Boston Mineral Club’s 75th Anniversary Celebration
October 1st and 2nd, 2011

The Boston Mineral club will be 75 years old on October 1st of this year.  To commemorate this significant milestone in the life of our club we have scheduled a special two-day celebration for the weekend of October 1st and 2nd.  This is a special event that you will not want to miss!  Here is an update on what we have planned.

Saturday, 1 October:  75th Anniversary Symposium
Free parking will be provided by the club to everyone registered for the Symposium in a Harvard University Garage from 1:00 to 10:00 PM on Saturday.  Our Saturday schedule features presentations by excellent speakers with international reputations including the renowned mineral photographer, Jeff Scovil; curator of the Fersman Mineral Museum in Russia, Dimitry Belakovsky; and curator of the Harvard Mineralogical Museum, Dr. Carl Francis.  The Saturday celebration also will include door prizes, a mini-auction of high quality specimens, time to socialize and reminisce about the history of the club plus a reception and buffet dinner in the Harvard Mineralogical Museum.  Two sessions are scheduled for Saturday. 

The Afternoon Session will be held in the large Harvard Geological Lecture Hall (Room 100) which is across the hall from our usual meeting location.  Light refreshments will be available in the hall during the afternoon session and the basic schedule is as follows:

1:30 PM – Registration begins in the Geological Lecture Hall (24 Oxford Street, Room 100) – auction specimens will also be available for viewing at this time
2:0 0 – 2:15 PM: Registration continues, welcome comments & introduction of speakers
2:15 – 2:45 PM: Presentation by Dr. Carl Francis: Harvard Museum Specimens Donated by BMC Members
2:45 – 3:15 PM: Panel Discussion by long-time BMC members of significant events in club history
3:15 – 3:30 PM: Break and final viewing of auction specimens
3:30 – 4:30 PM: Voice Auction of Specimens
4:30 – 4:50 PM: Auction checkout and break, drawing for door prizes
4:50 – 6:00 PM: Presentation by Dimitry Belakovsky: Famous Mineral Localities of Russia and the Former Soviet Union (FSU)

The Evening Session begins at 6:00 PM as we move up to the Harvard Mineralogical Museum for a reception and buffet dinner.  A slide show of BMC photographs, old and new, will be running during the reception.  The schedule for the evening session is as follows:

6:00 – 6:15 PM: Those registered for the evening session move up to the Mineral Museum
6:15 – 6:45 PM: Social time in the museum (appetizers, beer, wine & soft drinks will be served)
6:45 – 8:00 PM: Buffet dinner in the museum
8:00 – 8:15 PM: Move back to the Geological Lecture Hall for the evening speaker
8:15 – 9:30 PM: Presentation by Jeff Scovil: Madagascar - Travelogue & Mineral Specimens
9:30 PM – Evening Session Ends

Sunday, 2 October: 75th Anniversary Field Trip
Our Sunday, our celebration continues with a mineral collecting field trip to the P.J. Keating Quarry in Acushnet, MA.  This field trip is for members only.  Details can be found in the September newsletter.

Registration and Costs
Advance registration is required for both sessions on Saturday, 1 October, using the registration form.  Note that this form has been corrected from the one included in the original summer newsletter.  Registration for the afternoon session is $10 for everyone except that children ages 15 and under are free.  Registration for the evening session in the museum is an additional $32 for BMC members, $16 for children and $45 for non-members (includes the buffet dinner and beverages plus our featured speaker).  Please fill out the registration form and mail it with your check made out to the Boston Mineral Club to club treasurer, Nathan Martin, 8 Elena Road, Lexington, MA 02421.  Since we must have an accurate count to arrange for the food service, the deadline for the receipt of registrations is Tuesday, 13 September (our September meeting date).