Editor’s Notes:

“Remember, if you don’t send me news I can al-ways make up some.” … Jerry Davis

++++++++++++++++++

If you have a story or a news item please email it to me at

jde@txol.net. Send it in email or as a Microsoft Word docu-ment attachment. Re-member to get it to me by the 20th of the month.

Did you miss the dem-onstrations this year? We had some interesting ones. Next to me on the North side of our demo tables sat Ruth Sparks. Ruth a former wire-wrapping dealer demon-strated making beautiful glass lamp beads. To my right was Jon Denison.

(Continued on page 2)

My name is Mike Baker. I have been a member of the CTGMS for the past 3 years.

My story starts when I was born in Clay Co. TX in 1956. Later I moved to May TX for 1st through the 3rd grade. Well that's where rocks first got into my blood.

One Christmas my fam-ily and my uncle's family went out on a mountain to cut a Christmas tree. My uncle was a rock hound. There he found 2 arrowheads among other rocks. I don't re-member all the details but somehow I ended up with the 2 arrowheads. I kept them in a special box all through my child-

hood and when I mar-ried. Me and my wife Becky moved to Okla-homa where I worked with a man who col-lected arrowheads. He wanted to buy mine. When I said no way, he offered to take me with him sometime, so I went. After 2 or 3 trips I found my 3rd arrow-head. Well I was hooked. I now have about 300 to 350 in frames. I have bought some but found most of them. If anybody would like to see them, it would be my pleas-ure. Just let me know.

…….. Mike

Featured Rockhound

V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 5 M A Y 2 0 0 8 T H E I N F O R M E R

T H E I N F O R M E R

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

E D I T O R C O M -M E N T S A N D F E A T U R E D R O C K H O U N D

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B I R T H D A Y S A N D A N N I -V E R S A R I E S

2

T A L L E Y S

T A K E A

C R U I S E

3 , 4

U P C O M I N G S H O W S A N D N E W M E M -B E R S

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P R E S I D E N T ’ S R E P O R T

8

B E V ’ S M I N -U T E B Y M I N -U T E

9, 10

O F F I C E R S ,

A N D C H A I R -

P E R S O N S

1 1

H U L L A ’ B ’ L O U 6

T H E A R T W A L K

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MIKE BAKER

Page 2

He demonstrated and discussed many areas of metal-smithing. Jon is an educator and antique dealer and can and will discuss rare coins, special metals, and explain reticulation of metals. Jon con-structed several silver items as he explained the art of creating in silver. I think some of the items he created were going to be gifts for his lucky grand-kids. On the west tables were Bob and Helen Pat-terson demonstrating polishing rocks and lapidary techniques. They also had a very extensive display of fluorescent rocks and minerals in a special dark room. The display drew many kids and adults. We could hear occasional ooh’s and aah’s as kids viewed the glowing rocks. Judy Steeles gem trees always attract a lot of at-tention. Tammy Dollison and JoAn Wilks did a lot of interesting bead work and talked to a lot of people. Dave Vargo and agate engraving attracted a lot of attention. On the East end of the demo area we had Charles Lightfoot faceting. Jim Owens on the south west table was demonstrating the lapidary art of creating cabochons from different stones.

Thanks to all that participated and I hope I haven’t left out any. Folks that we knew and many that we didn’t know watched and asked questions and seemed to really enjoy what the show had to offer. Our grandkids and many others made it to the show and it was good to see their beaming smiles as they made many discoveries.

(Continued from page 1)

V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 5 M A Y 2 0 0 8 T H E I N F O R M E R Page 2

Editor’s comments

Joyce Talley sent notes to Gelene Stock-

ton, Ernie Wright, Charley Harrison, Dan

and Sally Maxson. Get well soon!

I L L N E S S E S / R E C O V E R I E S

Steve and Markay Short May 2

Dave and Beverly Vargo May 5

Jon and Glenda Denison May 24

ANNIVERSARIES

BIRTHDAYS

V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 5 M A Y 2 0 0 8 T H E I N F O R M E R Page 3

On March 4, 2008, we were on our way to Am-

sterdam. The third day we toured a diamond fac-

tory. We were pretty far back in the group and

with the accent of the guide, we didn’t get much

out of it. Amsterdam has been a large center for

the world’s diamond trade since the 16th century.

It was in Amsterdam that the world’s largest dia-

mond was cut; called the Cullinan. The Cullinan

weighed 1.5

pounds when

carved out of the

side of a wall of

the mine with a

pocket knife.

“How The Cullinan was to be cut was of primary impor-tance because the stone’s greatest value was in the num-ber of stones that could be produced. The firm I.J. Ass-cher and Com-pany of Amster-dam was chosen

for the task. For three months, Joseph Asscher February 10, 1908, at 2:45 pm, Asscher prepared himself for the greatest responsibility of his professional career — cleaving The Cullinan. Placing

The talleys take a cruise Our Trip Down the Rhine River

by Joyce Talley

V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 5 M A Y 2 0 0 8 T H E I N F O R M E R Page 4

The talleys take a cruise the cleaving blade at the prearranged point, he gave it a blow with his hammer. Snap…the blade broke. The stone was unharmed; it had not even moved. Another blade was quickly procured and Asscher struck the stone again. This time it split perfectly, just as he had hoped. Amidst cheers, shouts and pats on the back for a job well done, Asscher fainted.” Taken from the History of the world famous diamond posted on www.diamondvues.com

The show room was large and had an extensive collection in it. Was very expensive, what with the Euro dollar and our money not worth a whole lot. This building also housed a showroom of Delft pottery. Beautiful. I only know the old blue Delft, but they now have many different colors and de-signs.

You would think you’d see a windmill on every corner. Not the case. We saw one in Amsterdam and they said only sixty in the country.

One of the best times here was the night we were divided into groups of 10 or 12 and visited in a local home. Had drinks, crackers and all kinds of cheeses and smoked fish. Great, all but the fishes, like eels, etc. Our hostess and host were very nice. This was probably the most memorable time for us. These river boats are small and you get to know a lot of people in a short time. There were only 125 people on board. We then set sail for Germany.

The first town was Dusseldorf and then on to Cologne, called the “two big cities”. The largest cathedral in the world is the Cologne Cathedral, which was built in the 13th century. One cou-ple that we ate 3 meals a day with,

were Catholic and we attended a high mass on Sunday. Very impressive.

Then on to Koblenz. You pass the Lorelei Rock, who according to Greek mythology, lured sailors to their death with her songs. We stopped in Mainz and visited the Gutenberg Museum. The Gutenberg Bible is housed here, as is the Gutenberg press; the first moveable type. From here to Frankfurt where we depart and a 12 hour non-stop back to DFW.

This is our third small boat cruise and we much prefer this to the big liners. Had a very good time and met two couples that we are in contact with.

V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 5 M A Y 2 0 0 8 T H E I N F O R M E R Page 5

May 2008

2-4--DALLAS, TEXAS: 2nd annual show, "Dallas Fine Mineral Show"; Dave Waisman; Embassy Suites,

14021 Noel Rd., near The Galleria; Fri. 10-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; free admission; contact Dave Wais-

man, P.O. 8543, Spokane, WA 99203, (509) 458-2331; e-mail: svldave@aol.com; Web site:

www.dallasfinemineralshow.com

3-4--LUBBOCK, TEXAS: 50th annual show; Lubbock Gem & Mineral Society; Lubbock Civic Center, 1501

Mac Davis Ln.; Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5; exhibits, dealers, gems, jewelry, findings, rocks, minerals, fossils;

contact Archie Scott, (806) 894-1584, or Ed Ries, (806) 799-2722

Upcoming Shows

We have four new members that signed up during the show:

Melissa D. Fletcher, Abilene Hobby: reading and writing

Moira “Mo” Namuth: gardening

Bill and Kathy Gilles, Weatherford: Hobbies are rocks and rock hounding

Glenn Hedrick, Abilene (joined before the show)

Welcome New Members

V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 5 M A Y 2 0 0 8 T H E I N F O R M E R Page 6

Hulla’b’lou Observations...Show 2008 by Lou Jane Davis

For the first time ever Lou was present from set-up through take-down of the annual show;

and, though she wasn’t able to help much, she likes to think she contributed something in the

way of moral support. The following are some (by no means all) the things she noticed this

year:

CTGMS folk work together well and make any difficult job an occasion for laughter.

Not only do rock folk prepare excellent food, they are hospitable and enjoy sharing. Show

hosts and dealers greet each other as friends .

Visitors are thrilled by the beauty of the panorama greeting them as they come inside.

Children and grown-ups want polished rocks by the handful. One youngster, checking out the shiny, colorful rocks

beside Bob Patterson’s vibrating polisher, asked “How much are the polished rocks?” Bob wasn’t there at the mo-

ment to give a price or a rock, so the little guy headed back to the Wheel of Fortune.

A sweet-faced, white-haired lady attracts a lot of attention working with a flaming torch. Actually, any flaming torch

creates interest.

The look on a child’s face when a “good” geode is cracked is priceless; and our guys make sure each buyer has a

good one.

Someone should have sooner turned off the air conditioner which was freezing the workers just outside and inside

the front door.

A Civic Center employee named George deserves a commendation for helping beyond what would be expected.

A toddler was observed “dragging” Mom, or whoever would hold his hand, back to the fluorescent display, over and

over.

Visitors want to know how things are done; and rockhounds and dealers like to share ideas.

The comradeship enjoyed with fellow clubs from The West; visits by old acquaintances; memories of absent

friends; and new faces alive with the excitement of what is being created by CTGMS again this year are salve to the

aching muscles used in the creating.

Lou decided that the joy of sharing this hobby of the soul and body brings back the experienced workers each year

(though they KNOW their bodies will feel they’ve been in a train wreck); and this obvious, projected joy attracts a

few new, strong “youngsters” to carry on. May it ever be so!

...ljd

V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 5 M A Y 2 0 0 8 T H E I N F O R M E R Page 7

The Art Walk

“Nature’s art is the draw this month at the Abilene Public Library. Fossils, gems, minerals, geodes and more will be on display courtesy of the Central Texas Gem and Mineral Society” (from ArtWalk flyer April 10, 2008) Quite a few people stopped and asked questions while we were there from 5:30 until 8:30 and were; frankly, surprised at the number of people at the li-brary. The case is quite large, but you have to be careful as to the weight of rocks, geodes, etc. you place on the glass shelves. If I do say so myself, the display turned out well. Don’t know how the club as a whole feels about this; but we think it’s a good community project. ….. Joyce and Carlos

Carlos and Joyce in front of display case. Close up view of display case.

V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 5 M A Y 2 0 0 8 T H E I N F O R M E R Page 8

Hello everyone!

My ears are burning really bad… I’m late with this and our editor is fuming. Maybe he will find it in his heart to forgive me.

I think winter is over…..now it’s summer. Where did spring go? What a crazy year this is so far. There is lots of violent weather around.

Well, I made it to the ranch for a couple of days at Dryden, Texas. It sure is dry out there this year. My 6 year old grandson found a canyon overhang used by Indians of yester-year. There will be another story about that in a later issue if I can get my mind working.

The Gem and Mineral Show was great! I visited with a lot of nice people and spent way too much money. My wife is thinking of moving me to the doghouse. Everything seemed to go fairly smoothly. I think we even made a few dollars.

The Geode cracking was a huge success. There were very few geodes left. We had a couple of the larger ones and some of the very small ones left. I think we would have sold a lot more with the availability of more of the medium priced variety. Tony and Don suggested it might be a smart move to order next years supply ASAP. The prices are going up fast with the rising fuel prices. Might save us some money and I whole-heartedly agree.

Speaking of fuel prices, where will it all end? There won’t be many trips this year. I plan to stay close to home this year. I might even have to take up a full time job. Does anyone have one that pays lots of money? It also has to be easy on the amount of time I have to spend in the work place. Maybe I could work from home in my easy chair….

Well it’s time to go for now. See you at the Meeting.

…. Gary

From the Front Desk— President —Gary Hudson

WE HAVE SAW OIL FOR SALE IF ANYONE NEEDS SOME. IT IS CANOPUS 13. BRING YOUR OWN CONTAINER AND $10 PER GALLON.

The Shop Report — Foreman - Tim Walker

If you want to buy oil for your saws, see Gary Hudson. Rules for the shop are posted on the shop wall.

M I N U T E B Y M I N U T E B Y B E V Minutes of CTGMS meeting of Monday, April 7, 2008

Page 9 V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 5

M A Y 2 0 0 8 T H E I N F O R M E R

President Gary Hudson called the meeting to order. 34 members were in attendance. After the opening prayer and pledge of alle-giance, minutes of the March meeting were read and approved. The Treasurer’s report was accepted as read.

No old business was brought for discussion.

Under new business Joyce Talley asked that club members contact her with notices of illness or deaths so that she can send notes.

Committee Reports were as follows:

Maintenance Chair Charlie Lightfoot indicated that we need to set up a clean up day for the clubhouse and grounds. Gary asked if anyone had equipment we could use to level the parking area and Tony Steele offered to bring his tractor. We’ll set up a clean up day some time after the gem show next week.

Show Chair Sallie Lightfoot asked that every member of the club make donations for our Silent Auction. The more we have to offer the customers and rock hounds the better. Several items have been donated by club members for raffle items. Charlie Lightfoot donated a faceted gemstone; Helen Patterson, a gem tree; Calvin Donaghey, a fossil he’d found; Ricky Alaniz, a shell angel; and Dave Vargo, a cross pendant of Brazilian agate.

We’ll need several pickups and strong backs to load at the clubhouse Friday morning. Please come to the club-house at 8:30 to load and we’ll take everything to the Civic Center.

For the Friday lunch we need soups and sandwiches. We like to provide a lunch for the dealers so they don’t have to leave the building and can continue to set up.

For the Dealer Dinner Friday night everyone must bring two large dishes. Bring the food by 6:30. The dinner will start at 7:00

We need someone to take show fliers to the local motels and radio stations. We’ll also put out the yard signs Fri-day. If you’d like some please take them home with you tonight. Any signs you put out you should pick up Sunday evening.

M I N U T E B Y M I N U T E B Y B E V

Minutes of CTGMS meeting of Monday, April 7, 2008, continued

Page 10 V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 5

M A Y 2 0 0 8 T H E I N F O R M E R

Please wear your red vests at the show, and we need everyone to work, relieving people at the various tables for lunches and breaks.

If club members want to buy show tickets in advance for friends they are $2.50.

Carlos, Joyce and Betty Scarborough will be the Abilene Library Thursday evening for Art Walk with the club display. They have set up a beautiful display in the large glass case at the entrance. They will dis-

tribute fliers for the show.

Jerry Davis thanked Bob Patterson for sending show fliers to Bill Gilles and the Arlington Club. Bob said that Bill was planning to bring a few cases for display. Charlie Lightfoot says we still have several club cases available. If you need to reserve one for the show see Charlie.

Jerry Davis said that demonstrations are scheduled for both days and we still have room available for more demon-strators.

Scholarship Chair JoAn Wilks announced that the scholarship recipient, Noel Courts, and his wife would attend the dealer dinner.

Illnesses and deaths: Gelene Stockton has been in the hospital for about a week and a half. She is in room 7713 at Hendricks. Charlie Harrison has been ailing but Ann reported that he’s better than he was a week ago.

Errol Rutledge, Josephina Cardenas, and Jerry and Lou Jane Davis will provide refreshments for the meeting in May.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Secretary, Beverly Vargo

President …………….. Gary Hudson 325 554-7804

Past President …… . Calvin Donaghey 325 695-1508

Vice President ………. Dave Vargo 325 690-0750

Secretary —————— Beverly Vargo 325 690-0750

Treasurer ——————- Errol Rutledge 325 672-7505

Corresp Sec ………... Joyce Talley 325 692-0063

Editor …………………… Jerry Davis 254 643-4586

M I S S I O N S T A T E M E N T

V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 5 M A Y 2 0 0 8 T H E I N F O R M E R Page 11

C T G M S

Committees/Chairpersons

Show ………………………….. Sallie Lightfoot

Field Trips …………………… Tony & Judy Steele

Classes ……………………… Charlie Lightfoot

Nominating …………………. James Grant

Programs …………………….. Dave Vargo

Shop —- ——————————- Tim Walker

Club House and Grounds …..Charlie Lightfoot

Dealers for show ……. …… Tony & Judy Steele

Budget ………………………… Errol Rutledge

Scholarship ………………… JoAn Wilks

Show Demonstrations …. Jerry Davis

Silversmithing Classes —- Jerry Davis

erally considered to be (one of) the origin(s) of our present day tradi-tion of birthstones. Different translations of the Bible language make this a controver-sial issue about which stone of the breast-plate may have been an emerald.

Photo and information bor-rowed from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald under terms of fair use and non-profit status.

PO Box 7343

Abilene, TX 79608-7343

Editor: Jerry Davis

Email: jde@txol.net

MISSION STATEMENT

The Central Texas Gem and

Mineral Society is a non-profit

organization dedicated to the

study of rocks, minerals and

fossils. We offer field trips

and provide educational

opportunities and instruction

to members in a variety of

areas related to the Lapidary

Arts and Jewelry making. We

also award a scholarship to a

student enrolled at a local

college in a field closely re-

lated to geology. We provide

educational displays related

to this hobby at shows of a

similar interest. —- Jerry

C L U B O F F I C E R S F O R 2 0 0 8

A R T I C L E S F O R T H E N E X T M O N T H ’ S N E W S L E T T E R M U S T B E S U B M I T T E D B Y T H E 2 0 T H O F T H E M O N T H .

We are on the web:

www.txol.net/rockclub

GEMSTONE OF THE MONTH

Emeralds are a variety of the mineral Beryl. The best emeralds come from a mine in Columbia. Per-fect emeralds to cut are difficult to find. Most have inclusions called “jardin” from a French word mean-ing garden. In Exodus chapters 28 and 39, a number of pre-cious stones are men-tioned to be placed in the High Priest's Breastplate, representing the twelve tribes of Israel. This is gen-

EMERALD