Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

Throwback Thursday #67: Looking Back at ESCONI July August 2021 #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday

This is Throwback Thursday #67.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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25 Years Ago – July/August 1996

• Dave Bergmann was named “Rockhound of the Year” by the Midwest Federation.
• A field trip was planned in August that included a stop at “Red Metal Days” at Michigan Technological University in Houghton. In the present day the event is called “Keweenaw Mineral Days” and is still going on.
• George Langford Jr. sent ESCONI the original notebook manuscripts for Langford books one and two and the unpublished book three.  ESCONI donated these historical documents to the Illinois State Museum.
• The 1996 ESCONI Library Catalog was published in the newsletter.

50 Years Ago – July/August 1971

• The "Micromount of the Month" was Goethite
• Tony Sobolik wrote about the Paleontology Field Trip to Tunnel Mill in Indiana, Sulphur Kentucky, the Louisville Cement Quarry in Speed, IN, and a road cut in Harrodsburg, KY.  The field trip lasted from Friday, May 29th to Monday May 31st.  Wow, they really knew how to collect back then!
• “Life is a grindstone and whether it grinds a man down or polished him up depends on the stuff he’s made of”. From the Ozark Earth Science News.
• “If you with litter will disgrace
        And spoil the beauty of this place
  May indigestion rack your chest
        And ants invade your pants and vest!”
  
  From “Rock Talk”

Throwback Thursday #66: It's In the Bag #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday

This is Throwback Thursday #66.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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Here's a little poem from the May 1958 edition of the ESCONI newsletter.  It's called "It's In the Bag" and was written by Donnafred Hoff.  Her husband, Wilbur "Doc" Hoff, was Vice President of ESCONI in 1958.  He was President in 1959.  We have a photo of them in April 1958.

IT'S IN THE BAG

Come on and buy a litter bag!
Oh, it may bulge and it may sag.

But it will hold an awful lot
Of almost everything you've got.

Much handier than any box
For road maps, fossils, gems or rocks.

Extra film or sunburn lotion,
Or other necessary potion.

Rain hat, sun shade, camera,
A bit of lunch, etcetra!

All your precious paraphernalia,
The rockhounds friend, it will not fail ya!

You need a pack horse for your swag?
Come on and buy a litter bag..

-- Donnafred Hoff --

Throwback Thursday #65: Rockhound's Plight #History #rocks #TBT #ThrowbackThursday

This is Throwback Thursday #65.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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This week, we have two poems from the July/August 1964 issue of the newsletter.  The first is called the "Rockhound's Plight" and comes from a husband lamenting complaints from his wife.  The second is the wife's answer.  These were originally published in the Des Moines Treasure Chest and were written by Leona Leonard.  Unfortunately, no details could be found for an Des Moines Iowa rock club with a newsletter called the "Treasure Chest".  If you have and information, please pass it along!

ROCKHOUNDS PLIGHT

Gather 'round me, Hear my story;
  I'm a Rockhound in distress
I'm a Rockhound bathed in trouble;
  I'm an outcast, more or less.

I have fossils in the kitchen,
  I have crystals in the hall,
I have minerals in the bathtub,
  I have relics on the wall.

I have tin-oxide on the carpet,
  I have oil upon the floor,
I have black light in the parlor,
  I have bones behind the door..

Attic rooms are fairly sagging,
  Books pove the cellar floor,
Pockets bulge with gummy places,
  All of this and millions more.

Wifey thinks that I am goofy-
  I don't know, she may be. right,
She insiste I've silicosis
  Or some contagious for of 'ite'.

Says my head is lined with agate,
  A freak replacement of the bone;
Says my brain is just a nodule,
  Says my heart has turned to stone.

Threatens me with separation,
  Storms about our Rock-bound home,
Says life to me is just a Geode,
  Or hunk of mammal bone.

Are you rated as a fossil?
  Are you obliged to live alone?
How do you maintain a hobby
  And still maintain a Happy Home?"

-- Des Moines Treasure Chest -- 

 

AN ANSWER TO "A ROCKHOUNDS PLIGHT"

Listen to me Mr. Fossil,
  Throw your troubles out the door!
Make a Rockhound out of Wifey,
  You'll have peace forever more.

Take her to a jolly rock hunt,
  Attend a meeting with her too,
Help her find a few choice pebbles,
  She may even trade a few.

Soon the Rockhound bug will bite her,
  She'll forget the oily floors.
She may add to bone collections,
  And make it hard to open that door.

She'll read your books, and polish Agates,
  Threats will now be in the past.
Attend conventions, beg for rock hunts,
  You've a Mrs. Rockhound, hard and fast.

-- by Leona Leonard from the Treasure Chest --

 

Answers for the TBT #64: A Rockhound Spelling Test from November 1962 #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday #quiz #rockhound

Here are the answers to Throwback Thursday #64 Rockhound Spelling Test.  How'd you do?

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QUIZ ANSWERS

There were 20 words offered. If you spelled 15 right you are doing right well. Seventeen right puts you in the professional class, and 19 or 20 right means you can sit right next to Mr. Dana and you inherit the editorship of this fine bulletin. Everyone over 17 is required to write an article for this bulletin! Authority is a collection of mineral books and the Lapidary Journal.

1. chrysocolla
2. amethyst
3. iridescent
4. invertebrate
5. fluorite
6. turquoise
7. rhodochrosite
8. brachiopod
9. citrine
10. psilomelane
11. baculite
12. aventurine
13. baroque
14. variscite
15. staurolite
16. chlorastrolite
17. thomsonite
18. dolomite
19. jaspilite
20. rhyolite

 

Throwback Thursday #64: A Rockhound Spelling Test From November 1962 #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday #quiz #rockhound

This is Throwback Thursday #64.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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How about a spelling test this week... a rockhound spelling test?  This spelling test appeared in the November 1962 edition of "The Earth Science News".  It's attributed to the "PICK and DOP STICK", which is the monthly bulletin of the Chicago Rocks and Minerals Society, which has been organized as a club since 1946.  That's 3 years before ESCONI's start!  They are still going strong.  You can find out more about their club on their website.  So, have a try at the test... the answers will be posted in a few days.

TEST YOUR ROCKHOUND SPELLING via The Pick & Dop Stick

Choose the proper spelling from those offered. All are common rock hound words - most from pages of The Lapidary Journal.

1. chrysacola chrysocolla chrysacolla

2. amethyst amythest amethest

3. irridescent iridescent irridesen

4. invertibrate invertebrate invertabrate

5. flourite fluorite

6. torquois turquoise turquise

7. rhodochrosite rhodochrisite

8. brackipod brachiopod brochiopod

9. citrin citrine citrene

10. psilomelane psilomalene psilomilene

11. baculite bacculite

12. adventurine aventurine adventurene

13. baroqe baroque barouque

14. varisite variscite varascite

15. starolite staralite ataurolite 16. chlorastrolite chlorastolite

17. thompsonite thomsonite tomsonite

18. dolamite dolomite

19. Jaspelite jas palite jaspilite

20. rhyolite ryolite ryholite

Throwback Thursday #63: Field Trip to Lone Star Quarry on April 7th, 2002 #ThrowbackThursday #TBT #history #fieldtrip #fossil #illinois #ottawa

This is Throwback Thursday #63.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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In April 2002, ESCONI had a field trip to Lone Star Quarry near Oglesby, IL.  It looks like a rainy, muddy day.  That trip was part of a yearly series to Lone Star.  In some years, ESCONI had both spring and fall trips. Unfortunately, the trips ended in the late 2000's after an unrelated boating accident on the Illinois River.  Not long after the accident, the quarry closed.  Collecting at this fossil locality was always productive as the quarry exposed Pennsylvanian rock layers that were very fossiliferous.  Brachiopods, crinoids, sponges, trilobites, cephalopods, and even shark teeth were plentiful.  The State of Illinois purchased the Lone Star in October 2018, and there is now a proposal to turn it into a Fossil Park.

For more information, try our previous Lone Star posts in Flashback Friday and Throwback Thursday.

 

Throwback Thursday #62: ESCONI Flea Market 10-02-1999 #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday

This is Throwback Thursday #62.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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For a long time, ESCONI has held the Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show each spring in March.  Quite often, a Flea Market was held in October.  That practice stopped about 10 years ago, but we will be holding a similar event on October 9th, 2021.  It's our slimmed down 2021 show... the Pandemic Edition. 

Here are some pictures from the October 2nd, 1999 ESCONI Flea Market, which was held at the College of DuPage in the Student Resource Center.

This call for material to sell appeared in the September 1999 edition of the newsletter .  In the old days, ESCONI members donated their excess material to be sold at the flea market... apparently cakes, cookies, and pies were also available.  Hopefully, they weren't fossilized!

The Announcement was in September 1999 newsletter.

From the pictures below, it looks like a good time was had by all!

Kathy Dedina and Howard Svoboda

Dorothy Auler

Sheila Bergmann

John Good

Book table.... where's Andy?

The Live Auction!... Dave Bergmann, Dick Ade, Jerry Vekcol, and Don Brazda

 

Throwback Thursday #61: Looking Back at ESCONI June 2021 #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday

This is Throwback Thursday #61.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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25 Years Ago - June 1996

• The June 1996 speaker was Dr. William Hammer of Augustana College. His program was on Antarctic dinosaurs.
• The Field Museum had a dinner to honor their volunteers including Irene Broede, who dedicated 670 hours to the museum.
• The Mineralogy and Micro-mounts Study Group had a program on microminerals of Northern Illinois. Included were sphalerite, pyrite, galena, chalcopyrite, barite, gypsum and calcite.

50 Years Ago - June 1971

• The June 1971 bulletin refers to someone who is a member as an “ESCONIan”. Now you know the proper term to use...
• The “Coming Events” section of the bulletin lists a “Gem and Mineral Fair” in Belvidere, IL. Anyone know which club put this on?
• The Western Springs and Downers Grove juniors groups took a field trip that included collecting fossils in black shale from Pit 14.
• ESCONIan Verne Knight presented a program to the Ozark Earth Science Club in Arkansas.
• The Archeology Study Group visited the Forest Home cemetery in Forest Park, which is built partially on a Native American burial site.

 

Throwback Thursday #60: Mineral Quiz from November 1966 #minerals #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday #quiz

This is Throwback Thursday #60.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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We don't have enough mineral posts and sorry to surprise everyone with a pop quiz.... But today, we have a mineral quiz from the November 1966 edition of the newsletter.  Try you luck.... we'll post the answers in a couple days.

TRY YOUR LUCK WITH THIS MINERAL QUIZ??????

1. When you rub the fresh surface of a mineral on in unglazed tile the streak is:

a. Always the same color as that of the mineral
b. Sometimes an entirely different color from that of the mineral
c. Never colorless

2. A well-developed quartz crystal is geometrically

a. Octahedral
b. Cubic
c. Hexagonal- triagonal trapezohedral

3. The luster of a mineral refers to its

a. Color
b. Outward appearance
c. Streak

4. A mineral you can't scratch with your fingernail is

a. Calcite
b. Gypsum
c. Talc

5. Cleavage in crystalline minerals is the

a. way in which a mineral breaks naturally and and smoothly
b. Breaking of a mineral in random or irregular order
c. Breaking of a mineral in planes that are not parallel to any actual or possible crystal faces the mineral possesses.

6. Weathering may change one mineral into another. It is then called a pseudomorph (false form). A special name is applied to indicate type of change. A mineral chemically altered solely by the addition of water molecules is

a. Garnet
b. Azurite
c. Gypsum

7. Color is a clue in prospecting for copper ore. Stains on outcropping veins may indicate the presence of copper below when they are

a. Yellow and brown
b. Green and blue
c. Black and red

8. A mineral that can scratch window glass is

a. Apatite
b. Fluorite
c. Quartz

9. Crystals of minerals which grow close together may cause an intergrowth of two crystals or several intergrowths. This is known as

a. Parallel growth
b. Twinning
c. A distorted crystal

10. The following minerals are unusual because of the products obtained from them. The nearly black mineral that produces a product for making the whitest of paints is.

a. Ilmenite
b. Cinnabar
c. Wolframite

Note: this quiz originated from Science Digest, but we got it from the KGMS (Kalamazoo Geological & Mineral Society).  We've had a relationship with the KGMS, sharing a few field trips. They joined us at Braceville in the fall of 2020 and we visited the Cheney Limestone in Bellevue, MI with them last fall.

 

Throwback Thursday #57: Loch Ness Outdone: Rediscovery of the Coelacanth #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday #evolution #fish #extinction #coelacanth

This is Throwback Thursday #57.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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Youtube has many good videos.  Some are regular series.  One of my favorites to watch during my workout is "The History Guy".   In it, the host covers many events in history from science to politics to wars to cars and many things in between.  Late last week, there was an episode that needs to be included here.  It's called "Loch Ness Outdone: Rediscovery of the Coelacanth".  Even if you know the story of the discovery/rediscovery of the Coelacanth, watch this video, as it does a great job telling the story of how in 1938, Captain Hendrick Goosen, a fisherman, brought a strange and seemingly extinct fish into port where Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer noticed it looked very much like some extinct fossil fish that she had studied.  Check it out, as this is "history that deserves to be remembered"!

In 1938 a fisherman in South Africa caught a fish thought to have been extinct for more than fifty million years. The amazing discovery shocked and thrilled the world, challenged our understanding of species and evolution, and gave new meaning to the term "forgotten history."

 

Throwback Thursday #54: Better To Be A Rockhound #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday #minerals #gems #ElPaso

This is Throwback Thursday #54.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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This poem appeared in the November 1958 edition of the ESCONI newsletter.  The El Paso Mineral and Gem Society is still alive and kicking.... since 1947, which is 2 years before the founding of ESCONI.  Unfortunately, no mention of their newsletter, Harry Zollars, or "Agate Pete".

The poem is a little morbid at times, but the message is clear - enjoy nature and preserve it.  Respect the plants and animals around you, and if you want to collect something... collect the rocks and bring them home, not "living" nature.

BETTER TO BE A ROCKHOUND

Better far to be Rockhound
And to stones more beauty give
Than to take, maim and destroy
Things which blossom, grow and live.
To observe wild things of Nature,
From them gain a soul-free thrill,
Enjoy their color, grace and beauty
Rather than the urge to kill.

Better far to be Rockhound
And to scale a mountain steep
To bring back a lovely agate
Rather than a goat or sheep.
To see the stone's fine pattern
In sunlight's warming glow
Than to see the life-blood flowing,
Staining red the drifted snow.

"Agate Pete"
(Harry Zollars - Editor "The Voice"
El Paso Mineral and Gem Society)

Throwback Thursday #51: Morris Field Trip, September 30th, 1954 #TBT #ThrowbackThursday #history #mazon #GooseLake #Illinois #logcabin

This is Throwback Thursday #51.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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Ran across this story in the January 1955 edition of the ESCONI Newsletter, it's about a field trip to Morris on October 30th, 1954. The participants were three influential names in the early days of ESCONI, Bill Allaway, Orval Fether, and Harry Witmer.  They had quite the day...  As you can read, they started the day at the Centre quarry near Morris, IL, where they found brachiopods and trilobites.  Then, went to the Harry L. Hough log cabin to examine historical artifacts a hundred or so years old.  They finished up at the coal mining spoils north of Coal City, and one of them found a fish!  The writer, Harry Witmer, was the Vice Chairman of ESCONI at the time and would later become President of ESCONI in 1960.  As you might know, Bill Allaway was the first Chairman and one of the founders of ESCONI in 1949.  The fisherman, Orval Fether held a few different posts including Treasurer and Circulation Manager, during the 1950's.  By the way, Orval is known as O. M. Fether in pretty much all the newsletters and old photos.  I finally found his first name on the caption of a photo of him and others with George Langford Sr in 1958.

Saturday, October 30, Messrs. Alloway, Fether and Witmer, members of ESCONI, made a trip to the Centre quarry near Morris, Illinois, where marcasite, brachipods, trilobites etc. were found. Mr. E. S. Gore from Morris net us there, and then made arrangements for us to visit the Harry L. Hough home and museum in Mazon.

On arriving in front of the Hough home, the first thing striking the eye is the old Mill stones in the parkway. We were cordially invited into the home by Mr. Hough. The entryway is filled with stones, fossils, Indian artifacts and relics of Pioneer days. Being introduced to lovely Mrs. Hough we were taken upstairs and shown several wonderful cases of Indian arrowheads which were found almost entirely in Grundy and La Salle counties. The upstairs bedrooms are furnished with old pioneer furniture, After returning to the first floor and chatting with Mrs. Hough for a short time we were escorted to the log cabin in the back yard. The cabin is an original log cabin known as the "Button Cabin", also one of the underground stations for the movement of runaway slaves on the Bloomington trail. It was moved from its original site on Mazon Creek. The fireplace is fitted as in the pioneer days, and of course, had a fire going. The walls are lined with muskets, swords, uniforms and in one corner sets a case of stones which would make any Rock-hound drool. The furniture is regular pioneer chairs, tables, and rockers. Hanging on the side is a leather belt decorated with carnelian agate. The attic contains spinning wheels, pioneer furniture etc.

After spending much time examining things in the log cabin, we were taken across to a shed which contains much pioneer farm equipment, such wooden plows, harness, etc. Close outside the cabin is an outdoor fireplace which has some large and wonderful rock specimens in it, crystals, large geodes, etc.

The next in order is the yard itself, where many interesting rock specimens are on display, including old mill stones, hitching stones etc. This concluded our couple of very interesting hours at the Hough home.

Mr. and Mrs. Hough are both descendants of old pioneer families. Mr. Hough is now retired and formerly was an organizer for the Farm Bureau in Illinois and Wisconsin, Much of his time is now spent in caring for his wife who is stricken with arthritis and is bed fast. The Hough's are among the few who survived the Iroquois Theatre fire in Chicago.

The Hough's also have a log cabin located on the Grundy county fair grounds at Mazon which is open during the fair; although no fee is charged for the viewing of all these wonderful things, donations are accepted and turned over to the Grundy Co. Historical Society. The society now has a very good exhibit which can be seen in the basement of the court house at Morris, Illinois.

To top the day, we stopped at the spoils north of Coal City for a short time, and a very nice fish fossil was found by Mr. Feather.

H. Witmer

More on Cragg Cabin now at Goose Lake State Park.

The old Cragg Cabin was built in 1835 by John Cragg and stood on its original location for one hundred years giving it historical landmark status in Grundy County. Mr. Harry L. Hough, a Mazon resident, had played near this cabin as a boy.  Mr. Hough became interested in local history as an adult and obtained permission to remove the parts that could be used to rebuild the cabin from the owner, Mrs. Jennie Cragg. Using local tradesman, he built an almost exact replica of the old Cragg Cabin as it had been in pioneer days using period furnishings and antiques. He and his wife, Zula, lived in the cabin and opened it up to many visitors as a museum for 30 years until 1966 when Mr. Hough died. The cabin was deeded to the Mazon High School and moved to school property.  The school district did not have a procedure in place to maintain the cabin and it was disassembled and moved in 1975 to Goose Lake State Park. The Park Director, Mr. Joseph Nyhoff, planned to reassemble the cabin as a pioneer home.

Photos of the Field Trip participants.

Bill Allaway and Harry Witmer

Orval Fether

George Langford & ESCONI Associates 1st Book, Orval Fether, Geo.Malcott, Howard Knight (standing); Harry Witmer, Langford, Stella Barrick June 13,1958

 

 

 

Throwback Thursday #50: Revisiting a Field Trip to Galena, IL August 8th-9th, 1959 #TBT #ThrowbackThursday #history #Galena #Illinois #minerals #agates

This is Throwback Thursday #50.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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Back in Throwback Thursday #18, we recalled a field trip to Galena, IL on August 8th and 9th, 1959.  After digging through the newsletters, we have the field trip announcement, the report, and a few more photos.  John Ade, who would later become president of ESCONI, was the field trip chairman.  They were hunting for minerals - Galena, Marcasite, Calcite, and Sphalerite.  And, lodging was at the DeSoto Hotel.  

It sounds like they had a great time and added a little agate hunting before the whole ESCONI group of 50 (!) arrived. 

People dressed a little different for field trips in the 1950's.  No hard hats, steel toed boots, gloves, or safety vests were needed.  Skirts, scarves, and high heels were more the bill of fare.  Love the old cars!  It does look like they had a fun time!

Throwback Thursday #49: 2011 Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show #TBT #history #ThrowbackThursday #gems #minerals #fossils

This is Throwback Thursday #49.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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It's March and March is usually time for the ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show.  We unfortunately had to cancel in 2020, but this year a scaled down version will be held October 9th, 2021. Today, let's go back 10 years ago to the ESCONI Show. in 2011.  That show was held on March 19th and 20th, 2011 at the College of DuPage, Building K, Commons Room. Building K was torn down and replaced by a modern one a few years ago. 

Check out the photos below.  There are many familiar faces and some we haven't seen for a while.  As usual, we had a bunch of displays that year.  Looks like everyone is having fun.... can't wait for October!

 

Rob Sula talking fossils

Members setting up their displays

Club member with a mineral display

Archaeology display

Gypsum

Lapidary display

Jeff Lord helping some juniors crack open geodes

Book sale

Silent Auction

Browsing for fossils at Rock's Rocks

Shopping at Rib River Fossils

Lapidary demonstration

Live auction table

John Good at the junior table

Live auction review

Making jewelry

Spinosaur teeth

Getting busy

Take a spin

Announcing the winner!

More geodes!

Dave Bergmann and Don Cronauer

Signing up new members

Talking ginkos with Bruce

Checking out the displays

 

Throwback Thursday #46: 25 and 50 Years Ago #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday #EarthScience

This is Throwback Thursday #46.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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25 Years Ago – February 1996

• Barbara Petry was president of ESCONI.
• The general meeting was held at COD.  It was called "Before the Dinosaurs: The Earliest Tetrapods and How They Got That Way" by Dr. John Bolt of the Field Museum.
• Paleontology was studying Camels and the Chairman was John Good.
• At the Paleontology meeting, Andy Hay presented a new Creature Corner - "Bivalves".  A call went out to bring in specimens.
• The Archaeology Study Group continued their discussion of Native American cultures.  This time it was more Olmec, Oaxaca, and Zapotec.
• A group had a tour of the Jurica Natural History Museum at Illinois Benedictine College.
• There was mention and a flyer of the upcoming show on March 2nd and 3rd.
• Dave Bergmann was Field Trip Chairman and Sheila Bergmann was Corresponding Secretary.
• 1st Vice President Karl D. Everett wrote an article called "Diamonds are Forever" for the newsletter.
• There was a thank you letter from COD for the Bill Allaway scholarship of $2000 for 1996.

50 Years Ago – February 1971

• The general meeting was held at Highland School in Downers Grove, IL.  The program was "Geology in the Colorado Plateau" by Mr. Douglas Sherman from Lake Zurich, IL.
• Dick Ade was president of ESCONI.
• There were 4 junior groups - Downer Grove, Homer, Medinah, and Western Springs.
• They had a field trip to the Field Museum, where Dr. Eugene Richardson hosted a behind the scenes tour.
• The Paleontology Study Group featured a program by Jim Konecny on fossils from Rockford, IA, Sylvania, OH, and Speed, Indiana.
• The Archaeology Study Group had a presentation called "Romance of Time".
• In the newsletter, there was an article about the earliest recorded solar eclipse.  Clay tablets from 1450-1200 BC were referenced from an article in "Sky and Telescope".
• Membership stood at 600 total member with 244 active, 109 associative, 44 non-resident, 189 junior, and 14 honorary.
• There were 8 pages that listed the books in the ESCONI library, which were housed at the Downers Grove Library.  ESCONI librarian was Vi Radjunes.  You needed an ESCONI membership card to checkout books - not a Downers Grove library card.

Throwback Thursday #41: Lemont Trilobites November 19th, 1950 #fossils #trilobites #TBT #history

This is Throwback Thursday #41.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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Today, we will revisit Flashback Friday #40.  It was posted originally as a Lemont Quarry trip in 1952.  But, after some digging, it seems to be a field trip to the Western Quarries Co in Lemont, IL on November 19th, 1950.  Here is the announcement in the November issue of the newsletter.

FIELD TRIP TO LEMONT QUARRY - SUNDAY, NOV. 19  OBJECT: TRILOBITES

To reach quarry, follow Main Street from Downers Grove, south to Lemont, cross railroad tracks and turn left 4/10 mile to Shell gas station, then cross tracks on left and turn right. following rim of lake and continue 1-1/2 miles over winding rough road to Western Quarries Co. shack.  Foot path leads to old quarry which is reached by wood stairs.  Trilobites are found by prying up slabs of dolomite rock from floor of quarry.  Tools recommended: small crowbar, hammer, chisel, and safety goggles.  Meet at the quarry at 9:30 AM.

There is the field trip report in the December 1950 issue.  It sounds like they has a good day.

TRILOBITES OR BUST

That could very well have been the nae of our last field trip of the season because trilobites was the one and only thing we went after Sunday, November 19th. to the Naval Quarry near Lemont.  About twenty turned out and did we find trilobites!  One member gave away several to less fortunate members and still carried home 18.  And everybody had lots of fun.  Harry Nelson of Riverdale and Steve Norvell of Western Springs had maybe the most fun of all working as a team on the basis of one for you and one for me.  They really turned up a lot of the little beasties.  These trilobites were of the Calymene niagarensis (Silurian) type ather than the Bumastus trentonensis (Ordovician) type found in Thorton Quarry on the Sept. 24th trip.  Many specimens had excellent detail.

As usual, we had some visitors, and mighty glad we were to welcome them.  They included Mr. and Mrs. Pierce of Geneva and a lad named Lage from Downers Grove who walked off with the prize of the day, a curled-up trilobite.

Not sure where Western Quarries Co. was located in Lemont, but there were a few Western Stone Co quarries in Lemont.  The company was in business from the mid 1800's until it was dissolved in 1925.  There's a bunch of good historical information on this page.  There doesn't seem to be many clues to find the exact locality they visited.  It sounds like it was an abandoned quarry in 1950.

The Keepataw site was part of the vast holdings of the Western Stone Company, “the largest company of its kind in America,” according to Unrivaled Chicago: Containing an Historical Narrative of the Great City's Development and Descriptions of Points of Interest, published in 1896. 

The quarrying of limestone throughout the Des Plaines River Valley dates to the 1830s and 1840s when excavation of the I&M Canal between Chicago and LaSalle-Peru revealed extensive outcroppings of dolomite limestone. The formation of this valuable stone is described in the online publication, Architectural Resources in the Lemont Historic District. “Four hundred million years ago, Illinois was submerged under a Silurian sea where the shells of microscopic plants and animals accumulated and eventually formed strata of rock. In the Des Plaines River Valley, expanses of smooth-textured rock of the Sugar Run Dolomite lay just beneath shallow topsoil. Dolomite is a calcium-magnesium carbonate rock with properties very similar to limestone. Generally harder and finer grained than ordinary limestone, its suitability for building was recognized, and it began to be quarried in the 1830s. The excavation required for the building of the I&M Canal, which opened in 1848, uncovered additional stone beds. Local contractors were awakened to the potential richness of high-quality stone that could be so easily removed. Buff white when freshly quarried, dolomite can be polished to a smooth finish and was marketed as ‘Athens Marble’ and ‘Joliet Marble.’”

The popularity of dolomite as a building material grew during the 1850s as the I&M Canal and expansion of railroads facilitated transportation of the stone. “ … Joliet and Lemont, and to a lesser extent, Lockport, (became) prime suppliers of limestone to Chicago,” notes a report titled Historic Documentation Record, Western Stone Company prepared by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority and written by Karen Poulson. “As local historian Fayette B. Shaw has written, ‘by the beginning of … 1856, there were 8 quarries being worked in and around Joliet, the smallest of which employed 5 men, the largest 48.’”

...

Meanwhile, in 1905, Madden was elected to the U.S. Congress. Madden devoted more and more time to Washington, and by the time of his formal retirement from Western Stone in 1915, the end of the company was near. The Keepataw site, along with other properties, was sold off in 1918, and in its annual report of 1920, the company stated, according to Poulson, that it “had not actively engaged in operation of its plants for some time.” A Superior court decree formally dissolved the company on February 16, 1925. Throughout the years that followed, the property passed through a number of owners, including Vulcan Materials Company, which reportedly sought to resurrect quarrying operations in the 1960s and 1970s.

Remnants of another sort were discovered during an archeological survey by the Will County Historical Society in 1972. Called the Bluff Site because of its proximity to Bluff Road, this area once contained housing for Western Stone Company employees. Building foundations and artifacts from the period – doll parts, clay marbles, fancy glass, tableware and serving dishes – indicate that these were family dwellings comprising a “job town” from the period 1890-1910. 

According to the Historical Society report, these houses were of Swedish construction and were one and one-half story frame structures with a tar paper roof. “The ground floor was a combination living room and kitchen without a partition, and the second, or half-story, was a sleeping loft. The structure would have peaked out at 15 feet in height.”

Here are the photos from the original post.

Calymene niagarensis (Silurian)

Bill Allaway, first president of ESCONI, is wearing the fedora and Helen is seated next to him.

Throwback Thursday #40: 25 and 50 Years Ago #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday #EarthScience

This is Throwback Thursday #40.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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25 Years Ago – January 1996

• An ESCONI Scholarship in the name of Bill Allaway was established. Bill had recently passed away and was a founder of ESCONI.
• The general meeting program was on the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines.
• The Mineralogy/Micromount Study Group’s program was about the minerals of lava flows.
• The Lapidary group was doing wire wrapping and copper sculpturing.
• The Archeology study group talked about the Olmec of Mesoamerica.
• ESCONI dues were $15.

50 Years Ago – January 1971

• The general meeting was held at Downer’s Grove High School, and the program was on the Tarahumara Indians of Copper Canyon in Mexico.
• The Downer’s Grove Juniors were studying iron, copper and fluorite. There was also a Medinah Juniors Group.
• The Archaeology Group studied the Kensington Rune Stone.
• The club had a tour of the Lizzadro Museum.
• Club dues were $2 per adult, with lesser amounts for “associate” members, out-of-town members and juniors.

 

Throwback Thursday #39: Paleontological Ditty #TBT #history #ESCONI #paleontology #dinosaur

This is Throwback Thursday #39.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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Today we have poem from the July - August 1977 edition of the ESCONI newsletter.  It's called  "Paleontological Ditty" and was written by Rex Webb, who was a member of the Minnesota Mineral Club.  It appeared in their newsletter "Rock Rustlers News".  From the attribution, it may have also appeared in the Ozark Earth Science News.

"Paleontological Ditty"

The first rockhound was a lizzard,
His rock collection was in his gizzard,
Now they say there is no question
These rocks helped with his digestion.
But the motive I discover
He was just an old rock lover,
Since he did not have a shelf
So he kept them to himself

This was years ago, I guess
Hundred million, more of less
Still they find these polished stones
Intermixed with dino's bones
This is proof of his affection
For his private rock collection.

Judging by their leering features
They were not congenial creatures
But would Rex Webb be chummy
If all his rocks were in his tummy?

Rockhounds have not changed so far
From that ancient dinosaur
Only difference I can spot
Is the gizzard we ain't got...

- From the Rock Rustlers News,
      via Ozark Earth Science News.

Original presentation in the ESCONI newsletter.

Throwback Thursday #38: Merry Mazon Christmas from ESCONI #MazonCreek #GeorgeLangford #fossils

This is Throwback Thursday #38.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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This is Synde and George Langford's Christmas card in 1939.  The picture is a view of the strip mines about 1 mile south of Wilmington, IL, at a place that was not far from where Cinder Ridge Golf Course is today.   The fossil on the left was identified as Sphenophyllum emarginatum. It was originally named in 1829 by Adolphe-Theodore Brongniart, known as the Father of Paleobotany.  It's a relative of modern day horsetails.  While the one on the right, was identified as Diplothmema zobelli, now known as Sphenopteris spinosa.  Sphenopteris was part of the forest understory.  It was first described in 1841 by Heinrich Goppert.

Throwback Thursday #36: Fossil in the Crannied Wall #poem #fossil #TBT #history

This is Throwback Thursday #36.  In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general.  If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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Today we have another poem from the 1950s.  This one is by B.J. Babbitt from January 1952.  He was the editor of the Earth Science News (our newsletter) in 1952.

Fossil in the Crannied Wall

(with apologies to the lord - Tennyson that is)

O fossil in the crannied wall
I chip you from the cranny --
No life snuffed out to slake the thirst
Of curiosity, Or knowledge of the creation's dawn
So steeped in mystery.

Fear not -- your likeness did not fall
To vandals' violation
Your replica has now become
A point of adoration
Beheld with reverence and awe-
No thought of desecration.

Rest on in peace, my sphinx-like friend--
Your everlasting stature
Has spanned the years if ageless time,
Transcendent through the future--
Long after Man and all that's his
Have been returned to Nature.

-- B.J Babbitt