www.houstonshellclub.com Volume XXVI, Issue 1

New Meeting Day, Time, and Location

September, 2018

The Epitonium

Houston Conchology Society

President’s Message By Angela Doucette Welcome back all you Seashell Lovers! Hope everyone enjoyed their summer break. Those members attending COA in San Diego en-joyed excellent weather, camaraderie, and seeing/buying beautiful seashells. Please read through the newsletter detailing our NEW MEETING day, time, and location. Also, read about Dave Green’s presentation at this meeting. Don’t forget to read postings about the Hous-ton Conchology Society on Facebook. We look forward to seeing y’all on Sunday, September 16, 2018.

September Program HCS member Dave Green has been collecting shells for almost four decades, so he has a huge collection. At the meeting on September 16 he is going to share pictures of his favorite shells. Knowing Dave, he will have stories to tell about some of them. Come and enjoy!

During last year’s meetings, members had several discussions about improving attendance at meetings. It was decided that we would try meeting on Sunday afternoon rather than at night. The next meeting will be Sunday, September 16, from 2:00-4:30 p.m. at the Weekley YMCA, 7101 Stella Link Blvd. The meeting room is near the main entrance on the north side of the building. There is handicap and regular parking close by.

Please come and let us know what you think about the day, time, and location. There are maps in this newsletter.

COA in Texas Dave Green is organiz-ing a group to host COA in Texas in 2021. He is not asking a club to host. He is just asking for Texas shel-lers who would be in-terested in helping. At this time, he does not know in which city it will be held. Stay tuned for more info.

2018-19 Dues If you have not paid HCS dues and receive a paper copy of the newsletter, you will find a membership form enclosed. If you read the newsletter on the website and have not paid, you will have a form emailed to you. It would be a great help to the treasurer if you send them in ASAP, so she can deposit them all at the same time, otherwise it might be several weeks before your check is cashed.

New Exhibit at HMNS

This summer the HMNS opened a new exhibit titled: “Curator’s Choice: Recent Acquisitions of the HMNS.” Museum curators chose some of their favorite items that were not already on dis-play. As Malacology Curator, Tina Petway chose some beautiful specimens. HCS donations helped to purchase two of the items: the albino Syrinx aruanus and the orange Nodipecten magnificus. Stop by and see them. The exhibit is included in the museum ad-mission fee.

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Visit HCS online at

www.houstonshellclub.com

President: Angela Doucette 713-523-0169 Vice President: Darwin Alder 713-256-9087

Treasurer: Sandy Clark 713-926-6797 Recording Secretary: Rusti Stover 713-614-4882 Corresponding Secretary: Jerry Clampit 713-468-0610

CALENDAR 9/16 HCS Meeting (YMCA)

10/TBA HCS Meeting

11/TBA HCS Meeting

12/TBA HCS Christmas Party

San Antonio Auction The San Antonio Shell Club is hosting an auction on Saturday, October 6 from 10 am to 3 pm, and they are inviting all shel-lers to attend. It will be at the San Pedro Presby-terian Church at 14900 San Pedro Ave. (Hwy 281). Lunch and drinks will be provided. Checks or cash only please.

Summer Fun Field Trips By Rusti Stover

Houston Conchology Society members enjoyed two ‘indoor field trip’ events over the hot sum-mer. The first one was a very well-attended trip to the Sugar Land branch of the Houston Mu-seum of Natural Science on Friday, July 13th. Members and guests toured the “Collection of History, Mystery & Wonder” on the 2nd level, which included many shell and shell-related items in an area designed like the “Cabinet of Curiosities” in the main Houston museum. Also fasci-nating, was the large dinosaur and fossil area and the gems and minerals. Tina Petway pointed out the snails in the big entrance tank while museum workers assisted at ‘feeding time’ for the tank creatures. Afterwards everyone drove to a great Mexican restaurant in nearby Rosenberg for lunch together.

The second “indoor field trip” was the club’s “Summer Social”, arranged by Leslie Crnkovic at San Jacinto College South Campus, on Saturday August 4th. The Gallery display called “Cowries, Conchs and Cultures” which Tina Petway had helped with, was toured by the group of 22, and then a superb BBQ lunch was enjoyed by 19 of them in the rotunda. Afterwards, the group drove to John & Angie Haneiko’s house nearby, for coffee and dessert, and to peruse addi-tions to John’s vast seashell collection. (Pictures provided by Rusti & Leslie.)

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John “Wesley” Tunnell, Jr. (May 2nd 1945–July 14, 2018) By Fabio Moretzsohn, Life Science Department, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

Texas and the Gulf of Mexico region lost a beloved marine biology professor after a prolonged battle with can-cer. Many know him from his Texas shell books, but he was also interested in corals, biodiversity, conservation biology, and many other topics. Wes was an inspiration to students; he paid attention to each person, believed in them, and made everyone feel important. He was honest, stern but fair. He was my mentor and a friend; he was a good man.

Wes was born in Biloxi, MS, while his father, a Texan from Gregory, served in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II at Keesler Field in Biloxi, MS. His family soon moved back to Texas and settled in Taft, a town of 3000 peo-ple in South Texas. Both of his parents were medical doc-tors, Drs. John W. Tunnell and Rosalie N. Tunnell; to-gether, they treated all in town and delivered babies for dec-ades. Wes married his high school sweetheart, Kathryn Aldridge, in 1966. They had three kids: Stephanie, James and Jace, who gave them five grandkids. He was family-oriented, with a strong Christian faith, and was a proud

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South Texan. Tunnell attended Texas A&I Uni-

versity, Kingsville (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville) and graduated with a B.S. in Biology (Chemistry minor) in 1967, followed by a M.S. in Biology (Geology minor) in 1969 studying the marine mollusks of 7 ½ Fathom Reef, a small but diverse reef near Corpus Christi. Between 1969-1971 he served in the U.S. Army in Ft. Baker, Sausalito, CA. He then went back to Texas and at-tended Texas A&M University, College Station; he studied the mollusks of Lo-bos and Enmedio coral reefs in Cam-peche Bank, Mexico and received his Ph.D. in Biology in 1974. Tunnell joined Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, TAMU-CC), a small school at the time, as the single faculty in the department of Science and wore many hats. Tunnell retired as Emeritus Professor in 2015 but contin-ued to work on a part-time basis until the end of his life.

Tunnell had an accomplished 41-year academic career. He advised or co-advised, trained, and mentored 71 master’s students, seven Ph.D. students, and four postdocs, besides thousands of undergraduate students who took some of the 18 courses he taught over the years. Among his classes was Coral Reef Ecology, the most popular course on campus. Over a 32-year period, Tunnell took hundreds of students to dive and study coral reefs in Mexico. Bi-ology of the Mollusca was a popular graduate course, with field trips to the Texas coast. Many of his students moved on to work in academia and industry. Wes often formed life-long bonds with students.

Tunnell co-founded the Center for Coastal Studies in 1984 and served as its director until 2009. He developed two bachelor programs, four master programs, two Ph.D. programs. He was essential in the creation of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies in 2000; he served as Associate Director (2001-2015), and Endowed Chair for Biodiversity and Conservation Science since 2011. His 150+ grants and projects totaled over $20M and resulted in 115 scien-tific publications, 69 technical reports, and seven books, including the Encyclopedia of Texas Seashells. He also created and was the editor of two book series at Texas A&M University Press: the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies series, with 14 books, and the Gulf Coast Books, with 31 books published to date. Tunnell served in many national and international committees related to marine issues, includ-ing coral reefs, conservation, oil spill, coastal development, etc. He was also Adjunct Curator of Malacology and Marine Biology (2007-2014) and Curator of Marine Biology (2014-2015) in the

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THE EPITONIUM VOLUME XXVI, ISSUE

Marine Biology Tour By Cheryl Hood

On Saturday, July 21, 16 HCS members and guests participated in a 2-hour Marine Biology Tour hosted by the Texas Seaport Museum in Galveston. We boarded the Seagull II and our guide, Sid, provided an entertaining narrative tour of the Galveston bay area. He noted the docking areas used by the bay shrimpers, and the much larger gulf shrimpers as well as other industrial and ecological points of interest. The weather was perfect and we saw many birds along the way… Herons, Egrets, Brown Pelicans, Cormorants, Seagulls, and even a few Frigate birds. We cruised out past Pelican Island and the ruins of Seawolf Park to the where the ruins of the concrete ship, Selma have been sitting since the 1920s. With the number of fishermen anchored around the wreck, it must be a pretty good fishing spot. On our way back to the dock, we pulled a net along the bottom of the bay which caught squid, shrimp and fish. Afterwards, the group met for lunch at a small local restaurant called Sonny’s Place on 19th St. The food was wonderful. I would definitely recommend anyone making the trip to Galveston who wants to avoid the crowds and touristy spots to give it a try. (Picture provided by Cheryl.)

Houston Museum of Natural Science, and together with Tina Petway, designed and developed the Coastal Texas Exhibit, of which he was very proud. Despite his many accomplishments, he was very humble and always pointed out that his success was the fruit of collaborations. I feel honored to have worked closely with Wes since he recruited me as a postdoc in 2004 to work on the Biodiversity of the Gulf of Mexico project, the Encyclopedia of Texas Seashells, and many other projects. He was the single most influential figure in my professional life, and I am greatly indebted to him. It was heartwarming to learn that many people at his packed memo-rial and celebration of life service cited Wes as a major force in their lives as well. He will be missed dearly. His vast legacy will move on.  

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Annual Banquet

About 20 members and guests enjoyed another great meal at the Monument Inn. Rusti Stover provided a few pictures of the event.

Weekley Fam

ily YM

CA

•

Address: 7101 Stella Link R

d, Houston, TX

77025 •

Phone: (713) 664-9622 •

Website: ym

ca.net

Weekley Fam

ily YM

CA

•

Address: 7101 Stella Link R

d, Houston, TX

77025 •

Phone: (713) 664-9622 •

Website: ym

ca.net