MSDC Summer Party!

by Betty Thompson, MSDC Co-Webmaster

Big thanks to President Dan Teich, Shawn Nelson-Schmitt, and their dog, Calvin, for welcoming us to their beautiful Capitol Hill apartment and roof deck on Saturday afternoon, June 20. It was a real delight for about 25 of us to see each other face to face!  Plus we had a feast, thanks to Dan, Shawn, and others who contributed potluck items to the festivities. We enjoyed 3-4 hours together. 

We started with relaxed hellos and great food. Once nearly everyone had arrived and eaten, Dan officially welcomed us and introduced us to his amazing and artfully displayed collection. Then each of us introduced ourselves, including some of our history with minerals and MSDC.

I think we all enjoyed hearing the personal stories of participants. An extra highlight was that some of us had brought specimens from our own collections, which were passed around and much appreciated both for their mineral merits and for the related personal tidbits.

We were glad to be with Bill Stephens, who had come down from Delaware to be with us. Bill is immediate past president and current board member of the Eastern Federation of Mineralogical and Lapidary Societies (EFMLS), president of Friends of Mineralogy, and a member of the Delaware Mineralogical Society. He is the EFMLS board member who focuses on clubs in our region. 

Bill made two excellent presentations to MSDC in September 2022 and 2024, respectively, on Herkimer specimens in NY and mineral mining in the Mohawk Valley, NY.

Bill gave a fine overview of EFMLS and noted that MSDC was a founding member.  He also spoke briefly about the overall American Federation of Mineralogical Societies (AFMS) of which the EFLMS is a member. Bill invited MSDC to consider hosting an upcoming EFMLS convention, but conversation quickly made clear that our neighboring clubs in Northern Virginia and Montgomery County are better candidates because the EFMLS convention usually partners with a local club(s) to host the show. We don’t have an annual show, and they do.   

We missed those of you who couldn’t be there, and hope for another chance to enjoy each other in person before too long. Sincere gratitude to Dan and Shawn, who are wonderful and gracious hosts.