Resize Text: ARIZONA CELEBRATES STATE-HOOD: And Rocks & Minerals celebrates Arizona. As a tribute to Arizona's 100th anniversary of becoming a state, this issue is dedicated to the 2012 Tucson Gem & Mineral Show's theme, Minerals of Arizona. Dates for the “Main Show,” as it is known—the one sponsored by the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society (TGMS), the one that anchors the more than forty satellite shows—are 9–12 February, and the place, as always, is the Tucson Convention Center; for details see www.tgms.org. This marks the fifty-eighth year for this acclaimed, world-class event.
Caption: The January/February 1982 cover of Rocks & Minerals, showing some of Arizona's notables who have had minerals named after them.
Rocks & Minerals has a long history of supporting the Tucson Show and its various themes, beginning with the January/February 1982 issue, in which Dr. Richard Mitchell (now deceased) devoted his Who's Who in Mineral Names column to twenty-three “Minerals Named for Persons Associated with Mineralogy and Geology in Arizona,” right through to the present Arizona centennial issue, in which Arizona's minerals, fossils, gemstones, geology, mining history, and personalities are highlighted.
SOME ENCHANTED EVENINGS: As mentioned above, Tucson has an abundance of satellite shows, many opening at the end of January and continuing through the TGMS Show weekend. Some offer special activities to attract visitors to their venues, one of the most auspicious being the Sunday evening social and program held at the Westward Look Resort on Ina Road, home of the Fine Mineral Show. This year the event is scheduled for Sunday, 5 February, beginning with hors d'oeuvres and drinks at 6:30, followed at 7:30 by speakers Ed Swoboda, Gene Meieran, and Bill Larson giving a program titled “Edward Swoboda: A Life of Gems and Minerals.”
Another fine Tucson tradition is the Friday evening invitation-only open house/reception at the University of Arizona's Mineral Museum at the Flandrau Science Center. Doors open at 5:30 on 3 February. “One Hundred Years of Arizona: The Minerals that Made the State” is the theme of the special exhibits from such notable collections as those of the Flagg Foundation, the Arizona Historical Society, Les and Paula Presmyk, Bill Larson, the Richard Graeme family, and Bill and Robbie McCarty, among others. Les Presmyk will be the speaker, choosing as his topic “Arizona Mineral Treasures.” The special exhibition will continue for several months.
SIDESHOWS: The nineteenth annual Mineral Madness Showcase and Sale will be held at Tucson's Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum the weekend of 21–22 January. This is an opportunity for everyone, from novice to serious collector, to learn about minerals and to find new treasures for their collection. In addition to thousands of specimens being offered for sale, there are mineral activities for the entire family all around the museum grounds. Plus there's the added bonus of viewing the museum's excellent mineral collection.
On Saturday, 4 February, from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M., show-goers will be heading to the Westward Look for “Collector's Day,” this year featuring specimens from Californian Ron Gladnick's collection.
WHERE WE'LL BE: While in Tucson, do stop by the Rocks & Minerals booth to renew your subscription, pick up some back issues, discuss an article you'd like to write, or just say “hello.” You can find us in the ballroom at Martin Zinn's Arizona Mineral and Fossil Show in the Tucson City Center Hotel (formerly the InnSuites) from 28 January until the TGMS Show opens on 9 February, at which time we'll be set up there (Booth 1223). We will also have a table at the Sunday night program, 5 February, at the Westward Look Show.
SALOTTI AWARD: The Seaman Mineral Museum Society proclaimed Anthony “Tony” J. Nikischer as recipient of the prestigious Dr. Charles A. Salotti Earth Science Education Award for 2011. The announcement was made at the Ruby Gala, a fundraiser event, held 24 September in Houghton, Michigan.
Caption: Tony Nikischer, recipient of the 2011 Salotti Award.
Nikischer, the thirteenth person to be so honored, is a scientist, mineral dealer, publisher, philanthropist, and an educator and devoted advocate for earth science education. In 1974 he founded Excalibur Mineral Company with an emphasis on rare minerals. In 2003 he acquired Mineral News, which he expanded and has been publishing on a monthly basis ever since. That same year he founded the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, a nonprofit research, cultural, and educational entity that is “dedicated to the discovery, study, and preservation of rare mineral species, and to increasing public awareness and appreciation of the mineral kingdom through outreach and education.” He and the institute have developed the “Down to Earth” out-of-school program for grades six through twelve; have adopted three local schools to supply with mineral specimens for display and study; and have worked with educators and Boy Scouts to partner in promoting geology and mineralogy. The mineral nikischerite was named in his honor in 2003.
The Seaman Mineral Museum Society welcomes nominations for the 2012 award. Nomination letters and supporting materials for nominees who have made significant contributions to earth science education should be sent to Dr. John A. Jaszczak, A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum, 1404 Sharon Ave., Houghton, MI 49931.
WISH LIST: As an addition to an upcoming article on vanity license plates within the hobby (see July/August 2011, pages 360–361, for the “teaser” article), we thought it would be fun to add a section for those ideas that people would like to have on their plates, if they could. Add an explanation to go along with your plate idea, and email it to author Jeff Starr at fluorite@swbell.net.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The Houston Gem and Mineral Society, in memory of Arthur E. Smith, and the Cincinnati Mineral Society underwrote color costs in the Connoisseur's Choice column; Maryanne and John Fender (Fender Natural Resources) did the same for the Museum Notes column. Donors to the Color Fund contributed toward color in the remaining articles. All are thanked for their generosity in partnering with Rocks & Minerals to support color photography in the magazine.
We also thank those authors and photographers who contributed to this issue on Arizona. Special thanks are extended to Phil Richardson for helping with the author/article selection and to Bill Besse for preparing several maps.
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