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What: Coulee Rock Club Meeting When: Second Saturday of the
Month September –May Where: 515 Quincy Street Onalaska, WI 54650
9:30 AM– Noon
Inside this issue:
COULEE ROCK CLUB : PEBBLE PUSHER
Page 1 Contest
2 Effigy Mounds
3 Potluck
4 Club info
5 Birthstones
6 By any
other name
7 Events
8 Sample 2019 Ballot
9 Swap
To help make next year’s show another great success, we need
rock specimen donations for our Silent Auction, Club Sales Table
and Kids Korner and we want to reward club members who so
graciously vol-unteer their time to help show weekend: Rock
Specimen Donations: For every donation of material you do-nate for
the show, you get a ticket with your name on it. Number of tickets
for each donation made by a club member will be tracked by the show
chair and will be put into a drawing held during dinner on Saturday
night of show weekend at The Two Beagles restau-rant. Need not be
present to win. The more tickets you have the bet-ter chance of
winning some special prizes. Acceptable donations can be newly
collected treasures or treasures from your current collection if
you wanted to clean house. Specimen donations for the show should
be brought to our monthly meetings or can be given to any of the
club officers and will be stored in the club garage. Volunteering
to Work Show Weekend: We will be using sign-up sheets again during
the weekend of the show and for every hour a club member works,
they will receive a ticket with their name on for a drawing that
will be held at our show follow up meeting. Three tick-ets will be
drawn for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place drawings. Must be present to win.
The more hours you volunteer to work, the more tickets you will
have in the drawing.
Allison Conrad [email protected]
September Meeting is the SWAP MEET in Stoddard.
mailto:[email protected]
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Pebble Pusher
Page 2
EFFIGY MOUNDS INFORMATION
HARPERS FERRY IOWA The secretive mounds culture of the Eastern
Woodland people is one of the many mysteries of the national parks.
An Effigy Mound American Indian culture developed over 1,000 years
ago placing thousands of earthen mounds across the landscape of
what (today) includes parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and
Illinois. The monument contains nationally significant
archeological resources in-cluding (original) surviving examples of
earthen American Indian mound groups that provide an insight into
the social, ceremonial, political, and eco-nomic life of the
Eastern Woodland people. Two hundred and six pre-European contact
mounds are preserved here—of which 31 are effigies in the shape of
bears and birds. Natural features in the monument include for-ests,
tallgrass prairies, wetlands, and rivers. As a sacred site to the
modern descendants of the moundbuilders, park access is offered via
fourteen miles of hiking trails. Eastern Woodland Indians built
mounds from about 500 BC until the early European contact period. A
unique Effigy Mound culture developed in this area of the Upper
Midwest placing thousands of mounds in the shape of ani-mals across
the landscape. Others are conical, linear, or compound shapes; many
of the conical are burial mounds. Some effigy mound groups were
built to a monumental scale; the Marching Bear Group, containing 10
bear and three bird effigies, stretches nearly one quarter mile
along a bluff top overlooking the Upper Mississippi River. The
Range of the Effigy Mound Culture
The Effigy Mound Culture extends from Dubuque, Iowa, north into
southeast Minne-sota, across southern Wisconsin from the
Mississippi to Lake Michigan, and along the Wisconsin-Illinois
boundary. The counties of Dubuque, Clayton, and Allamakee con-tain
almost all the effigy mounds found in Iowa.
Just a short drive away
Harpers Ferry, Iowa
52146
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Pebble Pusher
Page 3
The October potluck will be an awesome sapphire potluck
Bring something to the potluck the color of your favorite
sapphire .
Blue, Pink, star burst, Golden, purple, green
Club will Provide Plates, Silverware
515 Quincy Street Onalaska, WI 54650 9:30 AM– Noonish
October 13th 2018
Come be part of the fun!
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Pebble Pusher
Page 4
Contact an officer to find out more about becoming a Coulee Rock
Club member.
Office Officer Phone # ________ Email
Address_________________________ President Pam Day 608-786-1583
[email protected] Vice President Linda Mast 608-788-2258
[email protected] Treasurer Barb Resheske 608-790-1583
[email protected]
Secretary Elizabeth Geissner 608-780-7860 [email protected]
Bulletin Editor Pam Day 608-786-1583 [email protected] Club
Historian Jerry Haavind 608-457-2170 [email protected] Field trips
Linda Mast 608-788-2258 [email protected]
2018 Coulee Rock Club Officers
Pam Day/Editor N5317 Lake Road West Salem, WI 54669 608.786.1583
[email protected] Email or mail all articles, field trip stories,
pictures, meeting minutes and presidents message to Pam Day
following each months meeting or anytime for stories/articles to be
published in the “Pebble Pusher” in that months edition. The
“Pebble Pusher” is published monthly (September through May).
Articles from the “Pebble Pusher” may be republished if proper
credit is given.
The purpose of the organization is: to stimulate scientific and
educational inter-est in geology, mineralogy, paleontology,
lapidary arts, archaeology, to promote the opportunity of the study
of these sciences, and to assist individuals in furthering these
purposes, to be a social and recreational organization, to promote
safety and support efforts to preserve our land and its resources.
The Coulee Rock Club may provide speaker services, subscriptions to
local libraries; gem, mineral and fossil specimens for study; study
materials related to earth science to local schools and
scholarships to Winona State University. Club members may also
participate in do-nations to the AFMS Scholarships and the MWF
Endowment Fund. The Coulee Rock Club recognizes the importance of
continuing educational opportunities for all, especially the junior
rock hounds interested in the hobby. The Coulee Rock Club is also
happy to announce that the 2018 Viroqua Rock and Gem show will be
held Omni Center in Onalaska WI the first full weekend in June
every year.
Member Benefits: Meet other dedicated rock hounds to share
stories. Learn about rocks, gems, and minerals from others who have
worked and collected in this field for many years Learn best places
to find specimens and get help identifying your specimens See
fantastic specimens brought in by our members Join field trips to
local collection spots. Find your very own rocks, minerals, and
fossils.
mailto:[email protected]
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Pebble Pusher
BIRTHSTONES http://earthsky.org/human-world/september-
The sapphire, birthstone for September, is a relative of July’s
birthstone, ruby. Like ruby, it is a form of the mineral corundum,
a normally drab grey mineral. Red corundum is called the ruby,
while all other gem qual-ity forms of corundum are called
sapphires.
Typically, sapphires appear as blue stones, ranging from very
pale blue to deep indigo, due to the presence of small amounts of
titanium and iron within the crystal structure. The most valued
shade of blue is the me-dium-deep cornflower blue. Sapphires also
occur in other natural colors and tints – colorless, gray, yellow,
pale pink, orange, green, violet and brown – called fancy
sapphires. These different colors are caused by dif-ferent kinds of
impurities within the crystal. For example, yellow sapphires get
their color from ferric iron, and colorless gems have no
contaminants.
The biggest source of sapphires world-wide is Australia,
especially New South Wales and Queensland. Found in alluvial
deposits of weathered basalt, Australian sapphires typically are
blue stones with a dark and inky appearance. Kashmir, in India,
used to be a well-known source of the cornflower-blue stones. In
the United States, a major source is the Yogo Gulch Mine in Montana
that mostly yields small stones for indus-trial use.
The word sapphire has its roots in several ancient languages:
the Arabic safir, the Latin sapphirus (meaning blue), and the Greek
word sappheiros for the island of Sappherine in the Arabian Sea
where sapphires were found in ancient Grecian times. Ancient
Persians called sapphire the “Celestial Stone.” It was the gem of
Apollo, Greek God of prophesy and was worn by worshipers visiting
his shrine in Delphi to seek his help. It was used by ancient
Etruscans as far back as the 7th century B.C.
The sapphire was said to represent the purity of the soul.
Before and during the Middle Ages, it was worn by priests as
protection from impure thoughts and temptations of the flesh.
Medieval kings of Europe valued these stones for rings and
brooches, believing that it protected them from harm and envy.
Warriors presented their young wives with sapphire necklaces so
they would remain faithful. It was believed that the stone’s col-or
would darken if worn by an adulterer or adulteress, or by an
unworthy person.
Sapphires were once believed to be protection against snakes. It
was said that if poisonous reptiles and spi-ders were placed in a
jar containing the stone, the creatures would immediately die. The
French of the 13th century believed that sapphire transformed
stupidity to wisdom, and irritability to good temper.
One of the most famous sapphires rests on the Imperial State
Crown, worn by Queen Victoria in 1838. It re-sides in the British
Crown Jewels in the Tower of London. This gem is called the St.
Edward’s Sapphire be-cause it once belonged to Edward the
Confessor, who wore the stone on a ring during his coronation in
1042.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB9bunJCLXA
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Page 6
Pebble Pusher
August crossword answers Opal, rhodolite, hemimorphic,
amorphous, spodumene, tumbling, grain, peridot, nephrite, alluvial,
boule, geode, sedimentary, almandine, orient, dichroscope, jadeite,
foliated, rock, hydrothermal, spessartite, moh, dispersion,
polariscope, kunzite, enhydro, faceted, potch, organic, malleable,
doublet, aggregate, asterism, intarsia, dop
A Strange New Mineral Has Been Discovered in Australia “While
dozens of new minerals are discovered each year, it is rare to find
one that is unrelated to already Known substances. Meet putnisite,
a new mineral discovered in Western Australia that is unlike any
previously known minerals. It contains strontium, calcium,
chromium, sulphur, carbon, oxygen and hydrogen”
http://www.nsaneforums.com/topic/217255-
a-strangenew-mineral-has-been-discovered-in-australia
In the year of fake news you can trust that Coulee Rock
Club will be electing new officers so think
about running!
A Rock By Any Other Name… Leaverite: Also known as Dropite,
Junkite and Crudite. This type of rock should be discarded
immediately. It constitutes 90% of most rocks. This includes
Sourgrape Agate and Mutilated Quartz. Sack Rock: This is material
that is stuffed into a sack but falls from the top as the bearer
struggles back to the car. If taken home, it will be tossed into a
corner and be forgotten. Wonder Rock: You always wonder why you
brought it home, and where you found it. Braggin’ Rock: Also called
Pocket or Eating Rock. This material is licked, rubbed, spit upon,
or fondled until it assumes a near polish and is frequently passed
around for admiration. %*^ Rock: A large, heavy, possibly angular
rock that falls on your foot as soon as you have removed your
hiking boots. VIA Arkansas Rockhound News November 2011, From Rock
Chip Reporter, FarWest Lapidary & Gem Society,
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Pebble Pusher Page 7
Do you like rocks? Do you enjoy being in the outdoors? Then you
might be a rock hound! Join or renew your membership today and rock
with us! See back page for details. Coulee Rock Club (CRC)
September 2018 7-9: TOLEDO, OH Toledo Gem & Rockhound Club
Annual Show. Fri 7-8 pm.; Sat 10 am - 6 pm; Sun 11 am - 5 pm.
Stranahan Theater & Exhibit Hall, 4645 Heatherdowns, Toledo.
Contact: Steve Shimatski; (419) 861-0147; [email protected] 8:
STODDARD, WI Coulee Rock Club Swap 10 am - 3 pm. Stoddard Village
Park, 500 Division St., Stoddard. 15: ROCKFORD, IL Rock River
Valley Gem & Mineral Society Rock Swap. 9:30 am - 4 pm. Odd
Fellows Lodge, 6219 Forest Hills Rd., Rockford. Contact: Duane
Cushing, 11717 Waidi Ave, Machesney Park 61115; (815) 218-5011;
[email protected] 14-16: HOLLAND, MI Tulip City Gem & Mineral
Club Annual Show. Fri 10-8; Sat 10-7; Sun 11-5. Soccer Stop
Sportsplex, 5 River Hills Drive, Holland. Contact Sue Goedert,
(616) 452-7843, [email protected]. 21-23: LINCOLN, MO
Mozarkite Society of Lincoln Annual Show, Fri & Sat 9 am - 5
pm; Sun 9 am - 3 pm. Mike Hare Memorial Field, Behind Bulls Eye,
Under the Water Tower, Lincoln. Contact: Karl David Parsons, 21952
Golden School Rd., Cole Camp 65325; (301) 641-6188;
[email protected] 22: PORTAGE, MI Kalamazoo Geological &
Mineral Society Rock Swap and Tailgate. 9 am - 1 pm. St. Michael
Lutheran Church Parking Lot, 7211 Oakland Dr., Portage. Contact:
Dennis Guy; (260) 651-1314; [email protected] 29-30: OSHKOSH, WI
Oshkosh Earth Science Club Annual Show. Sat 9 am - 5 pm; Sun 10 am
- 4 pm. Sunnyview Expo Center, 500 E. County Rd. Y, Oskhosk.
Contact: Ann Voges, 615 Monroe St., Neenah 54956; (920) 725-1640;
[email protected] October 2018 20-21: SPRINGFIELD, MO Ozark
Mountain Gem & Mineral Society Annual Show. Sat 10 am - 5 pm;
Sun 10 am - 4:30 pm. Springfield Expo, 635 St. Louis St. Contact:
Larry Lillich, 3239 S. Sulgrove Ave, Springfield; (417) 882-8448;
[email protected] 20-21: CLIO, MI Flint Rock & Gem Club
Annual Show. 10 am - 5 pm each day. Carter Middle School, Rogers
Lodge Dr., Clio. Contact: Bill Wendling, 9145 Johnston Rd., New
Lothrop 48460; (810) 638-5796; [email protected] 20-21: DES
MOINES, IA Des Moines Lapidary Society Annual Show. Sat 9 am - 5
pm; Sun 10 am - 4 pm. Elwell Family Food Center, IA State
Fairgrounds, 3000 E. Grand Ave, Des Moines. Contact: KIaren
Leibold, (515) 205-8875; [email protected] 20-21: COTTAGE GROVE, MN
Minnesota Mineral Club Annual Show. Sat 10 am - 5 pm; Sun 10 am - 4
pm. Cottage Grove National Guard Training & Community Center,
8180 Belden Blvd, Cottage Grove. Contact: Maureen Scaglia, 6410
Washburg Ave, Richfield 55423; (612) 798-0485;
[email protected] 20-21: CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL South Suburban
Earth Science Club Annual Show. 10 am - 5 pm both days. Prairie
State College, 202 South Halsted St., Chicago Heights. Contact: Jan
Podbielski, P O Box 911, Peotone 60468; (708) 625-5876;
[email protected]
Winter is coming…. Get out of the house while you can !
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]
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Tell your friends and family about the club and invite them to a
meeting. Only paid members can attend
fieldtrips. GIVE A MEMBERSHIP AS A GIFT
Sample ballot 2019 Coulee Rock Club Election Ballot Circle or
write in votes President _________________ Write in
_____________________ Vice President ________________ Write in
_____________________ Treasurer ___________________ Write in
_____________________ Secretary _____________________ Write in
_____________________ Bulletin Editor Pam Day Write in
_____________________
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Stoddard Village Park 500 Division Street
Stoddard, WI 54658 Coulee Rock Club
Saturday, September 8th, 2018
Items to sell or swap must be lapidary re-lated, rock, minerals,
fossils, stone jewelry, or equipment.
Swap runs 10 AM—3 PM
$10 fee to sell your rock stuff Call 608-786-1583 to reserve
your spot
Or just show up that morning.
Pull into the parking lot and set up your wares.
Shelter available if it sprinkles, snows or thunderstorms.
