Release the hounds
Annual rock show invades VFW Hall
By SHARON KERR Staff Writer

This weekend is the annual gathering of the hounds - rockhounds, that is, of every breed and size - at the VFW Hall in Jasper for the Gem and Mineral Show, Aug. 25-26.

The Pine Country Gem and Mineral Society puts this show on every year. It attracts people from all over the country who share an interest in rocks, gems, crystals, jewelry, fossils, and meteorites... any and every kind of pretty pebble.

Every kid who ever picked up a stone is a rockhound in the making, according to club president Jonetta Nash, who added, "The next step is to show them off, trade and/or sell them and make room for more."

Club members who are upgrading their collections and need "room for more" generously donate specimens for the silent auction and hourly door prizes.

The club caters to potential rockpups by having a kids' spinning wheel for prizes. Students are also eligible to enter a drawing for a 4-lb. Lortone tumbler with all the supplies, donated by Louie Wilkerson of Newton. Students can only register at the show, but they need not be present to win at the drawing Sunday at 4 p.m.

Vendors will sell polished and faceted stones, findings, beads and finished jewelry, as well as all the equipment, raw materials and supplies to make your own.

There are also demonstrations of flint-knapping (making arrowheads), blowing glass beads, and making jewelry. Club member Eva Rosenthal sells beading supplies and will show how to create your own custom look.

Kids and adults marvel at the fluorescent display of minerals that glow eerily under black light.

The ear-splitting pop you hear from time to time is a thunder egg meeting the light of day for the first time. Thunder eggs are geodes, a hollow pocket in stone that has filled with crystals or agate. You choose a round "egg" by skill or luck, and the vendor splits the egg to reveal the wonder inside.

Vendors also sell slabs and gem-quality stones from all over the world. A quick primer so you speak the lingo:

Newsboy photos/ Charles Kerr ROCKHOUNDS HUNT DIFFERENT GAME - Above, Ann James (center) and Donna and Ron Ducote look over tumble polished stones. Below, teacher Rich Geist examines a petrified wood log recovered in the Tiger Creek area on a field trip.

Cabochon (KAB-uhshawn): usually oval or round polished stone; slabs of jade, tigereye, agate or jasper are usually polished this way

Facet (FAS-it): cut with many flat faces to reflect the light; diamonds are facet cut, but emeralds, topaz, quartz and many exotic crystals show their colors best when facet cut

Both methods require different equipment and a steady, patient hand.

Less labor intensive, a tumbler polishes free-form shapes. You choose material of similar hardness, put them in a drum that tumbles for days, and change from coarse to ever-finer grit until they are as smooth and shiny as you want.

Or, choose from boxes and bins and barrels of already polished stones, some sold by the gram and others by the scoop.

You can now get a sneak preview of the show and the gleaming grand prize at the Jasper Public Library on Water Street.

The library has two cases with displays by rock club members, and the specimen of Labradorite that will be the grand prize.

Labradorite is a rare form of feldspar characterized by brilliant changes in color. The sample someone will win is a polished free form about half the size of a football, with lots of silver, green and blue flash. If you cannot attend the show, chances can be purchased at the library and you need not be present to win.

Admission to the show is $2 for adults, free to students, and parking is free. The show is held at the VFW building nine miles west of Jasper near FM 2799 and FM 1747. Signs will point the way from U.S. Highway 63 West.

Hours are 9-5 Saturday, Aug. 25, and 10-5 Sunday, Aug. 26. The club will sell food and drinks. Proceeds benefit the Pine County Gem and Mineral Society, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. They are renovating a clubhouse donated by the Tonahill family at 110 N. Zavalla.

The meeting room in front is finished. The next step will be to complete the workroom in the back of the building, with an eye to offering classes in polishing and silversmithing.

The club meets the third Thursday every month at 6:30 p.m. and frequently has field trips to local petrified wood "digs" and other rock-collecting locations.

For more information, contact John or Jonetta Nash, 594-2578 or the club's website, www.jas.net/~nash/