This is Mazon Monday post #133. What's your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:[email protected].
This post included material provided by Ralph Jewell, John Liskey, and David Duck, Thanks!
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The Mazon Creek Open House started in the early 1985. It was an extension of the Mazon Creek Project at Eastern Illinois University. We posted about that in Mazon Monday #5.
The Mazon Creek Project was a program sponsored by Northeastern Illinois University. Founded in the 1960s, by the late Eugene Richardson Curator of Fossil Invertebrates at the Field Museum in Chicago Illinois. It was originally an attempt to encourage more communication between paleontologists and amateur collectors. After Peabody Coal Company sold Pit 11 to Commonwealth Edison for the construction of the Braidwood Nuclear Power Plant, some areas were lost to collecting. The main goal of the project became keeping the Mazonia-Braidwood Conservation Area open for collecting by scientists, school children, scout groups, and visitors from other states. Some of the islands in the cooling pond and land to the south were leased to the State of Illinois for fishing and fossil collecting. Fossil collecting is open to all from March 1st to September 30th.
“Mazon Creek Fossils hold a special place in paleontological record. Because conditions of life, of death, and of burial were unusually propitious, we find a more complete record of plant and animal populations than in most other fossil occurrences….I suppose that these elegant fossils have been collected…for centuries… But we have no inkling of any collections made by the Indians. The tradition that continues to the present has begun in the mid-nineteenth century, when there were already established towns and farms in the Illinois valley…” Eugene Richardson, The Mazon Creek Fossil Flora
ESCONI members, including Andy Hay and Jack Wittry, were instrumental in the "Mazon Creek Project" and because of their and other ESCONI members efforts we can collect at Pit 11 even today! ESCONI Hill was named after the club and at one time was one of the most popular collecting areas.
ESCONI Hill long ago... before being overgrown with modern day plant-life. Ralph Jewell.
The Mazon Creek Project kept an Honor Roll of supporters. The Honor Roll for 1992, which listed Honorary, Life, and Sustaining members is shown below. There are more than a few ESCONI members on that list!
There was an newsletter for quite a while. Here is the an issue from 1999.pdf.
The first Open House event was in 1984. The second event was announced in the September 1985 edition of the Mazon Creek Project newsletter.
You are cordially invited to attend the Second Annual Open House at the Resource Collection (S-130) Saturday October 19, from 1 to 5 PM. Please bring fossils particularly insects and spiders, as scientists studying these animals are expected to be here (new finds are always a welcome sight too).
Special thanks go to new Friends of Mason Creek, Craig Brown, Anne S. Ederheimer, Andrew & Josephine Hay, Walter & Rita Lietz, Gordon & Betty Van Erden for their fossil donations.
There was a small write up of this event in the Paleontology Study Group report in the November 1985 ESCONI newsletter.
Several members attended the Mazon Creek Project meeting at Northeastern Illinois University. Bret Beal of Michigan presented a program on the significance of Mazon Creek spiders. Jarmila Peck (insects) will be coming in October-November. Fred Schram plans a December visit. Ida Thompson will be here sometime this year. Clay Bruner of the Field Museum is renaming blades. Charles Marshall is redescribing the lungfish.
Andy Hay found a reference to the freeze-thaw method in one article from England published in 1907. The authors got the idea from an Austrian count. And-- we thought this freeze-thaw idea was new!
Interesting artwork distributed for one of the events held at the Burpee Museum. The art piece was produced by Lonny Stark and is titled "Mazon Creek Chelicerates".
Here is the Mazon Creek newsletter announcement and itinerary for the 1990 event on October 27th, 1990.
Here is the Mazon Creek newsletter announcement and itinerary for the 1991 event on November 2nd, 1991.
ESCONI was a sponsor of some of the Open House events, with quite a few members in attendance. The earliest announcement from ESCONI was in the November 1991 edition of the newsletter. The language of that announcement alludes to the earlier events. The 1991 event was held on November 2nd, 1991 at Northeaster Illinois University.
1991 MAZON CREEK OPEN HOUSE
The 1991 Mazon Creek Annual Open House is coming soon. A full afternoon of events has been scheduled, so be sure to come bring the kids, family, and friends! Refreshments will be served, exhibits will be on display, and informative and interesting talks will be given.
Date - Saturday November 2, 1991
Place - Northeastern Illinois University, Science Bldg.
Time - 12:00 -noon. Talks will begin by 2:00 p.m. raffle drawing at 1:45 p.m.Featured Speakers:
John Nelson, Illinois State Geological Survey -The Geologic History of the Illinois Basin
James R. Jennings, Illinois State Geological Survey -Fossil Plants of the Mazon Creek AreaThe campus is close to main roads, expressways, and rapid transit. The main roads on the north and south of the campus are Bryn Mawr (5600 North) and Foster (5200 North); main east and west roads are St. Louis (3500 West and Pulaski (4000 West). Convenient, ample parking is available.
The 1992 event was held on November 7th, 1992. The announcement appeared in the November 1992 edition of the ESCONI newsletter.
FIELD TRIP November 7, 1992
The 1992 Mazon Creek Annual Open House is coming up soon. A full afternoon of events has been scheduled, so be sure to come refreshments will be served, exhibits will be on display, and informative and interesting talks will be given.
Date: Saturday November 7, 1992
Place: Northeastern Illinois University, Science Building
Time: 12:00 (noon) to 5:00 p.m. Talks will begin by 2:00 p.m., raffle drawing at 1:45 p.m.Featured Speakers:
Dave Reinertsen, Illinois State Geological Survey The Geology and Geologic Points of Interest of the Morris, Illinois Area.
Peter Laraba, Field Museum of Natural History The Paleontology and Depositional Environment of the "Wonder Stone" from Pit 11.Northeastern University, 5500 N. St. Louis Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60625
For more information call David T. Bergmann
The 1993 Open House included Roy Plotnick as a speaker. His presentation was entitled "What's a Nice Shrimp Like You Doing in a Place Like This?". He will be speaking about Essexella asherae at our 2022 event.
1993 MAZON CREEK OPEN HOUSE
The 1993 Mazon Creek Annual Open House is coming up soon. A full afternoon of events has been scheduled, so be sure to come bring you kids, family, and friends too! Refreshments will be served, exhibits will be on display, and informative and interesting talks will be given.
DATE: Saturday November 6, 1993
Place: Northeastern Illinois University, Science Bldg.
Time: 12:00 (noon) to 5:00 p.m. Talks will begin by 2:00 p.m. Raffle drawing at 1:45 p.m.Featured Speakers:
Fred Ziegler, University of Chicago, The Flora of the Permian
Roy Plotnick, University of Illinois Chicago, What's a Nice Shrimp Like You Doing in a Place Like This?This year's Open House will feature a kid's activity room. Copies of the Mazon Creek Faunal Bibliography and Mazon Creek slide sets will be on sale. Also, Mazon Creek hats, T-shirts, tote bags, buttons, sweat shirts, and various maps and books will be offered for sale as well. As usual, specimen identification will be offered so bring you specimens. Also, bring any specimens or exhibits you feel others may want to see. Last year's raffle was a huge success, so this year, we will have tickets on sale for another raffle with the "worlds greatest prizes". Also- the Mazon Creek Project is in need of funds to support its activities.
Highlights of the 1999 event from the Mazon Creek Project.
Open House draws people from all across the state
This years' Open House was a great success! Numerous members and first timers came from all over Illinois and some traveling from out of state just to see what the Mazon Creek Project is all about.
Jackie Kozisek gave an excellent presentation about gastropods living on Crinoids and Ralph Jewell walked us down memory lane with a fine Mazon Creek slide show.
A good time was had by all. Many members were on hand to assist in identification of fossils for fossil collectors. Tom Testa, Jack Witry. Bealis Giddings, Andrew Hay, and many others were more than happy to ID your fossil. Under the magnificent Testa Microscope, fossil enthusiasts were given an accurate label to the specimen not easily seen by the naked eye. Thanks to the members, many enthusiasts left knowing a little more about their fossils.
ESCONI announcement of the 2002 Open House and a photo of some of the speakers at the event.