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:
Attention MMLS Members: Important Message. Please Read!
Dues Increase Coming for 2020! Adult dues will be increased to $20.00 per year (new members, adult and juniors still a $3.00 initiation fee). Junior Members will be increased to $2.00 per year. (Club will subsidize junior dues) A motion was made and passed at the May board meeting and at the May general meeting to increase membership dues as of next year. Our current dues of $15. 00 no longer meets our expenses. Increases in Federation Insurance to $4.25 per member, Rockpile expenses (we still print about 70 Rockpiles each month and email approximately the Rockpile to 19 members), yearly storage fees and other club expenses we incur during the year has forced us to raise dues. The board has looked over all our expenses and come unanimously to this decision.
Thanks to our Banquet Chairman, Dan Gumina, for setting up the 2019 Banquet which took place on Saturday, May 11th. 30 of our members, both new and old, took part and a good time and good food was enjoyed by all present! Let's do it again next year, everyone ...
"Thank You to a Member" Segment: This month's special thank you is going out to Tom Morris Jr.
Tom joined MMLS back in September, 1971. Tom's specialty in Mineralogy prompted him to start our Mineralogy Study Group at his parents home in Allen Park way back in 1975 and continued until 2008 (33 years). He became President of MMLS in 1991/ 1992 after serving as vice-president during Jay Ross' term as President. He was our Show Chairman in 1989/1990. Tom is an avid field tripper and going "up-north to the U.P." was a yearly trek for him to collect. Tom attends all board meetings and general meetings regularly and helps out with the door prize drawings. He frequently picks up Doris and Pat and brings them along to the meetings. Tom was a member of the Geo Survey Committee and made numerous trips to meetings in Lansing, was our Storage Chairman and Spring Swap Chairman for many years. He works with the committees on the Auction, SuperSwap, and is our Historian and the Michigan Materials Chairman. Thank you, Tom, you are a truly valued member to be sure! Have a great summer everyone! Diane
Dues Increase Coming for 2020! Adult dues will be increased to $20.00 per year (new members, adult and juniors still a $3.00 initiation fee). Junior Members will be increased to $2.00 per year. (Club will subsidize junior dues) A motion was made and passed at the May board meeting and at the May general meeting to increase membership dues as of next year. Our current dues of $15. 00 no longer meets our expenses. Increases in Federation Insurance to $4.25 per member, Rockpile expenses (we still print about 70 Rockpiles each month and email approximately the Rockpile to 19 members), yearly storage fees and other club expenses we incur during the year has forced us to raise dues. The board has looked over all our expenses and come unanimously to this decision.
Thanks to our Banquet Chairman, Dan Gumina, for setting up the 2019 Banquet which took place on Saturday, May 11th. 30 of our members, both new and old, took part and a good time and good food was enjoyed by all present! Let's do it again next year, everyone ...
"Thank You to a Member" Segment: This month's special thank you is going out to Tom Morris Jr.
Tom joined MMLS back in September, 1971. Tom's specialty in Mineralogy prompted him to start our Mineralogy Study Group at his parents home in Allen Park way back in 1975 and continued until 2008 (33 years). He became President of MMLS in 1991/ 1992 after serving as vice-president during Jay Ross' term as President. He was our Show Chairman in 1989/1990. Tom is an avid field tripper and going "up-north to the U.P." was a yearly trek for him to collect. Tom attends all board meetings and general meetings regularly and helps out with the door prize drawings. He frequently picks up Doris and Pat and brings them along to the meetings. Tom was a member of the Geo Survey Committee and made numerous trips to meetings in Lansing, was our Storage Chairman and Spring Swap Chairman for many years. He works with the committees on the Auction, SuperSwap, and is our Historian and the Michigan Materials Chairman. Thank you, Tom, you are a truly valued member to be sure! Have a great summer everyone! Diane
Congratulations Scholarship recipients!
Our 2009 College scholarship recipients are:
Emily Seifert: Wayne State University
Evelyn Jobe: Michigan Technological University
Emily Seifert: Wayne State University
Evelyn Jobe: Michigan Technological University
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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
