Newsletters 2007

January '07

Hello Everyone

Sure hope everyone is ok after the horrendous Tornadoes that plagued Central Florida last nite.  Seems like we just got over a bad holiday storm at Christmas and now this.  If anyone needs help, please let me know, I will do what I can. I have lots of clothes that I used to sell on Ebay that could maybe help out.

Our meeting this month was fairly good. Other than the fact that I did not bother to look at my emails the night before the meeting, I really messed up.  Art had emailed me that he would be bringing Coffee, and bless his heart he did, the only problem was there were no cups, creamer or sugar.  Shame on me!!!  From now on I will make it a point to check me emails when we get close to a meeting.  Again, sorry, and I'll sure try not to let that happen again.

The topic of discussion at this meeting was about our 1st outing this year.  It will be held over the Memorial Day Weekend, That's Saturday and Sunday May 26th and 27th.  As most of you know the campground over by the school is not in operation at this particular time, however, things could change, we hope.

Seems the gentleman who owned the property behind the campground including Bennet Creek and Beech Creek passed away and his kin folk have choosen to sell the property.  There has been some talk about some of the prospective buyers possibly interested in still utilizing it for prospecting, we will just have to wait and see.  Anyway the outing will be at Buchanan and camping will be over at the farm.  For those of you who are not familiar with that location, be sure to make it to one of our meetings between now and the outing date for more information.

The Raffle this month yeilded a bag of Concentrate, taken by Duane and a 1 oz. Silver Englehart Medallion won by Red Branson.

Our February meeting will be saturday the 10th.  Please make plans to attend.  There won't be a PotLuck this month, mainly because we can't be sure what kind of weather we could be dealing with, but a little birdie told me that there will Definitely be one for our March meeting.

Hope everyone's year is off to a great start.  See ya next weekend, Saturday the 10th, Warren Park at 9:00am.

Paulette

Feburary '07

Hi Everyone,

Today was a very good meeting.  We had some visitor members from Wisconsin, Larry and Vicki Zdroik, along with Larry's mother Delores who are on their annual vacation to Florida.  We were glad to see them and we could see them more often. At least they were out of the bitter cold weather that has plagued their state with temps in the below 40's mark here of late.

We also had a surprise visit from Steve Martin, who is the Florida State Director of the GPAA.  Steve had some places that we should check out as far as our outings go. There seems to be a place in Alabama that you can access on the computer for more info than I can give you at this time (because I haven't been to the web site prior to writing this newsletter) and he says they have toilets, showers, a little store and the site has been yeilding a few penny weight nuggets.

IT is a pay site for dredging and camping, but it is not Salted, plus with the amenities a few dollars more shouldn't be a problem. You can go to AlabamaGoldCamp.com and check it out.  Also, he mentioned another place in S.E. North Carolina on the Euphoria River that has been turning the bottom of some gold pans with a penny and 2 penny weight nuggets.  I don't have all the info on that site yet but will check it out and let you know.  I do know this is Not a pay site and is also Not Salted.

There is still no news to speak of about the campground that we usually go to in Buchanan, but anything can happen between now and when our outing is planned.  The Heatherton's are the owners of the Farm claimand their son Brian is the Caretaker. I plan to get in touch with him before our next meeting so that we will have a little more info on that.

Jim Green and his wife Cookie are down with the flu right now, so they were not in shape to be at the meeting today, but Duanetook over with his V.P. duties and did a great job.

The raffle today was for a 2.2 gram Australian nugget and it was won by visitor Delores to take back to Wisconsin with her, not something they see too often way up there....  Congatulations Delores.

Our meeting in March will be on the 10th and will be a Pot Luck.  The club will be furnishing Fried Chicken and Drinks, so that leaves all the other good stuff, (potato salad, macaroni salad, cole slaw, baked beans, veggie plate, desserts, etc.) or any other kind of side dish that suits your palate I'm sure we can all come up with to fill the gaps.

Well, that's all for now, I will email everyone again about a week before the metting as a reminder.  Hope everyone has a great month and Happy Valentine's Day.

Paulette

March '07

Hi Everyone,

Today was a very good metting.  We had a great Pot Luck, Freid Chicken, Meat Balls, Baked Beans, Jumbalaya, Cole Slaw, (3)potato salads, Macaroni Sald, Monkey Bread, (thanks to Debbie Briggs,I haven't seen in years), Brocolli Salad, Potato Chips, Sour Cream Cake, Red Velvet Bars, and Art's Fantastic Cherry Chocolate Cookies, all in all a very good fare!

We also were fortunate to see Craig Grindle back today, he's been battling some pretty serious medical problems, and also Johnathon was with us today.  Boy has he grown since the last time I saw him, quite a little man.

Most of todays meeting was devoted to the upcoming outing the end of May.  As a reminder, it is the 26th and 27th, that's a Saturday and Sunday.  Right now as it stands, we will be camping at the Farm in Buchanan.  This is only a stones throw away from where we usually camp, so very easy to find.  I'm sure there will be alot more discussion at out April meeting, so please to to be there if you are planning to go on the outing, the time is creeping up on us.

The new GPAA Product List is available thru Frankfor any of you who are in the market for any of the GPAA trinkets, gold prospecting supplies, etc.

The Raffle today yeilded a Bag of Concentrate and was won by David Briggs.  I hear there was supposed to be some pretty good stuff in that bag.

Well, enough for now, hope everyone had a Happy Easter and a visit form the infamous Easter Bunny with all his treats. April Meeting, Saturday, April 14th at 9:00a.m. at Warren Park.

See you all there.

Paulette

April '07

Hi Everyone,

Not alot to write about this month.  We did discuss the upcoming outing over the Memorial day Weekend.

Don't forget to mark your calendars for the 26th an 27th so you wuill be sure to be there.  We will be camping over at the Farm, and dredging there also.  Upper Holcomb, over behind the school is another place that can be worked and we will talk about that at our meeting in May.

Frank has ordered some hats fron the GPAA and hopefully they will be here by this coming meeting.

Ellen Shadler was at this meeting with the cutest most well behaved little dog that she adopted from the Humane Society.  It's name is Keeper and it really is.  Ellen also was ecstatic about the concentrate she won at the Christmas Party, lots of good stuff.

Our May meeting is going to be a Pot Luck, but it will be a brunch ado. Because of the weather starting to show it's ugly heat, we are gonna try to bring foods that won't have a chance to spoil, so Vegetables, Fruits, Sandwiches, sweets, etc. would be great.

If you just can't do without a certain thin, then please bring it anyway.  So far since I've been with the club I don't know of anybody getting sick from any of the foods we have had.  Art is going to bring the Coffee and the Club with furnish other beverages.  I will of course bring the condiments for the Coffee and the Plates, Forks, Spoons, etc.

The Meeting for May is Saturday the 12th, same time same place. Last discussions and plans will be made for the outing, as it is only a couple weeks away.

We would like to wish a Happy Birthday to Ellen Shadler who's birthday was on May 1st and Tommy Chancey who's birthday was on May 5th.

See you all on the 12th.

Paulette

May '07

Hi Everyone,

Hope everything is going well with those of you who could not be with us this month.

We had a very nice Brunch/Lunch ado.  There was sliced sandwich meats, breads, cheese bites, cookies, sweet loaves, potato salad, donuts, chips and dip, and even a very pretty Cake.  It was just enough without being too much.

We had an unexpected visit from Mike Winkler today and it was really great to see him.  Mike's work keeps him from attending too many of our meetings.

We also had a new prospective member from Tampa.  His name is Mark Turner, and Mike is going to try hard to go to our outing this month. We welcome you Mike and hope you can make the outing.

Speaking of the Outing, it is as scheduled, Sat and Sunday, May 26th and 27th in Buchanan at the farm.  If anyone needs directions please let me know, I will be more than happy to help you out.  MY family and I will be leaving on the 24th and will continue to stay until June 1st.  Hopefully some of you will be able to stay also.  There will be a Dinner on either Saturday night or Sunday, the club donates $100.00 toward this feast, and it is usually at the Pizza Farm. Don't let them fool you, they have Pizza to Steaks.

Frank and Art are leaving shortly for Alaska, followed by David and debbie. We wish them a safe and hopefully very prosperous trip.  The Raffle today was for a 2.2 Australian Nugget and was won by Jim Green.

Our June meeting will be on Saturday, June 9th, 9:00 a.m, Warren Park.  Here's hoping to see alot of you at the Outing in two weeks, please drive safely.

Paulette

June '07

Hi Everyone,

Today was a very good meeting.  Attendence was great, considering several of our regular members are out of the state.

I hear that there seems to be a slight problem with some of the members who have headed to Alaska, seems that there is quite a bit of ice on some of the claims they're accustomed to going to, making it pretty much impossible to prospect. Not sure of this info, but I'm sure we will know in a month or so.

The Memorial Day Outing was pretty good.  Not alot of gold, but enough to whet the appetite and encourage a return trip. The smoke from some of the fires in Georgia tried to rear it's ugly face a couple of times, but it wasn't too bad.  After the Outing on sunday, we all headed to the Pizza Farm for the club dinner.  As far as I know everyone was satisfied.

If there is a second Outing this year, it will be discussed in the next couple of meetings, for those of you who have never been on one of the Outings, it is really a great time just too relax and socialize along with "getting wet to find gold."

We had a couple of visitors this month, MSG Tommy Davis and his wife Realynn, a very nice young couple. We welcome them to our club and meetings, and hope to see them again soon.

The meeting for July 14 will be a Pot Luck.  Anything you want to bring will be fine and the club will furnish the beverages.  Since we are at that time of the year when it is so hot by 11 O'clock or so, keep that in mind when planning what to bring.  Again, anything you want to bring is fine, even if it is just snack type foods (fruits, veggie trays, cheese and cracker trays, finger sandwhiches, chips and dips cookies, etc.)

The Raffle this month was for a bag of concentrate and it was won by visitor, Raelynn Davis.  Hope you find some yellow in that bag Raelynn.  Please come back and let us know.

Well, that's about it for this month.  See you at the Meeting on Sat. July 14th, Warren Park, 9:00 am. Hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July.

Paulette

July '07

Hi Everyone,

Our July meeting was very nice. We had a great POT LUCK with just enough goodies to satisfy everyone's taste.  Topics of discussion in July were of the possibility of a second outing this year and our Christmas Party location. More on those subjects were scheduled to be discussed further in August or when our Alaskan Wanderers returned. All in all it was a good meeting.

Paulette

August '07

Hi Everyone,

Again we had a great turnout at this meeting, and our Alaskan troop has returned.  Apparantly some unusual weather kept them from accomplishing what they went for to the tune of Ice that kept them from even getting to their claim, except by ATV.  They did bring back some really nice pieces of Aurora Borealis, and everyone could have some. Needless to say, we were all more than happy to bring some home.

Frank, did some buying for the club Raffles while he was there, and today our raffles reflected that.  A bag of Felix's Pay Dirt was won by Stephanie Tryon, (Jim's granddaughter).  Frank also offered for raffle Two 20 pound bags of overburden and that was won by Duane.

The location for our annual, Christmas Party was decided on, and it will be at the Pavilion at Warren Park on Saturday, Dec. 8th. Our Annual Election of Officers will be in September, so please be there.

All offices are open for running, put on your thinking caps and decide who you would like to see run.  As a little added incentive to our Sept. meeting, we will be having a Pot Luck.  The menu is open, but please let me know at least 4 or 5 days ahead of the meeting what you are bringing.  The club will furnish the beverages and ice.  This will be the last Pot Luck for this year except for the Christmas Party.

September meeting will be on Saturday the 8th.  We had a tiny little creature join us at our meeting this month.  Seems a couple found a little baby raccoon in the road near the park, and they brought it in and managed to convince Art Wolf that he should take it.  Art and Faith live where they have some wooded area behind their house and there seems to be a mother raccoon with a litter of her own that Faith is hoping will adopt this little one.  Will keep you posted as I find out more info.  Sure was a cute little thing and Faith and Debbie forgot about the meeting so they could kinda love it and try to keep it from being so scared.  It's that mother instinct that takes over.  Anyway, I sure hope Art and Faith have luck in finding it a mother.

Duane and I are headed back to Buchanan on the 14th of August.  We will be there until around the 25th.  If anyone has the time to join us, we would be more than happy to see you.  Jim Green is also gonna be up there around the 19th or 20th.

Hope everyone has a great month, drive safely if you venture off over the Labor Day weekend, and will see you Sat.  Sept 8th.

Paulette

September '07

Hi Everyone,

Just a reminder that the meeting this Saturday is a Pot Luck.  The menu is open, so anything will be fine.  We have been trying to keep the summer pot lucks kinda light due to the hot days, so plan accordingly. The club will be furnishing the beverages. Also, new Election of Officers is the month, so be thinking of who you would like to see as officers for the coming year.

Paulette

October '07

Hi Everyone,

Our October meeting was a very nice one.  We discussed a lot of things for the next couple of months, and will be discussing them in more detail at our November meeting.

Debbie is working very hard to organize the inventory that the club has on various items that can be purchased.  Markup on items sold at the club meetings was voted on and will be 25% over what the club pays for the items.  That is not a lot of markup when you consider that the money that is made from those sales, plus our raffles is what the club operates on to purchase more items, raffles, dinner at our outings, Christmas Party Entree, and sometimes a main meat and beverages for some of our Pot Lucks. We will be finalizing what we are buying for the Christmas Party and what foods our members are going to be bringing at the November meeting, so please try to be there.

We would like to welcome a new member to our meetings, Bob Gabler from Deltona and hope to see him as a regular.  There has been some talk about a Metal Detecting outing in the next 2 or 3 months, so start thinking about where we could all go that would be convenient for everyone.  Our raffle this month was for a bag of Felix's Paydirt and was won by Jim Green, hope that bag is very productive Jim.

Okay, November Meeting will be on Sat. the 10th, Warren Park, 9:00 am. Plan ahead for the Christmas Party, the date for it is Sat. the 8th of Dec.  Hope everyone is having a good month, and keep a lookout for the ghosties and goblins tonight.

Paulette

November '07

Hi Everyone,

Well, our November meeting was very good.  There was a lot of things discussed and some great information obtained.

First of all, there will be NO markup on GPAA merchandise purchased thru the club.  Prices will be as stated in the Catalog with no shipping charges.  A lot of the merchandise we have for sale each year is obtained from the GPAA using club credits.  Credits are received when our members renew the yearly GPAA memberships and making sure the GPAA knows they are renewing thru our club, so be sure when you renew to let them know.

We will be using an ATTENDANCE INCENTIVE, including this year, where each member will be given a ticket for each monthly meeting they attended during the year that will be used for a RAFFLE at our Annual Christmas Party.  You can be eligible to receive as many as 12 tickets if you have attended all monthly meetings, so let's see who can come up with the most tickets.

There is a Rock and Gem Show in Melbourne Nov. 10 & 11.  I know this is short notice, but I just found out about it at our meeting today.

Bob Gaebler, our newest member shared with us today some information he got at the Loud Mine this past month.  This info comes from the caretaker, I believe, at the Loud Mine and is as follows.  Tom Massey is now the sole owner of the GPAA.  The Outdoor Channel is not in the holdings.  Starting in 2008 there is going to be only 1 outing at the Loud Mine and l at Vein Mountain per year, these two sites are LDMA for those of you who are not familiar.  Supposedly, Tom Massie is going to be at these outings for at least l day if other business priorities allow.  Also, there will be NO MORE 6 month stays at these two sites, 4 months is maximum and there will be a timeout between stays.

Richard Allen, who we were very glad to see today, been quite a while, brought us an email he received, it reads like this: I am interested in selling my Lifetime Membership in the LDMA (Lost Duchman's Mining Assoc.) New memberships are selling for $3750.00.  I am selling mine for $2000.00 Bruce Belnap 760-743-3200

purplesuz@sbcglobal.net

This is a good deal for anyone who is interested, you can't beat the price.

Okay, now for the info on the Annual Christmas Party that will be held at Warren Park, at the Pavilion, Saturday Dec. 8th. We have voted to have the party start at 11:00 am, so as to give everyone a chance to tie up any loose ends for their part of the Side Dishes they are bringing, and for those that work in the evenings or drive a good distance, they can get a little extra sleep.  It is VERY IMPORTANT that you contact me via email or phone by the last weekend in November on what you are bringing.  The club is furnishing a Ham and the rest of the eats are up to us.

At this time, I have a few members that have already obligated themselves for side dishes.  Candied Sweet Potatoes-Ambrosia-Green Bean Casserole-Turkey-Fruit Salad-Rolls-Potato Dish and Beverages.  We still could use some more variety-Desserts (Hello Art-Kiss Kiss), maybe some dressing, gravy, deviled eggs, potato salad, macaroni salad, cole slaw, cheese tray, veggie tray, etc.  These are just ideas, NOT necessities.  Just use your imagination.

The Secret Santa will be a part of the celebration.  For each person who brings a Wrapped Gift, they will receive one. If you are not familiar with how the Secret Santa works, let me know and I will be happy to explain.  Please keep the spending for the gift NO MORE THAN $10.00

Well, I guess that's about all I can come up with this month.  Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving, drive safely if you're traveling on this holiday and PLEASE Don't Forget to let me know what you are bringing for dinner by the end of this month.

By the way, I wanted to let everybody know that Rae-Lynn and Tom will not be with us at Christmas, they are going to the Bahamas.  I do want to thank them, and I'm sure everyone else does too, they donated a Publix Gift Certificate as their part of the Christmas Dinner.  You didn't have to do that, but it was a great gesture and will all appreciate it.

Hope you have a fantastic vacation and a very Merry Christmas.

Paulette