An artist’s depiction of the extinct giant, frond-shaped organisms known as rangeomorphs. Credit: Reid Psaltis
The 2019 ESCONI Holiday Dinner is December 6, 2019, starting at 5:30 PM at Cozymel's in Wheaton. We will be ordering off the menu. As in the past few years, there will be door prizes given away.
Please RSVP to Dave at fossil54@att.net
The November General Meeting last Friday, November 8th, 2019 was a great time! We have a very large turnout and had to expand into the neighboring room. There were two speakers, Keith Robitschek and Paul Mayer. Keith did a presentation that discussed the history of ESCONI from 1949 to the present, while Paul spoke about the long fruitful relationship between the Field Museum and ESCONI.
The Cake!
The current Board of Directors. Jeff Lord President, Chris Cozart Curator, Irene Broede 2nd Vice President, John Catalani Field Trip Chairman, Don Cronauer Editor, Andy Jansen Treasurer and Librarian, Keith Robitschek Historian and Field Trips, Dianna Lord Publicity and Recording Secretary, Dave Carlson 1st Vice President, and Rich Holm Webmaster. Not pictured, Karen Nordquist Membership and Liaison.
Paul Mayer, of the Field Museum, and Dave Carlson, 1st Vice President
Keith Robitschek and Tom Williams
The LRBs are in the house!
Irene Broede, longest standing ESCONI member!
Irene's ESCONI trilobite pin
John Good, Past President. He has held many ESCONI Board Positions over the last 25 years.
Full house!
Come on out to the November General Meeting! There will be cake, a slide show, and maybe some surprise guests!
Officers of the Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois
| William H. Allaway | Chairman |
| Roy Beghtol | Vice-Chairman |
| Herb Beck | Recording Secretary |
| Jay E. Farr | Corresponding Secretary |
| Stevens T. Norvell | Treasurer |
| Mrs. Ethel Whitney | Historian Curator |
| B. J. Babbitt | Editor |
| Harry Nelson | Associate Editor |
| Active Membership | $2.00 |
| Associate Membership | $1.25 |
| Junior Membership | $0.75 |
| Non Resident Membership | $1.25 |
Meetings on 2nd Friday of every month, except July and August, at 8:00 PM. Visitors Welcome!
Waves, Winds, and Tides: Fossil Collecting on the West Dorset Coast of Southern England.
Presentation by: Andrew Young, with Marie Angkuw, Jann Bergsten, Rhonda Gates, and Deborah Lovely.
For the last several years, a group of ESCONI members have traveled to England in winter to collect fossils on its famous Jurassic Coast. Contrary to the time of year when vacationers typically hit the beaches looking for calm water and sunny skies, these enthusiasts plan their adventures precisely when the weather promises to be most violent and the tides most dramatic. It is when the fragile cliffs along the shoreline are fast-eroding from surf action that the incredible geologic history of the place is in best view.
Low tide on Charmouth Beach with Golden Cap in the distance, the highest point on the southern coast of Great Britain.
Twice now, our intrepid explorers have delivered ESCONI club presentations on Lyme Regis and its surroundings. They have covered the town’s fascinating and centuries-old religious, economic, and industrial history, the accomplishments of its most famous citizen – paleontologist Mary Anning – as well as their own experiences combing the beaches for fossil treasures. Their excitement for these trips is truly contagious.
Newly found pyritized Echioceras sp. ammonite on Charmouth Beach.
This past February, I was invited to join the expedition and it proved to be even more remarkable than any photo can capture. Though familiar beaches and fossil shops were revisited, this trip expanded to new locations and introductions with locals whose addiction and knowledge about collecting in the area were most helpful to us. It was really an evolution of discovery: new techniques of searching, new species found, and new relationships with similarly passionate people, all of which build on previous visits.
Rhonda Gates, Jann Bergsten, and Marie Angkuw at Seatown Beach.
On Saturday, October 19th, at the ESCONI Paleo Group Meeting, I will lead a slide show presentation about this recent collecting adventure. Marie Angkuw, Jann Bergsten, Rhonda Gates, and Deborah Lovely will be present to contribute their stories and perspectives as we discuss what we’ve learned about collecting at the edge of an ocean, what we found, and the richness of the landscape overall. We’ll also bring our specimens for show-and-tell. Please join us for an exciting evening of further exploring the Jurassic Coast of southern England.
- Andrew Young
A large, water-worn ammonite in matrix at Monmouth Beach, Lyme Regis.
Waves, Winds, and Tides: Fossil Collecting on the West Dorset Coast of Southern England.
Presentation by: Andrew Young, with Marie Angkuw, Jann Bergsten, Rhonda Gates, and Deborah Lovely.
For the last several years, a group of ESCONI members have traveled to England in winter to collect fossils on its famous Jurassic Coast. Contrary to the time of year when vacationers typically hit the beaches looking for calm water and sunny skies, these enthusiasts plan their adventures precisely when the weather promises to be most violent and the tides most dramatic. It is when the fragile cliffs along the shoreline are fast-eroding from surf action that the incredible geologic history of the place is in best view.
Low tide on Charmouth Beach with Golden Cap in the distance, the highest point on the southern coast of Great Britain.
Twice now, our intrepid explorers have delivered ESCONI club presentations on Lyme Regis and its surroundings. They have covered the town’s fascinating and centuries-old religious, economic, and industrial history, the accomplishments of its most famous citizen – paleontologist Mary Anning – as well as their own experiences combing the beaches for fossil treasures. Their excitement for these trips is truly contagious.
Newly found pyritized Echioceras sp. ammonite on Charmouth Beach.
This past February, I was invited to join the expedition and it proved to be even more remarkable than any photo can capture. Though familiar beaches and fossil shops were revisited, this trip expanded to new locations and introductions with locals whose addiction and knowledge about collecting in the area were most helpful to us. It was really an evolution of discovery: new techniques of searching, new species found, and new relationships with similarly passionate people, all of which build on previous visits.
Rhonda Gates, Jann Bergsten, and Marie Angkuw at Seatown Beach.
On Saturday, October 19th, at the ESCONI Paleo Group Meeting, I will lead a slide show presentation about this recent collecting adventure. Marie Angkuw, Jann Bergsten, Rhonda Gates, and Deborah Lovely will be present to contribute their stories and perspectives as we discuss what we’ve learned about collecting at the edge of an ocean, what we found, and the richness of the landscape overall. We’ll also bring our specimens for show-and-tell. Please join us for an exciting evening of further exploring the Jurassic Coast of southern England.
- Andrew Young
A large, water-worn ammonite in matrix at Monmouth Beach, Lyme Regis.
The ESCONI field trips to Braceville for Mazon Creek fossils are set for Sept 14 and 15, 2019 from 8 AM to 2 PM. You can attend either or both days. There is an attendance limit of 50 people each day.
Meet at 8 AM at the entrance to the collecting site on S Berta Road, just east of the intersection with Division St (Braceville IL). A nearby landmark for driving directions is the Braceville Gardner Cemetery, 7295 East Braceville Road, Braceville, IL. I can send a small map to anyone that needs it.
For more information, send an email to ESCONI webmaster at diannal20@yahoo.com
