The Bulletin
 Editor - Jack Kallmeyer

November 2025
Pre-Ordovician Fossils

Our program this month will be presented by Carl Fechko with a talk entitled: Collecting Cambrian Fossils and taking a close look at the history of collecting Cambrian fossils, the Cambrian environment, and the awesome life forms that existed during the Cambrian Period. Stretching from 538 - 486 million years ago, the Cambrian is the oldest period of the Paleozoic Era. Although it immediately predates our familiar Ordovician, the Cambrian seas were quite different and rather unique in many ways. Join us for a review of interesting Cambrian fauna, as well as a look at how and where their fossils are collected.

Carl is the webmaster and past president of the North Coast Fossil Club, located up in Cleveland, Ohio. You may recall him from several past presentations: "Scuba Diving for Fossils" (November 2014), "The Amber Room" (April 2016), and "Collecting the Green River Formation" (April 2019). With a Bachelors in Biology from Xavier University and a Masters in Education from Cleveland State University, Carl taught science for 35 years in the Cleveland City Schools, as well as teaching computer programming for 10 years at Cleveland State University. He's a certified open water scuba diver and has been diving in the ocean for fossils since 1998. Of course, he also collects on land throughout the United States. One of his most notable discoveries is an acanthodian ("spiny shark") from the Bertie Formation (Upper Silurian, Pridolian) at the Ridgemont Quarries in Ontario, Canada. This rare specimen turned out to be the oldest-most complete jawed vertebrate in the fossil record at ~420 million years old. Carl donated the fish to the Royal Ontario Museum where it is on permanent display in their "Dawn of Life Exhibit".

TIME: 8 pm
DATE: Friday, November 21, 2025
PLACE: Room 201 Braunstein Hall
                University of Cincinnati Clifton Campus
SIMULCAST: via Zoom - Link sent no later than Nov 19.

Here are some directions to our meeting room (Updated)

President’s Message - General Announcements
By Jack Kallmeyer

Attendance at UC was good at our October meeting with 28 on Zoom and 27 in-person at UC. This was fewer inperson than the October meeting perhaps caused by yet another parking snafu. The Clifton Court Garage had plenty of open spots, however, the ticket machine at the entrance quit working sometime after 6:00 PM and would not allow entry. This meant that people wanting to attend had to rely on street parking and walk farther to get to the meeting.

Masks will be considered as optional at Dry Dredgers meetings at UC. However, if you have a cold, other respiratory symptoms or are coughing or sneezing, you will still need to wear a mask to protect others. If you are ill, we suggest that you stay home and watch on Zoom. Some of our members who attend these meetings are in high risk groups (including me) so please be courteous and sensitive to their situation. Vaccination is also highly recommended. We have a limited number of free masks at the front of the room if you need one.

Beginner's Class
By Greg Courtney

The Beginners Class will be conducted by Lincoln Shoemaker from 7:15 PM to 8:00 PM on November 21st. Meet at the general meeting Room 201 Braunstein Hall on UC campus. We will walk over to the UC geology museum at 7:15 for a tour. You must be prompt or you will be left behind. No remote Zoom for the Beginner’s Class. If any member would like to lead a future beginners class contact Greg at youthenrichment@fuse.net .


NOTICE: There will be no field trip in November. 

More interesting and informative articles, along with color illustrations is available in the full E-Bulletin that was emailed to dues-paying members.

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