From owner-rockhounds-digest@drizzle.com Fri Jan 5 16:53:27 2001 Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 23:49:02 -0800 From: rockhounds-digest Reply-To: rockhounds@drizzle.com To: rockhounds-digest@drizzle.com Subject: rockhounds-digest V1 #723 rockhounds-digest Wednesday, December 27 2000 Volume 01 : Number 723 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 12:38:00 -0800 (PST) From: Aaron Fox Subject: [BOUNCE] Re: [Re: Famous Mineral Collectors Thru History] Received: (qmail 9703 invoked by uid 60001); 27 Dec 2000 17:21:03 -0000 Message-ID: <20001227172103.9702.qmail@www0w.netaddress.usa.net> Date: 27 Dec 00 09:21:03 PST From: teresa masters To: rockhounds@drizzle.com Subject: Re: [Re: Famous Mineral Collectors Thru History] Kreigh, You have made some very valid statements. In the not too far past, I taught Lapidary in an after school program, that was very well received. These are programs hosted at the schools after classes end and serve to keep children busy. There were a variety offered, camera, dance, wood working, etc. Perhaps there are some online that can approach the school district to offer their services. Some pay for your time. This year I spoke with the Director of the Oceanside Boy's and Girl's Club and proposed setting up a Lapidary Shop and finding volunteers from the local rock and mineral club to teach interested children. He was very enthusiastic, remembered his local boyhood days finding items left behind by Indian Tribes camped along water sites. Within a couple of days the City Council withheld his requested funding, so we are on hold there. I read the local Parade supplement to the newspaper, and in an article written by Colin Powell about youth, there is an 800 number for help in mentoring programs for youth. When I return home, I will try that as a possible funding source. I have never met a child who could pass up a rock. Our future geologists and earth sciences majors lie within these children. The "children should be seen and not heard" members of rock clubs are less powerful now. What any club needs is an enthusiastic younger member who in their own lives are leaders of youth groups. They already know how to reach out to children and direct their interests in positive ways. Clubs who are declining must look within themselves to truly see why. There are too many members afraid to upset the apple cart, and challenge member(s) who may be interfering with club progress. I have seen more than one reason for decline. Thank, Teresa ____________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://home.netscape.com/webmail ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 15:37:54 -0600 From: " The Dalys" Subject: Re: the young and the hobby First of all, I got interested in minerals at about age 13, through a friend in High School. His interest started through the Boy Scouts- he belonged to a Troop that specialized in mineral collecting. Not surprising, since the Scoutmaster was Curt Segeler. I agree that recruiting older people is good, but that isn't where the future of the hobby lies- they die off too soon! ::-) We need young blood, and exposing young kids pays off in the long run- even if you don't hook them right now, they come back to it later, when they have more time. I stopped collecting for some time while raising a family & earning a living were higher priorities, but got back to it after the kids were older & I had a bit more time (and disposable income), Remember, too, that people in their 50's are pretty well set in their ways- their interests are to a great extent already determined. Kids, the younger the better, are most impressionable. Their minds are more open for new experiences. Even my 2 year old great-grandson has shown some interest. Our club has had a great deal of success with our Junior Group. The younger ones also seem to always find the best fossils on field trips, too. As one of our members explained: "Their eyes are sharper, and a lot closer to the ground" Jim - ----- Original Message ----- From: Kenneth Quinn To: Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2000 1:41 PM Subject: Re: the young and the hobby > I have to agree with Cathy - the most fertile group for recruitment is the > 50+ crowd. I started being a rockhound at 16, but in my county of over > 100,000 people I was probably the only teen interested in the earth > sciences. Any recruitment efforts at the youth of that time and place would > have been wasted. Call it predestination - those of us who are going to be > interested in rockhounding will do so whether there is recruitment or not. > The main thing is to do everything you can to help those who do show > interest. > > That said, let's hear from everyone. How did YOU get interested in the > hobby, and at what age? That should say something about where to > concentrate recruitment. > > Kenneth Quinn > > > ################################################################# > # Rockhounds@drizzle Mailing Alias: rockhounds@drizzle.com # > # Web: http://www.drizzle.com/~afox/rockhounds/ # > # Subscription Services: majordomo@drizzle.com # > ################################################################# > ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 13:57:15 -0800 From: "Lanny R. Ream" Subject: Re: the young and the hobby Hi Tim, Although I agree with the gist of what you said, can't agree with some of the specifics, especially your comments that efforts and time spent with "pebble pups"/youth prorams is wasted. I agree that it actually brings in very few long term/permanent members (hopefully that's the only context you meant it in), but educating the young is not wasted, it is an important and very useful "expense." However, I do believe you are correct about where our members come from. Before people jump in here and start stating that the pebble pup/youth programs are great for membership, sit back and actually think of your own experiences, your own clubs, and see how many children you know of who have become rockhounds (of any persuasion) after they grew up. Thinking of the clubs I've known, the answer is very few. Most collectors I know became seriously interested in the hobby (joining or not joining) a club either in their 20s or later. While writing this, I'm thinking of the groups I'm most active with--Friends of Mineralogy, Pacific Northwest Chapter and Northwest Micro Mineral Study Group, and they run true to form (local "rock groups" are only into lapidary, so I don't participate and they have those long boring nearly useless meetings we've discussed before). Children of members have attended various functions over the last 20 years or so, but none of them appear to have remained after they grew up. All new members I can think of became interested and joined in their 20s and later (mostly later). Tim spelled it out quite well, it takes time, money and transportation to enjoy any aspect of the rockhound hobby, a tough one for the young up through college age and early marriage age. The kids, and even through college age, are still growing and maturing, often changing interests about as fast as their clothes. Going after adults will be a lot more successful. Lanny >I repeatedly hear that young folks are the lifeblood of the mineral >collecting hobby, and that if we don't attract them the hobby is doomed. I >have come to suspect that this is a myth and that the leaders of mineral >clubs need to focus their time, energy, and the clubs funds upon a very >different segment of society. > >I'm the president of the London Gem & Mineral Society, and I recently nuked >our several-year-long experiment with a "pebble pups" youth program. With at >best about eight kids showing up, and at the end only one or none bothering >to come, I decided that the energy of the fellow in charge of the youth >program was being wasted. Sure the kids were fun to have around, but their >hour-long meeting took a lot of work, energy, and money, and we were getting >nothing for it. I'd liked to have kept the program going, but a bit of >thought indicated that young people are not the right target audience. > >To be a serious mineral collector takes a few things that kids and teens >generally do not have. It takes wheels, it takes money, and it takes time. >The folks we need to hook on mineral collecting are actually middle aged, >with the time, money, and mobility to pursue the hobby. An adult member of a >club can do far more to keep it going than a ten year old. He can serve on >the executive, bringing new energy and ideas. He can do programs and run >field trips, write for the bulletin, contact speakers, do the legwork for >shows, start museums, do fieldwork, and so on. Very seldom does one see a >young member contribute anything more than yearly dues. Even university-age >people are hardly worth going after; not only are their time, mobility, and >funds limited, but they don't stick around, often leaving for jobs >elsewhere. Dedicating scarce resources towards attracting the young seems to >be pointless - very few of them can contribute to the club and very, very, >few seem to remain interested long enough to reach the age where they can >make an impact. > >I think that earth science clubs need to attract scientifically-minded >people over thirty, not youngsters. > >If my opinion is shared by anybody else, perhaps we can narrow down my very >general suggested demographic, and talk about how to target it with club >advertising. Rational arguments only, please, let's prove that while the cat >is away we mice can play nice. > >Cheers, > >Tim Jokela Jr >tjokela@execulink.com >http://www.element51.com > >################################################################# ># Rockhounds@drizzle Mailing Alias: rockhounds@drizzle.com # ># Web: http://www.drizzle.com/~afox/rockhounds/ # ># Subscription Services: majordomo@drizzle.com # >################################################################# ********************************************* Lanny R. Ream - lanny@mineralnews.com Owner/Publisher - LR Ream Publishing Publisher of gem & mineral references and guides, Mineral News - printed and online, Mineral software: The Mineral Database and the Mineral-Periodical Index Visit our Web pages at http://www.mineralnews.com ****** ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 17:39:10 -0500 From: "Ray Rodebaugh" Subject: RE: the young and the hobby (snip) > > However, I do believe you are correct about where our members come from. > Before people jump in here and start stating that the pebble pup/youth > programs are great for membership, sit back and actually think of your own > experiences, your own clubs, and see how many children you know of who > have become rockhounds (of any persuasion) after they grew up. I (and a friend of mine) joined a rock club (primarily lapidary) when we were 14-15. We were members for only two years. We were very interested in learning more and attending field trips. We didn't get much help and quit out of frustration (it sure would have been useful to have some instruction on how to cut stones on my horizontal unit - rather than me making it up). Part of this was our fault for not being aggressive in seeking out the help of the members. However, they did not offer assistance or invite us on their (always informally arranged) field trips. I wouldn't give up on the kids. You won't keep them all; but, with help, some of them will be the stars. I disagree somewhat with a previous post seeming to indicate that it is a waste of time recruiting younger adults as they have a high probability of moving elsewhere. They will often end up at a club in their new location. (snip) > > Tim spelled it out quite well, it takes time, money and transportation to > enjoy any aspect of the rockhound hobby, (snip) Agreed. Ray ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 15:42:26 -0700 From: "Bob Loeffler" Subject: Mounting specimens Hi all, I'm going to mount some specimens for the first time and I don't know what kind of glue to use. I'm going to get some perky boxes and styrofoam from either Althor or David Shannon (after comparing their prices) but I need to know what kind of glue is the best quality and won't hurt the specimens. Would a normal glue gun that you can get from a hardware store work? Or would that glue be too hot for most specimens? Is there a specific glue that most dealers use? Can I get it from a hardware store or is it only sold by mineral-related shops? Some of the minerals that I will be mounting are: Stoneham barites; Topaz Mtn. bixbyites, topaz, red beryl, and hematite pseudos after garnets; possibly fluorites; Sweet Home Mine rhodochrosite; Dugway calcite blades (from Dugway geodes); North Table Mountain zeolites (like analcime and thomsonite); smokey quartz from several Colorado locations; etc. Sorry about the stupid questions, but I'm just learning. Mineral dealers: Don't worry, I'm not getting into your industry. Just trying to organize a lot of the specimens I have found so I can either give them away to the kids in our club or sell them at our club's silent auction in April. I'll probably give them to our club members this year as door prizes, too. Thanks, Bob Loeffler North Jeffco Gem & Mineral Club http://www.peaktopeak.com/minerals/njeffco/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 18:02:38 EST From: MrMineral555@aol.com Subject: Re: Mounting specimens I've been pretty lonely before myself but i've never tried mounting a specimen. How can you tell which ones are female? ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 19:07:42 EST From: FourCats46@aol.com Subject: Re: Cathy, the young and the hobby - --part1_e5.38bb6c.277bde4e_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit YO, Us oldies but goodies just go to show that it is never too late to learn new tricks. My wife Sandy and I have become serious collectors in the last three years. This summer we dug sapphires at Gem Mountain, Montana. She and our girls have new necklaces from the fruits of our labors-wonderful Christmas gifts that are priceless. We hope to teach our grandkids more about the hobby in the years ahead. We are now planning to return to Gem Mountain and Topaz Mountain next year. Hope you all have a very prosperous and hammered New Year. Pat Monroe - --part1_e5.38bb6c.277bde4e_boundary Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit YO,

Us oldies but goodies just go to show that it is never too late to learn new
tricks.  My wife Sandy and I have become serious collectors in the last three
years.  This summer we dug sapphires at Gem Mountain, Montana.  She and our
girls have new necklaces from the fruits of our labors-wonderful Christmas
gifts that are priceless.  We hope to teach our grandkids more about the
hobby in the years ahead.  We are now planning to return to Gem Mountain and
Topaz Mountain next year.

Hope you all have a very prosperous and hammered New Year.

Pat Monroe - --part1_e5.38bb6c.277bde4e_boundary-- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 18:15:27 -0600 From: "Kenneth Quinn" Subject: Re: the young and the hobby > First of all, I got interested in minerals at about age 13, through a friend > in High School. His interest started through the Boy Scouts- he belonged to > a Troop that specialized in mineral collecting. Not surprising, since the > Scoutmaster was Curt Segeler. I forgot to say how I got interested. When I was 12 or 13 I got an aquarium set from someone who worked with my father, and it included a rock they had collected - it was loaded with crinoid stems. They did not know exactly where they had picked it up. As soon as I got a driver's license I went all over the county looking for the spot but never found it, though I found a lot of other fossil localities. Kenneth Quinn ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 19:52:15 -0500 From: "tjokela" Subject: Re: Mounting specimens I prefer putty over glue for TN's. Shannon's new white version works fine for me. I use hot glue to mount specimens to clear acrylic bases, no problems yet, after all it cools in seconds. Experiment, it's important that any glue you use is reversible. Cheers, Tim Jokela Jr tjokela@execulink.com http://www.element51.com - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Loeffler" To: "Rockhounds" Sent: December 27, 2000 5:42 PM Subject: Mounting specimens > Hi all, > > I'm going to mount some specimens for the first time and I don't know what > kind of glue to use. I'm going to get some perky boxes and styrofoam from > either Althor or David Shannon (after comparing their prices) but I need to > know what kind of glue is the best quality and won't hurt the specimens. > Would a normal glue gun that you can get from a hardware store work? Or > would that glue be too hot for most specimens? Is there a specific glue > that most dealers use? Can I get it from a hardware store or is it only > sold by mineral-related shops? > > Some of the minerals that I will be mounting are: Stoneham barites; Topaz > Mtn. bixbyites, topaz, red beryl, and hematite pseudos after garnets; > possibly fluorites; Sweet Home Mine rhodochrosite; Dugway calcite blades > (from Dugway geodes); North Table Mountain zeolites (like analcime and > thomsonite); smokey quartz from several Colorado locations; etc. > > Sorry about the stupid questions, but I'm just learning. Mineral dealers: > Don't worry, I'm not getting into your industry. Just trying to organize a > lot of the specimens I have found so I can either give them away to the kids > in our club or sell them at our club's silent auction in April. I'll > probably give them to our club members this year as door prizes, too. > > Thanks, > > Bob Loeffler > North Jeffco Gem & Mineral Club > http://www.peaktopeak.com/minerals/njeffco/ > > > ################################################################# > # Rockhounds@drizzle Mailing Alias: rockhounds@drizzle.com # > # Web: http://www.drizzle.com/~afox/rockhounds/ # > # Subscription Services: majordomo@drizzle.com # > ################################################################# > ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 19:59:28 -0500 From: "tjokela" Subject: Re: the young and the hobby > Hi Tim, > > Although I agree with the gist of what you said, can't agree with some of > the specifics, especially your comments that efforts and time spent with > "pebble pups"/youth prorams is wasted. I agree that it actually brings in > very few long term/permanent members (hopefully that's the only context you > meant it in), but educating the young is not wasted, it is an important and > very useful "expense." I don't think we're in disagreement here Lanny. I'd like my club to have a youth program but we can't afford it and have to direct our attention elsewhere. Targetting an older demographic equals a healthier club and will hopefully let use get back to offering things like youth programs. Cheers, Tim ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 20:03:38 -0500 From: "tjokela" Subject: Re: the young and the hobby > I agree that recruiting older people is good, but that isn't where the > future of the hobby lies- they die off too soon! ::-) We need young blood, > and exposing young kids pays off in the long run- even if you don't hook > them right now, they come back to it later, when they have more time. I think that's a myth. Kids may seem interested, but I bet no more than one percent actually come back and pursue it. It's simply too long a step. Science can't compete with Nintendo. Cheers, Tim Jokela Jr tjokela@execulink.com http://www.element51.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 19:12:08 -0600 From: Kevin Ward Subject: Re: Mounting specimens I would not suggest hot glue for small specimens. I've seen way too many TNs destroyed and torn apart by collectors attempting to remove the hot glue attachment. Elmer's glue is much better but I prefer mineral putty because it does the least amount of damage to the specimens and generally will not tear away portions of matrix like some glues can. Use Elmer's glue when cementing the styrofoam base to the perky and allow it to dry for at least a day with the top open. Kevin At 03:42 PM 12/27/00 -0700, you wrote: >Hi all, > >I'm going to mount some specimens for the first time and I don't know what >kind of glue to use. I'm going to get some perky boxes and styrofoam from >either Althor or David Shannon (after comparing their prices) but I need to >know what kind of glue is the best quality and won't hurt the specimens. >Would a normal glue gun that you can get from a hardware store work? Or >would that glue be too hot for most specimens? Is there a specific glue >that most dealers use? Can I get it from a hardware store or is it only >sold by mineral-related shops? > >Some of the minerals that I will be mounting are: Stoneham barites; Topaz >Mtn. bixbyites, topaz, red beryl, and hematite pseudos after garnets; >possibly fluorites; Sweet Home Mine rhodochrosite; Dugway calcite blades >(from Dugway geodes); North Table Mountain zeolites (like analcime and >thomsonite); smokey quartz from several Colorado locations; etc. > >Sorry about the stupid questions, but I'm just learning. Mineral dealers: >Don't worry, I'm not getting into your industry. Just trying to organize a >lot of the specimens I have found so I can either give them away to the kids >in our club or sell them at our club's silent auction in April. I'll >probably give them to our club members this year as door prizes, too. > >Thanks, > >Bob Loeffler >North Jeffco Gem & Mineral Club >http://www.peaktopeak.com/minerals/njeffco/ > > >################################################################# ># Rockhounds@drizzle Mailing Alias: rockhounds@drizzle.com # ># Web: http://www.drizzle.com/~afox/rockhounds/ # ># Subscription Services: majordomo@drizzle.com # >################################################################# > The Mineral Gallery and Auction http://www.themineralgallery.com http://www.exceptionalminerals.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 18:03:27 -0700 From: Steven C Kaminski Subject: Re: Mounting specimens Bob, Two options I've used. Hot glue - Most minerals will withstand the heat and it holds pretty well on most specimens. It holds too well on fragile specimens, if you ever want to change your mind on how the spec. is displayed, particularly a fragile specimens. Removing the specimen from the hot glue can tear up friable matrices. Temperature fluctuations may have a negative effect on the grip of some specimens. I'm not too sure about long term but, since its a plastic glue, the glue will probably decay with age after 10 to 20 years, or exposure to certain environments (like direct sun). Sometimes hot glue will hold specimens that ten to be powdery, when nothing else will work. Mineral Tack. This is a lot like the thumbtack-free poster puddy that used to be sold for hanging posters on walls w/o putting holes in the wall. It may be the best all-around material. David Shannon sells this too. Its really durable, supposed to never dry out, but limited in color scheme, its only available in white. Sometimes fragile specimens are hard to sink into a wad of mineral tack. There are no perfect media. But both of the above have very good attributes. My suggestion is to use both. If you find something else let the rest of us know. I once used modeling clay from an art supply place. It does not stand up to warm (~>85 degrees F) temperatures. The clay itself is sometime hard to clean off. It also contains oil that can stain some specimens. Steve K. ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 17:43:35 -0800 From: Wes Lingerfelt Subject: Re: the young and the hobby OK, Tim, you might be missing a point here. In my experience the club I belong to has acquired some very valuable adult members because one or more of their children wanted to learn about rocks. I go to schools and give presentations 4 to 6 times a year. I try to do it in the months just before our annual gem show. If you get the kids interested they will bring their parents. It's worked several times for our club in gaining attendance at the show as well as the club meetings. I've read several well thought out comments in this thread and I agree with most of them. I do feel you need to have a program focused on acquiring members that are capable of contributing to the club activities. That means 50+ for the most part. Our club is like every other club with an aging membership where the work details fall on a very few able bodied people. They are feelling over used and frustrated. This year we lost (passed away) many of our long time members and there just aren't any working members coming in to the fold. I will continue to use the school sessions in an attempt to interest kids in Rocks and then get their parents interested also if possible. It's one of many approaches that should be tried. Cheers! and Happy New Year to all! tjokela wrote: > > I agree that recruiting older people is good, but that isn't where the > > future of the hobby lies- they die off too soon! ::-) We need young blood, > > and exposing young kids pays off in the long run- even if you don't hook > > them right now, they come back to it later, when they have more time. > > I think that's a myth. Kids may seem interested, but I bet no more than one > percent actually come back and pursue it. It's simply too long a step. > Science can't compete with Nintendo. > > Cheers, > > Tim Jokela Jr > tjokela@execulink.com > http://www.element51.com - -- Wes Lingerfelt, '99/'00/2001 Treasurer Orcutt Mineral Society Nipomo, CA. visit http://www.cfmsinc.org ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 18:17:16 -0800 From: Ron Winter Subject: Re: [BOUNCE]Re: the young and the hobby > From: "Carol J. Bova" > -- clubs in or near schools that have lapidary programs. > -- a long-standing club program that does attract youngsters on its own merits > -- the club with families that already collect and explore together -- and > in that case, the children are often involved with the parents and not as a > separate class. . . > ...I think we can encourage youth in general by bringing programs to schools, > providing child oriented programs at shows, and creating opportunities for > parents and grand-parents to become actively involved themselves. > More on the middle-aged in another post. > Carol J. Bova Hello Carol! Don't forget the impact we all can have on children in our neighborhoods. That is the children who are unable to join a club or enjoy the hobby with their parents. With a school near my home, several children pass near my house each day. I keep some of my "extra" rocks and fossils in piles where the kids can see, touch, and take them if they wish. Like little sponges, their eyes get wider and their smiles get bigger as they learn. It's pretty hard to beat the warmth of a teeny hand holding a beastly chunk of basalt and asking "Hey Ron, what's this, is this a good one?" - -- Regards, Ron Winter, Auburn, Washington. http://www.stonetrails.com mailto:Ron@stonetrails.com In search of: The Mother of All Geodes! *Coprolite Happens* Copyright © Circa 2000 Ron Winter ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 21:34:51 -0500 From: "Keith Hayes" Subject: Re: Mounting specimens Bob, I'll make some specific recommendations on your particular specimens: 1. Stoneham barites - mineral tack - fragile 2. Topaz Mtn. bixbyites and topaz - mineral tack, esp. if on crumbly rhyolite. 3. red beryl - this matrix will crumble, stabiliz? then min tack or glue 4. hematite pseudos after garnets - probably similar, I have never mounted any. 5. possibly fluorites - min tack or hot glue. 6. Sweet Home Mine rhodochrosite - min tack - it's too easy to break with other stuff. 7. Dugway calcite blades - don't know 8. North Table Mountain zeolites (like analcime and> thomsonite) - use hot blue on the basalt base. 9. smokey quartz from several Colorado locations; etc. - doesn't matter. quartz is tough Regards, Keith Hayes -- KQ's Minerals Kqhayes@Home.com WWW.KQMINERALS.COM 1516 Sixth Street Bay City, MI 48708 - ----- Original Message ----- From: Bob Loeffler To: Rockhounds Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2000 5:42 PM Subject: Mounting specimens > Hi all, > > I'm going to mount some specimens for the first time and I don't know what > kind of glue to use. I'm going to get some perky boxes and styrofoam from > either Althor or David Shannon (after comparing their prices) but I need to > know what kind of glue is the best quality and won't hurt the specimens. > Would a normal glue gun that you can get from a hardware store work? Or > would that glue be too hot for most specimens? Is there a specific glue > that most dealers use? Can I get it from a hardware store or is it only > sold by mineral-related shops? > > Some of the minerals that I will be mounting are: Stoneham barites; Topaz > Mtn. bixbyites, topaz, red beryl, and hematite pseudos after garnets; > possibly fluorites; Sweet Home Mine rhodochrosite; Dugway calcite blades > (from Dugway geodes); North Table Mountain zeolites (like analcime and > thomsonite); smokey quartz from several Colorado locations; etc. > > Sorry about the stupid questions, but I'm just learning. Mineral dealers: > Don't worry, I'm not getting into your industry. Just trying to organize a > lot of the specimens I have found so I can either give them away to the kids > in our club or sell them at our club's silent auction in April. I'll > probably give them to our club members this year as door prizes, too. > > Thanks, > > Bob Loeffler > North Jeffco Gem & Mineral Club > http://www.peaktopeak.com/minerals/njeffco/ > > > ################################################################# > # Rockhounds@drizzle Mailing Alias: rockhounds@drizzle.com # > # Web: http://www.drizzle.com/~afox/rockhounds/ # > # Subscription Services: majordomo@drizzle.com # > ################################################################# > ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 22:27:26 -0800 From: "Jim and Carolyn Ebsary" Subject: Re: the young and the hobby After a few years of doing children's workshops, becoming president, writing the bulletin, and organizing speakers, I agree with you, Tim. Do we get new members from the lure of children's workshops? Definitely, though most of the parents would not be there if not for the kids, which is in agreement with what you wrote. Do we get much in the way of return? Other than our show this year, not much. As you point out, the only people that are actively participating in our club are people that are over 30 (actually around 40 years of age and over, but I'm still in my thirties, and will remain there for a couple of years, thank you very much). These people have disposable income, wheels, and kids that can fend for themselves. We have, right now, a fairly healthy membership of baby boomers that actively participate in field trips, help support the club and show, etc. We've also found that this age group is getting larger (slowly) within the club. I've also noted and taken advantage of the fact that our club has switched its' focus from minerals to fossils, and to a much lesser extent, lapidary. For the first time in a couple of years, we've had some interest in club field trips, largely because of easy fossil collecting in our vicinity (Anyone else seeing this?) 2 ladies from our club have taken an interest in polishing and jewelry making. They have interesting problems; there isn't anybody in our club that can show them anything. But, true art is finding a way; they are slowly finding their own solutions to wire wrapping and polishing etc, which in my book makes their work truly unique. Sorry, I think that I'm rambling. Am I going to close down the children's programmme? No, though it's certainly tempting. I've found that we're getting a good number of people who are looking for something to do with their kids. These are, as you say, scientifically minded people that are over 30, money, wheels, etc. The only difference is (if I can call it a difference) that they're looking for good ways to spend time with their kids, and nine times out of ten they collected when they were younger. I believe that the children's programme is a necessary expenditure, even if our club takes a hit. It may not pay off right now, but hopefully, we're sewing some seeds for the future, so I'm not ready to give it up yet. But you're right Tim, for the here and the now, we don't get much from the kids. Jim Ebsary jime@iaw.on.ca - ----- Original Message ----- From: tjokela To: Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2000 8:03 AM Subject: the young and the hobby > I repeatedly hear that young folks are the lifeblood of the mineral > collecting hobby, and that if we don't attract them the hobby is doomed. I > have come to suspect that this is a myth and that the leaders of mineral > clubs need to focus their time, energy, and the clubs funds upon a very > different segment of society. > > I'm the president of the London Gem & Mineral Society, and I recently nuked > our several-year-long experiment with a "pebble pups" youth program. With at > best about eight kids showing up, and at the end only one or none bothering > to come, I decided that the energy of the fellow in charge of the youth > program was being wasted. Sure the kids were fun to have around, but their > hour-long meeting took a lot of work, energy, and money, and we were getting > nothing for it. I'd liked to have kept the program going, but a bit of > thought indicated that young people are not the right target audience. > > To be a serious mineral collector takes a few things that kids and teens > generally do not have. It takes wheels, it takes money, and it takes time. > The folks we need to hook on mineral collecting are actually middle aged, > with the time, money, and mobility to pursue the hobby. An adult member of a > club can do far more to keep it going than a ten year old. He can serve on > the executive, bringing new energy and ideas. He can do programs and run > field trips, write for the bulletin, contact speakers, do the legwork for > shows, start museums, do fieldwork, and so on. Very seldom does one see a > young member contribute anything more than yearly dues. Even university-age > people are hardly worth going after; not only are their time, mobility, and > funds limited, but they don't stick around, often leaving for jobs > elsewhere. Dedicating scarce resources towards attracting the young seems to > be pointless - very few of them can contribute to the club and very, very, > few seem to remain interested long enough to reach the age where they can > make an impact. > > I think that earth science clubs need to attract scientifically-minded > people over thirty, not youngsters. > > If my opinion is shared by anybody else, perhaps we can narrow down my very > general suggested demographic, and talk about how to target it with club > advertising. Rational arguments only, please, let's prove that while the cat > is away we mice can play nice. > > Cheers, > > Tim Jokela Jr > tjokela@execulink.com > http://www.element51.com > > ################################################################# > # Rockhounds@drizzle Mailing Alias: rockhounds@drizzle.com # > # Web: http://www.drizzle.com/~afox/rockhounds/ # > # Subscription Services: majordomo@drizzle.com # > ################################################################# > ------------------------------ End of rockhounds-digest V1 #723 ******************************** ################################################################# # To subscribe or unsubscribe to the Rockhoundz List, send mail # # to with the following keys: # # subscribe rockhounds (or) unsubscribe rockhounds # # rockhounds@drizzle.com | http://callisto.golder.com/rockhoundz# #################################################################