September 2013
West Seattle Petroglyphs
Volume 48, Number 8
Monthly Bulletin of the
West Seattle Rock Club, Inc.
Seattle, Washington
Website:
http://www.westseattlerockclub.org
Our Club:
Practices the Rockhound Code of Ethics
Meetings:
Visitors are always welcome!
WEST SEATTLE PETROGLYPHS
Mike Wall, Editor
P.O. Box 16145
Seattle, WA 98116
email: [email protected]
September 2013
Arizona Petrified Wood
Page 1
West Seattle Petroglyphs
September 2013
Page 2
WEST SEATTLE ROCK CLUB, INC.
Mailing Address: P.O. BOX 16145, Seattle, WA 98116
The purpose of this Club is to promote the study and enjoyment of the Lapidary Arts with good Rockhounding and good fellowship; and to further education and lapidary skills for all; to conduct field trips
for exploration and collection of minerals, gems, rocks and fossils; to promote shows and displays; to
publish a monthly periodical known as West Seattle PETROGLYPHS relating to club activities.
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OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS (2013):
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Federation Director
Director at Large
Mineral Council Reps
Seattle Regional Reps
Newsletter - Editor
Current Past President
Michael O’Clair
<Open>
Diane Christensen
Audrey Vogelpohl
Audrey Vogelpohl
Ken Schmidt
Leroy Christensen
Lyle Vogelpohl
Mike Wall
Leroy Christensen
(206) 938-1541
<Open>
(206) 938-0790
(206) 932-3292
(206) 932-3292
(206) 932-3626
(206) 938-0790
(206) 932-3292
(206) 935-4953
(206) 938-0790
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COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS (2013):
2014 Show Co-Chairpersons
Programs
Refreshments/Hospitality
Historian
Field Trips
Webmaster
<Open>
<Open>
<Vice President>
Janet Francisco
<Open>
<Open>
Donn Ullery
<Open>
<Open>
<Vice President>
(206) 940-8344
<Open>
<Open>
(206) 633-0721
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AFFILIATED WITH:
Northwest Federation & American Federation of Mineralogical Societies
Seattle Regional Gem and Mineral Show Committee
Washington State Mineral Council
ALAA – American Lands Access Association
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Meetings are held on the Fourth Wednesday of each month,
except for November which is the FOURTH Wednesday and no meetings in July and December
The meetings are held in Adams Hall of the Tibbetts United Methodist Church
3940 41st S.W. (corner of 41st S.W. and S.W. Andover Street) Seattle, WA
6:30 PM – Junior Meeting 7:00 PM – Adult Meeting
Dues are: $20.00 first year (including name badge), then: $10.00 per adult member per year
or $15.00 for 2 adults in same family, $3.00 per junior member per year
VISITORS ARE INVITED AND ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO ALL MEETINGS
All material in this Bulletin may be reprinted if properly credited - Exchange Bulletins are most welcome.
September 2013
West Seattle Petroglyphs
CLUB CALENDAR
September 25, 2013
Junior Meeting (6:30 pm)
Program: Gemstone Lore & Legend badge
General Meeting (7:00 pm)
Program: TBD
Show & Tell: Orange/Red Rocks for Fall
PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE
After a week where Seattle had a record temperature
of 93, it’s hard to believe that fall is almost here. Lucie, Shelley and I managed to go on a family hike at
Icicle Creek near Leavenworth, WA a few weekends
ago. There is a lovely loop trail along the creek and
Icicle Gorge. It’s an easy hike with almost no elevation gain. Moreover, if you look closely while hiking
and exploring along the creek, you will find lots of
garnets. We found specimens embedded in mica
schist ranging in size from miniscule to somewhat
larger than miniscule. It’s a good outing for families.
The setting is gorgeous and garnet bearing rock is easy
to find. More information on the trail can be found on
the Washington Trails Association web site: http://
www.wta.org/hiking-info/go-hiking/hikes/icicle-gorgeloop
As this year draws to a close, we need to tend to club
business for next year. We are still in need of a chair
(or co-chairs) for the annual show next year. Audrey
and Lyle, our co-chairs from last year, are willing to
help and provide advice so it shouldn’t be too daunting of a task to chair the show. Please let us know at
the next meeting if you are willing to chair the 2014
show.
In addition to a show chair, we also need officers for
next year. If you are interested in serving as an officer
for 2014, please contact a member of our Nominating
Committee: Ken Schmidt, Leroy Christensen or Lyle
Vogelpohl. We are fortunate that Diane Christensen
has agreed to serve as Secretary of our club for 2014.
I am very grateful for all of Diane’s help this past year.
Special thanks are also in order for members April,
Page 3
Bowie, Janet, Diane and Brooke for agreeing to plan
our December holiday party. It’s hard to believe the
annual party is only a few months away!
Michael R. O’Clair, WSRC President
WHAT’S INSIDE
Club Calendar
President’s Message
What’s Inside
WSRC Member News
August General Meeting Minutes
Safety Note: A Couple of Points on
Driving Safely
Refreshments - September
Junior Rockhound Meeting
AFMS Code of Ethics
WSRC Kid’s Corner –
Mineral Match
On The Rocks
Shop Tips
WSRC Kid’s Corner –
Mineral Match – Answers
Field Trips
Rock Shows
WSRC MEMBER NEWS
September Birthdays
5 - Lilah Christianson
21 - Jack Millard
24 - Clarence Higuera
24 - Alex Wall
3
3
3
3
4
5
6
6
6
7
8
9
9
10
10
September 2013
West Seattle Petroglyphs
Page 4
WEST SEATTLE ROCK CLUB – GENERAL MEETING MINUTES
August 28, 2013
Business
Club President Michael (Mike) O’Clair called the meeting to order.
Bowie Hichens announced there were 17 adult members, 10 juniors and 4 guests present. Janet Francisco distributed the door prizes. Mike Blanton, Delila Higuera and Dean Bradley won the prizes.
Mike informed the guests that they can get an application to join the club from Audrey Vogelpohl.
Mike asked if there were any changes or additions to the June minutes. There were none, so they will stand as
printed.
Mike said the club is looking for officers for 2014. Ken Schmidt, Lyle Vogelpohl and LeRoy Christensen are
on the nominating committee. Mike asked everyone to step up and volunteer for a Board position.
Mike then mentioned that we still need a Chairperson for our show in April 2014. The club is also looking for a
volunteer or two to plan the Christmas party.
Show and Tell - Material collected over the summer
•
Delilah, Logan and Jackson Higuera – brought numerous materials they collected including some fluorescents that were green, pink and orange, some obsidian and pumice collected from Burns, OR, quartz crystals from Craters of the Moon (in Idaho) and some mica from Hansen Creek.
•
Keir Hichens – brought a piece of granite that sparkled from different minerals in it that his friends gave
to him (from their trip to S. Dakota).
•
Brooke Wagner and Rich Babcock – brought some green jasper they bought earlier in the day.
•
Diane Christensen – brought some crystal collected at Red Top, some petrified wood from Saddle Mountain and some garnets collected near Lake Heather.
•
Lucie O’Clair – brought some quartz from Hanson Creek and some marble (on a matrix) from a mine in
Carrara, Italy.
•
Pat (a guest) brought some rock samples which were mainly found at Alki, which included some rocks
with crystals inside, some amethyst and some petrified wood.
•
Ian Atkinson – brought some sandstone from England that his grandparents gave him.
•
His grandparents went on a world cruise and brought him a rock from each place the ship stopped.
•
Mike O’Clair – brought some calcite he got in Italy at the Carrara mine.
•
Ken Schmidt – brought tumbled rocks to share with club members and guests.
(Continued on page 5)
September 2013
West Seattle Petroglyphs
Page 5
(Continued from page 4)
Rich Babcock won the drawing for the Show and tell prize.
The meeting was adjourned and refreshments were furnished by the Higuera’s.
Respectfully Submitted,
Diane Christensen
WSRC Secretary
SAFETY NOTE:
A COUPLE OF POINTS
ON DRIVING SAFELY
truck slid into the ditch, hitting a culvert, and resulting in the vehicle rolling. The consequences of
“swerving” lead to a totaled vehicle and a potential
fatality. Thankfully the later did not occur.
by Owen Martin, AFMS Safety Chair
One thing I learned when I got my international
driver’s license in Japan several years ago is that
Americans like to “swerve” in order to try and avoid
hazardous situations. The Japanese had some extremely detailed statistics on how Americans driving
in Japan, while trying to avoid accidents, actually
caused something worse.
Hello folks. My inspiration for this month’s
safety article is from an
accident we had at work
recently.
While in North Dakota I
had received a phone call
from a supervisor at one
of our ND drilling sites
and learned that one of
our crew truck drivers had
been in a rollover accident. Historically speaking any rollover accident in the oil patch is a BAD
thing. Thankfully in this case we do see that there is
an occasional miracle. Although the truck flipped it
did land upright and my coworker walked away without a single injury.
With that all being said we still needed to do a preliminary incident investigation. The gentleman involved had just finished a 13-hour shift and had about
an hour drive back to camp. First thoughts were
along the lines of “asleep at the wheel” or “texting
while driving.” It was neither.
The cause was “deviating from the lane of traffic”
which is known amongst accident investigators to be
a critical component in compounding the severity of
accidents. In this case my coworker had a flock of
birds (ducks or pheasants – he wasn’t sure) fly out of
the ditch on his right side. His immediate reaction
was to swerve and miss the birds. What resulted was
the loss of control of the vehicle as the rear of the
The point of the article, and I understand that not everyone will agree with it, is that swerving to avoid hazards in the road can actually increase your risk for a
much more serious accident. Better to hit a few birds
than flip your vehicle...
My second point for this article is that “seat belts DO
work!” My coworker in ND was properly restrained
and walked away from his accident.
One of the saddest statistics I ever read came from
some research I did a few years ago for a safety presentation. The NTSB had a statistic that over about a
year’s time in the mid 2000’s that 31,000 children
were fatally injured in automobile accidents. Of those
31,000, investigations showed that 16,000 of those
children were shown to have not been properly restrained in seat belts or car seats. This is a systemic
failure in our society’s commitment to protect our
children.
Please do not be cavalier with the safety of your children and keep them properly buckled up while on the
road.
Thanks and be safe!!!
(via AFMS Newsletter, 10/13)
September 2013
West Seattle Petroglyphs
Page 6
lecting areas.
REFRESHMENTS –
SEPTEMBER
•
Please take note if you are on the
hook for refreshments this month.
I will cause no willful damage to property of any
kind - fences, signs, buildings.
•
I will leave all gates as found.
•
I will build fires in designated or safe places only
and will be certain they are completely extinguished before leaving the area.
•
I will discard no burning material - matches, cigarettes, etc.
•
I will fill all excavation holes which may be dangerous to livestock.
•
I will not contaminate wells, creeks or other water
supply.
•
I will cause no willful damage to collecting material and will take home only what I can reasonably
use.
•
I will practice conservation and undertake to utilize fully and well the materials I have collected
and will recycle my surplus for the pleasure and
benefit of others.
•
I will support the rockhound project H.E.L.P.
(Help Eliminate Litter Please) and Will leave all
collecting areas devoid of litter, regardless of how
found.
•
I will cooperate with field trip leaders and those in
designated authority in all collecting areas.
•
I will report to my club or Federation officers, Bureau of Land management or other authorities, any
deposit of petrified wood or other materials on
public lands which should be protected for the enjoyment of future generations for public educational and scientific purposes.
•
I will appreciate and protect our heritage of natural
resources.
•
I will observe the “Golden Rule”, will use “Good
Outdoor Manners” and will at all times conduct
myself in a manner which will add to the stature
and Public “image” of rockhounds everywhere.
Snacks: JoAnn Churchman
Drinks: Janet Francisco
Note: Thanks to everyone for volunteering.
JUNIOR ROCKHOUND MEETING
Greetings, Junior Rockhounds!
We will meet at 6:30 pm on Wdnesday, September
25th at Tibbett's Church, prior to our general meeting.
This month's gem is "sapphire" and I encourage you
to do a little research and share your findings on this
special stone with the group. This will provide you
with one, of a minimum of three required "tasks", for
the Gemstone Lore and Legend badge, if you've not
already earned it.
In addition, we will provide a schedule for this year's
monthly topics and a discussion on what the Juniors
might like to do for the Holiday party in December. If
Audrey is back, we'll be passing out several earned
badges, too!
Remember to bring your badge book - and I will provide newcomers with their own if they've not yet received one.
Rock on, Juniors!
~April Hichens, Juniors' Aide de Camp
AFMS CODE OF ETHICS
•
•
I will respect both private and public property and
will do no collecting on privately owned land
without the owner’s permission.
I will keep informed on all laws, regulations of
rules governing collecting on public lands and will
observe them.
•
I will to the best of my ability, ascertain the
boundary lines of property on which I plan to collect.
•
I will use no firearms or blasting material in col-
(via AFMS Newsletter, 10/13)
September 2013
West Seattle Petroglyphs
Page 7
WSRC – KID’S CORNER
Mineral Match
Here’s a matching challenge for you. On the left is a list of mineral
names. On the right is a list of special properties. Each property
goes with only one of the minerals listed on the left. Draw a line from
the mineral name to the special property.
—————————————————————————————
Hematite
Burns in a match flame
Calcite
Won’t burn at all
Magnetite
Hardest substance on earth
Copper
Perfect cubic cleavage
Galena
Hit it with steel & create a spark
Sulfur
Fizzes in weak hydrochloric acid
Asbestos
Magnetic
Uraninite
Perfect micaceous cleavage
Muscovite
Ductile and malleable
Diamond
Blood-red streak
Pyrite
Radioactive
- Answers on page 9 -
(via Mini Miners Monthly, 7/13)
September 2013
West Seattle Petroglyphs
ON THE ROCKS
with TV
Tips–Ideas–Questions &
Answers, on Anything
Relating to the Hobby
(submissions welcomed)
Unusual Cutting Materials
Hard to Identify
I cut every material I found
interesting when I first started
in lapidary. Many cabs I cut I
had no idea where they came
from or what their name was.
This material highly impressed me because of the
Howardite,
fabulous polish it took. I can’t
“Rattlesnake Agate”,
remember what I used to polTumbled Stone Pendant Tonapa, NV
ish it but it had to have a lot of
silica to produce it’s stunning
polish. They say this is an unusual and very rare form
of opal in silicated tuff. It bears the resemblance of
open wood grain with clear silica growth rings. Once
you see it, you will never forget it. Another curiosity
is one of its names, “Howardite.” Look up Howardite
on the Internet and you find it defined as a class of
stony meteorites composed essentially of anorthite,
olivine, and bronzite. Obviously, there must have
been two different guys named Howard giving their
namesake to two completely different items.
Amethyst Sage agate is
not something you are
going to find on the
ground unless someone happens to drop a
piece. More likely if
you have some, you
Amethyst Sage Agate ( also
probably bought it.
known as Denio Dendritic or
The source of AmeQuinn River dendritic Agate)
thyst Sage Agate
Denio, Nevada
comes from a claimed
mine near Denio, Nevada which is located in Hunboldt County near the Bilk Creek Mountains, a narrow
range of peaks just south of the Oregon border in the
Northern Great Basin.
Many years ago, the agate that came from this area,
was pretty much black and white. It was simply called
Denio Dendritic Agate. Now the mine is yielding an
amethystine like agate that has been called Amethyst
Sage. It is a very beautiful agate with purples, whites,
Page 8
grays and of course the black dendrites. It’s a dream
to cut but something you don’t want to waste material
making oval cabochons.
This one I never cut but have seen it everywhere,
Unikite
mostly already processed in beads and cabochons. It
is called Unikite named for occurrences in the Unaka
range of the Great Smoky region in the Blue Ridge
province of eastern Tennessee and western North
Carolina. Unakite is frequently and widely referred to
as an epidotized granite. Many items labeled unakite
in the market place have quite different origins and
overall compositions. Real Unakite consists of alkali
feldspar (pink) and epidote (mixture of pistachio yellowish green) with quartz. Epidotized rocks are relatively common. Much of it now comes from China,
Brazil, and South Africa.
This next peculiar
material, graphic
granite, is highly
identifiable. Graphic
granite is a leucocratic (lightcoloured
because of allow content oferromagnesian
minerals) granitic
Graphic Granite
rock consisting of
alkali feldspar with exsolved (initially a homogeneous
solid solution separated into at least two different
crystalline minerals) quartz typically forming a distinctive repetitive pattern sometimes resembling the
old Sumerian cuneiform writing. I happened to find a
lot of it on a field trip somewhere off Twenty Mule
Team Parkway, North of Edwards AFB. It is a tricky
material to cut due to the two crystaline minerals that
do not seem to want to adhere to one another. In other
words, it is sometimes brittle, coming apart just about
when you are trying put a polish on it.
(via Agatizer, 7/13)
September 2013
West Seattle Petroglyphs
Page 9
glass, it shouldn't scratch quartz.
SHOP TIPS
Editor’s Note: Shop tips featured in
this bulletin have not been evaluated for
safety or reliability. Please use caution
when trying out any new idea.
——————————————–
Toothpicks
The round, stronger toothpicks have a multitude of
uses on the jewelry bench. I use them for mixing epoxy resin, for applying paste solder, with Zam for polishing in tight spots, and with a bit of beeswax for
picking up and positioning small stones. They're particularly good for testing the fit of a small faceted
stone in a prong or tube set finding.
(Via Carny Hound, 6/11; via BenchTips by Brad Smith are
at facebook.com/BenchTips)
——————————————–
Pumice Wheels
Pumice wheels are good for touching up a bezel after
you've set the stone. The hardness is about 6 on the
Moh's scale, less hard than quartz, so it shouldn't
scratch any of your jaspers. However, I'd avoid or be
real careful of using pumice near the softer stones like
turquoise, amber, howelite, etc. If you're unsure that a
wheel is pumice, test it with a piece of glass. Glass is
about 5 ½ on the Mohs scale. If it doesn't scratch
(Via Carny Hound, 6/11; via BenchTips by Brad Smith are
at facebook.com/BenchTips)
——————————————–
Making Cabochon Templates
Tired of the same templates. You can make your own
with a playing card. Fold it in half and mark, then cut
out your pattern. Unfold the card and you have a symmetrical template.
(Via Carny Hound, 6/11; via Hard Rock News, 06/11)
——————————————–
Storing your Wire
Many wire-wrapping artists’ use many different type,
size and material of wire. Sometimes it’s from the different sources. Keeping this wire sorted is a constant
challenge. Try using a divided pa-per storage folder.
It has many different partitions for different wire, and
keeps the wire from being packed too tight.
(Via Carny Hound, 6/11; via Hard Rock News, 06/11)
——————————————–
Make Your Own Glow Stick
Editor Note: Last month I included a tip about using
Mountain Dew to make your own glow stick. April
attempted this and it did not work. Goes to show, you
can‘t believe everything you read. :-)
Thanks for trying April!
WSRC – KID’S CORNER
Mineral Match - Answers
Hematite - Blood-red streak
Calcite - Fizzes in weak hydrochloric acid
Magnetite - Magnetic
Copper - Ductile and malleable
Galena - Perfect cubic cleavage
Sulfur - Burns in a match flame
Asbestos - Won’t burn at all
Uraninite - Radioactive
Muscovite - Perfect micaceous cleavage
Diamond - Hardest substance on earth
Pyrite - Hit it with steel and create a spark
(via Mini Miners Monthly, 7/13)
West Seattle Petroglyphs
September 2013
Page 10
2013 FIELD TRIPS
Oct 19
Marysville Rock Club Field Trip – Money Creek – 9:00 @ Camp Ground – Picture Jasper &
Pyrite Ore – tools: Light hard rock tools - contact Ed Lehman (425) 334-6282 or
[email protected] for more information
Nov 16
Marysville Rock Club Field Trip – Blanchard Hill – 9:00 @ I-5 240 exit gas station –
Stilpnomelane– tools: Hard rock tools - contact Ed Lehman (425) 334-6282 or
[email protected] for more information
—————————————————————————————————————
See WSMC http://http://www.mineralcouncil.org/FieldTrips_2013.pdf for additional field trips and details
2013 SHOWS
Sep 21
Sep 22
9am-6pm
10am-5pm
Hellgate Mineral Society – Annual Show
Sep 21
Sep 22
10am-6pm
10am-4pm
S. Washington Mineralogical Society – Annual Show
Sep 28
Sep 29
10am-5pm
10am-4pm
Billings Gem & Mineral Club – Annual Show
Oct 5
Oct 6
10am-6pm
10am-4pm
Springfield Thunderegg Club – Annual Show
Oct 12
Oct 13
10am-5pm
10am-5pm
Marysville Rock and Gem Club – Annual Show
Oct 19
Oct 20
10am-6pm
10am-5pm
Hells Canyon Gem Club – Annual Show
Hilton Garden Inn, 3720 North Reserve St., Missoula, MT
Castle Rock Fairgrounds, 120 Firlane Road, Castle Rock, WA
Billings Hotel and Conv. Center, 1223 Mullowney Lane, Billings, MT
Guy Lee Elementary School, 755 Harlow Road, Springfield, OR
Totem Middle School Cafeteria, 7th St & State Avenue, Marysville, WA
Nez Perce County Fair, 1229 Burrell Avenue, Lewiston, ID
—————————————————————————————————————
See the Northwest Newsletter for additional show listings and times.
Available online at: http://www.amfed.org/nfms/documents/NorthwestNewsletter/NW07_0813.PDF
HOW CAN YOU HELP
Your Federation: Save stamps and give to our club treasurer.
Your Hobby: Join ALAA. - Contact Lyle Vogelpohl
Other: Volunteer to teach beginners what you are good at.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ...
Cabbing … contact Lyle Vogelpohl … (206) 932-3292