer crash) is named after Dale’s faithful companion dog that died of cancer. At the mine site, Gypsy had her favorite resting spot where Dale dug her grave and subsequently found this type of Kaleidoscope Jasper in close proximity to Gypsy’s

Photo #4 Gold Stripe Kaleidoscope Jasper


final resting place.

Coat-of-Many-Colors Kaleidoscope Jasper, with all the areas of various colors, reminded Dale of a quilt coat of many colors and so he named it in honor of his mother who proudly wore one as a child growing up.

Dragon Kaleidoscope Jasper is named for the small splats of color that, according to Dale, look like ink blots closely re-sembling Japanese dragons (see the upper right side of Photo #7).

Gem Blue Kaleidoscope Jasper is very different from other Kaleidoscope types as it has a gemmy appearance and yields a porcelain-like finish. Any window in rock rough will clearly show a very high-grade jasper with beautiful blues as a base color shown in Photo #8.

Photo #7 Dragon Kaleidoscope Jasper

Kaleido-Blue Kaleidoscope Jasper is blue-base Kaleidoscope with many possible hues of blue but without the gemmy appearance or porcelain-like finish.

A New, As-yet, Un-named Kaleidoscope type, (was) just discovered during Dale’s winter 2012 mining activity, Some of this material, when slabbed,

Photo #8 Gem Blue Kaleidoscope Jasper

resembles “cave drawings” while others have a sun-set appearance. Dale expects to continue to find more color & pattern variations as they excavate to depth the various proven veins with heavier equipment.

Thanks to Carl Talbott, SFMS Editor, excerpt from Lodestar, March 2012, Southeast Federation of Mineralogical Societies, Inc.

August 25-26, Jasper TX SCFMS Annual Meeting & Show sponsored by the Pine Country Gem & Mineral Society, Jasper, TX. Questions? Call Dona Ducote at 409-384-5653.

Don’t Miss It!

The Stone Chipper is the official publication of the Austin Gem and Mineral Society. It is published monthly in Austin, Texas. Expanded minutes of Board Meetings are available upon request. Note: Clip art images are under Copyright 2010 by the AGMS and its licensors. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted, text items in The Stone Chipper may be reproduced in other nonprofit publications as long as proper credit is given to the author and The Stone Chipper. All authors who make submissions to this newsletter are presumed to agree with this policy.

Austin Gem and Mineral Societypresents

Gem Capers 201251st Annual Gemstone, Jewelry, Mineral & Fossil Show

Friday October 19th 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday October 20th 10 a.m.- 6p.m.Sunday October 21st 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.

Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Rd., Austin, TX

For more information please visit www.GemCapers.com

The Stone ChipperCarolyn Perkins, Editor6719 Burnet LaneAustin, Texas [email protected]

Address Correction Requested

August 2012 Newsletter

Austin Gem and Mineral Society

Please visit us at www.Austingemandmineral.org

Each one teach one Stone ChipperMinerals SIG Meeting The next Minerals SIG meeting will be Tuesday,...

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