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Prez Says...

by Dan Teich, MSDC President

It’s been a busy month for MSDC! Our October presentation was precious: The Silver Mines of Lavrion, by Professor Fred Paraskevoudakis of Baltimore Community College. A treat for the eyes touring the mines and specimens. The good Professor shall return soon with another presentation in December for part 2! 

On October 11, club members gathered for a picnic at Kathy Hrechka’s house for good ol’ barbecue and socialization. It was a treat seeing so many friends in person! Show and tell was had, with Sean discussing his recent travels and Miner Mike basically giving a full talk regarding a sort-of mineral: slag! While the immediate local area may be a bit scant in natural minerals, turns out there’s plenty of slag, and it can look darned cool, too.

Outdoor fun at MSDC's picnic and potluck. Photo by Dan Teich.

Several members heeded our request and brought minerals for the George Mason show and sale. The Fishers graciously took them home for safe keeping. Special thanks to Kathy for her house and hospitality! 

I had a great visit with the Fishers recently, where we boxed and processed nearly all the mineral and fossil donations for the George Mason show and fundraiser. Huge appreciation to all who donated – and we are still able to take additional minerals. Please reach out to me if you have a nice rock that you’d like to give to a new home. The mineral sale benefits the MSDC scholarships that we award each year, as well as our annual donation to the Smithsonian. 

Our next meeting will be on November 5, featuring Ron Sloto, P.G., of the U.S. Geological Survey (now retired) and Curator of West Chester University Mineral Collection, taking us on a tour of Chester County, Pennsylvania’s mineral localities. Chester, PA, isn’t far from here and has a vibrant mineral history. 

The 33rd Annual Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show, sponsored by the Northern Virginia Mineral Club, will be held November 22-23 at George Mason University. Several members will have tables at the show, as will MSDC. We always welcome members to help at the table where we sell minerals and promote our organization to attendees. Please attend and, if you can, volunteer to help for a morning or afternoon at the table! Email me, Ken Rock, Andy Thompson, or John Weidner if you can help. 

 And lastly, I had a small personal field trip with Shawn in late October to Ruck’s Pit in Fort Drum, Florida, where we collected calcified clams! Many of the clams will be for sale at the George Mason Show either this year and/or next! First, they need to be cleaned up! 

This is a large calcite fossilized clam shell on matrix from Florida. Photo by Bryan Major. 

I hope to see you on November 5 for our Zoom meeting, and at George Mason in a few weeks.