1

Friday, February 21st from 6:30 to 9:30 pm

Annual Potluck - AGM - and long-time favourite member,

Don Lapham Newfoundland rock hunting (and more!) silent auction, member displays, refreshments, swaps, give-aways

Location: Royal Canadian Legion Merritton Branch 138, 2 Chestnut St East, St Catharines, ON

Annual Potluck along with AGM (Annual General Meeting). Please bring something delicious to share!

And please come and vote - plus, of course, please think about volunteering for a Board position. Parking is free. Please click on this link: http://www.ccfms.ca/clubs/NPGS/meetings.htm to find out “how to get there”.

Contact Us

NPGS info: 289-228-9479 (Hannah MacDonald, Director)

general email address: npgsgeo@gmail.com

mailing address: NPGS c/o 120 South Drive, St Catharines, ON L2R 4V9

clipart throughout the newsletter is © 123rf, clipart.com, pinterest, DecOMG

February 2020 http://www.ccfms.ca/clubs/NPGS/ Volume 57 No 9

This isn’t Don’s

amethyst. It’s

Ottawa Lapidary

club’s

(KayGeeDee

Minerals) image.

It is from

Newfoundland.

Apologies.

Our pictures of

Don’s amethyst

weren’t very good.

We’ll have better

pics for the March

issue.

2

President’s Corner Whoever couldn't make January's meeting, you missed another one of our excellent speakers, Michael

Bainbridge, who came with not one but two presentations!! Wow, who would have expected a choice?

The majority voted to have Michael speak on the Grenville Minerals as opposed to mineral photography.

It was a real toss up for me - so I'll be honest - I didn't vote LOL. Michael's talk was very interesting and

his pictures of the minerals were outstanding, of course. Michael also brought along some copies of his

latest book and some beautiful puzzles.

A big thank you to Farzaneh for being there to enable us to use the large Brock projector.

Everyone had an enjoyable evening.

February is here and we all know what that means ... our Annual General Meeting! I am so looking

forward to it since it is always a delicious meal, it makes me hungry just thinking about it. The meeting is

at the same lovely hall we were at in December, the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 138 Merritton.

(Parking should be better since there won't be a turkey roll going on like there was in December.)

Of course, we will have our annual elections February 21st also. Please keep in mind you can nominate

yourself as well as someone else. Many hands make light work (and new ideas are always welcome).

Don't forget the Monday before our meeting, Feb 17th, the NPGS will have a table set up at Heartland

Forest for Family Day from 11 am-3 pm. So come on out, stop by, and say hi. Christopher White and

Hannah MacDonald have graciously volunteered for this day; but we can all attend even if we don't have

young children or grandchildren to bring. Great way to stay young at heart, and for our new members,

you can come and see where our show will be held in June.

To our members and their families, Happy Valentine's Day on the 14th! (Wait till you read the article on

pages 4 & 5 for a great idea for a Valentine gift!) Cheers! Patti

Fri, Mar 20th meeting will be at

Brock University, MacKenzie-

Chown Building, Dept of Earth

Sciences, Room MCD-309, St

Catharines, ON

Parking @ Brock University is free

in Zones 1 & 2 after 6 pm. Please

click on this link:

http://www.ccfms.ca/clubs/NPGS/me

etings.htm to find out “how to get

there” + Brock U parking maps.

Tues, Feb 4th Board meeting will

be at

Patti Anderson’s house (our President)

from 6:30 pm ‘til who knows!

All NPGS members are welcome at

all NPGS Board meetings!

Sat, Mar 21st workshop will be at

still confirming location

from 10 am ‘til 2 pm.

Fee $40.

How to do beading & wire-wrapping

with titanium wire for bracelets,

pendants, and rock art

with Bonnie Stevenson of Bijou

Heaven.

3

What’s an AGM? Annual General Meetings are all too often not looked upon as exciting events.

In truth, though, AGMs are often the most important event for a club - and they can be exciting and impassioned.

(And think of the yummy potluck food that we’ll have available, too.)

• The membership gets to elect & appoint the Board of Directors - in other words, you get to determine who’s been

naughty or nice. (It’s like a second Christmas.)

• And you can even volunteer yourself for any elected or appointed position.

• The membership gets to vote on any constitutional amendments - and we’ve got a couple of really important ones

this year - your privacy and our club’s diversity + a number of “spelling errors” corrected.

• Financial reporting - sounds boring! - nope - it’s the plans, hopes, wishes, & dreams of your Board - as well as

seeing that our club is financially sound.

• Any member can speak up at an AGM (nevermind, at our monthly meetings as well). Your voices and your votes

all count.

The Slate Executive Committee positions

elected at AGM

1. President - Patti Anderson

2. Vice-President, *Lapidary Director - Christopher

White

3. Secretary & Archivist - Melynda Broadbent

4. Treasurer & Membership, *Field Trip Director,

*Show Chair - Ashley Pollock

3 Directors-at-large

5. John Anderson

6. Janis Forster

7. Hannah MacDonald

* Lapidary Director, Field Trip Director, Show Chair

are appointed vs elected.

Appointed positions

making up the balance of the Board

confirmed at AGM

• Past President - VACANT

• Newsletter Editor - VACANT

• “roving reporter” - Brian Dear

• Librarian - Farzaneh Haj Soltan

• Workshop Director - Ashley Marazzo

• Social Director - Geri Kerekes

& Auditor (elected at AGM - not part of the Board)

elected at AGM - not part of the Board

CCFMS Council Representative - VACANT

Other volunteer positions

• Annual Auction Co-ordinator - VACANT

• Touch Table Co-ordinator - VACANT

• email portion - Brian Dear

• T-shirts & name tags - VACANT

• Show volunteers - as many who are willing!

The constitution Our 2020 AGM is going to see some constitution

changes:

1. Addition of a Privacy article - bringing us in

compliance with Ontario & Canadian privacy laws.

2. Addition of a Diversity article - covering non-

discrimination & anti-harassment - also bringing us

in compliance with Ontario & Canadian laws.

3. And a bunch of small corrections such as, accidental

spelling errors & omissions.

Over the next year, the Board will be looking at doing

some more constitution changes:

1. Creating job descriptions so that it becomes easier to

fulfill responsibilities - plus if you volunteer, you

can add the experience to your resumé.

2. Tightening up “what’s a by-law? what’s a policy?

what’s a procedure?”

3. Adding a dissolution of the club clause.

4. In keeping with the new Diversity article, tightening

up “conduct unbecoming”.

5. And, any other small errors that we may catch.

Would you like to help? Do you get excited

about “legal beagle” stuff?

We welcome all input from all our members.

Want to be on “the slate”?

Not a problem.

Just pop off an email to our Secretary, Melynda

Broadbent at npgs.secretary@gmail.com.

Or you can nominate yourself at the AGM.

multi-coloured

slate roofing

tiles

North Carolina

Slate

So, there is a geology connection - slate is a fine-grained,

foliated (folded), homogenous, metamorphic (changed)

rock. Nice complimentary definition of flexibility!

4

ROSE QUARTZ

2 upper pictures - showing typical massive crystal habit of

rose quartz along with colour zoning common to rose quartz

middle picture - microscope picture showing blue undertones

as well as how pale (almost colourless) rose quartz can be

- peach-rusty-spots & blebs in all 3 specimens are hematite

staining - collected 2009, Rose Quartz Mine, Quadeville - A Pollock

A gentle pale pink is the best way to describe the

colour of rose quartz - a very popular gemstone

- yet, rose quartz can range from any number of

pale pinks to rosy-reds - sometimes, with blue

undertones.

Debate raged for years as to what caused rose

quartz colouring. In 2001, rose quartz was

dissolved (can you imagine!) by CalTech researchers.

Pink coloured dumortierite-related (an aluminum-

boron mineral) nano-fibers were leftover.

Rose quartz is commonly found world-wide -

wherever there are pegmatites (meaning you need to

collect at a hydrothermal fluid mountain-building area

- Grenville Province, here in Ontario, is an exceptional area

for pegmatites. Best collecting can be done at the Rose

Quartz Mine in Quadeville.).

Apparently, rose quartz won’t fade unless

subjected to very high heat (above 500°C); though,

anecdotally, some people do claim that their rose

quartz has faded in sunlight.

Metaphysically and in mythology (ancient Greece &

Rome), rose quartz symbolizes love. Ancient Native

American cultures used rose quartz as peace

offerings & to resolve anger and disappointments.

Ancient Egyptians believed rose quartz could

prevent wrinkles & the effects of aging. (Sounds like

good thinkin’ to me!)

left - typical blue

dumortierite Wikipedia

middle - pink

dumortierite © Amethyst Galleries

right - pink dumortierite

nano-fibers in rose

quartz SEM picture - © CalTech

A beautiful Valentine’s gift.

5

Star Rose Quartz at the Houston

Museum of Natural Science - a lovely

rose colour Wikipedia - picture by andytang20

Star Rose Quartz exhibits asterism. Massive like all rose quartz,

it’s enhanced by the inclusion of microscopic rutile (titanium oxide)

needle-shaped crystals. Asterism is an optical illusion caused by light

hitting the rutile needles.

Pink quartz, on the other hand, macro-crystallizes (meaning you

can see the crystals vs rose quartz, which is cryptocrystalline / massive).

Pink quartz is transparent & translucent; whereas, rose quartz is

translucent & opaque (both rose quartz and pink quartz are rarely 100%

clear).

Pink quartz is definitely light-sensitive - it fades quite easily.

The pink colour, in this case, is caused by entirely different

mineral inclusions - small amounts of aluminum Al(+3) and

phosphorus P(+5) ions and subsequently irradiated. (Pink quartz is

often found in association with smoky quartz - another highly irradiated quartz

- as well as phosphate minerals.) To date, there are only 2 locations where you can find pink

quartz - Oxford County, Maine, USA & Minas Gerais, Brasil.

Like rose quartz, pink quartz is found in pegmatites; however,

the hydrothermal fluids are considered to be more watery and

the temperatures much higher.

Pink Quartz cluster, Minas Gerais, Brasil

© Amir Chossrow Akhavan

The Quartz Page

“These translucent crystals seem to radiate from a

common point on the rock matrix.

The crystals are translucent, with a roughened surface.

The crystal faces show a stair-like pattern.”

Star rose quartz & pink quartz

Pink Quartz cluster, Minas Gerais,

Brasil

© J Lucking Collection

&

Star Rose Quartz cabochon, 795

carats, Madagascar

© E Skalwold Collection

picture © Jeff Scovil

6

Looking for

something to do

on Family Day?

Try Heartland’s

Winterfest on

Monday, February

17th.

The NPGS is

gonna be there

armed with:

• give-aways

• rocks to look at

• our brand-new

membership

postcard

• our show

postcard.

And we’ll be

breathlessly

waiting to sign up

loads and loads of

new members!

Our brand-new membership postcard! Why do a wordy-paper brochure when we can do an eye-catching postcard?

SPECIAL EVENT

7

You Got It!!!!

Our show is ON!!

Are you getting excited?

only 4 months to go! • The show is back at Heartland Forest.

• It’s gonna be 2 days again.

• We’re gonna have a BBQ.

• We’re gonna have lapidary & wire-

wrapping demos plus mineral

identification.

• Loads of door prizes - of course!

• And vendors galore - rocks &

minerals, fossils, meteorites,

jewellery, gemstones, etc.

• Teasers for our vendors will start in

March - so that you can get to know

them. (Who’s got jewellery? Who’s got

rocks? Who’s got fossils? Who’s got

meteorites?)

You’ll see regular announcements

in the newsletter, on our website,

and on both Facebook & Instagram.

If you’d like to be a vendor at our show - or you

known someone who’d like to be a vendor -

please click on our show webpage link - and

you can download the Vendor application plus

Terms & Conditions - and see the floor plans.

http://www.ccfms.ca/clubs/NPGS/show.htm

Exciting news! GIANT FM & Country 89 radio stations are

gonna be at our show - their cruiser will be

there on Saturday.

And both radio stations will be running contests

for free admission to the show

Oooooh.

Club FB page show FB page Instagram page

Please click on the links.

8

“Looking for the perfect Valentine’s Day gift

for that special someone?”

“Forget diamonds”, said the LA Times in 2016.

“Instead woo your valentine with a rare and unique crystal.”

In 2016, around Valentine’s Day, Dr Robert Hazen,

Carnegie Institution, and Prof Jesse Ausubel,

Rockefeller University, published a paper about the

world’s rarest mineral species, in the American

Mineralogist.

Newspapers went mad and published article after

article just in time for Valentine’s Day 2016.

"Diamond, ruby, emerald, and other precious gems

are found at numerous localities and are sold in

commercial quantities, and thus are not rare … as

many thousands of tons of these commodities are

produced annually."

The authors told the BBC that “the rarest of the rare -

just over 2500 minerals (of just under 5100 known

minerals - approx 50% of minerals) - are only found at

five places on Earth or fewer.”

"It's the rare minerals that tell us so much about how

Earth differs from the Moon, from Mars, from Mercury,

where the same common minerals (less than 100)

exist, but it's the rare minerals that make Earth

special."

Many of these minerals form only when a “perfect

storm” of environmental conditions occurs. “Several of

these rare minerals are prone to melt, evaporate, or

dehydrate,” the authors said. “And a few, vampire-like,

gradually decompose on exposure to sunlight.”

Fingerite - named for Larry W Finger, Carnegie

Institution - can only be found in one place - in super-

hot fumaroles on the side of Izalco Volcano, El

Salvador. It’s a copper-vanadium mineral (vanadium is

rare, whereas, copper isn’t). It forms tiny black crystals

from volcanic gases. “And, every time it rains, fingerite

dissolves.”

Nevadaite is another copper-vanadium mineral -

crystals are a colourful deep turquoise but microscopic

- and only known from two localities - Eureka County,

Nevada, and a copper mine in Kyrgyzstan.

Above: tiny, black fingerite crystals

- photo by Robert Downs, University of

Nevada

Below: bright turquoise nevadaite

- photo by Robert Downs, University of

Nevada

True, these are very rare minerals, and so,

inherently much more valuable than

diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and

emeralds.

But they’re so tiny ??

9

"If you wanted to give your fiancée a really rare ring,

forget diamond. Give her Sardinian ichnusaite,"

Hazen wrote. Ichnusaite forms as a “subterranean

mash-up” from weakly-radioactive thorium and

molybdenum and only one tiny colourless, pearly-

lustered crystal has ever been found on the Italian

island of Sardinia.

Cobaltomenite (poisonous) - cobalt selenium oxide -

is found only in 4 locales around the world - forming in

hydrothermal, acidic waters of oxidation zones of

sulfide deposits. (Another dangerous environment.)

Hazenite is named after Dr Hazen and only known

from Mono Lake, California. It forms when phosphorus

levels spike and microbes in the water, to survive,

excrete the tiny, colourless crystals from their cells -

essentially microbial "poop". "Yes, it's true - hazenite

happens," quips Dr Hazen.

On the nature and significance of rarity in mineralogy;

Dr Robert Hazen & Prof Jesse Ausubel. American

Mineralogist; 2016

pink-red cobaltomenite - photo by Robert Downs,

University of Nevada At least, cobaltomenite comes in a Valentine’s colour,

albeit poisonous.

colourless ichnusaite (microscopic!)

- photo by Paulo Biagioni et al,

American Mineralogist Only one crystal - and microscopic, at that -

has ever been found.

Difficult make a ring or necklace - don’t you

think?

colourless hazenite (microscopic) - photo by

Robert Hazen, Carnegie Institution Not so sure that giving someone “poop” for Valentine’s is a

great idea. But … it may be a fabulous gift for an enemy.

Best stick to diamonds,

rubies, sapphires, &

emeralds.

left: Cartier tutti frutti Art

Deco brooch

right: Moghul Empire

jade knife & sheath with

diamonds, rubies, &

emeralds - Los Angeles

County Museum of Art,

Nasli and Alice

Heeramaneck Collection

10

Friday, September 20th @ Brock University

Show & Tell

Our September meeting is when we get to see who we

haven’t seen all summer and show off what we collected

during the summer. We also held elections for an Interim

Board at this meeting.

Friday, October 18th @ Brock University

Ashley Marazzo, Midgard Metal Works - intro

lapidary (a mini workshop)

Wire trees, plus pendants for windows, cars, necklaces,

& walls.

Ashley will have kits & findings available for us; but you

can also bring your own stuff.

Silent Auction & Member Displays: Interesting

Friday, November 15th @ Brock University

Joe Moysiuk - co-discoverer of Cambroraster at

Burgess Shale

Joe talked about the newly discovered Cambroraster

fossil from the Burgess Shale & the new ROM Dawn of

Life exhibit

Silent Auction & Member Displays: Spellbinding

Friday, December 13th @ Legion Merritton Branch

138 (2nd Friday)

Annual Potluck Dessert Social

& a Special auction for selenite crystals from the

Winnipeg Floodway

& demos by our members of various collections

Please bring a dessert to share. Meeting starts early @

6:30 pm (so we can eat!)

Silent Auction & Member Displays: Jolly - Food: Yummy!

Friday, January 17th @ Brock University

Michael Bainbridge - minerals & photography

Always a favourite speaker, Michael was amazing!

Silent Auction & Member Displays: Startling

Friday, February 21st @ Legion Merritton Branch

138

Annual General Meeting

& Potluck Dinner Social

& Don Lapham - Newfoundland rock hunting

Please bring a dish to share. Meeting starts early @ 6:30

pm (so we can eat!).

Elections! and constitution update.

Silent Auction & Member Displays: Icy - Food: Delicious!

Friday, March 20th @ Brock University

Bonnie Stevenson, Bijou Heaven - our second

lapidary talk

& 2nd special auction for selenite crystals from the

Winnipeg Floodway

How to do beading & wire-wrapping with titanium wire for

bracelets, pendants, and rock art.

Bonnie will have kits & findings available for us; but you

can also bring your own stuff.

Silent Auction & Member Displays: Amazing

Saturday, March 21st @ either Brock University or

Legion Merritton Branch 138 (location being

confirmed)

Bonnie Stevenson, Bijou Heaven - a full lapidary

workshop - cost $40

Friday, April 24th @ Brock University (4th Friday)

Kevin Kidd - Beecher’s Trilobite Beds

exceptionally preserved trilobites with soft tissue intact

Silent Auction & Member Displays: Fascinating

tentatively, Saturday, April 25th @ either Brock

University or Legion Merritton Branch 138 (location

being confirmed)

Ashley Marazzo, Midgard Metalworks - a 2nd full

lapidary workshop - cost to be announced

Ashley Marazzo is also our NEW Workshop Director

Friday, May 22nd @ Brock University (4th Friday)

Annual Auction

Please bring any rocks, minerals, fossils, gems, &

jewellery that you’d like to auction off.

Please arrive @ 7:00 pm if you are auctioning items.

Our Auctioneer will hopefully be Brian Pihack and the

selection will be outstanding!

Our Auction Co-ordinator will assign auction numbers.

Please contact us for auction slips & numbers.

If using blank auction slips, please ensure that you get

numbers from the Auction Co-ordinator. Thanks.

Auction rules blank Auction slips

Saturday & Sunday, June 6th & 7th @ Heartland

Forest, in Niagara Falls.

GEOventure! 2020 - our Annual Gem, Mineral, &

Fossil Show

Saturday from 10 am ‘til 5 pm, Sunday 10 am ‘til 4 pm.

Updates will be regularly posted in our newsletter, on our

website, and on social media.

And, yes, we’re looking for volunteers, please & thanks.

Annual Picnic tentatively, Saturday, June 13th from

noon ‘til 4 pm - location to be announced

We provide hot dogs, hamburgers, pop, & water.

Please bring a salad or a dessert to share as well as

sunscreen, bug spray, and a lawn chair.

Please let us know if you’ll be attending - so that we can

have accurate numbers for the food. Thanks.

Meeting & Events Schedule for 2019-20

Please note that our May meeting

has been changed to the 4th Friday.

Thanks.

Buttons are active links.

Please click and you’ll open up

either document or a webpage.

11

Field Trips planned schedule 2020 season - some dates are now confirmed. The NPGS field trip schedule is posted on our website at http://www.ccfms.ca/clubs/NPGS/trips.htm.

Our field trip webpage also lists field trip Codes of Ethics, trip safety rules & equipment, as well as lots of handy info. Please click on the

buttons for dedicated site webpages (which provide loads & loads of info & maps) - you’ll be able to download documents or open up links.

A number of pages are still under construction. Thanks for your patience.

Field trip dates, as they come up, are also posted on our Facebook & Instagram pages and shared with all CCFMS clubs.

Anyone can attend any NPGS field trips as long as they are a member of a CCFMS club.

Sat, May 2nd - Hungry Hollow near Arkona, ON (Devonian fossils) - kid-friendly

• co-hosted with London Gem, Mineral, & Fossil Society

Sat thru Mon, May 16th thru 18th (Victoria Day weekend) - Herkimer Diamonds near Herkimer,

New York, USA (Devonian “diamonds” & fossils) - long-weekend camping trip - kid-friendly & pay-to-

collect

CCFMS Beamsville Quarry - 2 times per year - usually Saturday on Mother’s Day weekend + late

September / early October on a Saturday.

CCFMS Bowmanville Quarry - 2 times per year - usually May into early June on a Sunday +

late September / early October on a Sunday.

combo trip of Beryl Pit, Rose Quartz Mine, & Smart Mine - tentatively, Sat & Sun, June 20th & 21st

- weekend camping trip - kid-friendly & pay-to-collect

Ridgemount “north” & “south” Quarries, Fort Erie, ON (Silurian & Devonian fossils)

• tentatively, Fri, June 26th for Devonian fossils at the “south” quarry

• tentatively, Fri, August 28th for Silurian fossils at the “north” quarry

Thunder Bay amethyst, agate, jasper, Banded Iron plus puddingstone (Late Archean to Early

Proterozoic) - tentatively, Sat thru Sat, July 11th thru July 18th - partially EXPLORATORY - week-long

camping trip - kid-friendly & partially pay-to-collect

• puddingstone is 100% EXPLORATORY & just north of Lake Huron, west of Sudbury

• this link is not active yet

Bancroft - tentatively, Sat thru Mon, Aug 1st thru 3rd - partially EXPLORATORY - long-weekend

camping trip - Bancroft Gemboree is on that same weekend - so also an option - kid-friendly

• this link is not active yet

combo trip of River Valley, Temagami, Gowgonda - tentatively, Sun thru Sat, Aug 9th thru 15th -

partially EXPLORATORY - week-long camping trip - kid-friendly

Madoc - tentatively, Sat & Sun, Aug 22nd & 23rd - partially EXPLORATORY - weekend camping trip

- kid-friendly

• this link is not active yet

September - still confirming dates with Manitoba club - Winnipeg Floodway, (Miocene selenite

crystals) - probably mid-week - 2 or 3 days - probably flying to Winnipeg

• this link is not active yet

Arkansas quartz, diamonds, wavellite, novaculite - tentatively, Sat thru Sat, Sep 26th thru Oct 3rd

- 100% EXPLORATORY - week-long camping trip - kid-friendly & pay-to-collect

Toronto, ON (minerals, fossils, dinosaurs, meteorites

• every geologic age + amber & jewellery) - kid-friendly

• There is a Tiffany Jewellery exhibit @ ROM from June 6th until

• September 13th, 2020 - perhaps, Sat, Sep 12th?

• Want to go? Please email Ashley.

Blue means

confirmed (in

bold)

or tentatively

confirmed

(not in bold)

dates.

12

Lapidary Events - planned schedule 2020

BRANTFORD LAPIDARY AND MINERAL SOCIETY

workshop facility

The cost is by punch card system:

You can purchase: for a single session $12, $55 for 5

sessions, $100 for 10 sessions, & $180 for 20 sessions.

(**Please bring exact change**) (Punch card earnings go

towards workshop supplies and ensuring equipment is in

tip-top shape.)

Please contact & confirm with one of the following

Brantford club volunteers ahead of time of your visit

- to ensure that the workshop facility is open. There is

no guarantee that the workshop will be open - volunteers

may be ill or may have other commitments.

Workshop Chairperson Ernie Edmonds 519-583-9457

Workshop Administrator Ellen Boyington 519-753-5191

ellenboyington64@gmail.com

Lead Instructor Jordan Hill 519-717-8171

centralfire99@gmail.com

Workshop Instructors Allan Hietapakka 519-732-9825

allan.hietapakka@hotmail.com

Workshop Hours can change - please check their website

for hours - link is:

https://www.brantfordlapidarymineral.ca/workshops

Entrance and parking is located at the back of the building

at 125 Stanley Street Unit # 5, Brantford.

Planned 4 hour workshop - Saturday, March 21st

cost: $40 per person - 10 am until 2 pm How to do beading & wire-wrapping with titanium wire for bracelets, pendants, & rock art.

(Location still to be confirmed - either @ Brock University or at Branch 138 of the Royal Canadian Legion.)

Bonnie Stevenson of Bijou Heaven, Sarnia will lead our second lapidary workshop.

Bonnie will also be our speaker - the evening before - on Friday, March 20th at our monthly meeting.

Bonnie will also have kits with her - $50 kits include gripper, round-nose pliers, square-nose pliers,

crimper, cutter, & dowels - $15 kits will include 30-40 small cabs.

You can also bring your own supplies.

Ashley will have kits & findings available for us; but you can also bring your own stuff.

How to do beading & wire-wrapping with titanium wire for bracelets, pendants, and rock art

You can sign up for the workshop anytime by emailing Christopher White, our Vice-President & Lapidary Director at

npgsvpres@gmail.com or you can sign up at the meeting the night before. Please bring a lunch.

Something to sell? Something to buy? Something to trade? Important notices? We welcome all notices & enquiries about selling, buying, and trading by our members

as well as any CCFMS club members plus other important notices.

Please contact us at our general email address npgsgeo@gmail.com. Thank you.

13

2020 Gem & Mineral shows

“FOSSILS OF NEW YORK” FEATURED AT BUFFALO GEOLOGICAL

SOCIETY’S

52nd ANNUAL GEM-MINERAL-FOSSIL SHOW

Saturday & Sunday, March 21st & 22nd,

2020 at the Erie County Fairgrounds in the Grange, Market and New York State Police Buildings

Saturday, 10 am-6 pm & Sunday, 10 am-5 pm.

Adults are $6 each, scouts in uniform and children under 12

are FREE. A 2-day admission for $9 each is also available.

Wheel chair and stroller accessible. FREE parking

• This annual show features 30 dealers selling gems,

beads, minerals, fossils, and jewelry, selling their items

from around the world and draws over 4,000 attendees

annually.

• Demonstrators - include a soapstone carver, jewelry

designers, and other lapidary artists.

• Sandy Cline, international renowned soapstone

carver from Canada, will be demonstrating his art of

carving wildlife forms and will have several carvings

for sale.

• the famous Mini-Mine for young collectors.

• the new mining operation for children and adults.

• mineral and fossil identification.

• a variety of non-profit exhibitors.

• food vendor.

For any additional information or questions, please contact

Jerry Bastedo, Show Chairman, at jcbastedo@gmail.com.

14

Welcome to our new members Aaron, Amy & Jon, Sarah & Kyle, Sandie & Mark, and Christopher all joined in January.

John & Sandra and Mark & Rikki also renewed in January. (We now have 3 Chistophers in the club - triplets! We already have 3 Davids - definitely getting into a theme.

Almost there on Ashley - we already have 2 - one more to go.)

Welcome to members we’re hoping will join or renew in February Kortni, Aidan, Philip & his daughter, Linda, and Janis.

Board & Volunteer positions will be posted in the March newsletter ‘coz we’re having elections & appointments at our February 21st AGM.

If you’re interested in volunteering some of your time

- and it doesn’t matter to us if you can commit a small amount of time or lots of time.

Every little bit helps.

Many hands make small work.

Please volunteer.

We have lots of little “jobs” as well as big “jobs”.

We really do need you

- and we really do want you.

Invite everyone you know! If you know of anyone who likes to make jewellery, loves to do rock art, is crazy about collecting rocks,

gems, minerals, and fossils, please don’t hesitate to invite them to one of our meetings.

Exciting speakers, really good auctions, yummy tidbits, and fun & friendly people.

Membership dues are payable

between September & December.

You can pay by cash at our monthly meetings. You can pay by cheque - also at our monthly meetings

- or by snail mail to our mailing address: NPGS c/o 120 South Drive, St Catharines, ON L2R 4V9

You can pay by Interac transfer to our npgsgeo@gmail.com address. Please use the password geology. Thanks.

Happy upcoming

Valentine’s Day

to all our NPGS

members.

15

NPGS - NIAGARA PENINSULA GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY was established in 1962 - and incorporated on March 11, 1964 - to promote the study of earth sciences as well as the hobbies of lapidary

arts and mineral & fossil collecting.

Meetings are held the third Friday of each month, September thru May, beginning at 7:30 pm and usually ending 9:30 pm. Meetings consist

of current club business, auctions, swaps, refreshments followed by a guest speaker. Open to the public.

September thru November, January, and March thru May, we meet at Brock University, MacKenzie-Chown Building, Dept of Earth

Sciences, Room MCD-309, St Catharines, ON.

Our May meeting is also our Annual Auction - fast & furious bidding - and loads of laughs.

In December & February, we meet at (new location) Royal Canadian Legion Merritton Branch 138, 2 Chestnut St East, St Catharines,

ON for our Annual Potluck ‘Tis the Season Dessert and Annual February Potluck Dinner. Potlucks begin earlier at 6:30 pm.

The February meeting is also our AGM Annual General Meeting when we hold elections for our Board of Directors.

Each year the NPGS hosts GEOventure!, our annual gem, mineral, and fossil show. Taking place on either the 1st or 2nd weekend in June,

the show consists of gem, mineral, and fossil vendors along with NPGS member displays and demonstrations.

Collecting field trips to quarries and other locations throughout Ontario and New York state are arranged several times during the year -

along with co-hosted/partner field trips with other geology clubs - and with the CCFMS Central Canadian Federation of Mineralogical

Societies.

Christopher White, our new Vice-President & Lapidary Director, and Ashley Marazzo, our new Workshop Director are working hard on re-

developing our lapidary program.

New members and guests are welcome any time. Individual memberships are $15. Family memberships are $20.

Newsletter prepared by the NPGS Executive.

THE PINK DOLOMITE SADDLE BULLETIN is the “official” newsletter of the NPGS and is geared towards keeping NPGS members informed of club activities,

regional events, and other items of general interest to the NPGS.

The Pink Dolomite Saddle is published ten times per year - from September through June

- and distributed to members of the NPGS as part of their membership dues.

We’re looking for a Newsletter Editor. Would you like to volunteer?

Members are requested to submit articles or reports of interest regarding earth science or the hobbies of lapidary arts and mineral & fossil

collecting. All articles should be submitted to the Editor before the 1st of each month.

Non-members may receive the Pink Dolomite Saddle - subscription $10.00 per year. Nominal charge for business advertisements.

Items from this bulletin may be reprinted, unless otherwise stated, providing proper copyright credit is given. Please respect copyright.

Thank you.

NPGS NIAGARA PENINSULA GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Please bring to a meeting/field trip OR mail along with a cheque payable to:

NPGS, c/o 120 South Drive, St. Catharines, Ontario L2R 4V9

OR send an Interac transfer to npgsgeo@gmail.com & please use the password geology.

Please check what applies: Family Membership $20.00 Individual Membership $15.00

Name: ________________________________________________________________________

Address: ______________________________________________________________________

City: ___________________________________________Postal Code_____________________

Phone (Home): ___________________________Phone (Cell):___________________________

Email Address: _________________________________________________________________

What are your interests? __________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________ NPGS email: npgsgeo@gmail.com NPGS website: http://www.ccfms.ca/clubs/NPGS/

NPGS Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1392693367698780/

Membership term is from September 1st until August 31st. Membership fees are due in September.