July 10, 2009
Hello to everyone,
A lot has gone on since last I wrote so I am going to condense everything to keep from having seven or eight pages. We’ll have a full meeting this Wednesday, July 15th at 7:00 pm, Veteran’s Memorial Building in Santa Rosa and can discuss everything in greater detail at that time. We will still be meeting in the North Room but since the membership is once again on the rise, we will be voting at the meeting to move back into the bigger Lodge Room. It will be an increase of $25.00 a night, but the space is well worth it, and the new members will more than pay for the increased rent, and EVERYONE will be able to have a seat. I have made arrangements to take over the larger room, if the club approves to do so, but if membership falls off again, we will be able to move back to the smaller North Room with no penalties. So, that’s one of the items on new business.
Another item to be discussed is the Bear River outing. I was unable to attend since Buck was taking a rest in the hospital, AGAIN!!! I have heard from many members that other than a few inconveniences, the outing was another HUGE success. Most people found some gold, and everyone had a great time. When the raffle was held, the nugget was won by a young man named Max Cohn, whose parents Jodi and Dillon own a Cutlery store in Coddingtown. Congrats to you Max. To make Max’s win even better, his brother Zack drew his winning ticket. I have a picture of a VERY happy Max showing his nugget. I’ll be posting it to the web site. He’s beaming so much that they didn’t need the flash for the camera. I’m also told that the turnout was so great that Richard Giddens was the first to admit that Ben “done good” in renting the entire campground instead of just half as was voted for by the club members. Way to go Ben!
I guess I’m getting ahead of myself (what else is new?). I should be recapping the May meeting first. Here’s the short very condensed version: We had seven new people at the May meeting. Richard Giddens explained why Tim wasn’t going to be the speaker that evening. Ben went over the coming outing, and reminded everyone what the outing ‘procedures’ were. He forgot to bring the T-shirts. We all expressed our sympathy at the Bushgen family’s terrible loss. We discussed the contacts made with Kurtis Productions. Ben invited members to his claim. The Board gave their ‘reports’. Roger Proett discussed the gold for the Bear outing, and the Picnic sign-up. He wasn’t able to attend the picnic, but Bob Draper filled in for him on the metal detecting contest. Bill Lieberman, Rose Fisher, Roger Proett, Brian Benn and Cecil Perkins , with his friend Ken, participated in the show and tell portion of the meeting. We talked about the annual picnic. Rose and Paul Klemenock donated a knife for a raffle, and Jack Bushgen out bid James Copenhaver with a bid of $25.00. We had the break, the Raffle, and went home (or where ever).
Since I wasn’t able to attend the Bear outing, I will have to rely on members to share stories at the upcoming meeting. But I can tell about the picnic. I would like to apologize to the member who missed the metal detecting contest. I was told about the incident, but I don’t know who the member was, so all I can ask is that you accept my apology. Next year I will have a schedule printed and handed out at the meeting before the picnic so this never happens again. We also had some disappointed people because we didn’t play any baseball. Next year the picnic will start earlier, and perhaps go later. The turnout was excellent, and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. The food was perfect; there was plenty to eat but not a lot of leftovers. The ‘cook off’ was lots of fun, and the judges seemed to enjoy themselves. The field where the metal detecting contest was held was great; enough room to swing your machine and bend down to dig, but not so much room that people couldn’t cover all the ground. I want to again recognize Mike Shinkle and Dave Yoch for cooking fabulous chicken, London broil, and country ribs. Ben helped cook, as did Richard Giddens and Buck Crawford, but most of the cooking was done by Mike and Dave. After we ate we handed out the prizes for the cook off and the winner for both categories was Rose Fisher. We made short work of the business meeting with one important vote taking place: we voted to hold the 2010 Annual Picnic at the same park next year. It’s really a good place to have a family event. The raffle was held, and people visited a little more, until Buck donated five burlap sacks and a gold nugget, and issued the challenge for a sack race. Kim Anderson won, but I have to give praise to Rose Fisher, Bill Lieberman, Ben Conrad, Oscar Avilla, and Ron Felger for giving it a go and making us laugh and cheer. Sack races are not easy! I had a really good time, and I again want to thank the people who helped me bring this picnic together this year. Richard Giddens found the park for us. Richard also got the pork and beef on sale, and helped me package it for freezing until the picnic got here. He suggested the cook off, and got the prizes together for it. Thanks to Buck becuz he had to listen to me fret about making sure everything was correctly done and ready; for packing and transporting all my picnic ‘stuff’ (he did escape the shopping, though!). Thanks again to Mike Shinkle and Dave Yoch for doing the grilling. Thanks to every member who helped set the food out and keep the flies away. Thanks to everyone who brought something; and mostly, thanks to the members for coming to the picnic and making me so happy. I know you didn’t come to make me happy, but I stressed about the success of this event for months, so THANKS for coming. If I have forgotten anyone, you still have my gratitude for making this year’s picnic so very much fun for everyone.
George Frazier has some equipment he’d like to sell. He would like $1200 for a Keen High Banker Combo Dredge. He had Jim “fast-track” Swasey rebuild the engine, and hasn’t put any hours on it since it was rebuilt. George also has USGS maps for sale, 15, 30, and 60 minutes. He even has a few hand drawn survey maps, made in the 1800’s by the US Geological Surveyors. His phone number is 707 865 1587 if you are interested in any of these items or have questions.
So, now it’s time for a few jokes, and I’ll see you at the July meeting. If I missed anything, my apologies, but you should know by now how I am. And remember, it’s time to pay those yearly dues: $30.00 for single members and for a same dwelling family the fee is $35.00. If you write a check it has to be to cash, but in the memo write SRGD dues -1 year, or something similar to use as your receipt.
Gee, I remembered more stuff. I saw Sandy Meadows, John’s wife. They were members for years, if you don’t know them. Anyway, Sandy told me that John has had SERIOUS heart disease, some of which required open heart surgery. She states he is doing as well as can be expected for now, but it was very scary for both of them. If you know John and Sandy, maybe you could give them a call and wish him a speedy recovery.
Excerpts from Why Do We Love Children? (true excerpts)
Opinions. On the first day of school, a first grader handed his teacher a note from his mother. It read: The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents!
Ketchup. A mother was trying to get the ketchup out of the bottle. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year old daughter to answer it. “Mommy can’t come to the phone right now. She’s hitting the bottle.”
Police. It was the end of the canine officer’s shift and he parked his car in front of the station. As he gathered his equipment, his k-9 partner Jake started barking and he looked to see a small boy staring at them. “Is that a dog you got back there?” asked the boy. “It sure is,” replied the officer. Puzzled, the boy looked at the officer, then the dog, then finally he asked the policeman, “What’d he do?”
Adam and Eve. A little boy opened the family Bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked it up and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed between the pages. “Mama, Mama, look what I found!” called the excited boy. His mother asked, “What have you got there, dear?” With astonishment and reverence in his young voice, the boy replied, “I think it’s Adam’s underwear!”
Semper Fi Two radical terrorists boarded a flight out of London. One took a window seat and the other sat next to him in the middle seat. Just before takeoff, a U.S. Marine sat down in the aisle seat. After takeoff, the Marine kicked off his shoes, wiggled his toes, and was settling in when the radical in the window seat said, “I need to get up and get a soda.” “Don’t get up” said the Marine, “I’m in the aisle seat so I’ll get it for you.” As soon as he left, one of the radicals picked up the Marine’s shoe and spat in it. When the Marine returned with the soda, the other terrorist said, “That looks good. I’d really like one too.” Again, the Marine obligingly went to fetch the drink. While he was gone the other radical picked up the Marine’s other shoe and spat in it. When the Marine returned with the soda, they all sat back and enjoyed the flight. As the plane was landing, the Marine slipped his feet into his shoes and knew immediately what had happened. He leaned over and asked his radical terrorist neighbors, “Why does it have to be this way? How long must this go on? This fighting between our nations? This hatred, this animosity? This spitting in shoes and PISSING IN SODAS?”
THE FEW. THE PROUD. THE US MARINES.
And from my list of IDIOT SIGHTINGS, this one: The stoplight in the corner buzzes when it’s safe to cross the street. I was crossing with a co-worker and she asked me if I knew why the buzzer sounded. I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red or green. Appalled, she responded, “WHAT on earth are BLIND people doing driving!? (This true story comes from a Probation Officer in Wichita, Kansas)
Here’s hoping to see you all at the meeting.
Kathe “the Greeter” Close for SRGD (that’s a story for another time!)