Dry Dredgers Meeting
April 28, 2006
Ron Fine and I thought it would be a good idea to show a
typical meeting of the Dry Dredgers we have on the fourth Friday of the month in
September, October, November, January, February, March, April and May. The
meetings are open to both members and non-members. You can pay your dues at the
meeting if you wish. When you pay your dues, you can pick up a free parking pass
at the meeting, allowing you to park on campus the entire year, but only on the
Friday nights of the meetings. If you are not a paying member, you'll need
to park on Clifton Ave, just a short walk from Braunstein Hall, where we meet. Click
here for directions.
Each meeting starts with a 7:15 pm beginners class. These are
informal introductions to Cincinnati Fossils and fossil collecting intended for
all age groups and aimed at the novice collector. This month, we received a tour
of the University of Cincinnati Geology Department's Museum by Dr. David Meyer,
our group advisor and faculty member (Thanks Dave! PS. We are on a first name
basis with our Paleontologist friends). Our meetings are held on the UC
campus one building away from the Geology Museum, so it was easy to stroll
there and back.
Here are some photos of the beginners class to the Geology
Museum, compliments of Ron Fine.
8 pm rolls around quickly and we convene in the meeting room
for the general meeting. Business is discussed. April is our Anniversary
Meeting. Our group was founded in April 1942. And so officer elections were held
and the Dry Dredgers elected to keep the current slate of officers, all of which
agreed to continue doing what they do for another year. They are..
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Jack Kallmeyer, President
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Rich Fuchs, Vice President
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John Tate, Treasurer
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Debbie Scheid, Secretary
We then get to hear from each of our Professional
Paleontologist members as they make announcements from their respective
institutions. Often included are
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Dr. David Meyer, our advisor, Professor of Geology at UC.
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Dr. Carlton Brett, also at UC
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Dr. Paul Potter, Professor Emeritus, UC.
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Dr. Richard A. Davis, Professor at the College of Mount
Saint Joseph.
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Dr. Glenn Storrs, Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology and
Director of Science Research at the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and
Science
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Dr. Brenda Hanke, Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology at
the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Science
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Dr. Jon Branstrator, Professor of Geology, Earlham College
After the professionals' announcements, our President, Jack
Kallmeyer, draws for the door prizes, which seem to always include a fossil or
two, for some reason. We started out with two door prizes and now, at some
meetings we have 6 or 7! The average meeting attendance is about 40 people. So
that gives us decent odds.
One of the door prizes this meeting was a spectacular
door knob of a Phacops Trilobite, custom made in bronze or brass by Dr. Jon
Branstrator, of Earlham College. It was a big hit.
Then our Vice President, Rich Fuchs, announces the guest
speaker for the evening. The Dry Dredgers started as an evening lecture series
in 1942, by our founder, Dr. Ken Caster, and so the guest speaker is always a
crowd getter.
This meeting, our feature speaker was Dr. Bob Morris,
Professor of Geology at Wittenberg
University, who spoke on epizoans with an emphasis on the worm tube, Cornulites,
found in our Cincinnatian, Ordovician layers.
During and after the general meeting, refreshments are served. This usually
consists of soft drinks, chips, cookies and cake. This is the time when fellow
members get to talk with one another and catch up on what's going on.
After the general meeting is also the time for "show and tell."
This is where members bring in their recent fossil finds to show them around and
to get identifications for them from the more experienced members and on-hand
Paleontologists.
That's it for the April 2006 meeting! Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!
Come to a meeting some time and meet us!
Here are some links to more information...
How to get to the meeting
How to Join Us Now
What we do
The History of the Dry Dredgers
Bylaws of the Dry Dredgers
Back to the Dry Dredgers Home Page
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reproduce in any fashion, must be requested in writing to
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.
