2011 Micromounters of New England Symposium

by Joe Mulvey
(With Special Thanks to Sam Cordero, Jr. and Polly Poulin for photos)

The 2011 Micromounters of New England Symposium is now just a historic event.

The MMNE Annual Symposium is a one day affair. Every year it seems we have more things to do without any additional time to do it in.

The day started dark and gloomy after a night of rain. I was glad I covered my pickup truck with a good tarp because I had so much give away material I needed to load it the night before! Many members arrived around 7:30 am to help out in table and chair setup as well as countless other tasks. By 9am we were ready for the symposium...



Promptly at 10:30 am Dr. Carl Francis began his presentation on the History of Micromounting at Harvard University. There were approximately 40 guests in the room dedicated for talks. It was then that I realized I had underestimated the number of attendees! Typically, we have 30 or so members and guests, but our room with 40 chairs was filled yet there were several people with me in the main area!





Dr. Francis' talk revealed much about a wonderful and historic collection that has many ties to our club. It was organized by Steve Cares and is heavily populated with many donations by our early members. To say that we are well-represented in the micro-donors list for Harvard micromounts is an understatement!

After a great talk by Dr. Francis, members and guests had some time to bid at the silent auction, peruse the sales table and the huge give away area. There was a table with very nice material hosted for sale by Terry Szenics.





After a great lunch catered by my wife and daughter we had a brief club meeting. This is our official, annual meeting where the new club officers are officially voted into office, this is basically a formality, although some consider it a punishment!

We also presented Gene Bearss an Honorary Lifetime Membership Award. In part, Gene’s award reads “In recognition for your many years dedicated to the understanding of minerals; your countless articles in geological magazines as well as the Micromounters of New England newsletters; your terms as an officer and member of our club; your dedication in creating a personal, widely respected micromineral collection; your willingness to share what you’ve learned; swap what you’ve collected and teach us at these symposia." Gene's contributions have had a strong influence in where the MMNE is today.



With some time to spare before the next presentation, a talk by Fred Davis, attendees found time to renew old friendships, make new ones and get a better look at some of their newly acquired bounty,





At 1:30 pm we moved to the presentation room to hear Fred Davis speak on the History and Geology of the Spinelli Prospect.

Fred’s introduction by Tom Mortimer was wonderful. They share a keen level of intelligence, perseverance, great knowledge of Electrical Engineering and a sharp wit. I wondered if they were separated at birth. 8-)

Fred’s talk detailed not only the geology of the Spinelli Prospect but also the genealogy of the site. His research has led him from New York City to northern Maine. His talk was superb!

The awarding of the door prize took place at 3:15 pm. Jim Nizamoff won a portable UV Lamp capable of 3 wavelengths, glasses, accoutrements and a nice specimen of Calcit from Mexico that reacts in all 3 wavelengths. Needless to say, Jim, a previous presenter on Palermo, was the envy of all!

After that we awarded the silent auction items, many of which were very desirable and did well for the club as well as the winning bidders.



The success of the show was measureable on many levels. Attendance, sales and giveaways, food service, presenters, and quality of the venue all conspired for a wonderful time! I am convinced that every person who made it had a good time and left with some great specimens and material.

Attendance was the highest I have seen since joining the club about 10 years ago. I attribute the large turnout to a number of factors; the rainy, chilly New England weather convinced a number of Connecticut people to skip the outdoor Kent, CT mineral show and see their own Fred E. Davis instead, the price of attending was cut in half and absorbed by the removal of a catering service, the publicity of the availability of the Walter Lane material and Harvard University’s Dr. Carl Francis is indeed a nationally recognized and well respected figure who always gives a quality presentation.

The attendees themselves were a super group of people; in addition to our members, all who have earned my respect with their skills and knowledge, those who walk in are just as impressive!


The numbers are not yet in for our sales tables but based on the donations by club members, I would estimate that we added several hundred quality mounted specimens from New England and Canada. The sales table was constantly surrounded by people enthusiastically filling trays with super micros, the majority with prices at only $1 or $2.

Our give aways were a tremendous hit! We brought about 25% of our club stock. This filled four tables and had my pickup truck brimming with boxes on the way to Chelmsford. The departure saw much better gas mileage as the truck was nearly empty for the ride home!

In an attempt to reduce overhead costs we declined to hire a caterer and chose to handle food service among ourselves. With outside support from my wife and daughter Robin and Rose Mulvey, all food preparation was performed by them. They did a wonderful job and helped keep the whole show on time and well fed!

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If you missed the symposium, you are not completely out of luck. The MMNE is a pretty cool club with great meetings on the 3rd Saturday of each month during the school year.

More information is available at the MMNE website http://www.micromountersofnewengland.org

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