I would like to thank everyone for your note of confidence in electing me as president. Setting at the head table during this, was a little like wetting your pants, while wearing a dark suit. You get that warm feeling but nobody notices.

Maxine & I are at Quartzsite, camped out in LaPosa North with 5 other couples of club members. We are trying to get as many different rocks from this area as possible for the Grab Bags.

I would appreciate it if everyone would start early on Wheel Prizes & anything else we need for our next show.

We have been asked to help the Federation with the Wheel Prizes & Grab Bags for the Moab Show, and I think this is a great opportunity to show them how good of a club we have.

Get Well Soon:
Leona Adams had an operation on her neck. Lida Chapman is having bad backache & the doctors aren’t sure what’s causing it. Mickey Titus had to go to Phoenix for some tests for some pain she has been having.
(Submitted by Ruth Smith)

Appointed Officers & Show Committee Needed:
If you have taken a look on page 2, it looks pretty vacant. If you planned on repeating your job but was taken off, PLEASE let us know!!! If you would like, let us know which job you would want. I have a friend in another club, that was voted in as Vice President because he was late for the meeting, I would sure hate for that to happen here (just kidding). But seriously, a club can’t function without VOL NTEERS, and all we’re missing is U.

Christmas Party:
Sorry I forgot my camera or I would of put in some pictures (I could kick myself for that). We had about 20-25 attend, personally I thought the steaks were wonderful, and Don’s singing was great as usual. I think everyone went home with a prize, which made me feel good. I would like to thank everyone that worked so hard on the party, it was a job well done!!!

Editor’s Thanks:
I would like to thanks everyone that contributed to this newsletter, it sure felt good.

December’s News:
Well, here we are again at the Snow Birds Winter Quarters, ready to enjoy another season among the happiest, smil-ingest, huggingest bunch of Senior Citizens you will ever have the pleasure of mingling with. I can’t say for sure what it is that makes it so special, but everyone who spends a little while here gets the same feeling & they just want to stay & enjoy the magic of the place & the people.

I arrived 2 weeks later than I usually do because of a trip Dennis & I took back to the North East with my family. We just got home in time to unload the motor home & pack the car with things to bring here for the winter. We arrived Nov. 2nd , a few of our rockhound friends were here ahead of us. Dorothy Imlay & Vernon Peterson from Smithfield, Dorthy Imlay from Grantsville & Leona Adams & Andy Lassen from Tooele. A few days later Bob & Mickey Titus from West Valley came in. On Tue. Nov. 9th I took Dennis to Phoenix to fly home, and when I got back to Quartzsite, I found Janet & Myron Nix and Dick Marlene Peterson had just come in, so pretty soon we will all be back home for the winter. We are having beautiful weather, in the 80’s for days & 50’s at night, can’t beat that. I’m looking forward to the desert folk getting here so we can go out to the campfire again. That’s where I gather most of my interesting tales and fun happening for my articles I write. So maybe next month I’ll have more fun things to tell. So, till then, keep those come fires burning. We love you Lillie, and wish you could be here with us. Keep working at it and maybe you can make it yet.

January’s News:
Greetings from Quartzsite, winter home of many of your Tooele Gem & Mineral Club members. "The lucky ones!!!". Even though it has been down as low as 280 at night & about 550 for the high, that isn’t the norm. Lows generally average 400-450 and highs around 650 to 750. And if we complain to our families how cold we are, the only sympathy we get is a sad, "Poor Baby". So we just put on our warm sweatshirts & jackets and complain to one another the campfire.

We have a few of our flock who are doing our best to see that the Doctors of our area have a prosperous year. Leona Adams had to have the 2 main arteries in her neck reamed out (or whatever the procedure is called). She was in the Phoenix Hospital for several days. They say it was done just in time to save her from a stroke. Mickey Titus & Lida Chapman (me) have both been trying to very similar symptoms and neither of our doctors have found the source. So we keep the road to Parker busy, running back & forth for every test imaginable which might shed light on our problem.

Some of the group have gone home for Christmas and I understand it’s pretty cold in Tooele. Erla called me last night to check on me & wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and I could almost hear her teeth chattering. She said she doesn’t even go outside. "Poor Baby!" Why don’t you stay here in "God’s Waiting Room", with the rest of us. Dorothy & Vernon Peterson went to Smithfield, Janet & Myron Nix to Tooele, Bill & Zita Smith to South Carolina, Darrell & Maxine Bolinder to Fayette.

We had a lovely Christmas Party at the Sage Coach Restraunt, with , I believe, 20 attending. We had Prime Rib, or anything from the menu. various Poems, Christmas Stories & Jokes were told. A fun time was had by all.

We’ve had a couple of productive Fieldtrips with quite a few bags of Desert Roses, green stone & blue stone. That should help fill the grab bags for our next Show.

Well, other than Birthday Parties & yummy Pot Lucks, that’s about all the news for this time.

So I hope you had a Wonderful Christmas and a fun New Year.

Love You,
Lida Chapman

Editor’s Note: Sorry about forgetting last month Quartzsite News, I can’t believe I forgot my mom’s article after pressuring her to get it to me on time.

My father use to go demonstrate his Genie a lot at shows & found dopping wax a royal pain. Then someone how to use cushioned carpet tape (I don’t know if this is the same as the double sided cushioned tape you can get at most department stores), it must be the cushioned tape though. He would take some copper plate & solder it to a copper tubing or put a nail in a wooden dowel rod. Then cut the plate a little smaller than the stone, so there is a little clearance between the stone & plate when the tape is put on (you don’t want your grinding wheel to hit the plate but you also want as much tape stuck to the stone as possible). Put the tape on the plate, wrapping the tape around the sides. There you have a dopstick that can be uses again and again. Eventually the tape will get dirty & lose it’s stickiness, but all you need to do is pull out your pocketknife & scrape off the tape & put on new tape.

To put the stone on all you do is stick it on, yea sure, occasionally the stone would fall off while cutting, but all you need to do is dry off the stone & stick it back on. When you are done all you need to do is pull the stone off. Dad preferred the cushion of the tape over the solid hold of the wax, and after he made a few sticks he never melted wax again.

My dad preferred working large stones so I don’t know how well this works on smaller stones & I have never tried dopping wax so I’m not a good source of which is better, but I hope this might help someone.

I know most of you knew my dad & already know about his sticks, but sense I took the time to post this on one of my mailing list, why not share it with the club.

Happy Cutting!
Dennis Chapman