A Note from your President, Steve Hart

March 2009

I hope you enjoyed our General Meeting this month.  Our Quartzite group finally came home from a very productive show.  It was nice to hear the stories about the rocks that didn’t get away!  Our membership for 2009 has now risen to over 65 people--that’s a lot of creativity to assemble in one place.  I certainly hope that all of you are completing your orientation training so you have free access to the Shop.  It’s really a fun place to be.

 

I was stunned by all of the talent on display at our first ever Cabochon Contest at the meeting!  You folks are amazing.  We promise to award the prizes at the next meeting!  We are continuing to offer equipment-orientation classes (we call them cabochon classes), free of charge, to all members.  Call Ron Minor (534-1704) or David Cossey (532-9148) and get signed up for one of these 12-hour classes, after which you’re free to work on your own projects during OPEN Shop times.  We supply the rock for your first cabochon and we now have other slabs available to purchase at nominal fees--or we will slab your own “rough” for 10 cents a square inch.

 

On the Friday following the meeting, many of you came back to the Shop and helped out with the Open House we hosted for the community.  We had all kinds of mini-displays and got to meet a lot of real nice folks.  Should we do this every year to bring goodwill to our club?  What about having a monthly Flea Market among ourselves right in the Shop?  It’s time to think about what would make our organization more exciting!

 

Then on Saturday following the meeting, we headed to Burris Creek, below Black Butte Reservoir for Jasper.  We had a total of 12 cars in our caravan, and once we forded the creek and drove upstream, we were treated to a wonderfully warm day of finding rocks and enjoying each other’s company.  I have to say, I thought it was the best Field Trip I have ever attended--kudos to Gerry Hill and Carl Osborne for leading us.  You should have seen Pam wading in that cold, cold water--a lot of others got wet too!  We came home with some awesome specimens of Jasper, and made the decision to use this Jasper for our upcoming World Rock Tumbling Championships.  We also gathered some flat rocks to engrave and sell at our booth in the Wildflower Festival.  Put the Festival on your calendar for 4/4/09 & 4/5/09--we need your help--please see Connie to volunteer your time.

 

Our next trip is on March 21^st --the destination has been changed from Babcock Peak (Rose Quartz) to Frog Rock (between Brush Creek and Buck’s Lake) for Soapstone due to heavy snow and muddy roads up on Babcock Peak.  We will know more about the weather at our meeting on March 17^th, but we try to go under most weather conditions.  You will be able to collect several different colors of soapstone (white, red, black, etc.) for carving and decorating.  This ought to be a very good trip, with moderately easy access and plenty of good, solid, Soapstone.  On these late winter, early-spring trips, you should layer your clothing & take a light jacket & rain poncho--carry a spare pair of shoes & socks, and bring two buckets & a pointed rock pick for digging up half-buried specimens & whacking an occasional rock.  Finally, bring plenty of water & food.  Staying hydrated, warm & reasonably dry is your key to success.

 

You need to strongly consider attending the Turlock Show on March 14-15.  People say it’s the best-run show in California, and many of us will be attending just to see how the “experts do it.  Our rock friends in Roseville will have their show on March 28-29 too, and we wish them the very best success (sooo many shows, sooo little time…).

 

The next meeting (March 17^th) will be after Daylight Savings begins, so plan to start while the sun is still shining!  As usual, we will have lots of news and announcements for you--our program this time will feature Sandy Minor, who will share her secrets about Cabochons and other polished stones.  The Library will also be open for your reading pleasure.  If you have any lapidary or gold prospecting books you would like to donate, just bring them to the meeting and give them to our Librarian, Mary Gardner.

 

Our website is humming pretty well, too--check out the photos of our Field Trip for Yuba Blue!  If you’re a member and you want the secret code to the “Members Only” area, just call Becky Rogers (916-991-2575) and she will give you the code.  Keep checking both the Announcements and the Calendar of Events for breaking news!

 

This is a great time of year.  Our club has passed through a lot of phases in the past 8 months, and our little ship is still picking up speed.  The almonds are blooming and the Mama Goats have all given birth to the next generation.  I sure hope you are as excited as I am to be a member of our Lapidary Society.  I can only imagine what the next 10 months of 2009 have in store for us!

 

Sincerely,

 

Steve Hart

March 1, 2009

 

Return to Main Menu