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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE– Suzanne Young

May the sun in his course visit no land more free, more happy, more lovely, than this our own country —Daniel Webster As we celebrate Independence Day, let us always remember how precious our freedom is. So many countries around the world are in turmoil fighting for their freedoms. We obtained our freedom thru much blood, sweat and tears of many Americans. Let us remember and honor them this 4th of July for their sacrifices. Without our freedom we could not enjoy family picnics, going to a parade, traveling around our beautiful country and most important, having the opportunity to collect rocks and minerals for our enjoyment and hobby. I am thankful for these opportunities of serving our Gem and Mineral Society, making good friends, spending time in nature and enjoying working with the gems and minerals of our land. We have a fantastic club and we want to keep it going strong. Membership is growing, participation is improving and best of all is the interest and participation in our own lapidary shop and classes. This is what it is all about. Enjoy every aspect of our fine club and appreciate our freedom to do so. Have a fun and safe Summer. Remember....a Summer without rocks is a _ummer.

Suzanne Important Announcements Don’t forget that the July club meeting will be replaced by the Annual Club Picnic. Come early and help set up. We will start eating at 6:00 pm. Don’t forget to show up if you signed up to help Leslie Hammer with the “4th of the July in the Park” activities.

Coming Events Our next meeting will be held our Annual Picnic on July 12th starting at 06:00 pm at the Lion’s Club clubhouse in College Place. July Refreshments Since the July meeting is the annual picnic families are asked to bring one hot dish and one cold dish. Bring your own table settings

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President’s Message

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Important Announcements

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Club news

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Field Trip Reports

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June Board Meeting Notes

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June meeting minutes

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Club Leadership listing

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New Members Please join in welcoming the following new members who have recently joined our club. Mike Wallace—Walla Walla Julie Brinker—Milton-Freewater Joan Tatum—Prescott Dale Holtsclaw—Dayton

KIDS CORNER At the June Meeting, the Juniors put together some Relaxation Gardens. They can use them for some quiet time this summer. Thank you to Joseph French, for making the rakes for them. I also would like to thank Don Klebe, for the nice bag of slabs for the Juniors. We will put them to use in a future project. See you at the July picnic. Kim French Juniors Activity Director

ANNUAL CLUB PICNIC is JULY 12th It's that wonderful time again...our Annual Club Picnic. We hope to have tables and chairs on the lawn outside the Lions Park Club House, weather permitting. Eating will begin at 6 pm. sharp. Please bring one hot dish (casserole, entree, vegetables or dessert) and one cold dish (green salad, potato or macaroni salad, veggie plate, bread or dessert). Also bring your own plates and utensils. The Club will provide cups and drinks. To better accommodate those in our group that have dietary restrictions, there will be small cards which you can indicate what type allergens (nut, soy, wheat, dairy etc.) the dish has and if it is vegetarian. After the meal there will be a short business meeting. Warren has planned a fun activity for everyone..... panning for sapphires. Bring small strainers and a cookie sheet to participate. There will be no Show and Tell or Silent Auction this month. Wear your patriotic colors!! There will be a prize for 1 adult and 1 child who dresses the most patriotic. Happy Summer.

Don’t Forget To Save Your Cancelled Postage Stamps You may have heard that the “Save the Stamps” program had a bump in the road recently and is looking for a new wholesaler to deal with. The program is still alive and well. Give your cancelled stamps to Norma Long, our Federation Delegate, and she will forward them to the Federation who in turn will sell them to stamp wholesalers. Proceeds are donated to organizations that support cancer research.

Ask not what the club can do for you, but what you can do for the club

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Federation Rendezvous—Keith Bacus Eleven club members found their way to the rendezvous near Paulina, OR this pastMemorial Day weekend. As I topped the rise, a large makeshift campground came into view in a farmer’s field. There were everything from tents to motor homes. Over 200 people were in attendance. We had rain, snow, sleet and hail. It was a bit cold and wet to say the least. The Hampton butte wood is varied in color and fairly plentiful. Congleton Hollow pieces were harder to find, but after they were cleaned up, looked quite nice ! Thank you to some gracious hosts who took pity on us lowly tent folk! I am hoping for a warm rendezvous weekend again some year. Maybe… even if it is not so warm…. Keith Bacus

June Program Recapped About 35 members and guests were in attendance to hear Sally Reed, one of our club members, give an informative presentation on preparing exhibits for public display. Sally has had extensive experience in preparing a variety of exhibits for equally diverse venues. Key points from her presentation to keep in mind when preparing an exhibit are:  Make sure you have a clear purpose or objective for your exhibit or display. Is it to educate, to show and tell, etc.? Is it entered as part of a competition or is it for the general viewing?  Know who your intended audience is. Is it the general public or a specialty group; what age group- children, adults or mixed; their knowledge level of the subject, etc.  How much time will the viewer have to spend looking at the exhibit? Will they be stationary with unlimited time to view it or will they be moving past as part of a moving crowd.  Know what will the viewing distance be. Will the exhibit be viewed from close-up or from a distance? Will people be looking up or down on the exhibit.  Know the size of the display case or table you will have available for your exhibit.  Provide variety in the way items are arranged in the exhibit. Consider using all three dimensions when arranging items. Use risers, suspend items, use motion, etc.  Use lighting, color and texture in the area surrounding your exhibited items to enhance the items and focus attention on the centerpiece of the exhibit. Remember bright colors and textures usually distract from an exhibited item.  Provide the appropriate written information supporting the exhibit.  Does your exhibit fit the purpose of the exhibit and the intended audience?  Make sure the text is of a font size appropriate for the viewing distance.  (Some exhibitions have specific standards that exhibits must meet. Make sure to check on these.)  Dry run your exhibit at home before you place it on display. Does it meet your goals and objectives for the exhibit? Can people see or read everything you want them to be able to in the time available? Is it pleasant to look at or does it appear cluttered? Have someone else look at and critique it for you.  Make sure you take all the supplies you will need to set up your exhibit and don’t count on them being available at the site.  Have a back-up plan in case the venue changes or something you counted on is not available. To support her presentation Sally circulated photographic samples of the good, the bad and the ugly of exhibits she has seen. We would like to thank Sally for here very informative presentation and hope that we can incorporate some of her suggestions when we prepare exhibits for our Club’s Gem and Mineral Show in September.

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The Federation Rendezvous at Hampton Butte— A successful but wet weekend by Russell Kinsfather I left Thursday morning around 10 am made it to Madras around 2:30 and found the camp area at 5pm. It was a good thing I check my maps and used Bing mapping software for the GPS coordinates of the road to turn off onto because the direction given me were a little off. As I crested the hill I knew I was at the right place, the city of campers out in this large open range land. I heard there were over 240 people. As I drove around looking for any familiar vehicles, I heard a familiar voice call my name. It was Olin Long. He had an area reserved for us. It wasn’t long when Warren showed up, then Keith. We all got settled and signed up for the next day’s trips. Turned in for the night by 9 pm and around 10 pm herd a pack of Coyotes off in the distant. Around 1:30 am It started to rain but stopped around 3am. With that many people around there was no way a person could sleep. Some were up stirring around as early as 5:30. It turned out to be not to bad of a day for rock hunting, just some light sprinkles now and then. Friday evening, we had a couple people give talks on the geology of this area in between cloudbursts. Friday night it rained off and on and by 7:30 Saturday morning we had lots of wet snow heavy , enough to weigh my tent down to collapse but able to shake the shake it off without much trouble. The direction of the storms changed. Instead of coming from the west they were coming from the North, one after another with rain, hail, and snow and cold wind. The roads were a muddy mess. Because of all the moisture the directors decided to wait a few hours to see if it dries up any. Some of us went down the road a ways and parked alongside the road and walked into the fields in search of some good rocks. The actual road to Hampton Butte was so muddy and slick my vehicle with new mud and snow gripping tires slid all over the road so I abandon the search for the good stuff up there. Sunday morning I decided to leave and head home since most of the area roads were too wet to drive. I decided to check some of the other areas that I have always wanted to check out and do some gold prospecting. As I was traveling home I learned that the Burns Jct. was closed for a while due to flooding and from road from Burns to La Grande had water up to the road’s edge in places. When I got home boy was my truck a muddy mess. Last week I finally cut into some of my findings. I have some red rocks that when cut open are half red and half green and look really nice with the saw oil still on them. There is still a lot more to look at. Even though the weather was not the best it was another successful rock hunting trip.

Have a Safe and Sane 4th of July.

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Highlights of the June 9 , 2011 Board Meeting Board Members Present: Suzanne Young, Tim Tiffin, Rudi Domazliky and Jack Edwards Guests Present: Keith Bacus, Warren Rood, and Bill Stonecipher Rock Show update-Warren Rood  12 dealers have sent in their contracts. Jackie Kopany won't be coming this year as she didn't make enough last year to offset costs.  Board will consider setting rates by the foot next year to be more affordable for the smaller vendors.  Dealers not coming back this year sited schedule conflicts and a desire to slow down as reasons for not showing.  A general discussion followed on theft and altered gems at the show. Vigilance on our part can help to keep down theft at the booths.  Fund raising to raise costs to cover the travel costs to bring the “Rock Food Table” to the show has not been very successful. Still haven’t heard from the Panda Express or the corporate office of Banner Bank. Andy's Market has offered a gift certificate for the raffle. We need to raise between $1300 -$1400 to cover the expenses. Lapidary class update—Warren Rood.  The feedback from students was positive and they have made some really nice cabs. A lot of them would like to take an advanced class.  Warren is working on agreement with the college for club use in the summer as long as future classes are expected.  A U-B article on the class prompted two people to donate material to be used in the classes. Other Items Discussed:  The final copy of the by-laws recently approved by the membership has been signed by the board.  A thank you card has been sent to Steve May for his interesting talk at on geophysics at the May meeting.  The silent auction took in less money in May than in April but it was decided to continue having both it and the junior drawing at each meeting.  Larry Bennett is getting the forms for subscriptions to 'Rock and Gem' magazine.  Suzanne announced the Idaho Falls Gem and Mineral Society was are having a field trip to an opal mine on 7/16. The fee is $50.00.  Board wants to proceed with a Membership Directory and must decide who will get it and if it belongs on the internet.  Jack handed out Olan's first draft of the Lapidary Committee's prospectus for board member review.

EDITOR’s Note I am still working out the details to facilitate members who opted to receive the Federation Newsletter electronically to do so. There seems to be some confusion at the federation level as to what they had in mind. As it stands now I will probably be downloading the Federation Newsletter each month when it becomes available and attach it to an e-mail that I will sent to each family that said they would like the Federation Newsletter electronically. That should start with the August federation newsletter. Thanks for your patience. Jim Brain—Editor

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Minutes of the June 14, 2011 General Meeting—Rudi Domazlicky—Secretary Guests: Troy Ensunsa, Joan Tatum, Verna Watson, Sam Luna and Marian Pielat Show and Tell-Agates. Keith, Janel and Vern brought specimens from the recent Tri-Fed trip to central Oregon. Bill showed agates from Madras and Jack brought spheres made of Brazilian, birds-eye and Mexican agate. Carson brought a limb cast and Frank had quartz and agates. The club is now selling 8 oz cans of cerium polish for $10.00. Program: Sally showed ways to define and enhance our collections to improve our show displays. Refreshments: strawberry short cake. The minutes of the last meeting were approved. The secretary had no new correspondence to report. The treasurer reported the club balances. Don Wagner expected someone to attend the meeting who had a slab saw for sale but that person wasn't present. Warren reported that the lapidary classes are over and there will be new ones this fall including a jewelry class and one on cabs and wire wrapping. There will be Thursday classes for beginning and advanced students. Sign up sheets were passed out for club use of the lapidary classroom for the next 2 Sundays. This year's rock show will be 9/10 and 9/11. So far 12 dealers have committed. Everyone's help is needed. Library: Leslie says it's open and please return your checked out books. Janel reported that she is leading a field trip to the Ukiah area on June 24th and 25th. We will be looking at 3 sites for leaf fossils, apache tears and petrified wood. There will be a mining demonstration at small opal mine on Sunday. We will meet Saturday at 9 am at the Forest Service parking lot. Leslie has volunteered to spearhead our booth for the 4th of July in the Park event. She will need help with setting up, taking down and manning the booth. Eleven club members attended the Tri-Fed trip to central Oregon. In all, 200-250 rockhounds attended. The Idaho Falls club will have a dig for opal in the Spencer area on 7/16. Place your nominations for member of the year in the suggestion box. The winner will receive a new rock hammer. Junior drawing led by Bill. The meeting concluded.

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T HE C LUB L EADERSHIP Board of Directors: President: Suzanne Young Vice-President: Jack Edwards Secretary: Rudi Domazlicky Treasurer: Sandy Kinsfather Federation Director: Norma Long Federation Delegate: Olan Long Junior Activity Director: Kim French Immediate Past President: Tim Tiffin

509-527-3708 509-529-3673 509-529-7675 509-529-1455 509-525-4640 509-525-4640 509-525-7387 509-525-3766

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Supporting Cast: Classes: Vacant Youth Drawing: Bill Stonecipher Historian: Larry Bennett Lapidary: Vacant Librarian: Leslie Hammer Photographers: David Walk, Russell Kinsfather Programs: Vacant Refreshments: Crystal Walk; Rudy Domazlicky Show and Tell: Keith Bacus Publicity: Linda and Bill Stonecipher Stamps: Norma Long Sunshine: Marilyn McCann (509) 525-1776 Web Master: David Walk

Life Member Bill Smelcer

Working Groups: Field Trips: Vacant Junior Club: Kim French Membership: Vern Young Show: Warren Rood-chairperson

Affiliations: American Federation of Mineralogical Societies (AFMS) http://www.amfed/org Northwest Federation of Mineralogical Societies (NFMS) http://www.amfed.org.nfms

M ARCUS W HITMAN G EM AND M INERAL S OCIETY PO B OX 338 W ALLA W ALLA , WA 99362

Return Service Requested Remember to save your stamps

The Rock Licker Volume Issue 52

Issue 7

To: (Place mailing label here)

THE ROCK LICKER is the official monthly publication of the Marcus Whitman Gem and Mineral Society, Inc. (NFMS Club # 719), PO Box 338, Walla Walla, WA 99362. Editor Jim Brain 509-522-2261 E-Mail: [email protected] WE ARE ON THE WEB https://sites.google.com/site/mwgemandmineral/

THE MARCUS WHITMAN GEM AND MINERAL SOCIETY IS AFFILIATED WITH:

THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF MINERALOGICAL SOCITIES AND THE NORTHWEAT FEDERATION MINERALOGICAL SOCIETIES

The objective of the Society is to encourage the study of earth science through suitable programs, field trips, exhibits and other educational activities. People of all ages are welcome to join us. There are junior club activities for youth aged 18 and under. Regular club meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month (except July and December) at the Lions Club Field House on the corner of SE 8th St and SE Larch Ave. in College Place, WA. Both the Juniors club activities and general club meeting start at 6:30 pm. Note: July is reserved for a club picnic and December is reserved for the Christmas party and potluck.