Volume 27, Issue 12 December 2017

NAME THAT ROCK

The banner photo (above)

will change each month -

can you identify what type of

rock it is? Answer is on last

page but don’t peek until

you’ve tried to guess!

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Meetings & Events 2

Words from the

President 3

Junior Rockhounds 4

Features 6

Announcements 7

List of Club Officers

& Committee Chairs 8

Board Meeting

Minutes 9

General Meeting

Minutes 10

2017 Rock Show Exhibit Win-

ners: Jim Mills, Doren Strane,

David Nelson, Don Hunting-

ton, and Don Pierce.

Rockhounds hauling a boulder up the side of a

riverbank during the San Simeon field trip.

Junior Rock-hound Colby,

staffs the Kids Activity Booth

at the 2017 Rock Show.

Continued on page 5

Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 2

Santa Lucia Rockhounds (SLR)

is a non-profit public benefit corporation with the specific

purpose to promote the study of mineralogy, including (but

not limited to) the fields of lapidary, metal working, jewelry

design and fabrication, geology and conducts field trips for

collecting and education. We encourage learning and good

citizenship in a congenial atmosphere. We respect both pri-

vate and public property, and we strive to protect natural

resources. Meetings are held during the third Monday of

each month, except December, at the Templeton Communi-

ty Center.

We are a member of the California Federation of Miner-

alogical Societies (CFMS) and affiliated with the American

Federation on Mineralogical Societies (AFMS). Santa Lucia

Rockhounds, Inc. is also a member of the American Lands

Access Association (ALAA).

Annual dues are $20 for the first adult and $8 each

for every additional member of the same household. Annual

dues are payable between August 1 and the third Monday

of December, in person at club meetings or by mail to P.O.

Box 1672, Paso Robles, CA 93447.

The Rockonteur

This is the official monthly newsletter of the SLR and an in-

dependent publication containing news and information

consistent with the mission of SLR and of interests to its

members. Circulation is approximately 100 copies per is-

sue.

Member submissions are encouraged and may be

sent to the editor. We reserve the right to accept or refuse

submissions inconsistent with the objectives and purpose of

the SLR. Submissions may be edited as needed without

consent. Deadline are due by midnight of the last day of

the month but early submissions are highly appreciated and

strongly encouraged.

Newsletter Editor/Publisher: Amy Phillips

amyphillips18@hotmail.com

Website: www.slrockhounds.org

Website Manager: Atascadero Web Designs

webmaster@slrockhounds.org

MEETINGS & EVENTS

Jan. 2 @7pm

Board Meeting at Ra-

bobank Meeting Room,

Templeton

Jan 15 @7pm

General Meeting at Tem-

pleton Community Center

Show 'n Tell! Members

bring their favorite/prized

rock or specimen and sto-

ry to go along with it. Eve-

ryone votes for their fa-

vorite rock/story and the

best one wins a prize!

January 20 - 21

Tule Gem & Mineral

Show, Exeter Veterans'

Memorial Building 324 N.

Kaweah Avenue. Sat 10 -

5 and Sun 10 - 4.

www.tulegem.com

Feb. 19 @7pm

General Meeting at Tem-

pleton Community Center

The Morros, a Geologi-

cal Anomaly by John

McCabe

This presentation will dis-

cuss the geographic and

geologic characteristics of

the Morro Rocks and when

they were formed.

Mar. 3-4

Ventura Gem & Mineral

Show, 101 W. Harbor

Blvd Ventura County Fair-

grounds

http://vgms.org/

Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 3 Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 3

Words from the President

December Greetings!

As the shortest day of the year approaches, so does the end of my term as

President. I would like to take the opportunity to thank each and every club

member for being a part of our club! I've appreciated the chance to get to

know so many of you on a much deeper level than I ever would have other-

wise.

Instead of writing up a list of everything the club has accomplished this past

year, I thought I'd share with you my personal "top ten" favorite moments as

Club President.

10. Finding out 96 of our club members renewed this past membership cycle!

9. Watching Chris Driesbach demo his rock polisher at the Club Picnic.

8. Seeing the steel map of the fairgrounds area John Hollenbeck gifted to our

club.

7. That people showed up to the Rock Show.

6. Having at least three months with a full Board (no, I'm not going back to

count).

5. Don Pierce offering to call Cambria property owner Jon Pedotti.

4. Getting to see Galen Moyer's incredible Thunderegg collection.

3. Finally being able to identify the gigantic hunks of blue chist, chert, and

basalt that make up our rocky coastline - thank you John McCabe.

2. Seeing how many "rockhounds" it takes to winch a several hundred pound

boulder up the side of a San Simeon Creek bank.

1.Mary Caparone keeping our club alive by stepping up to be President and

Doren Strane for volunteering to help her as Co-President.

The top item on my list is the most important! Without it, there would be no

favorite "Rockhound" moments for me to have next year. Mary & Doren, along

with our new Board and dedicated Committee Chairs, going to make an incred-

ible team to carry the club forward into the New Year.

Thanks for rockin' it with me!

Tina Clark

By John McCabe, VP of Education

Eight Junior Rockhounds (JRs) earned

badges in Lapidary Arts, Collecting and

Rocks & Minerals in November. In Janu-

ary, we will begin work on the Earth Pro-

cesses award where Juniors will learn

about rock types, plate tectonics and the

rock cycle. They will then start a collection

of rocks.

EARTH PROCESSES

While the ground beneath our feet may

seem solid and stable, our Earth is actual-

ly an amazingly dynamic and fluid planet.

Huge sections of the crust, called “plates,”

are constantly on the move, spreading

apart from each other at some places, like

under the Atlantic Ocean. The crust is also

sliding past each other at places like the

San Andras Fault, and crashing together

at still other places to life up mountains

like the Himalayas. This unit will teach

you about

such process-

es, the defini-

tion of a rock,

and how rocks

Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 4

INTRODUCING OUR

ELECTED OFFICERS FOR 2018:

President

Mary Caparone

Co-President/Senior Director

Doren Strane

VP of Membership

Galen Moyer

VP of Education

John McCabe

VP of Communications

Chris Driesbach

Secretary

Rachael Denny

Treasurer

Tina Clark

Junior Director

Lisa King

Past President

Barbara Bilyeu

We’ve got a new

HOSPITALITY COORDINATOR!

Cathy McIntosh has graciously accepted

the role as the club Hospitality

Coordinator.

PROGRAM IDEAS NEEDED

Please let the new program coordinator

know what kind of presentations you’re

interested in for 2018:

amyphillips18@hotmail.com

Check out this website to learn about earth

processes: http://www.onegeology.org/

extra/kids/earthProcesses/home.html

Organic weathering happens when plants break up rocks with their growing roots or plant acids help dis-solve rock. (from be-low listed website)

Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 5

Mary Caparone in creek on

the San Simeon field trip.

She will serve as the 2018

Club President with Doren

Strane as the Co-

President.

John McCabe educating the next generation of rock-

hound enthusiasts.

BIG THANKS Tina Clark

for all your hard work and dedication as the 2017 Club President!

Rock Doc's Jim Mills and Wayne Mills help new club

members identify a specimen at the Rock Show.

Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 6

By Barbara Bilyeu, Past President

Here on the Central Coast we are very

fortunate to have a wealth of beautiful,

colorful specimens of brecciated jasper.

Brecciated is a term that refers to rock

fragments that have been broken into an-

gular pieces and then cemented together

by a different substance.

In our area, this means we have frag-

ments of jasper usually cemented by chal-

cedony, which can lead to some striking

color combinations. The standard for-

mation theory is that the jasper was origi-

nally fractured by tectonic activity

(earthquakes) and then the spaces be-

tween the pieces were filled with a high-

silica groundwater solution. That makes

sense up to a point.

Another theory is that the jasper

cracked due to drying out, which makes

sense in other ways. Of course, we don't

really know, and no theory covers all

kinds of jasper formation! What we do

know is that the brecciated jasper of the

Central Coast is a joy for rockhounds!

Brecciated jasper can be found in

many locations in the Santa Lucias and

the Coastal Ranges, and rockhounds can

often find beautiful specimens in local

stream beds and beaches. San Simeon

Creek is one of many excellent locations

for collecting, and our club has taken

many good trips there. Probably the most

well-known location for brecciated jasper

in our area is Stone Canyon. This area

between San Miguel and Parkfield features

a large seam of very fine, world-class jas-

per that is easily recognizable and highly

(Continued on page 8)

BRECCIATED JASPER,

a local treasure

Stone Canyon field trip from 2000 with Sherm Griselle and Ralph Bishop.

Cayucos jasper

Stone Canyon jasper

Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 8 Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 7

By Tina Clark, President

The Santa Lucia Rockhounds recently

made a donation to the California State

Mining & Mineral Museum Association

(CSMMMA). We are considered a Gold

Level Member and expect to receive a

complimentary museum pass for each

member of our club. Once we get our

passes, it is our hope to set a field trip

date so we can set up a special tour.

The California State Mining and Miner-

al Museum, is located in historic Mariposa

and became a state park in 1999. This is

the region where explorers John C.

Fremont and Kit Carson found the rich

Mariposa Vein and opened the first mill to

crush ore and extract gold in California.

The museum houses the official mineral

collection of the state of California and

invites you to discover California’s miner-

al wealth, colorful history and geologic

diversity.

The collection, which began in 1880,

contains over 13,000 objects including

mining artifacts, rare specimens of crys-

talline gold in its many forms, as well as

beautiful gem and mineral specimens

from California and around the

world. The collection was moved to Mari-

posa in 1983 after residing in San Fran-

cisco, for over 100 years.

The Museum is proud to display the

Fricot “Nugget”, a rare and beautiful spec-

imen of crystallized gold discovered in the

American River in 1864. This spectacular

13.8-pound. specimen is the largest re-

maining intact mass of crystalline gold

from 19th century California, when these

finds were more common but usually were

simply melted down. Patrons can also

take a trip back in time by walking

through a mine tunnel and seeing how

gold was mined in the mid-1800s, when

California was a wilderness, being trans-

formed by rapid development. The assay

office and working scale model of a stamp

mill will help you discover how gold was

found and extracted from the rocks.

Photo of Fricot “Nugget” from the California State

Mining & Mineral Museum.

WE'VE HIT GOLD!

prized because of its fall-like colors. It is

an exceptionally good material for lapi-

dary artists. The location is, unfortu-

nately, no longer open to collectors, alt-

hough we were able to make special ar-

rangements in 2000 to take a large

group in for a special event. However,

you can still find Stone Canyon Jasper at

shows in rough, slabs, and finished piec-

es. Brecciated jasper can be found in

many places rockhounds enjoy, so keep

your eyes open for its bright colors and

patterns!

(Continued from page 6)

San Simeon jasper with rare red agatized cinnabar coloration from a 2012 club field trip .

Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 8

LOCAL ROCKS Feature by Wayne Mills, Ore Cutts

December 2017 Newsletter

When they were first discovered near

Templeton, scientists thought they were

a new form of fossil clam. Biconoids have

a similar bi-lateral symmetry to clams

(two equal halves), but they are also bi-

radial (meaning that if you cut them per-

pendicular to their midpoint, both halves

are approximately equal. They look kind

of like the stereotypical UFO.

Biconic means “two cones” which, in

fact, describes the perfect bi-conoid—two

squashed cones joined in the middle.

These sedimentary quartz rocks appar-

ently weather out of rhyolite (an igneous

rock) like those found on Highway 46,

about Post Mile 8. Many biconoids are

found weathered out of their matrix off

Las Tablas Road near the Twin Cities

Hospital in Templeton.

The January 2003 issue of the Ore

Cutts has an article about biconoids by

Bea and

Sherm

Grizelle,

former

members

of the

Santa

Lucia

Rock-

hounds.

Biconoid

from Ralph

Bishop

Collection.

December’s birthstones offer three ways to fight the winter blues: tanzanite, zircon and turquoise

– all of them, appropriately, best known for beautiful shades of blue. For more info: https://

www.americangemsociety.org/page/decemberbirthstones

Attendees:

Tina Clark, John McCabe, Doren Strane,

Galen Moyer, Barbara and Gene Bilyeu,

David Nelson, Lisa King, Mary Capa-

rone, and Rachael Denny.

The meeting was called to order at 7:01

pm at the Rabobank Community Room

in Templeton.

Minutes:

Barbara moved to approve the minutes

with this correction, Doren Strane se-

conded the motion, and the minutes

were approved by the Board.

Correspondence:

The Club received a notice of the ex-

piration of our CD, the A.F.M.S. news-

letter, passes to the Santa Barbara Gem

Fair, a Cuesta College magazine, bills

for Post Office box renewal and website

maintenance, an invitation to the Cali-

fornia Construction and Industrial Min-

erals conference, and a donation re-

quest from the Mining and Mineral Mu-

seum. If the Club donates a dollar per

member, the Club members get free

passes to the museum. Barbara Bilyeu

made a motion to donate at this level,

Galen Moyer seconded the motion, and

the donation was approved by the

Board.

Treasurer's Report:

Tina presented the Treasurer's re-

port. Last month, the Club made

$332.75. At the general meeting, we

received $116 in membership fees, $18

from the drawing, $40 from the silent

auction and 75 cents in badge

fees. The Club took in another $60 in

membership fees outside the meet-

ing. Tina has paid the bills for website

maintenance, the Porta-Potty, and the

newsletter. The Club's CD account is ex-

piring soon, and we need to think serious-

ly about what we want to do with the

money. This will undoubtedly be a topic

of further discussion.

Education Report:

David Nelson brought in a book on

Rock and Minerals, published by National

Geographic, with a suggestion that the

Club might like to order additional copies

for the junior members. Barbara Bilyeu

moved to use money from the Library

Fund for the purpose, Galen Moyer se-

conded the motion, and the purchase was

approved by the Board.

The Club did not award a scholarship

this year, because of the lack of response

to the applications. There was some dis-

cussion of whether the scholarship money

should be used for another purpose, such

as purchasing rock kits for the schools, or

sponsoring field trips. John McCabe will

send out the applications again this year,

but the topic will probably come up for

discussion again.

Membership Report:

The Club has a total of 79 mem-

bers. Tina will send e-mails to everyone

who has not yet renewed their member-

ship, and make a membership list for the

C.F.M.S.

Museum Report: Barbara and Gene

Bilyeu and Lisa King represented the Club

at the Pioneer Museum on Pioneer Day.

Merchandise Report: David Nelson pre-

sented a list of Club merchandise present-

ly in stock, and said that when next year's

budget is being put together, he will re-

quest $600 to get hats and T-shirts for

(Continued on page 10)

DEC. 5 , 2017 BOARD MEETING MINUTES

Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 10

the show. The drawing was a little low

last month, and, as noted earlier, we need

someone in charge of Hospitality. Doren

Strane has sold some of the Club's old ta-

bles, and hopes to sell some more.

Newsletter: Amy Phillips is in charge of

the newsletter, and she needs content, if

anyone has something to contribute.

End-of-the-year Party:

At the last general meeting, a majority

of the members voted to have the Club's

end-of-the-year holiday party at the Culi-

nary Arts Institute again. Tonight, there

was some discussion as to whether to

have the party on December 11th or De-

cember 18th, and a majority of those pre-

sent favored the 18th. There was also

some discussion of whether to have Ital-

ian food, as we did last year, or to try

something different. Tina Clark will make

the necessary arrangements, and see

what options are available. The cost will

be about $20 per person, and it was de-

cided to continue the practice of charging

$15 for adults and $10 for children, with

the Club making up the difference. Mary

Caparone will handle the sign-ups and col-

lect the money at the next general meet-

ing. Anyone wishing to participate in the

gift exchange should bring a gift worth ap-

proximately $10 (no alcohol, please).

Website Report: Changes and updates

to the Club's website are still ongo-

ing. There was general agreement that

the Club should purchase the domain

name slrockhounds.com in order to pre-

vent it being used for unscrupulous pur-

poses.

Show Report: The Club's annual show is

scheduled to take place at the fairgrounds

(Board Minutes continued from page 9)

The meeting opened at 7:03 P.M. with

the Pledge of Allegiance. Kevin Brehm did

the badge check, and Ruth Pritchard led

the singing of "Happy Birthday" to those

Rockhounds born in the month of Novem-

ber.

Tina Clark welcomed everyone to the

meeting, and thanked all who have re-

newed their membership, with a reminder

that tonight is the deadline to renew be-

fore being dropped from the membership

rolls.

Elections were held in November, and

the following slate of officers was present-

ed to the membership. President: Mary

Caparone. Co-President/Senior Director:

Doren Strane. Vice-President of Member-

ship: Galen Moyer (assisted by Lisa

King). Vice-President of Education: John

McCabe. Vice President of Communica-

tions: Chris Driesbach. Secretary:

Rachael Denny. Treasurer: Tina

Clark. Junior Director; Lisa King. Past

President: Barbara Bilyeu. Tina Clark

asked if there were any objections to the

proposed slate of officers. Hearing none,

(Continued on page 11)

on April 21-22. Tina Clark has submitted

a write-up to Westways magazine, and

hopes to distribute the dealer packets in

the coming week. The theme of next

year's show will be jasper, and Tina

brought a list of jasper related slogans to

consider.

The meeting adjourned at 8:45 PM.

Minutes submitted by Rachael Denny, Act-

ing Secretary.

NOV. 20 , 2017 GENERAL

MEETING MINUTES

Rockonteur ❖ December 2017 ❖ Page 11

the slate was elected by acclamation in

accordance with the Club's bylaws.

The next Board meeting on December

5th will be a transition meeting, and both

incoming and outgoing officers are urged

to attend. This meeting might also be of

interest to any Club members who are

considering serving on the Board in the

future.

The Club's traditional end-of-the-year

party will take place on Monday, Decem-

ber 18th at the Culinary Arts Academy in

Paso Robles, starting at 6:30 P.M. The

cost is $15 per adult and $10 per child (16

and under). Anyone who wants to go,

and didn't get a chance to sign up at the

meeting should send a check to P.O. Box

1672, Paso Robles, California, 93447 by

December 14th.

For the dinner, the Club voted to have

a grilled salmon and tri-tip buffet, with

salad, garlic bread, and assorted des-

serts. The incoming officers will be in-

stalled at the party, and then we will have

our traditional gift exchange. Anyone who

wishes to participate should bring a rock-

related gift worth around $10-no alcohol,

please.

Doren Strane will be serving as Co-

President next year, and will need to step

down as Hospitality Coordinator. Cathy

Macintosh has volunteered to take his

place. John Hollenbeck has made a large

scale map of the fairgrounds, which will

be useful in planning the location of exhib-

its at the Club's upcoming show.

Wayne Mills presented the C.F.M.S. re-

port. At this time, no club has offered to

host the C.F.M.S. show for 2018, so no

show is being planned. The A.F.M.S.

show will take place in Raleigh, North Car-

olina in April. F-100 and 10-99 forms are

due by November 30th, and there is a

(General Meeting Minutes continued from page 10) new safety manual posted at

CFMS.org. Wayne also has passes for the

Santa Barbara Gem Fair.

At the last business meeting, the

Board voted to make the Club a Gold Lev-

el member of the California State Mining

and Mineral Museum Association. This

means that the Club will donate a dollar

for each member, and each member will

receive a museum pass. If any members

wish to add to the donation, there is a jar

available for this purpose.

John McCabe reported that the sale of

material from the Robinson estate at Cliff

Brewen's tailgate sale brought in $156 for

the scholarship fund. Abigail and Ruth

Pritchard and Sam Terry received their

Lapidary badges, and Madison Waterfield

and Rachel Phillips received their Rocks

and Minerals badges.

Barbara Bilyeu announced that there

are books for sale, as well as issues of

Rock and Gem, and Arizona High-

ways. Karen Clark and Sam Alvis an-

nounced that the drawing prizes include

some pieces of Christmas jewelry. The

guest rocks included a biconoid cut and

polished by Wayne Mills, and some pieces

of sagenite collected by Richard Smithen.

Tina Clark introduced Amy Phillips,

who is the Club's new Newsletter Editor

and Program Coordinator. Amy would

very much like input from the member-

ship regarding the newsletter.

The featured speaker for the evening

was Kathy Clarke, who, with her grandson

Colby, gave a fascinating presentation and

demonstration of the art of rock balanc-

ing. Kathy is a photographer as well as a

rock balancer, and she had some beautiful

pictures of the rock art that she has creat-

ed.

The meeting adjourned at 8:29.

Minutes submitted by Rachael Denny, Act-

ing Secretary.

NAME THAT ROCK Depicted on the cover is an agate found at Mount Bullion, Marine Corps Air Ground

Combat Center, 29 Palms CA. Photographer unknown. Source: https://

www.pinterest.com/SRMGS/rockhounding-in-california-you-found-that-where/?

lp=true

P.O. Box 1672

Paso Robles, CA 93447