Inside this issue

Children’s Workshop .......... …..1

June General Meeting ........ …..2

Thank You ........................... …..2

Looking Ahead .................... …..2

Upcoming Workshop ......... …..3

A Two-Club Field Trip ......... …..4

April Board Mtg Minutes .... …..6

Scramble Answers .............. …..6

The White River Sluice

May 2019 Volume 2, Edition 5

A publication of the White River Rock, Gem and Mineral Club

Crystals and Gems Children’s Workshop Submitted by Vicki Hartung

The May Children’s Workshop was held on Saturday, May 18 and led by Eric Petersen. Eric had a treasure chest of crystals and gems for the children to touch and explore. They learned that crystals grow in all kinds of different shapes and colors. The children had lots of great questions for Eric and everyone there, including the adults, came away with new knowledge. Each participant was able to create their own treasure chest and they went home with 12 different crystals they had learned about.

www.WhiteRiverRockGemandMineral.org

The White River Rock,

Gem and Mineral Club is a

non-profit organization

whose members share an

interest in rocks, gems,

minerals and fossils. Our

club is a member of the

Midwest Federation of

Mineralogical & Geological

Societies, as well as, the

American Federation of

Mineralogical Societies.

Meetings are held at 6pm

the first Monday of the

month at White Lake

Community Library,

3900 White Lake Drive,

Whitehall, MI.

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Thank You! Thank you to all the sellers and buyers who participated in The White River Rock and Mineral Club Silent Auction. We had a lot of visitors come check out the club. It was a success!

Looking Ahead The activities for the General Meetings of the White River Rock, Gem, and Mineral Club are: June 3: Kurt Koella, hydrogeologist July 1: Roger Bowen will speak about his visit to the Copperstone Mine in Quartzsite, AZ that is owned by the Keer Company; Kay LeMieux will speak about fossil hunting in Mazon Creek, IL; and Brauen Gustafson will speak about agates. August: Picnic at Summit Park in Pentwater, MI. Time and date TBD. Sept. 9: Kreigh Tomaszewski will speak on alabaster mines and some of his favorite rock hunt-ing spots. Oct. 7 Paleo Joe, fossil digger, public speaker and story teller will present. He is the curator of three Natural Museum exhibits. Nov. 4: Rick Smith Dec 2: Potluck

Social Time

A Social Time is held from 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. before each General Meeting. The Board (or some of them) will be available to visit with members and visitors to answer questions, share rocks, chit chat and tell adventure stories. Bring a rock, gem or mineral you would like to share and it will be put on display for the meeting. Index cards will be available for you to write about your treasure such as where you found it or purchased it and the story behind your find.

General Meeting

Our next General Meeting will be Monday, June 3 at 6:00 p.m. at the White Lake Library. Hydrogeologist Kurt Koella will be the guest speaker.

Remember the Club If you are going rock hunting this summer, please remember the Club during your outings and fill an extra container to be used for raffles at the General Meetings or at the annual Silent Auction.

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Upcoming Workshop

“Making Cabochons with a Slant Cabber 101” with Bill Burt

Saturday, June 15, 2019

10:00 am to 1:00 pm White Lake Community Library

Cost: $10.00 Limited space to 8 people with possibility of another workshop in the near future. Learn to make cabochons (cabs) with a hi-tech slant cabber (flat lap). Many things discussed concerning using this machine apply to other grinder polishers. Learn:

how to cut blanks from slabs how to affix the stone (blank) to a holder (stick) how to shape the cab how to smooth and polish the cab and tips and tricks

Class Goal: For participants to get hands-on experience to produce a cabochon in the class. For this reason, the class is limited to a maximum of 8 people per session. Each session is estimated to be 3 hours. Requirements: Must be at least 18 years old. No experience or knowledge of rocks is required. Materials Supplied: pencils, course outline, a rock on a stick, safety glasses, and ear plugs. You can supply your own hearing protection or safety glasses if you wish. To register, please send an email to the club at whiteriverrockclub092@gmail.com with “Cabochons Workshop” in the subject line. Be sure to include your name and phone number in the body of the email. If you do not have email, you may call Mike or Vicki at 231-766-3422.

What is a Cabochon?

A cabochon (/ˈkæbəˌʃɒn/, from Middle French caboche "head") is a gemstone which has been shaped and polished as opposed to faceted. The resulting form is usually

a convex (rounded) obverse with a flat reverse.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabochon

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A Two-Club Field Trip Written by Bob Sherwood and Pam Havermans

Julia Sherwood and Pam Havermans of the White River Rock Club worked together to arrange this first ever joint field trip for the two neighboring clubs. The objective: to collect Petoskey stones, stromatolites, favosites and horn corals along the north shore of Lake Michigan. Saturday, April 27, 2019 Eleven members from the Tulip City Club met five White River members at the Norwood Township Park. The temperature was 36 degrees and it never rose above 40 during the entire afternoon, collecting at four sites. Around noon the group moved in convoy to Fisherman’s Island State Park at Charlevoix where all enjoyed a chilly picnic lunch before heading to the beach in knee boots and winter gear. Ray Plumert who rode with Bob Sinke and me, made good use of his wife’s perforated turkey roaster; going out into the surf, scooping buckets of stone and then spreading it on the sand to pick over the contents. This site, which is usually a primo collecting location, was somewhat disappointing in terms of production compared to previous trips. There was a narrowed beach here as well as at all our stops due to Lake Michigan’s rising water level since January, 2013. Next we moved to Banks Township Park at Atwood. This beach more than made up for the scarcity at others. It seemed like every foot or so produced a Petoskey stone or more and stromatolites were everywhere. Personal thanks to the many of you who passed along their finds of this fossilized algae for Julia to bag with a label for Kid’s Games prizes at the Tulip City Show. It should be noted that none of the parks were officially open so that meant no open restrooms. This also meant that fewer people had searched the beach – especially obvious at this Twp. Park. Our final stop was at Eastport’s Barnes County Park. Personally, I felt this was somewhat disappointing, but again, this is in comparison with the bonanza we found at Banks. While many of us headed back home—to encounter a furious snow storm in Grand Rapids, many in Pam’s group stayed over in Traverse City to collect around the Leelanau Peninsula on Sunday. In sum, I think Bob Sinke was quite pleased with the amount of Petoskey stones he collected as well as those he anticipates will be donated by those Tulip City members who were on the trip to be used for Club Sales and the Petoskey Polish Kits for the fall Tulip City Show! Please sort, clean and take to Bob at a future meeting. ~Bob Sherwood

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Newsletter Submissions If you would like to have something in the monthly newsletter, please submit the information by the 15th of the month to: mcastevens@comcast.net. Please put “Rock Club Newsletter” in the subject line.

Sunday, April 28, 2019 Seven die-hard women from both groups stayed overnight in Traverse City to collect on Sunday. We met at Sleders Family Tavern for dinner on Saturday evening. Good food and camaraderie were enjoyed by all amid our tired yawns. We left to meet the following morning in Sutton Bay. Several looked around the hotel rocks for Yooperlites, however none were found. Sunday bloomed sunny and warmer, 50 degrees with a very light breeze. Our first stop just outside of Sutton’s Bay was kind of hit or miss. We searched a road cut just outside of town. The road cut was steep and more suited to goats than rock collectors. We then moved on to Peterson Park where all braved the 100 ft. bluff to collect. The girls only made one trip down and up with many rocks. Next we traveled to Christmas cove, where the rock and beach was smaller. At the end of collecting Christmas Cove, it was mid-afternoon and the group was tiring out from two days of carrying rocks. We split up, some went souvenir shopping, some hit a spot or two for rocks on their way home. I’ve heard that the lunch at Fishtown was excellent. Overall, Petoskey, favosite, horn coral, brachiopods, banded chert, Leland Blue and a possible agate or two were found by these club members.

~Pam Havermans

April Board Meeting Minutes submitted by Brauen Gustafsen

White River Rock, Gem, and Mineral Club

April 1, 2019 White Lake Community Library

Monthly Board Meeting The meeting was called to order at 4:46 pm. Members present: Mike Rakovits, Vicki Hartung, Brauen Gustafson, Glenn Gus-tafson, Bert Wilson, Bill Burt, and Suzanne Ritchie. Secretary’s Report - Brauen Gustafson Glenn Gustafson moved to accept the March minutes as published. Bert Wilson 2nd . Motion passed. Treasurer’s Report - Glenn Gustafson/Bert Wilson Balance: $1,103.84 (not including bank fees, which are not posted yet) $870.08 Balance 1/1/19 +$233.76 this year. The newsletter budget is higher than previously reported. This was approved. Refund to Eric Pederson for website charges was made. Discussion of possibly requiring a materials charge for the kids program was held. Vicki will check to see if this is possible. There is a problem with people cancelling; thus, others cannot attend as there is a class size limit. A discussion of giving speakers gift cards –Club will do on an individual basis President’s Report - Mike Rakovits/Vicki Hartung Silent auction- important to get non-members to attend. Share on Facebook page/ flyers to Tulip City and Indian Mounds clubs. Next board meeting –Wednesday May 1, 2019 The Tulip City Club invited us to attend their scholarship banquet April 24th. We need up to four board members to attend. Let Brauen Gustafson know if you are interested before April 14, 2019. Reports from Standing Committees Vice President – Kay LeMieux- None Membership – Kay LeMieux-None Field Trips – Pam Havermans/Bambi Wilson- None

Continued on next page.

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April Word Scramble Answers Submitted by Bill Burt

loodtImE dolomite

spYmug gypsum

ThRec chert

SliMeNote limestone

SoDAnsnEt sandstone

Answer Sedimentary

Thank you Bill!

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Children’s Workshops – Vicki Hartung Program on Sharks Teeth went great. An article was printed in the White Lake Beacon. Social Coordinator – None Internet Technical Coordinator – Eric Peterson-None Historian – Brauen Gustafson_None Director at Large – Bill Burt Announced the Indian Mounds show on April 4, 5, & 6 at Rogers Plaza. Director at Large 2 – Suzanne Ritchie-None Liaison – Mike Rakovits-None Old Business: Silent Auction May 6th Discuss at general meeting. New Business Sluice schedule Coast Guard Festival- July 27 at Lake Shore Scuba on Jackson St. Tulip City Tailgate- Checking Indian Mounds- Checking Meeting was adjourned at 5:15 pm. Motion moved by Bill Burt and 2nd by Mike Rakovits.