Gem and Mineral Society celebrates 50 years!

On Saturday, October 6, the new room at the Fallbrook Gem and Mineral Society’s headquarters was christened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a gala “Black and Gold” reception in celebration of the group’s 50th anniversary. The new room is spacious with sparkling glass cases displaying jewelry made from gems and minerals.

In the new area the fascinating and colorful fluorescent stones gallery has been enlarged and large cases display petrified wood, the tooth of a baby wooly mammoth, part of a mastodon tusk and dinosaur eggs, among other fossils and rocks.

Mark Malkner, from the Gemology Society (GIA) in Carlsbad, is helping design educational displays for the museum. “We want it to be more than just things on display; we want to use it as a teaching implement for the children of Fallbrook,” said member Mary Fong-Walker. “It would be good to tell more stories about the famous quartz crystal found while they were digging a sewer on Fallbrook Street. This crystal would be exceptional anywhere, but it is from our town!”

During the gala, guests dined on hot meatballs, cheese, chilled shrimp and other finger foods while bidding on several wonderful silent auction items. Visitors also had fun trying their luck at spinning a wheel for $10 each. The wheel was spun and if it landed on a number the person received what was placed on that number. Everyone was a winner and people came home with fossils, stones and even an amethyst necklace. Each prize was worth at least ten dollars, explained Gina Palculich, president of the group. Palculich has been a member for 18 years.

Museum curator Garth Bricker and the other members of the group are now looking forward to their next 50 years!