TULIP CITY...Agates Are Superior Tulip City’s Annual Show is almost here. “Agates are Superior” is this year’s theme, and the show will be open September 14-16. As I was thinking

Aug 29, 2018General Meeting

7pm HMCC

Sep 7-9Toledo, OH

Greenfield, INAnnual Shows

Sep 14-16, 2018Tulip City Gem and Mineral

Club Annual ShowHolland, MISoccer Stop

5 River Hills DriveHolland, MI

Sep 15-16Howell, MI

Annual Show

Sep 22, 2018Kalamazoo Club Tailgate

St. Michael Lutheran ChurchParking Lot, 7211 Oakland Dr.

Portage, MI

Sep 29-30, 2018Traverse City, MI

Annual Show

This Edition

Program: Agates Are Superior...... p1Kingsley North................................ p1Calendar/Board............................. p2Club Shirts..................................... p2Petting Zoo for Rocks.................... p3Petoskey Polishing w/Ottawa Co.. p3Show Corner................................. p4Where Has All The Copper Gone? p4July Board Minutes......................... p5Show Publicity Request................. p5Wisconsin Trip................................ p6Junior Page: Epidote..................... p7About Us: Calumet MI Building...... p8

General Meeting7 pm August 29, 2018Agates Are Superior

Tulip City’s Annual Show is almost here. “Agates are Superior” is this year’s theme, and the show will be open September 14-16. As I was thinking about the title of the show, it occurred to me that most people around here have heard of Lake Superior Agates (also known as “Lakers”), but there are many other kinds of agates around, some that I personally have never seen or heard of before.

Most agates are formed in nodules, but there are some that are known as “sedimentary agates” that form in a different way. What do they look like? How about an agate that looks like a chewed up and discarded piece of bubble gum? Why would anyone pick those up? What do thundereggs have to do with agates, or Moctezuma, or crazy lace?

Come to the general meeting on Wednesday night, August 29 to find out more about Agates that aren’t Lakers. You will be able to see examples and hear some short talks from club members. If you have an agate at home that you would like identified, bring it in. Club Members will try to help identify it for you. Who knows, you may also find a new favorite kind of agate.

This month, instead of a mineral of the month contest, we are having…you guessed it … an agate contest! Please bring in any agate specimen for the contest. Look for the table with the Agate Contest sign, fill out a card with the type of agate it is, and where it is from, BUT DO NOT PUT DOWN YOUR NAME. During the break, each club member will take a penny and put it by the specimen that they want to vote for. The winner will receive a prize, an agate from the Larry Graves collection!

Kingsley NorthMany of our fellow members help our Club in very many ways and

your board would like to say THANK YOU! One unusual case recently occurred when "someone" asked a retail establishment for a donation to our Club. At the request of Wes Kent, a substantial donation from Kingsley North was received. We wish to thank Kingsley North for these items, and Wes for his efforts. The items will be available for viewing at the August membership meeting, and at the Show.You will have a chance to purchase the items at the December meeting at a reduced price. More details will be published in future editions of the Conglomerate.

Bulletin of the Tulip City Gem & Mineral Club, PO Box 2082, Holland, MI 49422 Website: www.Tulipcity.or g

July/Aug 2018 Volume 51, Edition 5

THE

TULIP CITYCONGLOMERATE

Page: 2 Tulip City Conglomerate Jul/Aug 2018

Club Calendar

Oct 10 (Wed) Board Meeting, 7p, HMCCOct 24 (Wed) – General Meeting, 7p, HMCCNov 14 (Wed) Board Meeting, 7p, HMCCNov 28 (Wed) – General Meeting, 7p, HMCCDec 5 (Wed) Board Meeting, 7p, HMCCDec 19 (Wed) – General Meeting, 7p, HMCCJan 16 (Wed) – Board Meeting, 7p, HMCCJan 30 (Wed) – General Meeting, 7p, HMCCFeb 13 (Wed) – Board Meeting, 7p, HMCCFeb 27 (Wed) – General Meeting, 7p, HMCCMar 13 (Wed) – Board Meeting, 7p, HMCCMar 27 (Wed) – General Meeting, 7p, HMCCApr 10 (Wed) – Board Meeting, 7p, HMCCApr 24 (Wed) – Pot Luck Banquet/Meeting, 7p, HMCCMay 15 (Wed) – Board Meeting, 7p, HMCCMat 29 (Wed) – General Meeting, 7p, HMCCJun 12 (Wed) – Board Meeting, 7p, HMCCJun 26 (Wed) – General Meeting, 7p, HMCCJul 27 (Sat) – Picnic (Target Date - Tentative)Aug 14 (Wed) – Board Meeting, 7p, HMCCAug 28 (Wed) – General Meeting, 7p, HMCCSep 13-15 – TCG&MC ShowOct 16 (Wed) – Board Meeting, 7p, HMCCOct 30 (Wed) – General Meeting, 7p, HMCCNov 6 (Wed) – Board Meeting, 7p, HMCCNov 20 (Wed) – General Meeting, 7p, HMCCDec 4 (Wed) – Board Meeting, 7p, HMCCDec 18 (Wed) – General Meeting, 7p, HMCC

HMCC = Howard Miller Community Center, 14 S Church St. Zeeland, MIBold listings are Club events. Italic listings are non-Club events.Major source of material is from: http://www.amfed.org/mwf/Calendar/

Check out the Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/tulipcityclub/

2018 Officers and Board of DirectorsPresident C.H. Falstad [email protected] President Shari Luttikhuizen [email protected] President Peter Riemersma [email protected] Dan DeGroot [email protected] Julia Sherwood [email protected] Trip Coord. Bob Sinke [email protected] Betty Hoekstra [email protected]. Club Coord. Rick Smith [email protected]. Club Coord. Linda Winkelmann [email protected] Deb Smith [email protected] Christine Silich [email protected] Ed. Rudy Silich [email protected] Coord Sue Goedert [email protected] Coord. Linda Plumert [email protected]. at Large Dan Nevins [email protected]. at Large Amy Dickinson [email protected] President -Bob Sherwood [email protected]

For 2018, there are fifteen (15) positions, which have one vote each. There are currently (17) persons on the Board (four persons share two positions).

Club Shirts for Sale – 2018

Pre-paid orders for Club Shirts will be taken again at the General Meeting on August 29, 2018. They will be delivered to you at the Show setup on September 13.

Wearing the shirt during the Show and at other Club events helps the public identify members of the Club by their distinctive shirts. It also helps us spot one another across a crowded Show floor.

Sizes & prices:Crew neck: SM to XL =$9.002X =$11.00 3X to 5X =$13.00

Polo shirt: SM to XL =$13.50 2X =$15.50 3X to 5X =$16.50

Page:3 Tulip City Conglomerate Jul/Aug 2018

Petting Zoo for Rocksby Shari Luttikhuizen

On July 10, 2018, Gary Byker Library in Hudsonville, Michigan hosted an interactive display of fossils, rocks, and mineral specimens for the public. 73 eager children dragged their parents, grandparents and nannies to see, pick up, touch and talk about an impressive collection brought in byKen and Betty Hoekstra. The first item to see was a Mammoth’s tooth, and the collection just got better from there. On hand to answer questions and encourage the children to pick up rocks and talk about them were Ken Hoekstra, Shari Luttikhuizen, Robin Kreun, Patti DeGroot, Dan DeGroot and Betty Hoekstra (see the picture below). Each child left with a free rock sample, and the parents were given information about our club and upcoming show. It was a so wonderful to see the excitement of the adults and kids, and it was a great outreach for our club.

Petoskey Polishing with Ottawa County Parks

Recently (August 11) Tulip City Gem and Mineral Club and Ottawa County Parks collaborated on a Petoskey Polishing program at Hemlock Crossing County Park. Ottawa County Parks Naturalist George Jaeger (who is also a Tulip City Club member) provided a 30-minute informational slide presentation on Petoskey stones to 57 people, after which Club members Deb and Rick Smith led a 40 minute “craft session” where 37 pre-registered participants got to polish a Petoskey stone. Club members Amy Dickinson, Linda Plumert, and Shari Luttikhuizen donated Petoskey stones for the event; Ken Hoekstra and Dan DeGroot cut many of the stones to provide a flat surface to help the participants get started, and CH Falstad loaned a large grinding wheel so that other stones could be flattened as well. Maybe we’ll see some of those rock polishers at our next Club meeting. If so, give them an enthusiastic greeting, because we got a great reception at Hemlock Crossing.

Page:4 Tulip City Conglomerate Jul/Aug 2018

Show Cornerby Sue Godert

Well, it's almost here - the 49th Annual Tulip City Gem & Mineral Show! I'm excited about all we have this year, but it won't succeed without your help! At the August meeting, we will have the sign-ups out for you to pick the times that work best for you. This year the Games shifts have dropped to 1hour segments, as 2 hours is a lot for most kids to help us. I know a lot of you like to just come and fillin wherever on the day, but it really helps us if you could sign up so we know we have enough peopleto cover, especially during the really busy times. Also, if you work at least a 2 hour shift you are eligible to join us for a wonderful meal Shari is planning for us. Thursday at lunch is bring your own, but meals will be planned for the rest of the week.

Last year we depended on donations to make meals for dealers, demonstrators and club members working at the show, and it was a huge success! Everyone came through with very generous donations, and most people were happy with what we could provide. We need everyone’s help again this year. Food sign-up sheets will be at the general meeting, and if you don’t sign up, expect a call. If you have any questions, call Shari at 669-4664.

New this year: We are going to have a chili cook-off for Saturday night! I’m looking or a few competitive cooks to make a crock pot of chili, it can be mild, spicy, anything in between. We are all going to vote for the best one, and there will be an awesome prize awarded to the winner! All people eating on Saturday night will be able to vote, so sign up on the sheet, but we will keep your chili anonymous. Shari will unveil the prize at the August General meeting.

Again, thanks for all your help to make this show another success!

Where Has All the Copper Gone?By Chet Smith

Several years ago a Club member received a long distance phone call from the U.P. In Michigan. The caller stated that the last big pile of 'over burden' was being hauled away by county trucks. The material was going to be used to upgrade several roadsites.

They would not be working this weekend, so there would be “no problem” with copper hunters.On Saturday morning, several members from TCGMC “swarmed” over the remaining pile. One

member, Gordon, was working on a large 'piece” and finally called for help. Three other men with strong backs, along with Gordon, were able to lift the 200-350 pound of copper and conglomerate intothe back of Gordon's van.

That same afternoon the Holland members stopped at a nearby farmhouse. The farmer's front yard was “littered” with large pieces of copper. Several pieces would weigh 200-500 lbs and had beenfound with a metal detector. The farmer sold several pieces to the members for $1.00/pound. The smallest one we could find cost $20.00. ( A nice field trip!)

More recently in the MWF newsletter (April 2018) an article on “float copper”discussed several locations of “float copper”*. The glacial drift from the Lake Superior Region covered many states.

Several large chunks of float copper were mentioned in the article. A 3708 pound copper boulder is located in the Smithsonian Museum. Closer to home, a 17 TON copper boulder was raised from the bottom of Great Sand Lake and is on display in the Seaman Mineral Museum in Houghton, MI.

If you should find a nice chunk of float copper, ask yourself a couple of questions. 1) Was it found on private or public land? 2) Who really owns the copper that you found? 3) How are you going to get it home? (A cubic foot of pure copper weighs 559 pounds.)

So where has all the copper gone? There's still a lot out there. Good luck!!

*April 2010 MWF Newsletter by William S. Cordua, MWF Geology Committee.

Page: 5 Tulip City Conglomerate Jul/Aug 2018

Tulip City Gem and Mineral ClubJuly Board Meeting

July 27, 2018West Side County Park

Attending: Chris Silich,Rudy Silich, Shari Luttikhuizen, Elizabeth Hoekstra, Dan Nevins, Bob Sinke, Bob Sherwood, Julia Sherwood, Linda Plumert, Rick Smith. Deb Smith

Shari called the meeting to order at approximately 5pm.

Approval of May 16 and June 13 minutes.

Dan Nevins moved to approve the May 16 minutes. Second by Julia. APPROVED.Rick Smith moved to approve the June 13 minutes. Second by Deb. APPROVED.

Correction were made to the May 30 Meeting Minutes. Bob Sinke moved to approve the May 30 minutes with corrections. Second by Dan. APPROVED.

Corrections were made to the June 27 Meeting Minutes.Julia Sherwood moved to approved the June 27 minutes with corrections. Second by Rick. APPROVED.

Treasurer's Report – review of June.The report was accepted and filed.

Field Trip Coordinator – Bob Sherwood has a sign up sheet for UP trip.Bob Sinke gave highlights of the WI trip, and said the next trip will be after the Show.VP Report – Shari is working on a speaker for August.NL Editor – Rudy apologized for the absence of a newsletter in July.Historian – Elizabeth reported that she received a specimen for Olga DeKok for the Memorial Display.Junior Leader – Rick Smith announced that the August topic will be a silicate mineral.Liaison – Deb reported that Anne Westover was the winner of the petrified wood. The MWF Show is Oct 6-7 in Springfield, IL.Membership Coordinator – Christine had nothing to report.Show Chair – Sign up sheets for the show are here.Wednesday Sept 13 – 2pm Table setup until approximately 8pm.Thursday Sept 14 – Bring own lunch. Supper will be provided. Please have displays set up before 8pm. We need to be out of the building by 9pm.

Roger reported that all the dealer slots are full for the Show, and everyone is paid except one.

Board meeting August 15Show meeting August 22General Meeting August 29

Social Coordinator – Linda thanked everyone.Director-at-Large – August 25 tailgate Saturday 9a-4p at Sam's

August 11 – Hemlock Crossing Petoskey Polish.

New BusinessBob Sinke – Wes Kent asked Kingsley North for a donation. Kingsley sent about$300 of stuff. Bob presented it and asked the Board to consider ways to utilize it.Bob thanked Wes.

Meeting adjourned approximately 5:45p.

Request for Assistance withShow Publicity

As some of you know, Linda Winkelmann broke her hip in July. In recent years, she placed many of the Road Signs and brochures (fliers & rackcards) across our region - Allegan to Grand Haven and east of Holland. PLEASE VOLUNTEER to take more materials to areas near your homes thisyear! Good spots are local restaurants, stores, nature centers, etc. At the General meeting on Aug 29, all of the resources will be available for pick-up including maps of where things were placed in past. PLEASE SIGN-UP for different areas for this local information.

You may recall that the fliers /rack cards were distributed in August. The road signs say “Fri, Sat & Sun”, so they cannot be placed until the Sunday prior to the Show (this is so we can use signs again). If you place road signs, please plan to retrieve them after the Show. You can return them to Linda for storage afterwards.

P.S. Linda has 19 “old signs” and hasordered 25 new ones. Some of you still

have last year’s signs. Please [email protected] with the

number of signs you have, so there is acomplete 2018 inventory. THANK

YOU!!

Page: 6 Tulip City Conglomerate Jul/Aug 2018

Wisconsin Tripby Bob Sinke

A four day collecting field trip in mid July, guided by Bob Sinke and Kevin Ponzio, began at Alford Beach in Kenosha, WI. This meeting place was selected because several of our group did not have I-passes for the Illinois toll roads. We all made it safely to the beach where we collected stomatolites,coral, slag, beach glass, etc. After lunch we drove to Wausau, WI.for dinner and a motel.

The next morning we continued north to the Mercer WI. area in the rain to a totally concealed site in the dense woods. There we collected a lot of kyanite and garnet schist. The kyanite fluoresced strongly under long wave light I found out when I got home- a deep rich red color. Should have collected two buckets! As the rain decreased we went to the Bessemer MI. area to get some pure hematite specimens and a few botryoidal pieces. We then went to Wakefield ,MI. where we stopped at Sunday Lake underground rock shop to view and or buy some unusual iron specimens from the upper peninsula, especially the Gogebic Range.Then on to the Peterson mine for banded hematite. The jasper was orange/red in color that contrasted nicely with the hematite, a really great combination. We then left for Iron Mountain for dinner and motel.

The next day we left for the Negaunee iron range, stopped at the Champion mine tailings for somedark red banded hematite and jasper, a museum trip at Ishpeming, then on to see 4 mine locations where micacious hematite, magnetite, etc. were found. The four mines visible from the top of the hill were the Saw Mine, Incline Mine, the New York mine and the Little Mountain Mine. Prior to going back to Wisconsin to Appleton to spend the night two of our group left us to go National Forest Camping. Yes , we knew in advance this was the plan.

The following morning we went NE to the Wisconsin thumb, aka the Door Peninsula. We nearly went to the tip, East of Egg Harbor to collect siliceous, Silurian fossils of all sizes (mostly large) 10 inches to 2 feet. Someone had stacked them neatly in quarter mile long rows about 4 feet high. It became hard deciding which were the best to collect as we turned them over individually. We found chain coral, branching coral, flavocities, criniod stems, honeycomb coral, brachiopods, both whole and casts, gastropods, cephalopods, sponges and probably more yet to be discovered.

It was more driving than I like but the collecting was more than worth it for me. If I knew that a partof Michigan was in the Central time zone I had forgotten. Just another exciting fact collected on a great field trip.

Illustration 1: Galena in marcasite

Page: 9 Tulip City Conglomerate Jul/Aug 2018

Junior Rock Club Page

“Grand Finale”

A new school year starts in September, so this August our junior program will be the last one for our current “rock club school year.” Since we’ve been studying silicate minerals of all kinds this year, we’ll end with one final silicate mineral: epidote. Epidote is a great shade of green, and it is mineral that can be collected right here in Michigan! You can find it as a beachstone, especially on the Lake Superior shoreline, and you can sometimes find epidote crystals lining the vugs of vesicular basalt.

Why not join us Wednesday, August 29 at the Herman Miller Community Center in Zeeland to see some great specimens of epidote, to learnmore about this Michigan mineral, and to get your own take-home specimen? See you there!

Rick Smith & Linda WinkelmannJunior Club Leaders

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Our club is a non-profit organization sponsored by the Holland Recreation Department. it is a member of the Midwest Federationand the American Federation ofMineralogical Societies. The generalpurpose of this club is to develop interest in and increased knowledge of minerals, rocks, gems, fossils, andthe lapidary arts. The objectives of this club shall be promoted wheneverPossible, through family participation.

Meetings are held monthly on the last Wednesday of the month at the Howard Miller Community Center, 14 S. Church Street, Zeeland, MI at7pm, unless announced otherwise in the TULIP CITY CONGLOMERATE.Junior Club welcomes young rockhounds and meets separately duringthe meeting.

To become a member,complete the form at

www.tulipcity.org

The deadline for submissionsis 5p the Thursday after the Board Meeting.

Advertising rates for club members are: $5 for businesscard size, $10 for ¼ page, $15 for ½ page, $30 for fullpage. non-member rates are double. Make check payableTo: TCG&M with ad copy to Editor.

Tulip City Conglomerate Rudy Silich, Editor 416 West Mae Rose AveHolland, MI 49424