Mineral Meetings

There were 24 members present at the meeting.

Dennis Brown presented the lecture for the evening. The topic was Making Hardness Points and Assembling Mineral Identification Kits.

Two minerals (selenite and calcite) were passed around and the group tried to decide which one was higher on the hardness scale. Since selenite could be scratched by the calcite, it was a softer mineral. The hardness scale ranges from Talc at number 1 up to Diamond at number 10.

The Oxford County Mineral and Gem Association met at Oxford Hills High School with 27 members present.

The lecture for the evening was given by Duane Leavitt. The subject was Introduction to Crystallography. "We live in a 3 dimensional universe where all objects that EXIST in this universe have three deminsions: length, width and depth. The fourth deminsion is time. The modern study of crystallography began with Rene Just Hauy who proposed the idea in 1801 that crystals of the same mineral species are related through an unvarying internal structure despite numerous deceptive external features."

The next meeting (Annual Cookout) would be on September 5th at Norm Davis' house.

The meeting was held at Oxford Hills High School with 29 members and guests in attendance. There will be no meeting in July since the Gem and Mineral show will be on July 12th and 13th. The next meeting will be on August 1st at Oxford Hills at 7:00pm.

Hugh Chapman gave a report on the show and plans are progressing quite well. The T-Shirts have arrived and will on sale at the show. The Grand Door Prize this year is a Pink Tourmaline Necklace in a gold setting. The Door Prize for the Coupon Drawing is an Amethyst necklace set in sterling silver.

The color of the mineral for the August meeting is "red".

After the business meeting, Duane Leavitt gave a talk on "Why Trim a Mineral Specimen?" He gave some good points as to why a collector would want to trim a mineral specimen. It would reduce the size, help to display it better and to improve the appearance. Safety is always the first issue. Be sure to wear gloves, eye protection and to be a safe distance from others. Check the specimen over carefully before striking it, because once you have trimmed it, there is no going back. He then explained the different types of rocks that one might be trimming and what to look for such as existing cracks and zones of weakness that are already present.

There were 26 members that gathered at the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School for the May meeting.

President Dennis Brown led the meeting and received reports from Hugh Chapman, Show Chairman and Ron Holden, Field Trip Chairman. Plans for the Gem Show on July 12th and 13th at Telstar High School in Bethel are coming along great. Ron has made plans for field trips for the show and monthly trips for the members of the club.

New members are always welcome. The June meeting will be held at OHHS on June 13th instead of June 6th at 7:00pm.

After the meeting, Duane Leavitt did a presentation on mineral collecting- "What to Collect?"

Duane had some great ideas on what equipment to bring with you and what you should be looking for in the field.
1. Know the area you are collecting in and what to look for
2. Tools -hammer, chisel
3. Backpack or bucket to bring home what you find
4. Wrap and label the item

These are just a few of Duane's helpful hints on mineral collecting.

The monthly meeting of the Oxford County Mineral and Gem Association was held at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in South Paris. There were 25 members present at the meeting. Dennis Brown, President, presided over the meeting. The upcoming mineral show was discussed and plans are coming along quite well.

After the meeting, Dennis gave a lecture on Mineral Classification. He discussed formulas and explained how anyone can look at the formula and determine what Mineral Class it belongs to.The next meeting will be held at OHHS on May 2nd at 7:00pm.

March 7, 2008 Meeting
This was the first meeting held at the new meeting site at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in South Paris. There were 21 members and guests present. After a short business meeting and refreshments, Duane Leavitt did a presentation on Assembling a Mineral Collection. He gave a lot of tips on how to decide what you want to collect, how you want to display your collection and how important labeling of the specimens is. The next program scheduled is Understanding Mineral Classifications and Chemical Formulas. This will be at the next meeting to be held at OHCHS on April 4th.

If any of these programs are of interest to you, contact the club and get some more information. Plans for the Gem Show are moving right along. There will be 15 vendors present and door prizes available.Keep checking this site for more updates on the club activities and the Gem Show.