By FREESIA SINGNGAM
STAFF WRITER

BRISTOL — Rock, gem and mineral fans found a perfect gathering place at the 37th annual Bristol Gem and Mineral Club show at the Douglas Beals Senior/Community Center over the weekend.

“It’s just a hobby but we get so much pleasure out of this,” said Ellery Borow, a resident of Maine and member of several gem and mineral clubs, including the Bristol one. He said shows like this one allowed people to bring in rocks to identify, and it gave collectors a chance to talk about their rocks, minerals and gems.

Joshua Lauretti, 5, of Bristol makes a discovery.

“That’s one thing that I really love doing — to satisfy their curiosity,” he said Sunday afternoon.

Club members and dealers displayed their collections, both for show and for sale at the event. Some also sold jewelry and books. Borow said everyone at the show would answer questions about their collections.

“They wanna sell stuff, but they want to teach,” Borow said.

Stu Benson, a vendor with his own business, Stone Age, had been coming to the show for 15 years.

“I’ve always enjoyed the show,” he said. “The only people who will come are those who have an interest.”

He called his display a “shotgun booth” because he had everything from jewelry to gemstones to cut stones. He said people will ask him questions about how a rock gets polished, and he’ll explain that it’s a more complicated process than they expect. They take a stone and cut slices on it then pick from a few different grits of polishing. Then they use a polish “finer than a woman’s face polish.”

Benson’s also asked how he got started with his business, which is based out of his home in Somers. He said he and his wife went to a gem and mineral show where someone showed him the difference between a dirty rock and a polished rock, and it intrigued him.

Fritz Moritz of the Bristol Gem and Mineral Club said the club and its events promote the hobby. The show, which includes a small admission, raises funds for club expenses like field trips.

He noted, however, that children and scouts were free, and a lot of activities at the show were geared toward children.

For example, scouts could complete a merit badge there, and there were free garnet samples plus scavenger hunt sheets for children.

Moritz said about 500 people attended the show on Saturday and maybe 300 attended Sunday.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Janet Picano, of Colchester, who brought her 7-year-old daughter Evelena to the show. “We like rocks and gems and fossils.”

“I like it a lot,” Evelena said.

Carmen Ratte, of Bristol, said she and her husband go to the show every year.

“It’s really nice,” she said. “My husband likes the lucky stones.”

Freesia Singngam can be reached at fsingngam@centralctcommunications.com or (860) 584-0501, ext. 7259.

The 2009 EFMLS Convention and Show are now a thing of the past. I think I speak for everyone attending in thanking the good folks of the Bristol Gem & Mineral Society for giving us a wonderful weekend!

The club show was terrific! For those of us who came from as far away as Florida, seeing dealers specializing in New England minerals was a rare treat. Many of us went home with new specimens for our collections and new jewelry and gems as well.

The enthusiasm of all the club members was infectious…they were everywhere doing everything! The smiles on the faces of all the volunteers was wonderful to see…you could easily tell that everyone was enjoying their tasks.

Every aspect of the convention was handled well — from the “goody bags” that accompanied our badges to the favors on the tables at the banquet to the “convenience dinner” held between the cracker barrel and the annual meeting. The meal was home cooked by the club members and was delicious! I doubt if anyone went away hungry!

If there was a “down” side to the weekend it was the weather. Driving north on Thursday through light snow and seeing a forecast that called for more snow showers on Friday was a bit discouraging as many had hoped to be able to view the fall leaf colors in sunshine. It was cool and overcast throughout the weekend – not something the club could predict or change. Sunday, those who went to Roxbury for the field trip came back with lots of garnets and some mud as an extra souvenir.

Those visiting the Connecticut Mining Museum in Kent saw a wonderful small gem of a teaching museum. Founder Jack Pawloski has expanded the museum considerably and is in the process of revamping several of the exhibits. The focus is on Connecticut minerals and mining and many wonderful specimens line the walls throughout the museum.

We certainly thank the Bristol Gem & Mineral Society for hosting the convention and giving us a wonderful experience. Hats off…Bravo! We had a great time.

BRISTOL — Rock, gem and mineral fans from throughout the East will gather at Douglas Beals Senior/Community Center this weekend.

During its annual show, the Bristol Gem and Mineral Club is hosting the annual convention of the Eastern Federation of Mineralogical and Lapidary Societies.

Twenty club members will display their collections and 18 dealers will have crystals, gems and rock-related books and jewelry to sell. The show is open to the public.

“People come and they usually wind up staying a lot longer than they expect to,” said David Korzendorfer, club president.

The show attracted almost 1,000 people last year, many of them children.

“Kids just love rocks,” said Korzendorfer.

This year, the club expects even more people, he said, because delegates from rock, gem and mineral clubs from Maine to Florida will participate.

Information on a trip to a Roxbury garnet mine will also be available. Also, there will be games for children, door prizes and food.

At 1 p.m. Saturday, Jack Pawloski, the director of the Connecticut Museum of Mining and Mineral Science in Kent, will speak about the state’s mining history. A 2 p.m. workshop will focus on how to identify minerals and at 3 p.m., the workshop is about common uses of rocks and minerals.

The show runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5 for ages 12 and up, seniors get in for $4. Children under 12 are admitted free, as are any Scout leaders or Scouts in uniform. Workshops are free.

(From Bristol Press comments)

“Been there” wrote on Oct 16, 2009 5:34 AM: