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March 2015
SGMS Mission Statement
The Sequoia Gem & Mineral Society serves the community by providing education in the Earth Sciences and training in the lapidary arts and, in doing so, promotes ethical behavior,
sound resource stewardship, and good fellowship. The Society fulfills
its mission through year-‐round offerings of field trips, lapidary
workshops, outreach presentations, public mineral displays, and
monthly informational meetings open to the public.
Member of:
California Federation of Mineralogical Societies, Inc.
American Federation of Mineralogical Societies
North Bay Field Trip Association
Exchange bulletins are welcome. You are free to reprint if credit or citation is noted.
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From our President:
Q: What do you call a person that collects rocks? A: A rock collector is a good term but if you make it your profession to collect and study rocks you are called a petrologist. A Rockhound. Geoscientists gather and interpret data about the Earth and other planets. They use their knowledge to increase our understanding of Earth processes and to improve the quality of human life. Their work and career paths vary widely because
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the geosciences are so broad and diverse. Geologists study earth processes: Many processes such as landslides, earthquakes, floods, and volcanic eruptions can be hazardous to people. Geologists work to understand these processes well enough to avoid building important structures where they might be damaged. If geologists can prepare maps of areas that have flooded in the past they can prepare maps of areas that might be flooded in the future.
Carol’s Corner
You know you are a Rockhound when you lick a dirty rock to show off the wonderful colors, not stopping to realize that you are the only rockhound in the group.
A publication of
the Sequoia Gem
and Mineral Society
The ROCKETTE
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MEMBERSHIP SPOTLIGHT:
Preston Bingham A passionate and knowledgeable rock hounder, Preston Bingham has been a member of SGMS since around 1965, when the club was fairly new.
The San Francisco 49ers (yes, the football team) gave Redwood City money to install a lapidary shop at Red Morton Center. He’s been an instructor at the shop for over 30 years. Preston can cut and polish a rock as smooth and shiny as butter. His skills are impressive!
His Uncle showed him what he was doing while taking lapidary classes at the Modesto Jr. College. “When I saw what you could do with a rock, I had to get involved. I signed up for a class with Virginia Klenzing at Sequoia HS. The rest is history! “
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Preston recounted some memorable rock collecting trips…one was to the Nevada desert, traveling in a camper. “The road was narrow and slanted down from the edge of the cliff. Because the camper was top heavy, four of us walked beside it to keep it upright. Needless to say, we didn't come home that way.” There he found an amazing piece of petrified wood, which has been sitting on his front porch for many years.
Another trip was finding green onyx in Lake County. He crawled in a cave and put a 45 lb. chunk in his backpack. Yet another trip was to Spencer, Idaho looking for opals. It was so cold and dark and miserable on this trip (in June!!!) that he was shaking. However we all know a rockbound fanatic is dedicated and focused. He had to use a flashlight to go through the materials and ended up finding more in a shop bucket than outside. There are some lovely pieces he’s cut and polished.
Preston graduated from high school in 1949 and thereafter enlisted in the Navy where he served from 1950-‐1953, completing three tours of duty in Korea. While in the Navy he met the lovely Carol Benson and the two lovebirds married in 1952. Preston joined Ma Bell as an installer where he worked for 30 years. He told a story of how they decided not to let him become a lineman. “I was just too light! I was on a pole and a huge gust of wind blew me right around it! My boss told me to get down right away ant they gave me something else to do.” After leaving the phone company, Preston spent 7 years with Lockheed doing essentially the same thing.
Carol and Preston have three children living in Honolulu, Boise and San Jose. Between them there are 5 grandkids, much loved by their grandparents!
For the SGMS he has held numerous jobs including President, VP, Refreshments, ways & means, historian, and show chairman. After being in charge of the show for so many years, Preston said this would be his last year and would like to find a dedicated person he can train to take over for next year.
“The SGMS has been a big part of my life,” said Preston, “I would like very much to be around to see our 50th show”
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Life Imitates Nature…
Next Meeting: Monday, March 16, 7 pm at the Community Activities Building in Redwood City (the usual place!)
What’s under the Microscope? Bring Your Own Specimens! The February meeting hosted a lively auction of great specimens! Not all of them have been sold, so if you are interested, let us know! Several hundred dollars were donated to the club by Barbara Sparks who is downsizing her collection.
At the March meeting we will be watching a wonderful National Geographic movie about gems and minerals. You’ll be astounded!
Abyss Agate Bath Rug--Inspired by the vivid natural variations found in an agate gemstone, this turquoise-hued, limited edition and exclusive-to-Bloomingdale's bath rug by Abyss is ultra soft and plush underfoot. Found in current catalog…
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This is not rock, but dyed tumbleweed. The tumbleweed is harvested from the Arizona desert,
debarked and then the dyed sticks and
stems are heated and compressed for 30 days. This produces bricks of tumbleweed. From there you can slab it and cut it into a unique cabochon. This is very lightweight. The pendant itself is very solid, you can take a shower with it on. I have washed and dried one and it was fine. Water will be ok as long as you don't soak it, like in a pool all day. Other than that, completely enjoy it. Maryann Sieler
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SOCIAL MEDIA IS FOR YOU!!!
If you’ve never joined a Meet Up group you just might want to look into them!
Meetup is the world's largest network of local groups with over 20 million members in 180 countries comprising of 185,200 groups. They make it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. Many people get together in local communities every day, each one with the goal of improving themselves or their communities. Meetup believes that people can change their personal world, or the whole world, by organizing themselves into groups that are powerful enough to make a difference. Whatever your interest may be, from hiking to geology, women’s and men’s
groups to crafting, OR anything you can think of, there is probably a group you can join. If not, for a nominal fee, start your own group! These links could be of interest to SGMS club members. Check them out!
http://www.meetup.com/SF-‐Bay-‐Area-‐Geology-‐Hiking/
http://www.meetup.com/We-‐Dig-‐It/
http://www.meetup.com/Los-‐Altos-‐
Gold-‐Panning-‐Meetup/
Maker Faire The 2015 Maker Faire this year is 3 days long, Fri - Sun, May 15-17. We need additional volunteers to staff the event, and existing staff to put in more time. Set up will be Thurs afternoon, May 14. Friday is by invitation only, for educators wanting to bring a class; members of the media; and those interested in the industry or wanting to support the maker movement by purchasing early access passes.) Sat & Sun, May 16-17 are open to the public.
I anticipate having free passes to the event for those who work at our booth. You need to work at least 4 hours to qualify for the event pass. The days are long and tiring (but fun!), from 1:00 p.m. - 7:00pm Friday, 10 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 6:00 pm. on Sunday. We will be dividing the days into shifts with some overlap.
Even of you can’t staff the SGMS booth during the event, we needs lots of assistance creating preformed cabochons for all our visitors to work with. Drop by the lapidary studio during regular hours to help out.
For more information contact Leslie Gordon <[email protected]>.
OFFICERS AND CHAIRS
President Carol Corden 650-‐248-‐7155 [email protected]
Vice President & Alternate Federation Director Bob Simms -‐650-‐222-‐0968 [email protected]
Treasurer & Web Mistress: Valerie Concello 650-‐369-‐9539 [email protected]
Federation Director Paul Rose 650-‐302-‐6684 [email protected]
COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Field Trips Paul Rose 650-‐302-‐6684 [email protected]
Monthly Programs –everyone!!! Send suggestions to [email protected]
Membership Peter Adams 650-‐325-‐2363 [email protected]
Sunshine, Ways & Means, Refreshments-‐ Cathy Phalen 650-‐365-‐2956 [email protected]
Cases, Storage, Library, Trailer, Manager,Magazines, Historian-‐-‐ Preston Bingham 650-‐368-‐6351 [email protected]
Rockette Editor/Publisher, CFraser 650-‐954-‐6020 [email protected]
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Mark your Calendars!
2015 schedule of SGMS meetings and events
GENERAL MEETINGS—
FEB.23, MARCH 16, APRIL 20, MAY 18, JUNE 15, JULY 20, AUGUST 17, SEPT. 21, OCT. 19, NOV. 16.
TIME-‐-‐-‐7-‐9 P M. ROOMS 2,3,OR 4. NOT ROOM 5.
The Sequoia Gem and Mineral Society holds its General Meetings from 7-‐9pm on the third Monday of the month (with exceptions for holidays, or during July and December). Each meeting features a presentation, raffle drawings for specimens, a member Show & Tell, and access to the club library. Guests are welcome to join us!
Community Activities Building
1400 Roosevelt Ave., Redwood City, CA 94062
Mark your calendars for the next SHOW-‐-‐SEPT. 18-‐20. This year we made lovely business card flyers to hand out. Please get some and help spread the word.
Sat. 8-‐5P M , Sun. 8 AM-‐ 9 P M .
We will need volunteers for everything! Set up will be Friday, SEPT. 18, 8 A M-‐ 9 PM. It was suggested that we have a dedicated children’s area. Any volunteers?
CLUB PICNIC-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐BBQ AREA at CAB SAT. JULY 11 10 A M TO 4 P M .
CHRISTMAS PARTY at CAB -‐-‐-‐-‐-‐ FRIDAY DEC. 11. 4-‐ 9 P M
MEMBERSHIP
Bring someone new to our next meeting! Yearly Membership Dues:
$20 for a single membership, $30 for two members, or $40 for 3 or more members.
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Some fun work with photo editing software shows how unaligned strata on each side of a small fault originated next to each other. This is showing the faulting at Devils Slide.
http://trampleasure.net/lee/index.php/1032
Courtesy of Lee T….
Take a walk on Devil’s Slide!
Devil’s Slide Trail is a 1.3-mile multi-use trail, converted from a former segment of Highway 1, that gives hikers, runners, bicyclists and equestrians access the rocky heights of Devil’s Slide above the Pacific Ocean. At provided overlooks, trail users may rest on benches and gaze through observation scopes and take in the view of the rocky coastal waters below. Interpretive signs are placed at key points along the trail and describe the history, geography and the marine and avian communities that live and migrate here. Walk the trail for a demonstration of coastal erosion geology. Notice how different the cliffs at the south end look compared to those at the north end.
Slide Trail is a segment of the California Coastal Trail, a trail that, when finished, will extend 1,200 miles from Oregon to Mexico, connecting travelers to California's varied oceanside landscapes.
The Rockette March 2015 CLASSIFIED ADS
New to you! If you have ever been interested in placing an ad to sell your products or services to the club, now you can! Your ad will appear in the newsletter and on our web site with an introductory rate of $20 for 3 months. No larger than 2”x3”. Please contact the editor for more information.
Lapidary Shop
Our lapidary shop is located at: Little House
800 Middle Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Beginners welcome! Must be at least 10 yrs. of age. The shop schedule is generally as follows:
Wednesday 6-‐9pm Preston Bingham & Cathy Phalen, Asst.
Thursday 9-‐noon Preston Bingham, Mary Lou & Larmie Froese, Assts.
Thursday 6-‐9pm Paul Rose (& Asst. to be named)
Please contact Preston Bingham, Shop Foreman, for currents schedule and prices at 650/368-‐6351 or [email protected].
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Sequoia Gem and Mineral Society P. O. Box 1245, Redwood City, CA 94064
http://www.sequoiagemandmineralsociety.org
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