The Del Air Rockhounds Club Welcomes You!!

www.Facebook.com/DelAirRockhounds

The Del-Air Rockhounds Club was founded in 1954 with members mostly residing in the San Fernando Valley area of California. Our club is a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing knowledge of the lapidary arts and techniques, geology, mineralogy and related fields. We own our own lapidary equipment with members available to teach and demonstrate lapidary techniques to other members. Our members enjoy lapidary related programs, demonstrations, exhibitions, displays and lectures. We also take monthly field trips to our local deserts & mountains for exploration and the study and collection of lapidary and mineral specimens.

Member of the California & American Federation of Mineralogical Societies

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 7618, Van Nuys, CA 91409 

October 2025 Del-Air Calendar of Events

Wednesday October 1: Yom Kippur

Thursday October 2: General Meeting

Friday Oct 3: Vintage Magnet NASA Night

Saturday October 4: Grab Bag Fill Day

Monday October 13: Columbus/Indigenous Peoples Day

Thursday October 16: Board Meeting

Saturday October 25: Beginning Wire Wrap Class - Paid Members Only

Friday October 31: Halloween

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October 2025 Program: Silent Auction                                                                                                  

Come join us for our annual Silent Auction where you can bid on rock related items and other fun stuff to your hearts content. Items will start at a low, low price and the last person to bid when the auction is called will win the item. Please bring your dollar bills so as to make it easy for our treasurer to make change. You'll also need a bag or box to carry home your treasures in. Hoping to see you all there.

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October Rock of the Month is Opal 

Opal is our rock for the month of October. It will be fun to see what our membership can come up with this month to share with the group.

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 Saturday October 4th, 2025 - Grab Bag Fill Day 

10:00 am at the Dearborn's home. It's that time again to fill grab bags for our upcoming 2025/2026 event season. Volunteers are requested to help fill these bags. Please contact the Dearborn's to let them know you'll be there. It is very easy and goes by quickly when we have enough hands filling up those bags. 

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Just Two Months To Go Until Our Annual Holiday Party

Thursday December 4, 2025. This year's potluck theme is "Bring Your Favorite Food" and our program is "Malawi Agates". Holiday party chair, Bernadette Friedman, will have a sign-up sheet at our October/November general meetings where you can signal your intent to attend and what you might bring for the potluck. 

Elections for our 2026 Board of Directors will also take place at our holiday party. The proposed slate of officers will be published in the November bulletin and additional nominations will be taken from the floor at the holiday party before the election takes place. Please think about volunteering for a position on the board. Any adult member can run for any position.

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October 2025 Beginning Wire Wrap Workshop - For Paid Members Only                                       

Saturday October 25th, 10 am to 3 pm @ the Dearborn's Home - Instructor Debbie Schoenmann

All 10 spaces were reserved and paid for during our September general meeting for this workshop. If you'd like to be put on a waitlist in case anyone should cancel, please see Maxine Dearborn. Please note, there is no guarantee any space will open up.

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September 2025 Del-Air Rockhounds Calendar of Events

Monday September 1: Labor Day  

Thursday September 4: General Meeting 

Thursday September 11: Patriot Day 

Thursday September 18: Board Meeting 

Saturday September 20: Shop Day - Paid Members Only 

Monday September 22: 1st Day of Fall/Rosh Hashanah Begins

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September 2025 Program: 'Name That Slab'

Come and test your knowledge of gemstone slabs and participate in this first ever Del-Air Rockhound Game Show Event! Play 'Name That Slab' and identify 30 different slabs that will be projected on a screen. The top three people who correctly name the most slabs will win a fabulous prize. So don't miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity and join us at our September general meeting.

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September Rocks of the Month: Sapphire & Moonstone

Sapphire & Moonstone are our rocks for the month of September. It will be fun to see what our membership can come up with this month to share with the group.

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September 2025 Shop Day - For Paid Members Only 

Saturday September 20th from 10 am to 3 pm @ Jeff Dengrove's Home

Saturday September 20 will be our 3rd quarter shop day. As always, it will be held at Jeff Dengrove's home from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Participants are asked to arrive a bit early and stay a bit late to help set-up and take down the equipment. Please see Jeff Dengrove and advise him of your intent to attend this event. Space is limited.

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Rock Bag Fill Day - Saturday October 4th 10:00 am @ the Dearborn's Home

See Maxine or Bob D. to Volunteer.

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October Workshop Teaser - For Paid Members Only 

Beginning Wire-Wrapping Class October 2025 - Date TBD at the Dearborn's Home 

Presented by Debbie Schoenmann

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August 2025 Del Air Calendar of Events

Thursday August 7: General Meeting 7:00 pm @ Northridge United Methodist Church

Saturday August 16: Stone Mart Field Trip - Paid Members Only 

Thursday August 21: Board Meeting 7:00 pm at Bernadette Friedman's Home.

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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Beginning in August 2025, both our general meeting and board meeting start times will be changed from 7:30 pm to 7:00 pm. 30 minutes earlier! Please make note of this change so as to not arrive late.

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August 2025 Program: Annual Ice Cream, Bingo & Summer Show & Tell

It's that time of year to once again celebrate the return from our summer break with our annual Ice Cream Bingo Social & Summer Finds Show and Tell. Come join us for some delicious ice cream and a few rousing games of bingo for fabulous prizes. Don't forget to bring in those special rockhound items you found or purchased during your travels and share them with the group.

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August's Rocks of the Month are Peridot, Spinel and Sardonyx 

Peridot, Spinel and Sardonyx are all birthstones for the month of August. It will be fun to see what our membership can come up with this month to share with the group.

 

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August 2025 Field Trip - Stone Mart - For Paid Members Only

13425 Sherman Way, North Hollywood, CA 91605 - 10:00 am Meet-up Time

Stone Mart is a premier distributor of luxury natural stones, catering to those seeking exquisite interior design solutions. With an unwavering commitment to quality, Stone Mart offers an unparalleled selection of natural stones sourced from the finest quarries around the world. Join us for a tour of this extraordinary shop and its world class collection of stone.

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Valley Relics Museum

Valley Relics Museum

Come and visit the Valley Relics Museum located at the Van Nuys Airport at 7900 Balboa Blvd. Lake Balboa, CA 91406 - Hangar C-3 & 4 (Entrance on Stagg St.) where club members Kai Kalma and his family now have a museum quality display of fossils on loan from their personal collection. 

A fun, family friendly journey through The San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas past. Our one of a kind pop culture museum features neon signs, classic cars, rare documents, yearbooks, restaurant menus, art, western clothing, vintage BMX bicycles, a playable retro arcade and much more! The Valley Relics Museum boasts its vast collection of historical artifacts pertaining to The San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas. The collection includes fossils, collectibles, rare documents, photographs, vintage neon signs, post cards, yearbooks, negatives, clothing, books, art, automobiles and BMX bikes from The Valley’s past. The Valley Relics Museum is a nonprofit organization 501(c)3 with an endeavor to preserve and protect our local history and its artifacts while educating the public on the rich history of The San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas.

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July 2025 Del-Air Calendar of Events

Thursday July 3: NO GENERAL MEETING - OUR DARK MONTH

Friday July 4: Independence Day

Saturday July 12: Wrightwood Potluck Field Trip - Paid Members Only 

Thursday July 17: Board Meeting - 7:00 pm at Shellie Van Winkle's home. NOTE: 30 minutes earlier

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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Beginning in August 2025, our general meeting start time will be changed from 7:30 pm to 7:00 pm. 30 minutes earlier! Please make note of this change so as to not arrive late. Our monthly board meeting will also start 30 minutes earlier, at 7:00 pm, beginning with the July board meeting on Thursday July 17, 2025 at Shellie Van Winkle's home.

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August 2025 Program:

Annual Ice Cream, Bingo & Summer Show & Tell 

   

It's that time of year to once again celebrate the return from our summer break with our annual Ice Cream Bingo Social & Summer Finds Show and Tell. Come join us for some delicious ice cream and a few rousing games of bingo for fabulous prizes. Don't forget to bring in those special rockhound items you found or purchased during your travels and share with the group. 

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August's Rocks of the Month are Peridot, Sardonyx and Spinel

Peridot, Spinel and Sardonyx are all birthstones for the month of August. It will be fun to see what our membership can come up with this month to share with the group.

SHOP DAY REPORT                                       

June 7th and it was Shop Day at Jeff’s… New and not so new members worked with some different tools for the first time and finished some very nice cabs, slabs, jewelry items and more. We all had a good time talking to each other and working on rock. Thanks to Jeff for letting us gather at his home for this event. Members who took advantage of this shop day were: Debbie Schoenmann, Dan & Diana Durfee, Joe Mastro, Dr. Oh, Dean Tran, Olga Wolf and Alexander Tran. Jeff Dengrove and Maxine & Bob Dearborn helped with the projects. A Fun Day With Rock!!!

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July 2025 Field Trip - For Paid Members Only

Our Annual Wrightwood, CA Pot-Luck & Field Trip                          Saturday, July 12 - 10:00 AM–4:00 PM

It's once again, that time of year, for our annual pot-luck/field trip to Wrightwood, CA for actinolite, schist, marble and possibly even lepidolite and rhodonite. Shellie has again volunteered her vacation home as our staging grounds and potluck site for this not to be missed event. Not only is it our annual event, it is also the annual Wrightwood Mountaineering Days Festival held in downtown Wrightwood less than a mile down the street from Shellie's home. A second fun event to partake in on this Saturday afternoon. So, bring your potluck main dish, side dish or dessert with enough to feed 6-8 people along with your rock hammer and a bag or box to tote your finds home in. Coffee and tea will be provided along with pastries for breakfast but please bring your own soft drinks or bottled water. Please take pictures while at this event and submit them to Chris Ward for inclusion in the club bulletin. Remember, we have no general meeting in July but there will be a July bulletin further reminding you of this event. It is about a 90 minute drive from the Valley. Please use your Google Maps or other GPS to get you there. It is a very easy drive. Hope to see you all there. 

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