Thursday, April 28, 2016

May 2016 Del Air Rockhounds Calendar of Events


May 2016 
05: General Meeting: 7:30 pm in our regular meeting room 
08: Mother’s Day: Make it a special day for a special lady! 
19: Board Meeting: 7:30 pm at Jeff Dengrove’s home. 
21: Education Outreach: Paramount Ranch Science Fair & El Oro Way School Spring Fair 30: Memorial Day: Honor our Veterans & break out those barbecues’ & start grillin’
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General Meeting: Thursday May 05, 2016 
The meeting begins at 7:30 pm in our regular meeting room at:
Northridge United Methodist Church - 9650 Reseda Blvd, Northridge, CA 91324 Guests Are Always Welcome At Our Meetings & Events.
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May 2016 Program:

Stromatolites Presented by: Dick & Mary Pat Weber

This month, Dick & Mary Pat Weber will introduce us to “Stromatolites”, a complex melding of biology, chemistry and geology.  Considered to be the earliest lifeforms, the ancient organisms that created stromatolites also played a major role in the development of life on planet Earth.

As a geologist and mineral collector, Mary Pat is fascinated with these fossils and the processes that form them. Over the past few years the Weber's have traveled to well-known stromatolite locations such as Northern Minnesota, Glacier National Park and Shark Bay, Australia.  She will bring several specimens from her personal collection for display. 
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SUPPORT OUR HOBBY...ATTEND A LOCAL SHOW 
May 7 - 8: ANAHEIM, CA
Searchers Gem & Mineral Society
Brookhurst Community Center
2271 W. Crescent Avenue
Hours: Sat 10 - 5; Sun 10 - 4:30
Contact: Margaret Hogarth, (909) 597-7033

May 7 - 8: JACKSON, CA
Amador County Gem & Mineral Society
Kennedy Mine
12594 Kennedy Mine Rd (off Hwys 49/88)
Hours: 10 – 4 daily
Contact: Gaylene Lichty, (209) 245-5388

May 7 - 8: RENO, NV
Reno Gem & Mineral Society
Reno Livestock Event Center
1350 North Wells Avenue
Hours: Sat 10 - 5; Sun 10 - 4
Contact: Daniel Ellis, (775) 229-4420

May 13 - 15: YUCAIPA, CA
Yucaipa Valley Gem & Mineral Society
Yucaipa Music & Arts Festival
Adams St. & Yucaipa Blvd
Hours: Fri 6 - 9; Sat 11 - 10, Sun. 12 - 6
Contact: Lee Peterson, (909) 794-0731
Website: www.yvgms.org

June 3 - 5:  LA HABRA, CA
North Orange County Gem & Mineral Society
La Habra Community Center
101 W. La Habra Blvd.
Hours: Fri 5 - 8; Sat 10 - 6; Sun 10 - 5
Contact: Don Warthen, 626-330-8974
Website: www.nocgms.com

June 4 - 5: GLENDORA, CA
Glendora Gems & Mineral Society
Goddard Middle School
859 E. Sierra Madre Avenue
Hours: Sat. 10 - 5; Sun 10 - 4
Contact: Bonnie Bidwell, (626) 963-4638

June 25 - 26: CULVER CITY, CA
Culver City Rock & Mineral Club
Veterans Memorial Auditorium
4117 Overland Blvd (@Culver Blvd, Near the 405 & 10 Freeways)
Hours: Sat 10 - 6; Sun 10 - 5
Contact: Janice Metz, (310) 850-4398

August 13 - 14: SAN FRANCISCO, CA
San Francisco Gem & Mineral Society
San Francisco County Fair Building
9th Avenue & Lincoln Way
Hours: Sat. 10 - 6; Sun. 10 - 5
Contact: Ellen Nott, (415) 564-4230

  See more show information at www.cfmsinc.org 

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May 2016 Something of the Month:
“A Brief History of the National Park Service”   Happy 100th Birthday


On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the NPS. The “Organic Act”states that the fundamental purpose of the NPS “is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”  

The National Park System covers more than 84 million acres and is comprised of 410 sites with 28different designations. These include 128 historical parks or sites, 81 national monuments, 59national parks, 25 battlefields or military parks, 19 preserves, 18 recreation areas, 10 seashores,4 parkways, 4 lakeshores, and 2 reserves. Yellowstone National Park mostly in Wyoming (partially in Idaho & Montana) was established by Congress as the nation’s (and the world’s) first national park on March 1, 1872. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska is the largest park with 13.2 million acres. The smallest site is the Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial at 0.02 acres.

Our National parks contain at least 247 species of threatened or endangered plants and animals;more than 75,000 archeological sites; nearly 27,000 historic and prehistoric structures;  more than 167 million museum items, including George Washington’s inaugural coat and Carl Sandburg’s typewriter; 18,000 miles of trails; the world’s largest carnivore, the Alaskan brown bear. The world’s largest living things, the giant Sequoia trees. The highest point in North America, Mt. McKinley at 20,320 feet in Denali National Park, Alaska; the longest cave system known to the world, Mammoth Cave National Park, with more than 400 mapped miles of caves. America’s deepest lake, Crater Lake in Crater Lake National Park, at 1,943 feet deep and the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park, at 282’ below sea level.

The National Park Service still strives to meet its original goals, while filling many other roles as well: guardian of our diverse cultural and recreational resources; environmental advocate; partner in community revitalization, world leader in the parks and preservation community; and pioneer in the drive to protect America's open space. Today more than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 400+ national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities.
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