Author: Alan Molineux

The Bulletin
Newsletter of Victor valley gem & mineral club
March 2007

Buy bob’s
Slabs, cabs, cut stones
And jewelry

Really
Low
Prices

1

Your officers for 2007
2007 Executive Committee
President……………………..Tom Laszlo……………………...247-5369
1st V.P (Membership)..Jim Fosse………………………..245-8644
2nd V.P (Education)…….Mary Lou Flecher………...949-9347
Recording Secretary….Patti Deer……………………...553-6550
Treasurer…………………….Janet Flecher………………..949-9347
Board Members
Don Buhr………………………….244-9512
Joe Kosik………………………...241-0894
Virgil Melton……………………948-2849
Past President……………..Nick Beall…………………..……246-7117
CFMS Representative..Bob Harper……………………..947-6383
Standing Committee Chairmen
Wagon Master…………..Janet Flecher…………………..949-9347
Historian…………………….Faith Harper…………………….947-6383
Maintenance……………...Chuck Forsyth………………….949-0204
Librarian…………………….Ralph Powers…………………….951-2937
Newsletter/Editor….Alan Molineux…….……………..951-7064
Sunshine Lady………….Carol Laszlo……………………….247-5369
Displays………….………….Nancy Flanders………………..868-2148
Raffles……………………...Francis Gramata……………...245-3775
Scholarships…………….Andrew Turner….……………..962-0095
Legislative Rep……….MaryLou Flecher……..………..949-9347
Photography…………...Bob Harper………………………...947-6383
Hospitality……………...JoAnn Beall………………………...246-7117
Parliamentarian……..Dennis Harbison………………….247-5559
Gem Show & Tailgate
Co-ordinator…………..JoAnn Beall………………………….246-7117
Instructors
Nick Beall, Janet Flecher, Jim Fosse, Gil Gilbert, Dennis Harbison, Tom Laszlo, Virgil Melton, Oscar Delgado, Joe Kosik, and Chuck Forsyth.

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vICTOR VALLEY GEM & MINERAL CLUB’S ICTOR VALLEY GEM & MINERAL CLUB’S 31ST ANNUAL TAILGATE
Held off Stoddard Wells Road in Apple Valley March 9th, 10th& 11th, 2007 Tailgate Map: N34.670650 W117.108983 Or in d,m,s: N34°40'14.34" W117°06'32.34" Members of the Victor Valley Gem & Mineral Club invite you and your friends to attend our annual free tailgate and field trip at the Stoddard Mt. collecting site. Here Verde Antique and Tri-Colored Marble are easily located. The small “black Jade” site at the top of the hill is a little more elusive. The Tri-Colored Marble field trip departs a 9:00 am on Saturday. 4 X 4’s are required and jeep-pooling is appreciated. The tailgate is open to all Clubs and rock hounds. Everyone is allowed to sell or buy just about anything. Most items for sale or trade are related to gems, minerals, findings and equipment; but you’ll never know what might turn up. ALL SELLING SPACE IS ON A FIRST COME BASIS. WE DO NOT HOLD SPACE FOR ANYONE. NO EXCEPTIONS. The Club hosts a soft drink, coffee, and bake sale booth. The Club does request our vendors not to compete with products our Club offers for sale since our bake and drink Club booth is our only revenue source to pay for the public toilet facilities, operating supplies and promotional expenses. Remember, this is a dry camp area, so bring in your own water and other necessities. The Club will have four ‘porta-potties’, two of which will be handicap accessible. Stoddard Wells road becomes a graded dirt road for seven miles to the TAILGATE from the Dale Evans Parkway intersection and can be easily handled by motor homes and trailers. Green and Yellow Victor Valley Gem and Mineral Club signs will mark the route to the camping area.

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Victor Valley Gem and Mineral Club Field Trip
Tri-colored Marble
Date: March 10, 2007
Time: 9 AM
Meeting Location: VVGMC Tailgate site off of Stoddard Wells Road. From Highway I-15, take Stoddard Wells road east following the signs to the VVGMC Tailgate.
Wagon Master: Jim Fosse For additional information contact Jim at 760-245-8644 or vvgemclub@verizon.net
This trip will be for Tri-colored. There are high quantities of this materials present at on the surface and in the float. Access is on desert roads. At the time of writing the road conditions are unknown. Please assume either a very rugged high clearance vehicle or a 4x4. The distance to this meeting site is approximately 25 miles from the club. Distance from the meeting site to the collection site is approximately 3 miles. Conditions at the site are for easy to moderate hiking and unlimited material is available within 100 yards of the vehicles. Material is on the surface and in seams. Digging and hard-rock mining are required for choice specimens. Physical dangers include snakes and other normal desert conditions. This is a former commercial mining operation and as such there are open mining pits and high cliffs. There is an age limit of 8 for this trip. All children are expected to be under constant supervision by parents or guardians at all times. Any child climbing on the exposed cliffs will result in both child and guardians being asked to leave the site. The trip leaders recommend that you bring gloves, spray bottle (water), rock pick, lunch, safety glasses, and adequate drinking water. No alcoholic beverages will be permitted on this trip. Please note: The road leading into and out of this site was in very poor condition last year. As there is no commercial mining in the region, it is anticipated that the road has continued to deteriorate. It is highly recommended that only 4x4’s with high clearance be taken on this trip.

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The victor valley gem and mineral club
was organized in 1947 and has been the focal point of High Desert rock hounds for the past 60 years. The club takes active roles in various civic activities. Membership is open to all persons interested in the gem and mineral hobby and lapidary arts. Meetings are held at the clubhouse located at 15056-B, 7th Street (behind Kaman Bearing) in the center of Victorville.
Visitors are always welcome.
For further information, call (760) 243-2330.
Sunshine club
Mrs. Carol Lazslo is our Sunshine Lady and she cares for all our members. She sends a card to those who are ill or in bereavement.
We were sorry to hear of the passing of Virginia Harbison. On February 11th. She was recently laid to rest at Sunset Hills in Apple Valley. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her husband, Dennis.
If you know anyone who is in hospital, unwell or otherwise needs a card, please contact Carol on (760) 247-5369.

Meeting dates
The January general meeting was held on Tuesday, February 27th at 6:30p.m. and the March meeting will also be held on Tuesday the 27th.
New shop hours
Starting Saturday, February 10th, the club shop will be open from 12 noon, to 9p.m. This will be a trial for two months. Chuck Forsyth will run the shop during this period. If there is a good response from members, then it will become permanent. All other shop times will remain in effect.
County fair
VVGMC has been invited to participate at the FAIR this year ( May 11th -20th) at no cost to our club. Members can sign a list for Parking Permits and Passes . Volunteers will sit with the booth and talk with the public about the club and the displays of the many gems and minerals and their uses. If you want to do a demonstration that will be fine with the fair. If you wish to donate some of your work to show its artistry, that's fine too. Tables and chairs will be provided by the Fair. If you can volunteer some time during the nine day event please email Tom Laszlo at thomastom138@msn.com

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March 2007

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
				1	2	Workshop3 / 12—9p.m.
Workshop4 / begins at / 12noon.	Instructor’s5 / Meeting / 7p.m.	Board 6 / Meeting / 7p.m.	Workshop7 / 1—9p.m.	Workshop8 / 1—9p.m. / Wagon Master’s / Meeting 7p.m.	V.V.G.M.C9 / Tailgate.	V.V.G.M.C10 / Tailgate.
V.V.G.M.C11 / Tailgate. / Daylight / Saving Starts	12	Workshop13 / 6—9p.m.	Workshop14 / 1—9p.m.	Workshop15 / 1—9p.m.	16	Workshop17 / 12—9p.m. / St. Patrick’s Day
Workshop18 / begins at / 12 noon.	19	20 / Education / Meeting 7p.m.	Workshop21 / 1—9p.m.	Workshop22 / 1—9p.m.	23	Workshop24 / 12—9p.m.
Workshop25 / begins at / 12 noon.	26	Pot Luck27 / 6:30p.m. / General / Meeting 7:30p.m.	Workshop28 / 1—9p.m.	Workshop29 / 1—9p.m.	30	Workshop31 / 12—9p.m.

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Bakersfield California’s 5th annual rock
& mineral rendezvous & indoor gem &
Jewelry show.
Friday, Saturday & Sunday, March 23rd, 24th & 25th. 9:00a.m.– 8p.m. and on Sunday, 9:00a.m. till 5p.m. at the Kern County Fairgrounds. 1142 South P. and Belle Terrace. Contact the San Joaquin Valley Lapidary Society at 2225 River Blvd, Bakersfield CA. 93305 or phone (661) 872-8230.

Ventura gem, mineral, lapidary & fossil show
March 3rd & 4th
Our 45th Annual Show will be held Saturday, 03/03 10-5p.m. and Sunday, 10-4p.m. at the Ventura County Fairgrounds—10W. Harbor Blvd, Ventura, CA. For more information, contact Jim Brace-Thompson the publicity chair, (805) 659-3577. Visit our website at www.vgms.org

jasper hill field trip
On Saturday, February 10, 2007 members of the Victor Valley Gem and Mineral Club under the direction of Janet Flecher took a field to Jasper Hill off of I-40 and Hector Road. Jasper Hill is a great collecting site and many of our members loaded up bucket after bucket of red, purple, and yellow jasper. Several members did some heavy digging with a crow bar and shovels and hauled very heavy rocks up the hill to their trucks. Despite some aching backs the rock hounders wore smiles on their faces at undercovering such fine treasures which will give them hours of delight cutting. The second stop was around the hill and across a valley to a new discovery of Janet's, banded agate. Many small pieces were on the ground for members to pick up, but a big discovery was made by one member who uncovered a pile of banded agates about the size of grapefruit and bigger. So many large hunks were found that a member brought his truck over to load the heavy buckets and haul out back to the parking spot. The third spot yielded some beautiful float of chalcedony some large enough to distinguish the popular desert rose pattern. It came in hues of white, tan, pinks, and purple. Many great cutting stones were lining the members buckets as the tired and weary hunters retired to their jeeps, cars, and trucks to end the day. The weather was perfect with clouds hiding the sun, the temps in the high 60's, and some gentle sprinkles helping to cool us down and dampen the sand.

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Jasper hill field trip photos

Members arrive at the site and start The road to the Jasper Hill site was unpacking picks, hammers and buckets. a typical desert dirt road.

A shot of the Jasper Hill site shows Here is a panorama of the site that the mountains in the distance. shows the desert pavement.

Members prospected the site for both Jasper and Agate. As can be seen in the last photograph, it was a profitable trip. Many found enough materials to keep them busy in the shop for some time to come. There’s a great deal of satisfaction to be had by picking up an interesting rock from the desert floor and then returning to the shop and working it into something personal and beautiful. Thank you Cyndy Mandell for the article and these wonderful photographs.

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Support your sponsors

Some of our sponsors are club members and others are vendors that you might find useful. In any case, support these vendors if you can. The club benefits from the advertising.

Wanted—Rocks, Lapidary Materials
and Equipment.
Call Charles Toles
Home (760) 242-9240 or Cell (760) 220-6748.

Select Rocks & Slabs for Sale!
A huge selection of both local and “imported” rocks and slabs.
Call for details—
Janet Flecher
(760) 949-0796.

Rocks, Rocks, Rocks,
Buy slabs, cabs & rough from Joe!
Brazilian, Moss Agate, Wood, Jasper,
and Obsidian.
There is a sale on Bolo cords.
Club members (any club) 20% off at my house or 10% off at gem shows. I sell crushed Agate, Wood & Jasper for tumbling at $1.00
per pound. Call Joe Kosik (760) 241-0894.

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Desert River 21810 Hwy 18, #6
Apple Valley,
CA 92307.
(760) 961-2743
Cindy Hinojosa
Semi-precious gemstones, You can find us on the northern glass, metal, wood and side of Hwy 18.
bone beads. Freshwater East of Navajo Road, and a little pearls, seed beads, east of Rite-Aid. Come find usfindings, stringings, tools, we’re worth look. There’s plenty supplies, of parking in
classes the rear.
and more.

BEADS

Micky Coats
Assistant
Loan Officer
(760) 900-1846

Bob Coats
Loan Officer
(760) 912-9989

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CAPITAL MORTGAGE
Refinance and Reverse Mortgage Specialists

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Victor Valley Gem & Mineral Club
15056-B Seventh Street
Victorville, CA 92395-3811.
bulletin is the official monthly newsletter published by victor valley gem & mineral club and is distributed free of charge to both members and non
members.
Views expressed by authors in the articles which appear in the bulletin do not necessarily reflect those of victor valley gem & mineral club. Responsibility is taken by the editor alone.
Articles from this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part in other lapidary news-letters if proper credit is given to the author and the bulletin.

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