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June 2009
The CHATBOX is a monthly publication of the
MINERAL AREA GEM &
MINERAL SOCIETY (MAGMS)
The purpose of our club is to develop interest in
and increase knowledge of the earth sciences, minerals, rocks, fossils, and the
lapidary arts, and to bring about a closer association of persons sharing these
interests.
We shall achieve our purpose through regular planned open meetings, programs, publications, committees, monthly field trips, and special projects of assistance to the community.
We meet the second THURSDAY of each month at 7:00 PM at the Park Hills Senior Center, 224 W. Main St., Park Hills, Missouri. Visitors are always welcome
Annual dues are $18.00 per family or $12.00 per individual.
***** 2009 Elected Officers*****
PRESIDENT VICE-PRESIDENT SECRETARY: TREASURER:
Betty Marler Barbara Adams Carnelia Lueddecke Jack Sale
5084 Flat River Rd 10030 Domick Dr Rt. 4 Box 1032 1148 Rue Angeline
Farmington,MO63640 Mineral Point,MO63660Piedmont,MO 63957 Bonne Terre,MO 63628
(573)431-2951 (573)562-7970 (573)223-4754 (573)562-7004
***2009
Committee Chairpersons***
BOARD MEMBERS: Field Trip Coordinator: Mark & Boneta Hensley
Jack Sale Hospitality: Barbara Adams & Betty Marler
Mark Hensley Refreshments: Allys
Bell & as shown in CHATBOX each month
Allys Bell Annual Rock Swap: Lloyd Marler (chair) & Mark and Boneta Hensley
Club Display Case:
Publicity: Joey Henry
Representative: Allys Bell, Art Hebrank
Annual Picnic: Ruth Mosier
CHATBOX
Editor: Robert W. Carroll
Midwest
Federation Representative:
St.
Louis Federation Representative: Ruth Mosier
Christmas
Party: Betty White
Science Committee: Art Hebrank
Submit articles for publication to the Editor, Robert W. Carroll 573-431-2148 E-Mail = bcarroll@charter.net, by the 20th of the month. Material may be reprinted provided credit is given to the CHATBOX. Publication of articles in the CHATBOX does not constitute endorsement by MAGMS or certify the accuracy of the material. Opinions expressed in articles and editorials are not necessarily representative of the opinions of the membership or the MAGMS.
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Next
meeting will be in Park Hills at Museum Site
Thursday JUNE 11 6:00 PM
PROGRAM:
get ready for Rock Swap
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Presidents Message:
Your president Betty Marler
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Minutes
Of MAGMS Meeting On May 14, 2009
The meeting started at 7:06 PM with 21
people present. We had two guests present, George Ward and Amanda Hensley.
Betty Jean White picked the winning number for the door prize and Ann Hampton
won! A beautiful piece of Galena!
Seva Lenz motioned the Treasurers Report &
Minutes be excepted, passed unanimously.
Old Business:
Books were donated to and greatly accepted
by the Central Elementary School in honor of Luzel George.
Art Hebrank is still working on Earth
Science Kits. He has ordered the boxes.
Bill Crites will be doing the coffee and
cookies at the MAGMS Rock Swap this June.
Allys Bell read an article regarding the
Omnibus Land Act “The
Paleontological Resources Preservation Act"
was
brought to floor again in a new session. It was slipped through and passed with
certain limits. Basically, you need a permit and be qualify to collect
vertebrates such as being a Paleontologist. You also need to get special
permission to collect vertebrates on certain land. Rock Collecting and
invertebrates are still for the most part okay to collect. As always check
regulations before collecting rocks and fossils. Palmer is okay for collecting
under the new guidelines.
We will not do t-shirts for the Rock Swap
this year... ran out of time to put this project together...maybe next year?
New Business:
Position Open:
Due to chronic illness, Carnelia Lueddecke
is unable to continue with her role as MAGMS Secretary. At this time we are in
urgent need of a club
member to step forward and take on this role. If anyone is interested please
notify Betty Marler as soon as possible. Until then we will take volunteers at
each meeting to fill the position.
Field trips:
Boneta Hensley stated there will be no
field trip during May due to the Grab Bags are being filled Saturday May 16,
2009. We will not have a field trip in June due to the Rock Swap. We will plan
a trip in July and is taking any ideas, suggestions or request.
Hospitality/Prayers:
Betty Marler and the present club members
thanked Betty Jean White and Allys Bell for bringing tonights refreshments.
Betty Marler brought up some of our club
members who are in need due to illness. If you have a minute, say a prayer or
yet give them a call.
Carnelia
Lueddecke
Barb Adams
Jim & Kathy Hill
Mabel Reed
Bob & Jean
Carroll
Picnic:
Ruth Mosier stated, “ It is all settled and ready to go!” Picnic will be at Hawn State Park at the
Pavilion on September 12, 2009. You can come in the morning to visit and have a
tailgate sale of Rock and Gem stuff. We are scheduled to eat at 1:00 PM.
Everyone is asked to bring a covered dish and/or dessert. We will have lots of
games to play! More information as we get closer to the date!
Joey Henry is doing great job getting the
Meeting in the newspaper each month! Thanks Joey!
Rock Swap:
Lloyd Marler gave us an update on the
upcoming Rock Swap. All spaces are now filled and we already have four vendors
needing overflow spaces! We also need lots of help with setting up and helping
during the Rock Swap and clean up after the Swap. We need everyone to help to
make this year's Rock Swap a huge success! Lloyd states we have an urgent need
for some strong able people to help with putting up the tents and marking the
parking lot. Also due to Barb Adams having open heart surgery we will need some
volunteers to help sell the grab bags and supervise the tent area. Please call
Lloyd or Betty Marler and schedule when you can help! Boneta Hensley, Ruth
Mosier and Linda Burr will collect and handle the Silent Auction again this
year. There will be a Potluck Dinner on Saturday, June 13th after the Swap that evening. The club will
provide Chicken, Bread, Drinks, Plates, Napkins and eating utensils. Betty Jean
White and Candy Simpson will cook the chicken. Betty Marler will cook a ham and
Mark & Boneta will bring sliced cheese. Everyone else is asked to bring a
covered dish and or dessert.
Art Hebrank mentioned there will be a
Museum Meeting on Saturday, May 16, 2009 at 7:00 PM at the Museum on “Pillar Robbery”. Also there is a St. Louis Association
Meeting at the Museum on Monday, May 18th, 2009. Art also mentioned
that the Museum Budget has been cut drastically for next year.
Allys Bell and Betty Marler delivered
fliers and still more needs to go out! If interested in spreading fliers around
please let them know.
Betty Marler brought to attention that the
display at the Factory Mall is a mess. It is dusty and specimens have fallen
over. Mark and Boneta Hensley has volunteered to go over to the factory to fix
up the MAGMS Display.
The Programs:
Betty Jean White did a wonderful short
program on her hobby collecting arrowheads and rocks from the St. Francois
County area. She even had some Amethyst to show! Betty Jean had a nice display
set up with her really cool finds!
Ann Hampton did her program on her hobby of
making puppets! She told us that she was a teacher. Ann also is an Artist since
she was 5 years old! She took Art lessons at age 11 with a Mrs. McMullin for 75
cents! Ann also had connections with Norman Rockwell and even taught Al Agnew!
She showed us all a very cute and real looking dog puppet she had made from
paper mache with real dog hair! She even displayed her ventriloquist voice with
the puppet! Ann also brought a photo album to show some of the art work she has
accomplished through the years! WOW!
Next MAGMS Meeting will be held at the Museum
near the guard shack at 6:00 PM on Thursday
June 11, 2009. This will be a very short
meeting and we will go over final details of the Rock Swap.
The meeting was adjourned and everyone
visited and enjoyed refreshments.
Minutes taken by Boneta
Hensley
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Treasurer’s report
As
of 5/17/2009, the club has $4743.81 in the bank..
Jack Sale Treasurer
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Thoughts-Prayers
Allys Bell
Helen Warren
Mabel Reed
Carnelia Lueddecke
Jeff & Crystal Wilkinson
Jean Carroll
Marvin Twiner
Helen Warren
Jerry Henry
If you
would like to send a card or letter to any of
these, you may get the address from Betty Marler at 573-431-2951 or Robert
Carroll at 573-431-2148.
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Glenda
Crites 06-04
Beth Schembra 06-11
Allys Bell 06-22
|
Birth Month
June
|
Modern
Birthstones |
Traditional
Birthstones |
Mystical
Birthstones |
Ayurvedic
Birthstones |
Other Birthstones Opal |
Alexandrite is a color change gemstone changing from green in daylight to red in incandescent light. The first time you see it, it is hard to believe your eyes! Genuine Alexandrite is one of the world's rarest and most coveted Gemstones, it's so rare that most people have never even seen one.
Alexandrite is in the Chrysoberyl mineral family and is one of the most fascinating gemstones throughout history. A distinct color change from green to red is the primary qualification for a Chrysoberyl to be considered Alexandrite. Although alexandrite is strongly trichroic, its color change has nothing to do with pleochroism. Instead, like all other color change gemstones, it results in a near-equal transmission of the blue-green and red portions of the spectrum, coupled with strong absorption in the yellow. Thus its color is dependant on the spectral strength of the light source. Incandescent light is strongly tilted to the red end, thus causing alexandrite to appear reddish. Daylight, is more equally balanced. Since our eyes are most sensitive to green light, the balance is tipped to the green side. The strength of the color change is related to the difference in the areas of transmission, relative to the absorption in the yellow. The greater the difference, the stronger the color change.
A color change occurs in very few gemstones. For Alexandrite, the quality of the color change is
paramount. While the holy grail is a gem whose color changes like a traffic light from green to red, such a stone has yet to be found. In fine examples, the change is typically one from a slightly bluish-Green to more of a purplish-Red.
When the color change from fluorescent light to tungsten light is not an obvious color change from one of the various shades of green to one of the shades of red, the gem is usually called "alexandrite like" or a "color change Chrysoberyl" since it does not quite have the distinct greenish to reddish color change enabling it to be called "Alexandrite".
We secure rare Russian gems from the Ekaterinburg area of the Ural mountains as soon as they are found and made available to us. Some are small stones, less than a carat, but they all have a dramatic color change. Color change gemstones of Russian origin like this is particularly rare and highly valued by collectors. In 1987, an important new deposit was discovered at Hematita, Brazil. This mine produced for just a brief period, but a number of fine stones were found. We gained access to the finest Alexandrite from these mines. This Brazilian Alexandrite shows a striking similarity to the fine Russian gems, having an attractive color change from bluish-green to raspberry like purplish-red. These Brazilian gems are also in very limited quantities, so they remain extremely rare and expensive, but we are able to get them in larger stones over a carat and make them available to you. We have also secured some of the finest Alexandrite from Sri Lanka. We were able to secure some fine gems from the Rakwana area, and these are absolutely stunning, changing from a vibrant bluish-green to a very nice reddish-Purple. We also have a few fine specimens from the Ratnapura region. These fine gems have a very good color change also, but it's usually a little more of an olive green changing to a purple stone. It is not quite as dramatic as the Russian, Brazilian, and Rakwana material, but very nice indeed. The price per carat is a little more obtainable. The availability this fine material on our website means a new generation has the opportunity to own this beautiful and rare gemstone.
Alexandrite is an excellent investment stone since it is a "Very Rare" gem.
Field trips:
There will be no field trip during May due to the Grab Bags are being filled Saturday May 16, 2009. We will not have a field trip in June due to the Rock Swap. We will plan a trip in July and is taking any ideas, suggestions or request. Thank You! Mark & Boneta Hensley, MAGMS Field Trip Coordinators
email: mojellybean63@yahoo.com, Home #
573-756-7403, or Cell (AT&T) 314-540-0464.
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4th Annual
26---28 June 2009
GEM-FOSSIL-SHOW-SWAP
Monroe County Fairgrounds
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17th Annual
14---16 August 2009
GEM-MINERAL-JEWELRY-FOSSIL-SHOW
Machinist’s Auditorium
West St.Louis County, MO
God Bless America