Greensboro Gem & Mineral Club

Greensboro Gem & Mineral Club, Inc.

MEETINGS

DIRECTIONS

CLASSES

ASSOCIATED CLUBS

UPCOMING MEETINGS

CLUB SHOWS

MEMBERSHIP

NEWSLETTER

HISTORY

CONTACT US

LINKS

The Greensboro Gem and Mineral Club, Inc. was founded in 1954 and became a non-profit corporation in June 1999. The objectives of the Club are to promote interest and knowledge of gems, minerals, fossils, and earth sciences as well as to provide instruction and information about rock-hounding and the lapidary arts and crafts. These objectives are achieved through classes, workshops, field trips, and regular Club meetings.

Amethyst Quartz (Mexico) photo by Wendell Wilson
The Photo Atlas of Minerals LA Museum of Natural History

MEETINGS
Meetings are held at 7:00 PM on the first Monday of each month (except holidays)
VISITORS ARE WELCOME
New Garden Friends Meeting Hall
801 New Garden Road
Greensboro, NC

DIRECTIONS
From Interstate 40 (I-40) take exit #213 north towards Guilford College. Approximately 2.25 miles north you will cross Friendly Avenue. Turn left at the next stop light into the driveway of New Garden Friends Meeting Hall and use the last entrance of the building..

CLASSES and ASSOCIATED CLUBS
PIEDMONT SILVERSMITHING GUILD
Earth Songs (aka Mac Anderson-Whitehurst Locksmithing) is open to people interested in silversmithing each Thursday evening beginning at 6:30 pm. Individuals have different levels of experience ranging from novice to advanced. If you are interested in learning how to silversmith then join the fun. Silver, cabs and other tools and supplies are available from Mac. Torches and other equipment are made available. You can determine if silversmithing is for you without having to purchase all the equipment first. Earth Songs is located at 2106 Patterson Avenue, Greensboro, NC 27407; telephone 294-2111.
THE PIEDMONT GEMCUTTER'S GUILD John Hiller, club representative
Meetings are held the third Tuesday of each month at Earth Songs (Mack Anderson Whitehurst's building), 2106 Patterson Avenue, Greensboro, NC. The meetings are open to all individuals whether you facet or not.
Faceting (gem stone cutting) classes for beginning and advanced students are being offered at Randolph Community College, Archdale campus. Classes start Wednesday January 8 and runs to March 12. Another class starts March 26 and runs to May 21. Classes begin at 6:30 pm and end at 9:30 pm. Cost is about $85. Directions are simple, I-85 south to exit 111 which is Highway 311. Head south about four miles and the campus is on the left. Look for Building "B". Travel time is less than 30 minutes from north Greensboro. The instructor is John Hiller.
Twentieth Annual Piedmont Gemcutters Guild Faceting Contest: this year's competition stones will be quartz, citrine, smokey or amethyst, and the design is the simple round brilliant, 10-15 mm. Cut diagrams can be obtained from John Hiller, GGMC President. The due date for the competition is the October 3, 2008.

MEMBERSHIP
Membership is open to anyone that shows or expresses an interest in the objectives of the Club. There are three Classes of membership: Class 1 (voting) usually adults and senior members of the community and Class 2 (non-voting) usually children or members below the age of 18. The final level of membership is a life time honorary membership. This type of membership is decided and voted on by the membership. Honorary members are those individuals who are exemplary Club volunteers and have furthered the Club's mission with investment of personal time and effort.
Class 1 membership dues are $15/year and Class 2 membership is $5/year. Most of the money goes to Club liability insurance and Federation Dues. To receive a newsletter, at least one household member must be a Class 1 member. There are exceptions for college students. Honorary members do not pay dues. MEMBERSHIP FORM

CLUB HISTORY
The formation of the Piedmont Mineral Club in late 1954 was a direct result of an interest in uranium and gold prospecting, mining, and possibilities of profits. Three of the eleven charter members banded together in hopes of realizing their dreams. The charter members were: Hoyt S. Aaron of Burlington, North Carolina; Frank E. Gilliam, Herman C. Hall, Douglas B. Johnson, Sr. N. F. Johnson, Abe M. Nail, Jack M. Wall, Thomas H. Wall, Robert H. Wall, Gene E. Walters, and Ed Welch, all of Greensboro, North Carolina. The first meetings were held in a television service center and FM transmitting station, WMDE-FM. The station was owned by Herman Hall of Howard Street, located off Spring Garden Street in Greensboro. Meetings were later moved to the Natural Science Center of Greensboro, formally known then as the Greensboro Junior Museum.

The interests of the club members have always been varied. Micro-mounts were popular in the early 1960's followed by Lapidary arts in the form of cabochons and gem faceting. Roy Greene has remained active in the lapidary arts and in partnership with Carl Braswell and Tom Ricks, opened Gemcrafters in November 1974. Roy was president of the club in 1967 and became a graduate gemologist in April, 1981. Roy donated to the Natural Science Center, fifty cut and polished North Carolina gemstones. The collection is the largest indigenous gemstone collection in North Carolina and possibly the United States. Ethel Windsor donated to the Natural Science Center, her entire collection of North Carolina petrified wood 7 1/2 tons. In addition, she donated a collection of rare Tempskya tree fern fossils. For more than thirty years the club has been meeting monthly and the name has been changed to the Greensboro Gem and Mineral Club. In 1999 the Club became an independent not-for-profit corporation with a 501.C.3 tax exemption certification and the Club has broadened it's community involvement and is now The Greensboro Gem and Mineral Club, Inc.