The Midwest Mineralogical and Lapidary Society of Michigan (MMLS) is an educational nonprofit organization founded in 1956 by a group of 28 people meeting at a local rock shop. The Society is affiliated with the Midwest Federation of Mineralogical Societies and the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies. Significantly, MMLS has been recognized numerous times by the Midwest and American Federations with first place (gold level) awards in the annual All American Club Awards Program.
From the President's Desk:
Hi fellow rockhounds: The 2019 Membership Directory is out. Thank you Doris. Please everyone take a minute and check your own information in the Directory to make sure all the information is correct-name, address, phone number and email address. If any of the information is incorrect, please let Doris or myself know so we can update our records. Email address is especially important nowadays so we can contact you if necessary.
Our Spring Swap is over and we know it was a big success! Thank you Lou Talley for another job well done! Thanks to all our members who had a table or just came out to support the event. A special thank you to Gary Slominski for picking up the items at storage for the club tables, manning, and selling all day (thanks also to Janet Slominski for coming to help too) then returning the leftovers back to storage.
"Thank You to a Member" Segment: The time frame: 1982 The place: The MMLS meeting room and the installation of a new treasurer-Doris Snyder. By my calculation, that would be 37 years ago! Ask Doris if she would like to take on a different job in the club and her answer is always "I never wanted to do anything else". We as a club, are forever grateful. Doris and Rol (now deceased) joined MMLS in April, 1976. They literally jumped in with both feet and never looked back. They went field tripping, supported all the club events and began, hosted, and taught the "Advanced Lapidary" study group for several years. They were made Life Members for all their efforts. Doris has been coming to bead study since I took over the group in 1999, does the Directory, attends all board meetings, general meetings and is diligent in keeping club records. You can always depend on her to help answer questions about the club, she has a terrific memory and will help whenever she can. We couldn't ask for a more devoted member .. thank you, Doris.
Happy Memorial Day everyone!
Diane
Our Spring Swap is over and we know it was a big success! Thank you Lou Talley for another job well done! Thanks to all our members who had a table or just came out to support the event. A special thank you to Gary Slominski for picking up the items at storage for the club tables, manning, and selling all day (thanks also to Janet Slominski for coming to help too) then returning the leftovers back to storage.
"Thank You to a Member" Segment: The time frame: 1982 The place: The MMLS meeting room and the installation of a new treasurer-Doris Snyder. By my calculation, that would be 37 years ago! Ask Doris if she would like to take on a different job in the club and her answer is always "I never wanted to do anything else". We as a club, are forever grateful. Doris and Rol (now deceased) joined MMLS in April, 1976. They literally jumped in with both feet and never looked back. They went field tripping, supported all the club events and began, hosted, and taught the "Advanced Lapidary" study group for several years. They were made Life Members for all their efforts. Doris has been coming to bead study since I took over the group in 1999, does the Directory, attends all board meetings, general meetings and is diligent in keeping club records. You can always depend on her to help answer questions about the club, she has a terrific memory and will help whenever she can. We couldn't ask for a more devoted member .. thank you, Doris.
Happy Memorial Day everyone!
Diane
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Michigan Man Discovers Glowing, Fluorescent Rocks Called "Yooperlites" http://www.geologyin.com/2018/09/michigan-man-discovers-glowing.html#F7W qkUBXZzTCqz8r.99 Follow us: @GeologyTime on Twitter
Erik Rintamaki was searching for rocks on a Michigan beach last summer when he made what he calls a "mind blowing" discovery. Resting among the thousands of pebbles covering the Lake Superior beach, Rintamaki saw a glowing rock The gem and mineral dealer told CBS News he often goes rock hunting. But on this particular June night, he found a rock unlike any other - a florescent orb that he later named "Yooperlite."
Rintamaki knew this couldn't be the only Yooperlite out there, but he couldn't find any information about glowing rocks online. He knows many people in the gem and mineral field, but everyone he asked had no clue what these mysterious rocks were. Rinktamaki went back to the beach night after night, carrying a black light which helped illuminated the glowing rocks. "I was blown away," he said. "It's insane how many are on the beaches up here." He started collecting Yooperlites by the bagful and sold them online.
Michigan State University messaged Rinktamaki with an interest in buying some of the rocks to study. Michigan State, along with the University of Saskatewan, researched the Yooperlites for months. The universities determined that Rintamaki did, indeed, discover a new type of rock. He says other people may have spotted these gems before, but he was the first person to get Yooperlites verified - making him the self-proclaimed "Christopher Columbus of rocks." Rintamaki said Michigan State gave the rocks a scientific name: syenite clasts containing fluorescent sodalite. The name he gave them - Yooperlites comes from the nickname "Yoopers," which refers to people who live in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, according to Mineral News, a newsletter for mineral collectors that reported on Rintamaki's discovery.
When his discovery was verified and made public in May 2018, Rintamaki says life as he knew it changed. "I've had thousands of messages and I can't get to them all," he told CBS News. He now gives Yooperlite tours on the beaches along Lake Superior. "I've never had anyone not find stones," Rintamaki said of his tour groups. He takes groups out near dusk and they use black lights to search for Yooperlites for about four hours, he says. He also still sells Yooperlites and bought a machine that can buff them into perfect, smooth orbs. When he's not with a tour group, he finds himself looking for Yooperlites alone all night long. "I work the night shift at a casino, so when I get out of work at 2 a.m., I get to the beach. I search until the sun comes up," he said. Rintamaki's passion has made him a local celebrity. He says his tours are booked solid through 2019 and the videos of his rock hunting have gone viral. From the internet geology-in
