Most Recent Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Meeting of Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society
Meeting date: May 12, 2025
Notes:
Twenty members (including 2 new) met at the Bridgewater Baptist Church on Monday. Thanks to Ed Stuart for the cookies and cake! And to Beth Orebaugh for donating several boxes and crates of rocks, fossils, and slag from the Keezletown area for us to take home. Those of us that went to the auction at Beth's had a wonderful time, and went home with boxes full of exquisite specimens.
Several people brought items to display that honored their mothers - items from a trip to Israel from Debbie's mom; Larry had rocks from Mt. St. Helens {He reminded us that it erupted on May 18, 1980}; Cindy had two carved pink onyx fish from her mom's collection & wore a turquoise necklace she made from material her mom picked out; Tyler had a large piece of apophyllite and some cuprite that are his mom's favorite; Brenda brought a flower-agate. Thanks for sharing!
Business:
-Debbie opened the meeting in the absence of our president, Mike, who is teaching a photography class this week at Wildacres in NC. She had show fliers from Jack, and asked members to take a few to distribute to local businesses.
-Ed Stuart, our field trip coordinator, gave some information about the scheduled trip to Rose River on June 7. He mentioned that we will have access to one mile of the river, so there should be room for everyone. There is a $10 per person fee. {Please bring the exact cash.}
Program:
Tyler S. & Wayne P. went separately to Lake Okeechobee in FL in April for a special arranged field trip through Pacific Geolab. Both gave us information, photos and samples that they collected. {Previously called Fort Drum}
Tyler gave us a summary of the history of the pit. {I've attached the 2005 pdf file for you to read the details.} The pit has a long, complicated history. It originally was mined for shells by the railroad in the early 1900s. It eventually remained dormant due to the fact it was in a wilderness area. In 1959, the Rucks family purchased the property, which was mined for shell material by Okeechobee county for 16 years. In 1988, a FL state geologist noted the presence of Mercenaria clam fossils, but due to mining by dynamite, no complete specimens were found. The Rucks family then switched to using track hoes and complete specimens were located. Thousands of these were collected. By 2007, the area was mined out and was closed. This was partially due to the FL EPA requirements for water infiltration practices.
Eddie Rucks, Jr. realized his loss, and dug out many tons of material to be deposited on his land as tailing piles. He planned to open an RV camping/clam digging park, but went bankrupt after using up the $300,000 he borrowed. He allowed the public to dig through these piles for a fee to collect specimens. {Cindy and I have been there separately.} This eventually ended as well. John from Pacific Geo Lab became interested in this property and offered the Rucks money to be able to open a new digging area to the public. The one time event was the one that Tyler and Wayne attended.
The Mercenaria clams have an interesting history as well. FL was once a shallow sea, filled with clams and other shelled organisms. As the clam organism dies, it leaves a cavity inside the shell. Eventually, calcite forms from the dissolving calcium carbonate shell. Calcium rich water forms dogtooth and radial crystals that are honey-colored. The calcite fluoresces a yellow to green color, and some show phosphorescence. Tyler demonstrated the fluorescence with his UV flashlight. The clams are from the Pleistocene era, and are 2-3 million years old. These are fairly rare, an online specimens are sold for hundreds of dollars.
Wayne talked about the collecting process. He has done collecting in many states in the US and in other countries as well. He stated that this trip was entirely different from any other. He grew up in New England and is familiar with clam digging. He took a clam rake which allowed him to dig through the piles, beginning at the bottom, to find many complete specimens. The piles were over 10' high, and covered an area the size of several football fields. He dug for 2 days in 90 degree heat. The host group was very courteous, and brought ice water to the collectors all through the day. People from CA, CO, MN, MI, IL and FL were collecting.
The trip is not cheap - $495 per person per day. As the pit is in a wilderness area, hotels are 30 to 40 miles away. Wayne and Brenda stayed in their RV. Wayne said the trip was definitely worth it due to the quality of specimens he collected. John told him one of his pieces was worth at least $800. Wayne also collected a 110 pound piece that has many whole clams embedded in it. {See attached photo.} Because Wayne promised to show it as an educational piece at our show, John let him keep it. Of course, the samples must be cleaned to see their full beauty - power washing removes the debris, and muriatic acid helps clean the crystals.
A tip from Wayne - Some folks go to FL by plane and need to ship their materials home. Wayne has had a terrible experience with the postal service. He mailed a box of rocks home from Quartzite, AZ, and the specimens were crushed. He's still trying to get his reimbursement. Using UPS is a better option.
Tyler said that Pacific Geo Lab is planning two more collecting adventures - one in the fall, 2025, and the other in March, 2026. If you'd like to go, or to see more info - go to this website: https://pacificgeolab.com/pacific-geolabs-crystal-clam-dig-okeechobee-florida-april-2026/
Thank you, Wayne and Tyler for sharing this wonderful trip with us!!
The shop will be open Saturday May 17 from 9 am to noon.
Your annual $10 dues for an individual or a family may be brought to any meeting or send a check written to SVGMS and mailed to: SVGMS Box 324 Waynesboro, VA 22980. {Most clubs charge by person and can be as high as $25; we are a bargain!}
Club Officers and Staff 2016-2025
President – Michael Pabst
President-Elect: Cynthia Schroer
Vice President Emeritus– Leo Cloutier
Educational Outreach -- Deborah Grimm
Secretary/Newsletter -- Deborah Grimm
Field Trip Coordinator - Ed Stuart
Co-Treasurers – Scott Gregory/Deborah Grimm
Show Team Leaders – Scott Gregory/Jack Glenn
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