E.S.C.O.N.I.

       PALEONTOLOGY STUDY GROUP MEETING

                                February 15, 2003

Chairman John Good called the meeting to order and introductions were made.  John Good was the host for the meeting.  John reminded all of the Burpee Paleofest this coming weekend in Rockford.  He also reminded everyone about MAPS at the end of March.  He wants to combine it with a geode trip again. 

        Future Paleontology Group Meetings

Field trips include Braceville on March 23.  John is also working on joint trips with the Minnesota club, maybe taking them to Braceville.  He wants to get into Lone Star and to go to Ordovician sites in southern Minnesota.  Lone Star is set for April 6.  A trip to New Jersey may happen April 26 & 27 with a stop at Red Hill Devonian site in Pennsylvania.  Our Show is coming up March 1 & 2 and John thanked the Andersons for donating material for the live auction.  We will have 2 cases in the Show-one with Mazon Creek and the second tentatively with Lone Star if we have enough material (or shark teeth).  Rob Sula mentioned that the Lake County Discovery Museum has a mastodon exhibit at its Armor Park site.  They were dug up in 1934 in Aurora.  He also is still running field trips in the west with Paleo Prospectors (Richard Rock will be talking about a trip with them). 

         Mazon Creek Fossils

 People who brought fossils for display or for identification then discussed their material.  John started with fossils he had purchased over the years.  Irene Broede had several fossils that needed identification and some had been identified as an acorn worm, Esconites, a clam, and Percoptera leaves with a Calamites cone on it (identified by Jack Wittry).  Bob Kosiewicz and Diane Seymour had some fossils that are mainly shrimp.  Janet and John Anderson have 13 different kinds of worms collected by themselves in the 80’s.  Rob Coleman had some fabulous insects-some new species that have now been officially identified.  Most were from Pit 11 and were purchased.  One rock had two millipedes on it and another had a new millipede.  Two visitors brought boxes of concretions; Ken Braxton had purchased about 15 buckets of unopened concretions from the Helen Pieko collection.  He had two boxes of fossils identified by Jack Wittry on display.  Some of them are opened and have beautiful ferns and tullys.  Steve Kieker had several cases of large ferns primarily from a collection he had traded.  Randall Bultman brought two large plastic cases of fossils that he was giving away.  There was much discussion and analyzing of all the fossils and it was a fun night for all.  Refreshments were enjoyed.

Respectfully submitted                                Karen Nordquist, Secretary

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