volume number1
January 2012
Presidents Message A Happy Holiday and Happy New Year to all our friends and neighbors. Warm hearts keep us together.
Minutes for Last Meeting Minutes of the December 7, 2011 meeting:
The meeting was opened by Mike Rose at 7:09 pm, minutes were read and accepted, and the treasurers report given. Old business: nobody has called the local quarry to inquire about a field trip. Bob Turkos will make contact with the Bossardsville quarry in Saylorsburg. The club insurance has been paid.
New business: Michael Kessler reported that there are no crystals sited so far at the Marshalls Creek bypass. Drawings were held for the doorprizes for the 11 members in attendance.
Michael Kessler gave a talk on zeolites. These are sodium and calcium aluminum silicate hydrates that are found in triangular pockets in lava flows. Michael showed slides and specimens from quarries in the Paterson, NJ area that are no longer active that he had visited in the past and just recently. The zeolites discussed were: natrolite, chabazite, heulandite, stilbite, and laumontite. These minerals, called tectosilicates, have repeating tetrahedral structures [SiO4] that are connected in a variety of ways to form plates and four-sided structures, the most complex of which are cage structures useful for use in filtration. A large number of samples were passed around for the audience to examine and questions from the audience were answered. The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 pm. Bob Turkos reporting.
Our Next Formal Meeting will be January 4th 2012 at the library in Stroudsburg. Doors open at 6:30 PM in the community room for set up, and the meeting will begin at 7 PM. Bob Turkos, our treasurer and professor of Chemistry, will present a talk on, Fluorescent Minerals. If you have some minerals that you suspect are fluorescent, we can test them at this meeting. Coffee will be served. Free raffle specimens.
In The News
Rock & Gem for December 2011contains articles on Minerals from Arizona, Calandria Agate, and Amethyst from Morocco. A special article on Dinosaur Ichnology covers animal behavior from the discovery of sauropod footprints found in Colorado.
The Mineral News from November 2011 contains articles on South Dakota Discoveries, Upper Michigan Celestine, and the Mineralogy of Chromium.
Our liason to EFMLS, Michael Kessler, now has the list of Wildacres Classes which are being offered for April 10 15 when the in house speaker will be Jeff Scovil. The list for the September 3 9 classes is also available when the speaker will be Julian Gray. If you need an application ask for one. If you need more information about Wildacres, seek out www.amfed.org/efmls and click on the Wildacres tab.
Club renewals are due for members of December 31st. Make sure your dues are sent to Bob Turkos before he sends in the renewal.
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Rainbow pyrite is a new variety of mineral discovered near the Volga River in Russia. It is unusually rare and for that reason some may call it a gemstone. It is however only a coating of miniature crystals which we call a druse which defracts the light to produce many colors which you can see easily.
Upcoming Events
January 29 Brunswick, New Jersey, Rutgers Geology Museum Open House. 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Mineral Sale; 135 Scott Hall. Presentations to be announced. Its Free! Check out http://geologymuseum.rutgers.edu for information.
January/28 February/13 TUCSON, ARIZONA: The Main Event! A series of retail and wholesale shows in Tucson Arizona which climaxes with The Mat the Tucson Convention Center February 10th 13th. This years theme: Minerals of California. Visit TGMS.org or colored-stone.com/tsg/ for more information.
February 19-20 ALBANY, NEW YORK: 18th Annual James Campbell Memorial Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show sponsored by the Capital District Mineral Club and N State Academy of Mineralogy. Vendors will display and sell gems, jewelry, minerals, fossils, lapidary equipment, publications and much more. Tours of the mineral and fossil galleries and mineral and fossil identification opportunities will be available for visitors. Museum of the Empire State, 4th Floor, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY. Web site: www.nysm.nysed.gov/
Mar 4, 5 The Delaware Min Society present their Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show at Delaware Tech Community College, 400 Churchmans Road, Newark, DE off I-95, see their site at
Mar 10, 11 North jersey Mineral and Fossil Show, Clifton, New Jersey check their site at
Mar 31, Apr 1 Mineral Treasures and Fossil Fair show and sale, $5 admission, get your info from
Editor’s notes:
Thanks go to all who donate cake for the meetings. We will post any and all trips available to our members. That’s the rule to have us covered by the insurance. Remember we need drawings for our logo. Two have been submitted so far. Submit yours at the next meeting.
Our treasurer, Robert Turkos, can be reached at 570 – 420 – 8165 if you have questions about dues. Membership payments can be paid at any meeting or should be sent directly to his address for speedy bookkeeping c/o MCESA, 2011 North 5th Street, Stroudsburg, PA 18360. You can also speak with him directly at any meeting.
Field trips are one of the popular functions of many rock groups.
We are always arranging field trips. Michael is also checking out another fossil site on Brushy Mountain Road here in Eagle Glen. Mike Rose said he would make some calls to our local quarry to see if they would open on a Saturday for payment. We have many folks who like to collect their own treasures. It’s everyone’s job to scout out for sites to collect. More will be forthcoming. Remember it is always tick season here. Inspect yourself and shower after every collecting trip.
Club Notes
Our organization still needs a new vice president and a secretary. The job requires you to run meetings in the absence of the president and help arrange for speakers for the meetings. That’s the job of all our staff. We also need a volunteer to pass around an attendance sheet, welcome people at the door, and hand out the raffle tickets. Let’s step up and help move things along.
Our thanks go out to our wonderful members, Tom and Stephanie Henshue, and Nina
Kiliszek, who donated flats of material for our June auction.
We have a few people who have expressed an interest in beading. Anyone available to show us how to do it?
The Crystal Courier is the official monthly newsletter of the Monroe County Earth Science Association, which is a non-profit organization of geologists, teachers, students, jewelers, and hobbyists, organized in 2007 to stimulate interest in mineralogy, lapidary, paleontology, and all earth related subjects. The society has broad activities designed for beginners and professionals on a wide variety of topics, including visits to Gem and Mineral Shows, and field trips. Membership is open to the general public. Annual dues are $15 for individuals and $5 for each additional household family member. Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month at the Hughs Library in Stroudsburg, on route 611 at Chipperfield Road except for June. The editor and the officials of MCESA are not responsible for the accuracy and authenticity of the articles submitted for publication, nor are the opinions expressed therein necessarily those of the officers of the MCESA. Check out the club’s website – which is www.mcesaclub.com.
4 Longfellow Road
East Stroudsburg, PA 18301
Editor: Michael Kessler
Communication, Comradery, Coffee, and Cookies