November 2015 Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Meeting of Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society
Meeting date: November 9th, 2015
Intro:
There were 21 members and 1 visitor present. Our President, Michael Pabst, called the meeting to order.
Old Business:
Members were reminded of the Christmas dinner in December, and those that wished to attend signed up.
New Business:
The next rock shop opening will be December 19th.
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Program Report:
Scott Duresky gave a wonderful talk and slide presentation on “The Historic Rutherford Mine – Pegmatite #2”.
Scott talked to us about the Rutherford Mine, one of the most interesting pegmatite mines in Virginia (now closed).
The mine was opened in 1873 and was officially closed in 1986. Several minerals were mined there, with worldwide uses.
Many samples from this mine are rare or unique. He had some beautiful samples for us to see which included:
- Cleavelandite
- Fluorite
- Spessartine
- Microlite
- Greenish gray quartz.
Scott gave out door prizes of some of his samples as well.
Additional information about the locality can be found on the Mindat site or in this reproduction of a Journal of the Mineralogical Society of America article. Images of materials collected from the site and of the mine can be accessed here.
On an email from Scott, he thanked the club for allowing him to present and said:
“The first thing I wanted to share with you is that my presentation contained excerpts from a comprehensive study that, when completed in March and presented to the Micro Mineralogists of the National Capital Area, will be the most complete of its kind since the mid-1990's; that survey will be freely available to anyone who requests it.”
The club looks forward to hearing more from Scott, and those of you that missed his presentation will have an opportunity to meet him in December.
December: We will hold our annual dinner at the church at 6:30 pm. The men’s group will serve. We ask members that want to participate to bring a wrapped gift for a fun gift exchange. Samples of minerals, jewelry, loupes, sample boxes, or any other type of item may be given. Please mark male or female if that applies to the gift. The cost will be $12.50 per person.
If you’d like to present a program, please talk to an officer at a meeting or sign up at this link:
http://www.shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org/next_neeting_program/sign_up_to_present_program.php
Anyone can sign up to bring snacks for a monthly meeting by clicking this link:
http://www.shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org/next_meeting_info/sign_up_to_bring_refreshments.php
Be sure to keep up with our website www.shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org and our Facebook page Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society for updates and information.
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Volunteers for Refreshments, 2015:
February: Deborah Grimm & Pat Lantz
March: Jilly Weigel
April: Charlie
May: Mike/Karen/Debbie
June: Pat
July: N/A - Club Picnic
August: TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
September: TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
October: TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
November: TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
December: N/A - Club Christmas Dinner
Deborah Grimm, Secretary
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Club Officers and Staff 2015
President – Michael Pabst
Vice President – Leo Cloutier
Show Co-Chairs – Dean Hostetter
Educational Outreach -- Deborah Grimm
Secretary/Newsletter -- Deborah Grimm
Field Trip Coordinator - Dean Hostetter
Treasurer – Scott Gregory
Web Site Coordinator – Jack Glenn
Club web site: shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org
Club Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ShenandoahValleyGemMineralSociety
Club email: svgem-min-club@live.com