Newsletters 2015

January, 2015

Another year with new never seen before gold to be found.

This first meeting of the new year was the largest January meeting our chapter ever had. Thanks to everyone whom attended, and thanks to Joseph and Pat, Dale, James and Rick for joining us for the first time. We hope you made a few new friends and that we'll see you again at a future meeting.

Chris thanked everyone attending and touched base on the wonderful Holiday Party the chapter members put together this year.


Old Business

We didn't really have any, except for the election of 2015 chapter officers. Chris is President, Eddie is Vice President, Bob as Secretary and our new treasurer is Terry. Official GPAA papers were filled out and there ready to be sent off to the headquarters. The chapter would like to thank Jim for his three years, 2012 - 2014, as chapter treasurer. He did a great job over the years for the chapter.

The chapter tee and polo shirts were distributed to almost everyone that ordered them, and there are several extras ready for anyone that would like one.

With the turnover of the treasurer, that chapter name tags are on hold until the order gets placed. Chris asked if members would now prepay for these in advance. The Cost is $7.00. Think about this if you would like one as the chapter will place the order shortly.


New Business.

Spring Outings... Chris discussed the possibility of heading back to Lucky Strike this spring, and told the chapter he'll be looking for the best dates available. Any cost associated should be prepaid prior to the last meeting before the outing dates. The total cost for using the big wash plant will be $1400.00, and per person cost will vary according to the number of attendees. The initial estimate is $140.00 for 10 members participating. He also indicated if there is not enough, the chapter could always rent the trommel we used just this fall. Using the larger wash plant includes a pay loader at our beckoning call, and unlimited processing of pay dirt. Well almost unlimited, after all there is only so many hours of operation.

Bob is looking into the chapters yearly fossil trip, and will have dates ready for the next meeting. March 21st looks to be the best, as it's before everyone's fossil permits' expiration date. No need to get a new one if we can skip it. For all attendees, you will need a permit if you want to keep any fossils besides shark or ray teeth. The permit is $5.00 and you can get it by heading to http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/vertpaleo/permitapplication.htm

Just print out the page, fill it out, and send it in with the requirements. They are pretty fast at getting it back to you.

Bob went over a change to the Membership Appreciation Raffle, which the chapter voted on and approved. The change is about when a member gets the first raffle ticket. The first raffle ticket will be given for attending at least one meeting or outing. From the 6th meeting/outing a member attends, members will get additional tickets for additional chances to win. Remember this is open to everyone, not just official members of the GPAA. So please sign the sign in sheet as that is what is used to determine the number of tickets.

Sorry, but who won the raffle ? lol.... Chris won it first and said to pick another ticket... Then Eddie won the second one, and again he said to pick another ticket. I can't remember who got the third ticket and I forgot to write it down... So congratulations to whom ever won this months raffle, which was a bag of concentrates. The third time was the charm...

Our next meeting is on February 14th. This will be a Pot luck, so everyone attending should bring a dish to share. We hope to see everyone there.

Till then

Bob Gaebler
Secretary � Orlando Chapter, GPAA
RJGaebler@cs.com

Feb. 2015

There is no Newsletter this month.

Mar. 2015

Spring is here in Florida even though most of the east coast is still trapped in Winter.  Soon enough the snow will melt...

There was a bit of a change this month as the meeting didn't have any new visitors.


Old Business.

Spring Outings...  Chris lead off the meeting discussing the upcoming trip to Lucky Strike this April 17 and 18th, ( Friday and Saturday ).  The chapter will be renting the large wash plant for two days, as we have the minimum number of attendees to cover the cost, ( $1400.00 for the weekend ).  All the pay dirt it can handle is included, and members will be doing various jobs to keep the wash plant running.  He has asked that our chapter gets a large enough area for members staying onsite either in their RV's or camping.  Fees associated with this is extra, and split between those using the facilities.  Motels are near the interstate by Marion, and the Vein Mtn. LDMA Facility is available for those not staying at Lucky Strike.  There will be a dinner on Saturday night at Lucky Strike, and a gold draw / split for all the participants.  The Cost of the Dinner is extra also, but the Chapter contributes $100.00 towards this for members.

Everyone that is not working on the wash plant are free to pursue using their own equipment.  Pay dirt is available at an extra fee to those choosing to do so.  Note: the Unlimited pay dirt is only for the wash plant.  This cannot be used with other personal equipment.

Robert Austin is looking for a ride to the Gold Outing.  He will help with the cost, and is willing to drive if needed.  If you can help, contact him via Email at; austincos@yahoo.com or by phone, 813-523-2673.

Check out http://www.orlandogpaa.org/nxtout.htm for additional details about the Lucky Strike outing.

The Fossil Hunting outing is on Saturday, March 21st.  Members participating are meeting up at the Walmart in Wuchula, Fl. at the corner of E. Rea Rd. and 17 at 9:00 - 9:30am.  Let Bob know if your planning to attend.  It's a bit late now to get a Fossil permit as it's just 7 days from now.  Hope to see you there.


New Business.

The Chapter purchased 3 large bags of older Crissom mine concentrates, and will be auctioning them off at future meetings.  This month the Chapter held an auction for one of the bags.  Congratulations and thanks Mike & Connie on winning.

Our VP, Eddie was contacted a couple of weeks ago by someone who owns some land up in Georgia and may possibly be willing to let our chapter check it out and do a bit of prospecting.  Eddie will have further details by the April meeting, and if all goes well the chapter may be having another outing this year, to a unique location.

In conclusion, congratulations Mike winning this months raffle, a bag of concentrates.

Our next meeting is on April 11th.  We hope to see everyone there.

Till then

Bob Gaebler
Secretary � Orlando Chapter, GPAA
RJGaebler@cs.com

Apr. 2015

Spring is here in Florida even though most of the east coast is still trapped in Winter.  Soon enough the snow will melt...

Last Month there were none, this month we set a record number.

Visitors that is.

We'd like to thank Bill, Elijah, George, Jessie, Ray, Stephen, and Steve for stopping by. We hope you had an enjoyable visit, made a few new friends, and will be returning to join us again.


Old Business.

Bob brought the fossils he found on the March Fossil Outing. Just three members made the trip, but our spot still was rewarding. Lots of shark teeth up to 1.5 inches were found, with a few unusual items we'll need to identify. The water was high, dark in color, making the trip across a bit nerve racking. We're yet to see any Gator s there, but one never knows. The day was another nice one, and with the water high, no one went home with an aching back.

Chris discussed the Lucky Strike outing. He noted that 15 members signed up and paid, so attendees can expect a rebate on the overall cost, since the estimate was based upon 10 attending. With a few more thinking about it, this could end up being the largest outing in our chapters history. So think about spending April 17 and 18th, ( Friday and Saturday ) up in NC running a wash plant for the two days. Many members are camping or staying in their RV's on site, and there are Motels nearby towards Marion Saturday night we'll be having a BBQ dinner, and gold draw / split for all the participants. The Cost of the Dinner is extra, but the Chapter contributes $100.00 towards this for members.

Everyone is also free to pursue using their own equipment in their spare time. Pay dirt is available at an extra fee to those choosing to do so.

Check out http://www.orlandogpaa.org/nxtout.htm for additional details about the Lucky Strike outing.

There isn't any new information about the Georgia Property Eddie brought to the chapters attention in March as He was not present this month. Tune in May.


New Business.

Chris brought up the possibility of having an outing over Memorial Day Weekend, and this was left for members to think about for discussion at the May meeting.

The Chapter sold the last of the GPAA membership kits and will be ordering more.

The chapter gave Bob $50.00 to rent the Pavilion for our Annual Holiday party.

Our next meeting is on May 9h, Mothers Day Weekend, and will be a Pot Luck, so bring something to share with everyone.

Hope to see everyone in May,

Bob Gaebler
Secretary � Orlando Chapter, GPAA
RJGaebler@cs.com

May. 2015

Gold, Gold, Gold.. Our Spring outing to Lucky Strike in April was the biggest in the chapters history. Twenty two members were in attendance over the weekend and worked the wash plant, running over 40 Yards of material. A few pickers were found and at Saturday night's dinner, we held a nice Gold and Gem draw. 22 draws with around the first 14 getting a choice of pickers. In total we found over 12 grams of gold over the weekend, most being fines and small flakes.


Old Business.

The chapter is heading to WEGM on Memorial Day weekend. Details are posted up on the website. This site is primitive with camping only, although Motels are nearby in the Cleveland area. WEGM is required, so nonmembers must be paired up with a WEGM member, and are limited to panning and sluicing if they choose to work by themselves. Contact Chris is you need to be paired up with a member.

Bob discussed rental of the pavilion at Warren Park. It seems the overall fee has been increased to $127. The Fee for renting has stayed the same at $50.00, but the County is now charging $77.00 for insurance for parties of 1 -100 people. The chapter discussed options; Pay the new cost, meet just like it's any other meeting, get our own insurance, and having it elsewhere at another park, or facility. David suggested we could use his place to hold it. At the Moment it looks like we'll be heading to David and Toni's, but we'll see after the next meeting if anything changes, such as the GPAA already has insurance or there is a different place.

The Chapter has ordered 2 GPAA membership kits so they should be here by the June meeting.


New Business.

Kelly Co is having an anniversary party early in August, and invited our chapter to set up a booth as we did for the Minelab event. The chapter voted on this, and we will be present. This give us the chance to promote Prospecting with the GPAA, demo gold panning, show off equipment, and natural gold. Kelly Co asks for a donation of a prize for their Raffle.

The chapter auctioned off the third and last bag of older Chrissom Mine concentrates we acquired back in February.

The Raffle was won by Dick, Congratulations !

Our next meeting is on Saturday, June 13.

Hope to see everyone then.

Bob Gaebler
Secretary � Orlando Chapter, GPAA
RJGaebler@cs.com

June. 2015

The Heat is on Summer is in full swing here, and with that it means a few of our members are off on adventures. We�d like to wish them a safe a golden summer of adventures. This month we�d like to thank Carol, Greg and Robert for stopping by for the day, and we hope you will be joining us again in the future.


Old Business.

Three members, Dana, Doug and Elijah headed up to the WEGM property over the Memorial Day weekend, but none were available at this meeting to give us the details. Hopefully they were weighed down by all the gold they found.

Bob discussed rental of the pavilion at Warren Park again. He inquired the GPAA about the possibility of insurance provided, but there was no response back in time for this meeting. Marty also suggested an insurance agent that might be able to help us, which will be looked into. As it stands it looks like the chapter will meet David and Toni�s home or at Warren park as a normal meeting.

The chapter talked about the August 1st event at Kelly Co. since the chapter will have a booth there. Besides panning, and showing off equipment, any and all ideas that will make the booth more interesting will be appreciated, so have them ready for the July meeting.

Membership Kits arrived, and are going fast, so there looks like there will be another order this month.


New Business.

Chris asked about having a possible Gold outing over the July 4th weekend, but it didn�t strike up much interest.

A Metal Detecting Outing was discussed, and several people wanted to attend. Bob wasn�t interested in organizing it this year, but Eddie stepped up and said he�d look into it. Tentative dates are July 18th and the 25th. We�ll set the date and place at the July meeting.

Our next meeting is on Saturday, July 11th, and is a Pot Luck, so please bring a dish to share with everyone.

Hope to see everyone then.

Bob Gaebler
Secretary � Orlando Chapter, GPAA
RJGaebler@cs.com

July. 2015

There was no July Newsletter due to loads of Emails about upcoming events.

August. 2015

Our August meeting ends a stretch of three weekends in a row where our chapter had outings and events. It might be time to rest up a bit before we head back out for some prospecting this fall. Our chapter would like to welcome Jennifer and Jeffery to our meeting. We hope you enjoyed the morning, made a few new friends and will join us again in the future.


Old Business.

Metal Detecting Outing - This summer has been a wet one so far but that pretty much means a bit cooler also. Our metal detecting outing at Sun Splash Park in Daytona fit that description perfectly. Members were worried about a possible rain postponement as every day for the week prior had torrential downpours, in some places lasting all day long. But the East Coast beaches are in a league of their own. There�s not as many days where it rains as it does inland, and on our outing it wasn�t any different. As members began arriving in the morning the day was overcast and cool. Throughout our morning session on the beach it remained that way, with a slight breeze keeping everyone in good spirits. The morning finds there were typical beach finds. Coins, junk and a few cheap pieces of jewelry made up most of them. Carol led the group in total coins found, but Bob edged her out in overall value. Bob created a small detecting patch near the seawall that contained about 25 tokens and items. Most of these were found by the members. Marty and Warren led the group and Warren found the ring that was planted there. Around noon we headed off to Burger King for lunch. By 1:30, after a good fill, Eddie was ready to head out again. Bob stated it�ll be better to just sit here and relax until maybe 3pm. The clouds were now gone and the summer Florida sun was set on BAKE. Eddie, Cathy and Susie headed out for a second round at Frank Rendon Park. The rest of us followed in about 20 minutes. This time around the Sun quickly took its effect as within 45 minutes everyone was drained of energy enough to call it quits and head home. So much for the cool morning, but at least we enjoyed a day without rain.

Kelly Co�s 60th Celebration � The very next weekend we headed over to Kelly Co to help them out, and also enjoy their 60th anniversary celebration. Members began arriving at 8:30am to set up our booth. Within our 10� x 10� we had a panning area, and gold cube display. On the grass near the booth we showed off an older highbanker and more modern sluice. As the 700+ attendees began arriving, we started our demonstrations. For panning, Bob and Warren were showing attendees how, and then if they wanted to would try it out. The range of skill attendees showed was varied, and everyone was able to successfully pan the little picker we were using. Eddie and Terry handled demos of the Gold Cube. Typical 1/8 concentrate containing some golden colored lead pieces were used for the demos. After several scoops were put through, attendees saw how it concentrated the gold in the upper section, with all the lighter material passing through. Attendees were able to get every question about gold prospecting, and the GPAA answered. Our Members were seen all day long talking with them as the Demonstrations were going on. With a good 18 members present, everyone also had time to enjoy the rest of the party. Kelly Co was able to bring together all the major manufacturers of Metal Detectors to their main office. Also represented were metal detecting clubs within a 150+ mile radius. Stars of the Diggers TV show, and Youtube�s Silver Slinger were here also. For most of the day there was a line inside KellyCo�s new showroom where attendees would make their way past each Manufacturing Rep, the Silver Slingers, and finally to the Digger�s. While this line seemed to hold up the inside activities a bit, there was plenty to see. Encased artifacts from Florida shipwrecks abound, and the highlight was part of the recent 1.1 million dollar 1715 Fleet finds. Gold Escudos and Silver Reales along with gold chains were displayed, and for the adventurous ones, you could try picking up an 80lb bar of Silver from the Attocha wreck. Throughout the day the KellyCo, the manufacturing reps, and clubs were giving away prizes to lucky winners. Two of our members, Liam and Mike had a bit of luck.

In other area�s the chapter ordered 5 more GPAA membership kits and 2 were quickly gobbled up at KellyCo ,and a third at our meeting. Thanks for joining. We look forward to assisting you in your prospecting adventures.


New Business.

Fall is coming fast, and it�s time we head back to Georgia and/or North Carolina.

Which one or both?

Well, one will be an official outing to Lucky Strike. But first a few members will be heading to WEGM property over the Labor Day weekend. This is not an official club outing and members that would like to attend who are not members of WEGM should contact Chris if they would like to go. Non WEGM members will need to be guests of WEGM members. This is near the Cleveland area in Georgia and the site is for primitive camping or self contained rv/trailers. Motels are nearby, and Gem and Grubbin� is across the street from the WEGM property entrance.

It looks like October 16th and 17th we�re heading back to Lucky Strike for another go at their wash plant. Plan for a fun filled extended weekend there as Friday and Saturday the wash plant operates, followed by Sunday where members can purchase dirt and user their own or rented high bankers to find a bit more gold. Details are posted online so check them out, and plan ahead for camping on site, or having a nearby motel. As a chapter we found over 12 grams of gold the last time out, and we�re hoping to better it a bit.

In other news, our chapter might be working again with Kelly Co. It seems Kelly Co will be doing a Merit Badge for the boy and girls scouts on Metal Detecting, and we may be invited to do one for Gold Panning. Details will follow as we learn more.

Our next meeting is on Saturday, September 12th.

Hope to see everyone then.

Bob Gaebler
Secretary � Orlando Chapter, GPAA
RJGaebler@cs.com

Sept. 2015

Members;

Well the summer is coming to a close in most of the country, and with that it brings travelers back home.  David, whom spent a good part of this summer up in Alaska talked about his trip as the meeting started.  The travelling, the area, and the gold were the big topics.  Thanks David for giving the talk about your travels, and for fielding several questions from the curious membership.

The chapter would like to thank Allen and Carol for stopping by.  We hope you enjoyed the morning, made a few new friends and will join us again in the future.


Old Business.

The Lucky Strike Outing being held Oct 23rd and 24th is on, and signups are going well.  Eleven so far signed up and paid the $100.00 deposit, and several more are known to be participating.  At the October meeting the chapter is expecting to have enough deposits to cover the weekend rental costs.  Thank to everyone planning to attend.  For those still on the fence, or still planning, head over to our websites Next Outing page, http://www.orlandogpaa.org/nxtout.htm to learn about the outing, and the area.  Hotels near Marion, NC are best for those not planning to stay on site.  Plan for wet conditions just in case as it�s a rain or shine event.

The chapter discussed the December Meeting and Holiday Party location, and finalized it this month.  Options for paying the added Insurance fee and rent the Pavilion, Just meeting at our usual spot, and meeting at David and Toni�s home were talked about.  After this discussion, the chapter held a vote on heading over to David and Toni�s home.  This passed, so plan on heading to a new location for the December meeting / Holiday Party this year.  Attached find direction to their home.  Please make a note that using GPS will not bring you to the correct location.  Please follow these directions. This is just for the December meeting.  All other future meetings are still being held at Warren Park as always.

There are some generous members in our chapter whom take it upon themselves to add a bit more cheer to our holiday party by making donations.  Some are uses as gifts, while some for raffles, etc.  If anyone would like to contribute, please bring the item(s) to one of the chapter officers at the October or November meeting.  Thank you in advance for being so generous.

There is no news concerning the possibility of working with Kelly Co to do a Merit Badge for the boy and girls scouts.  KellyCo is to do one on Metal Detecting, and we could do one for Gold Panning.  More info as we learn about it.


New Business.

Bob added several pages to the Website this past month for Fossils along with an enhancement to display photograph in a larger format, so head over to the website and check out the changes.  The fossil pages can be accessed via a link on any of the fossil outing pages, and the larger photos can be viewed on the newest outings for 2014 and 2015.  Other pages will be modified as time permits.

Chapter Member John Scott has a RV Trailer for sale.  This can be viewed on the chapter�;s website�s Trading post page, http://www.orlandogpaa.org/tradingpost.htm Please take a look if interested.

Our next meeting is on Saturday, October 12th.  This one is a Pot Luck, so please bring a dish for everyone to share.

Hope to see everyone then.

Bob Gaebler
Secretary - GPAA, Orlando Chapter
(107)

Oct. 2015

Members;

Chill in the air.
Leaves changing color.
We�ll choose gold.
So, off to North Carolina.


We had wonderful pot luck this month.  Thanks to all the great food everyone brought.


Old Business.

The Lucky Strike Outing on Oct 23rd and 24th is a go, and enough members are going so the deposit should cover the costs.  With a few more the price will drop under the deposit amount.  Thank to everyone attending, and we�ll see you there.

Our December Chapter Meeting / Holiday Party will be at David and Toni�s home this year.  Directions were sent out a couple of weeks ago, and will be sent again early in December.  Remember to follow the directions, not your GPS as it will lead you using a different route to a dead end.  Our November Meeting and all other future meetings are still being held at Warren Park.


New Business.

There is no New Business, but members kept the discussions going about the upcoming outing.  Lots of excitement is in the air.

Our next meeting is on Saturday, November 14th.  Members start arriving about 9:00 am, and the meeting starts at 10:00 am.

Hope to see everyone then.

Bob Gaebler
Secretary - GPAA, Orlando Chapter
(109)

Nov. 2015

Members;

The Holidays are coming!

But first

Lots of discussion about outings at this meeting.  Our October outing to Lucky Strike took up most of this, but Les gave us a nice briefing on the Loud Mine outing which was the weekend before I believe.  While we got 20 grams over 15 splits, looks like over 100 participants at Loud Mine split some ounces . Nice to see there is still a lot of gold being found in the East Coast Gold Belt.

Our chapter set a policy concerning paid outings.  All members making a deposit whom later cannot attend will be receiving their deposit back in full.

Members were already asking about spring, and Chris has a tentative date in April for another trip to Lucky Strike.  This will be decided on at a future meeting.  The chapter also talked about fossil hunting in March, and possible another metal detecting outing also.

Concerning the Chapters Holiday Party;

Directions are up on our website.  They can be found at: http://www.orlandogpaa.org/dirholparty.htm

Make sure you follow these, and not use GPS, as it might lead you through an area where there is no access David�s street.  The Party starts an hour later than usual, members will be arriving about 10am, and we�re looking to get things going about 11am.  As for Business, our only business is the elections of Chapter Officers for 2016.  With Bob stepping down as secretary, we�ll have an election for at least one position this year. Bring a gift valued about $10 to $15 for our Crazy Santa gift exchange if you plan to participate.  There is a Food List for the Pot Luck dinner we�ll be having, and as of now, there are 19 different dishes.

Lastly, remember to have your valid up to date GPAA and/or LDMA membership card, as it is required to get our chapter Membership Gift.

As for New Business, Bob talked about Kelly Co., again having an outing with the Boy Scouts for Metal Detecting.  Details were sent out just after out meeting for those who might want to participate.

Congratulations to Woody for winning this month�s Raffle.

Our next meeting is December 12th.  This is our chapter�s Holiday Party.  We hope to see everyone there.

Bob Gaebler
Secretary - GPAA, Orlando Chapter
(107)

Dec. 2015

Members;

Well the time for change is here, as our chapter moves into a new year.

This years Holiday Party was a wonderful event, perhaps even better as it was held at David and Toni's home instead of our usual meting place at Warren Park.  Thanks again to David and Toni for opening up their home for this.

The change in venue wasn't the only changes.  This meeting while mostly fun, does have one important function.  That being the election of officers.  Both Bob as secretary and Terry as treasurer chose to step down, so this year both positions were open.  Each of the officers went over a brief description of their duties prior to opening up nominations.  Chris choose to remain on as president, and Eddie as Vice president.  Both ran unopposed and will remain in office for 2016.  In the Secretary Position, Janice will be taking over.  After the November meeting, the officers discussed this with her giving her time to think about it, and they knew in advance she was willing to accept the position.  She went unopposed, and was elected to the position.  As for the treasurer position, there was a bit of nominations and declines from members, before Dick stepped forward and volunteered for the position.  Again, with no opposition, he was elected.

With the positions filled, we know the chapter will be in good hands for the next year.

As for the Party, it was a blast.  The food was delicious, atmosphere was festive, and the events were enjoyed by all.  There is nothing like a crazy santa gift exchange and this year seemed to have everyone swapping.

Well here's to a New Year.  May it be blessed for everyone.

Our next meeting is on January 9th.  The meeting place is at Warren Park as usual.  There's lots to discuss with the new year here.  New outings to be planned.  Gold in the spring, maybe some Metal detecting and Fossils hunting sooner.

Stop by and see.

Happy Hew Year everyone;

Bob Gaebler
Secretary - GPAA, Orlando Chapter
(108)