Author: Alan Molineux

The
bulletin
Newsletter of the
victor valley
Gem and
mineral club
Ph. (760) 243-2330
MARCH 2013

Your officers for 2013
2013 Executive Committee
President Ed Berresford 388-4229
1st V.P (Membership) Corey Beck 242-3366
2nd V.P (Education) Terry Booth (909) 223-1386
Recording Secretary Lois Papner 244-7169
Treasurer Anne Mazzarella 486-5038
Corresponding Sec. Cyndy Mandell 244-7169
Board Members Don Pomerenke 868-5264
Bill Woody 953-3284
George Kawasaki 247-4121
Jim Fosse 245-8644
Past President John Printz (951) 255-9158
CFMS Representative Janet Flecher 949-9347
All numbers are area code (760) unless otherwise indicated.
Standing Committee Chairpersons
Wagon Master Blaine Witte 244-8211
Historian Lois Papner 244-7169
Maintenance Terry Booth (909) 223-1386
Librarian Lois Papner 244-7169
Newsletter Cyndy Mandell 244-7169
Sunshine Don & Marilyn
Pomerenke 868-5264
Displays Don Pomerenke 868-5264
Raffles Cyndy Mandell 244-7169
Scholarships Lois Papner 244-7169
Photography Terry Booth (909) 223-1386
Hospitality Lois Papner 244-7169
Webmaster Jim Fosse 245-8644
Tailgate Brett Ward 948-1232
Training Coordinator Vacant
Instructors
Terry Booth, Steve Hendrix, John Hill, Jessie La Bau, Tina La Bau, Cyndy Mandell, Morris O’Brien, Don Pomerenke, John Printz, Bill Woody. Ed Skidmore and Ed Berresford.
Club Website—www.vvgmc.org

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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 65 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.
Meeting Dates
Our March general meeting will be held on Tuesday, 26th at 7:00p.m. and the April general meeting will be on Tuesday the 23rd .
Note from Bulletin Editor
Cyndy Mandell is the new bulletin editor. Please if you have any pictures or ideas for articles email them to me at:
cynmandell@me.com
By-Law Amendments
The Board has proposed some amendments to the By-Laws, Policy and Procedures, and Standing Rules. The amendments will be at the club for members to review and will be discussed on March 26th at the general meeting. We will vote on the proposed amendments at the April 23rd general meeting.

Wishing all of our
members this month a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY
The birthstone for the month of March is:
AQUAMARINE
Ed Berresford, Katie Boyd, MaryLou Flecher, Faith LaBau, Ronald Mandell, Lois Papner, Trudy Roser, Sandra Skidmore, Eric VanRoekel.
If your name is not listed please forgive me, it just means it was not in the club phonebook. If you would like to be
recognized here in the Bulletin on your birthday month please, update your info with Corey Beck, our Membership Chairperson.
Thank you….Editor

San Bernardino County Fair
Demonstration Booth
By Cyndy Mandell
The club will host a booth in the community building at the fair. The fair dates are May25th through June 2, 2013. Members are encouraged to sign up to demonstrate during the open hours of the fair. Those volunteering will be given free admission and parking tickets for the whole day. Volunteers can demonstrate: cabbing, beading, trimming, Intarsia, glass beading, silver work, or any other lapidary related work. A sign-up sheet is available at the clubhouse for anyone wanting to volunteer. The club will be closed during these dates as much of our equipment will be at the fair.

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Faith LaBau represents the Petrified Pups at the March open house.

The kitchen and dining room tents on Friday, Marcy 8th as the snow was falling.

Let’s see is I can just sweep this all always.

Our members worked hard in the kitchen cooking breakfast and lunch.

Blaine Witte, Wagon Master, explains what is available at the Kramer Junction site.

Jacob Griego digs for rocks during the March field trip.

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FUTURE FIELD TRIPS
By Blaine Witte
Apr. 27- Bristol Dry Lake near Ludlow
Material: Christmas Tree Agate, Agate nodules Note: High clearance vehicles only!!! Bring your pick and shovel for the best material. You can find some nice nodules on the surface though. Meet at the Dairy Queen in Ludlow at 8 AM.
May 25- Clay Mine Road and Castle Butte(in the N. Ewards area) Material: At the Clay Mine Road site there is banded opalite and agate, petrified wood and chert. At the Castle Butte side you can find chapinite (a popular brachiated agate-jasper), petrified palm, agate and jasper. Note: Easy roads unless it has rained hard recently. At the Clay Mine Road site you may want to have your pick and shovel. Both sites have a lot of material on the surface though. Meet at Diamond Pacific at 8:00 A.M.
June 22- Harvard Rd. (off of the 15 fwy, past Barstow) Material: The primary material you will be looking for is a peach colored speckled agate (sometimes called peach plume). The peach material is getting harder to find. We also made an accidental discovery of petrified reed at the same location on a scouting trip. We were parked right on top of it and missing it. Note: Easy roads. Bring your pick and shovel for the best material. You can find some nice material on the surface though. Meet at Diamond Pacific at 8 AM

Education Night
March 19, 2013
Come and watch a DVD presentation on Artisan Bails by Lexi Erickson. Lexi is a metalsmith and popular instructor explain the construction and design of custom artisan bails for jewelry functional and beautiful pendant bails for every type of necklace including chain, cord, bead, and fiber.
We will be raffling off a nice big chuck of colorful petrified wood at the end of this presentation.

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APRIL 2013

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
	1	2	3 Workshop / 12 noon– 7pm	4 Workshop / 12 noon– 7pm	5	6 Workshop / 12 noon– 5pm
7 Workshop / 12 noon– 5pm	8	9	10 Workshop / 12 noon– 7pm	11 Workshop / 12 noon– 7pm	12	13 Workshop / 12 noon– 5pm
14 Workshop / 12 noon– 5pm	15	16	17 Workshop / 12 noon– 7pm	18 Workshop / 12 noon– 7pm	19	20 Workshop / 12 noon– 5pm
21Workshop / 12 noon– 5pm	22	23	24 Workshop / 12 noon– 7pm	25 Workshop / 12 noon– 7pm	26	27 Workshop / 12 noon– 5pm / Field Trip 8:00 a.m.
28Workshop / 12 noon– 5pm	29	30

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Deadline for the April issue of the Bulletin is Thursday, April 11th .Ph.(720) 620-9845 or email editor@vvgmc.org

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Attention all Newsletter Editors
and Prospective Editors
There is a society devoted to helping you with your monthly newsletter—both content and grammatical
construction.
S.C.R.I.B.E is the Special Congress Representing Involved Bulletin Editors.
Members have years of editorial experience and are only too willing to help you.
Dues are just $6 for single or $8 for a couple.

Rocks & Equipment
Bought and Sold
Clean Ups & Clean Outs
Handyman Work Done.
See Charles Toles (760) 220-6748

HMC Co.
Victorville, CA 92392
(760) 245-2313
Jonathan P. Vanderloop
B.S Ch. E; M.S Met. E.
(25 years experience) Metallurgy & Mining Consultant

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Minutes of the February 26th General Meeting
Corey stated we have 12 new members and Lois’ sister Carol just joined tonight. We have about 175 members total. The plaque of lifetime members is back up on the wall. Anne gave the treasurer’s report. Bank balance is $8399.96. All deposits have been made and all bills have been paid. Janet stated the CFMS Newsletter will be left on the counter. Ventura will host the CFMS show the weekend after Memorial Day. Next field trip on 4/27 will be at Broadwell dry lake near Ludlow for Christmas tree agate. Meet at Dairy Queen at 8:00 am. Cyndy stated T-shirts and hats are now in the raffle. The raffle money will still go to purchasing a jump ring maker. A.F.M.S. asked Jim to be one of their Webmaster judges. John stated we had two pups that ran the booth for the open house breakfast and did a very good job. Brett asked for volunteers at 8:00 Wed the 6th to meet at the club and take things out to the Tailgate site. Bring donated items for the auction. Donation envelopes will be passed out to the vendors by Lois and Ed at the tailgate. Cyndy asked people to sign up for the fair on May25th- June 2. The sign up sheet is on the board for people to sign up to demonstrate whatever you like to work on. John added that if you need handicap parking mark it next to your name. Re-pointing the wall will be in April/May when the weather is warmer. March clean-up is scheduled for March 30th from 8 am to noon.

Minutes of the March 5th
Board Meeting
Corey reported 14 new members since our last meeting. The lifetime member plaque is back up. A letter needs to be sent to Lifetime Members. Janet thinks we need to look at hosting the CFMS annual show. Indoor show needs to be talked about for the future. Jesse LaBau is going to mount three cameras indoors and mount the broken one Ed showed us outside and see if they steal it. Lois presented some changes to the by-laws, policy and procedures and standing rules. John motioned to accept the changes of the by-laws , P&P, and standing rules. Terry seconded, motion carried. These changes will be presented to the general membership March 26th, 2013. Ed approached Jim Fosse about becoming a board member. He accepted the board member position so Cyndy could take the Corresponding Secretary position. Cyndy proposed an increase in shop fees. It was last raised in 2007 when it was increased from $2-$3. They can get a pass for free if they do work at the club. Cyndy would like to see it go to $5 fee. Corey always thought the $3 fee was low. Cyndy motioned to raise the shop fee to $5.00, Terry seconded. Motion carried. We will take this to the membership on March 26th for discussion. We’ll vote on it at the general meeting April 23rd. Jacob Greigo has an application in for instructor. Decision was made to train him for the month and see how he does. John motioned to reinstate Ed Berresford and Ed Skidmore as instructors.

“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” Dr. Seuss

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Donation of Rocks to the Club
The following page shows pictures of Jim Fosse, Ceci and George Kawasaki, Ed Berresford, Carol and Lois Papner, Cyndy Mandell, and Ed Skidmore and his son, helping to remove a rock collection from a house in Apple Valley. The landscapers were due soon to plow all the material under. Thanks to Robert Ortiz for notifying the club and suggesting we collect it. The donation was made to the club to use in raffles, silent auctions, and to sell. This material will be available at our various events as a fund-raiser for our members and friends.

CFMS NEWS
The annual CFMS Show and Convention will be held May 31-June 2 in Ventura, Calif this year. The show will be held at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, 10 W. Harbor Boulevard. Hours: Fri. & Sat. 10-5; Sun. 10-4. For further information or information regarding displays contact Rob Sankovich 805.494.7734.

Camp Paradise
Want to learn more about soldering, making glass beads, chain maile, faceting, copper enameling, lampwork bead making, PMC, Dichroic Glass, Soft Stone Carving, Lost Wax Casting, or Wire Art? Attend CFMS Camp Paradise in Clipper Mills, Ca. Session I is August 25-30 and Session II is September 1-6 2013. The price is $375 per person. The facilities are at a rustic church camp, room are included. RV space is available with electric and water available. For further information please call, Marion Roberts, 209.538.0197.

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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.