BLACK BILLIE
Next
Meeting May 26, 2009
UPCOMING CALENDAR OF EVENTS
(Mark
your calendars ! ! !)
May 17, 2009 - Gold Panning Class at the
Adavan Claim
May 26, 2009 - Board/General Meeting
June 14, 2009 - Group Outing - Tammy Claim
Jun 23, 2009 - Board/General Meeting
Jul 4 Weekend - Group Outing to the 7&7
Jul
28, 2009 - Board/General Meeting
Aug 25, 2009 - Board/General Meeting
Sept 22, 2009 - Board/General Meeting
Oct
27, 2009 - Board/General Meeting
Nov 24, 2009 - Board/General Meeting
1 Year Gold – NYSE
5/11/2009 – 9 a.m.
PST $ 913.20
One Year High 993.20
One Year Low 709.50
1 Year Silver – NYSE
5/11/2009 – 9 a.m.
PST $ 13.92
One Year High 19.09
One Year Low 8.92
PRESIDENT’S LETTER
The
trail is the thing, not the end of the trail.
Travel too fast and you miss all you are traveling for.
Louis L’Amour
Take
time to stop and smell the roses. Who
knows who said that first? But it seems
we all need to slow down and take time in today’s fast pace of life. Sometimes it feels like we are just rushing
around and trying to ‘get done’ and we forget to enjoy what we are doing. As we go out in the quest for the yellow
metal, we need to remember to enjoy the beauty of our natural
surroundings. They may not be roses but
there are plenty of flowers and plants to smell and view. Check out the rocks that you find along your
path or in your pan. You never know what
you may come across. Value is not just
monetary but visual. Remember beauty is
in the eyes of the beholder. Get out
there and enjoy yourselves and remember sunscreen and bug repellent!
Mike
Wiegand
“Never give up, for that is just the
place and time that the tide will turn.” Harriet Beecher Stowe
Our apologies to members who receive
their Gold Pan via U.S Mail. The notice under “Upcoming Calendar of
Events” about the May 17th Gold Panning Class at the Adavan Claim
will probably have come and gone by the time you get your newsletter this
month. So the only ones who will have
time to prepare for this class are those who receive The Gold Pan by email and those members who attended the April
meeting.
To receive your copy of The Gold Pan by email, just send me an email at leenielson1@aol.com to give me the OK!
Lee J
WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS
Samuel Austin - Kings Beach, CA
Denise & Richard Bowles - Herlong, CA
James Brott - Reno,
NV
Donald Chambers - Sparks,
NV
Wes Ferson - Wrightwood,
CA
Delbert Harp - Reno,
NV
Kurt & Sonja Sexton - Dayton, NV
NOTE:
Jennifer Nelson, our recording secretary, has written some very informative articles
that have appeared in Ol’ Virginny Ink
and also in The Gold Pan. We have so many new members that I thought it
appropriate to re-run a few of Jennifer’s articles. Following is one that appeared in The Gold Pan in February 2008.
Lee
NOT
YOUR FATHER’S GOLD PAN
by Jennifer Nelson
Sure
you know what a gold pan looks like -- round metal with a small bottom and
sloped sides -- simple, basic, the old faithful of gold recovery. But the times and the gold pans are a
changin’ my friends!
Gold
price are at a 28 year high and the makers of gold pans are scrambling to get
in on the new gold rush.
Ever
seen a 6-sided hexagonal pan? How about
a Trinity Bowl complete with Rising Sluice?
The newest is the Gold Rush Pro pan with one riffle and bumps that are
properly referred to as Agitation Knobs.
(These pans are so lopsided you’ll swear you just did a shot of whiskey
before you picked one up.) All the
newest technology and latest ideas are what makes the gold pan market a new and
exciting way to get your share of that elusive yellow metal.
With
all of these new innovations, how do you choose the right pan? The pan that is best for you is the one that
feels comfortable and the one that produces the result you desire -- gold. Very few people still use the old basic metal
pans. The new pans are plastic and come
in green, blue, and black. Prices range
from $3.95 to $18.95. They are lighter
than the old metal pans and have molded riffles.
The
most popular are the Garret Gravity Trap and the Keene 14” Super pan. Close on the heels of these famous old
standbys are the newest pans: The
Trinity Bowl, the Hex, the Grizzly, and the very newest: Gold Rush Pro pan.
Whichever
pan you choose, remember that gravity is the secret ingredient. Keep the material settled and the heaviest
particles, the gold and that pesky black sand will be all that remains. Your job then is just to get the gold out of
the black sand.
Here’s
to pans -- old and new -- and the prospectors -- old and new -- who use
them. Location, gravity, and a good gold
pan are all you need. You can get your
own gold!
This article is approximately as it appeared
in ‘Ol Virginny Ink magazine, Vol.
III, Edition 12, published in Virginia City, NV. Thanks to the Editor, Sharon McCrary, for
allowing us to use this article. www.olvirginnyink.com
The Club wishes to thank you
for all your contributions to the raffle table. It helps to pay for the meeting
hall. Please remember to contribute. It does not really matter what
it is. Clean out your garage. If you don't have a use for it, someone
else does. Don't throw it away; put it on the table. ONE MANS GARBAGE IS ANOTHER'S MANS GOLD!
Thank you.
Mike Maxwell, Member at Large
MINUTES OF THE BOARD
MEETING
April 28, 2009
President
Mike Wiegand called the meeting to order at 6:25 p.m.
Board Members
Present: Bill Vogt, Mike Maxwell, Nadine Miller, Mike
Wiegand, Jennifer Nelson, Jim Richards, Grant Garrison, Leland Wong
Absent: Lee Nielson, Gary Nielson, Claire
Wiegand
Corrections to Minutes: None
Treasurer’s Report: Nadine
Miller
The
Treasurer’s Report was read and approved.
Motion
to Accept: Jennifer, 2nd Bill
Vogt
Claims Report: Grant
Garrison. The Ken Bennett has a HUGE tree across the road, we’ll need a 20” bar
chainsaw to clear it. Mike W. & Grant walked the last 150 yards. They tried
to get to the new claim, the 7&7, but didn’t make it due to a wall of snow.
The Adaven is accessible, it needs a new claim sign. The Who-Do looked pretty
good. No one was “living” on any of the claims checked. Maps to the new claim
will be available in a couple weeks when access is better.
Old Business: The
Pleasant Valley Elementary School panning demo was a huge – but COLD – success.
There were 29 children and all got a little gold. Thank you to our volunteers:
Bud & Nadine Miller, Ken & Virginia Brown, Bill Vogt, Mike Wiegand and
Al Gottsch! Thank you!! We will have 2 more demos soon, the Cub Scouts and the
Boy Scouts. No dates yet. The Boy Scouts would like to pan and then camp at an
open area. Dates and times will be announced when the information is available.
The
Club has a trailer! We purchased a nice trailer, 6 x 10, enclosed, for $1800 +
tax. All of the panning demo equipment fits! The Board discussed tubs instead
of the current ˝ 55 gallon barrels. We
also need a shelf in the trailer and an area to stack pans. New tables were
also discussed. We will be purchasing magnetic signs to put on the trailer
during panning demonstrations.
New Business: Mike Maxwell will not be here for the May
meeting. Jim Richards volunteered to take Mike’s place as Raffle Chair. Toni
volunteered to sell t-shirts, hats, etc., at this meeting because of Claire’s
absence. Our new webmaster, Sid Parrish, has updated the online member
application to require a 2nd signature for family memberships. Sid
may be adding a “chat” area to the site, also possibly a Classifieds section.
The web address is cgpgold.org.
The
Club has added 40 – 50 new memberships in the last month. Welcome to all new
members!
Grant
picked up maps for possible Nevada claims. He’s looking for something with
water, (that made Nadine & I laugh but if anyone can do it Grant can!).
Good luck Grant!
Motion to Adjourn: 7:10
p.m. by Jim Richards, 2nd Jennifer Nelson
Minutes
prepared by Jennifer Nelson
MINUTES
OF THE GENERAL MEETING
April 28, 2009
President
Mike Wiegand called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m.
Corrections to Minutes:
Robert Voshall would like to clarify that the
newsletters he provided to Club Historian Bill Vogt were from his personal
collection and not from a yard sale.
Treasurer’s
Report: Nadine Miller. The Treasurer’s Report
was read and approved. Motion to Accept:
Al Gottsch, 2nd Dave Weingarten
Claims Report: Grant
Garrison. Grant & Mike W. made an attempt to get to the new claim but were
blocked by a wall of snow. They will try again on Sunday May 17th,
there is a sign up sheet available for anyone who would like to tag along.
Contact Mike Wiegand if interested. The Ken Bennett has a HUGE tree over the
road, Mike with some help will try to get it cleared this next weekend. The
Adaven is missing one claim sign, but looked pretty good, the water is very
high. The Who-Do claim on Nelson was sampled and a few flakes were found. The
Lucky Linda and the Shiloh will be the next trip. New member Casey went to the
Who-Do and also found a few flakes, but he left a 2’ “ugly stick” by mistake, if
anyone comes across it let a Board member know and we’ll get it back to Casey.
Virginia and Nadine went to the Lucky Linda and didn’t find anything. The Tammy
claim is still too wet to drywash. We discussed a Log Book for Club members to
log the work they’ve done at the claims. Tom Rose said if you’re going to the
Who-Do “you need to be a mountain goat!”.
Guest Speaker: Our scheduled speaker, Bruce Broadhead, gave a
nice talk on his many experiences in many years in Nevada. Bruce will speak
again at future meetings.
Old Business: We
found an enclosed trailer for the equipment. The trailer is 6 x 10 and was
$1800 plus tax. It’s a 2007 model and is like new. All of the Club demo
equipment fits nicely. The trailer is only for Club outings and demos, not for
member use. Anyone hauling the trailer needs to have trailer endorsement on
their auto insurance policy. The trailer is small enough that even a car can
haul it – no truck necessary. A big Thank You to Grant for finding the trailer!
The
Pleasant Valley Elementary School panning demo was a great but chilly success.
All 29 children got gold! Thank you to the volunteers: Bud & Nadine Miller,
Ken & Virginia Brown, Bill Vogt, Mike Wiegand and Al Gottsch!
New Business: Outings
Chairman Larry Smith announced a few planned outings. The July 4th
weekend will be a group outing to the new claim, the 7&7. There is a trip
planned to the Tammy claim on the 14th of June. The current map to
the Tammy claim is hard to follow, Nadine will help Larry find it! We may need
a new map. Don’t plan on taking a trailer to the new claim - or to the Ken
Bennett.
Are
you green at panning? There will be a Sunday panning class for members on May
17th at the Adaven. There is a sign up sheet available or contact
Larry Smith or Mike Wiegand to sign up.
Guests: There
were 2 guests present. A warm welcome to guest Brenda Roberts, and guest Frank
Silverie. Hope to see you again!
New Members: Wow!
The front of the room was FULL of new members! I got the kids names, welcome
Brandon O’Connell! & Welcome to the lucky winner of the gold, Tim Syriac,
son of Mike & Shelly. I tried to get all of the names – but I didn’t
succeed – my apologies and Welcome to All!
Attendance: Bob
Landa won the silver round. Congrats Bob!
Membership: Virgil Forare of Fernley was drawn,
not present and less than 50 miles away. The drawing for May will be for 3
silver rounds.
Motion to Adjourn: 8:45
p.m. by Al Gottsch, 2nd Dave Weingarten.
Mike
Maxwell needs a volunteer to sell the Christmas Raffle tickets at the meetings
– Jim Richards volunteered, Thank You Jim!
Member
Lani Smith lost a vial with a white top with 5 or 6 garnets, if anyone has
found it please let a board member know and we’ll get it back to Lani.
Minutes
prepared by Jennifer Nelson.
Comstock
Gold Prospectors
PO Box 20781
Reno NV
89515-0781
Web site: http://www.cgpgold.org
General
Meeting
4th
Tuesday of each month
7:30 PM at the
Masonic Wadsworth
Lodge #25
2425 Pyramid Way,
Sparks, NV
(Corner of Pyramid
& York Way)
Board
Meeting
4th
Tuesday of each month
6:30 PM – prior to
the General Meeting
Masonic Wadsworth
Lodge #25
2425 Pyramid Way,
Sparks, NV
(Corner of Pyramid
& York Way)
ALL MEMBERS WELCOME
Club Officers – 2009
President: Mike Wiegand - 775/835.6780
Email: bethemiracle777@sbcglobal.net
Past President: Leland Wong
Email: Llw1345@cs.com 775/882.5704
Vice-President: Grant Garrison
Email: woodygmg@aol.com -- 775/359-9238
Secretary: Jennifer
Nelson
renoprospectors@sbcglobal.net
– 775/329-7553
Treasurer: Nadine
Miller
Email: nmiller@cccomm.net
-- 775/867.3550
Membership/Historian:
Bill Vogt
Email: Wvogt@sbcglobal.net -- 775/747-3145
Editor: Lee Nielson
Email: leenielson1@aol.com -- 775/884.2656
Board Members at
Large
Mike Maxwell
Email: mdmbfb@aol.com 775/348.1620
Gary Nielson
Email: cgnielson@aol.com 775/884.2656
Jim Richards
Email: rsmokinguns@yahoo.com 775/225-2494
Claire Wiegand
775/835.6780
Email: bethemiracle777@sbcglobal.net
Remember, if you have been elected to a
Board position, your attendance is required at all Board meetings.
If you can not attend, be sure one of the Board members has your proxy
to allow for completion of necessary business.
Notice to All :
The Board welcomes new ideas about outings, claims, speakers, programs,
activities, social events, fund raising, public awareness, training programs, prospecting successes, anecdotes,
hints, tall tales, lies, and gossip.
CLASSIFIED SECTION
650W Honda
Generator.
$275.00. Good for travel trailer or camping. Contact Dick Tieben (775) 887-9085. Cell (775) 720-3331.
Wanted -- 8 x 10
enclosed trailer. Contact Al at 775-770-0826.
To place or renew a business ad, send a check to Comstock Gold
Prospectors, c/o Editor, 4242 Spring Drive, Carson City, NV 89701. Include your ad layout, and your phone number
or email address. Personal ads
are free to members for a maximum of 3 editions of the newsletter.
Full Page
Ad: $50.00 per month
Half Page
Ad: $25.00 per month
Quarter Page
Ad: $12.50 per month
The
Club drywasher may be rented by Club members for $5/day, $15/week. A VacPak is
also available. The drywasher is kept at
Reno Prospector’s Supply (775/329-7553), 315 Claremont St., Reno.
