Table of Contents

• Reporting from the Fluor of “The Show That Glows” by Robert Fendrich 1–4
• FMS Hall of Fame Inductee — Bob Jones by — 5
• Don Newsome and the Early FMS by Joe Newsome 6–9
• Fluorescent Fossils by Mike Crawford 10
• Esperite and Friends from Franklin, New Jersey by Tema Hecht and Richard Bostwick 11
• The Train by Jennifer Moore 11
• Fluorescent Minerals of the Southwest US and Mexico by Paul Gilliam 12
• Wollastonite in SWUV by Franklin Mineral Museum 12
• Eureka! The McConnell Science Museum by Bambi Harmon 13
• Fluorescent North America: A Rambling, East-to-West by Bruce Cox 13
• Russian and FSU Fluorescent Shortwave UV Minerals (SW and MW) by Glenn Waychunas 14
• Bertrandite by Don Snyder 14
• Worldwide LWUV Minerals by Glenn Waychunas 15
• Fluorescent Crystalline Minerals from Around the World, Featuring a Suite of Selenite Crystals from the Red River Floodway by Jack Bauer 15
• Look What I Collected in New Jersey by Ron DeBlois 16
• New Mexico Tech Mineral Museum by New Mexico Tech Mineral Museum 16
• A Rainbow of Fluorescent Minerals by Lee, Charlotte, and Noël McIlvaine 17
• Colorado School of Mines Museum of Earth Science #1 in SWUV by Colorado School of Mines Museum of Earth Science 18
• Colorado School of Mines Museum of Earth Science #2 by Colorado School of Mines Museum of Earth Science 18
• My 58 lb. Calcite and Willemite Case by Robert Fendrich 19

Reporting from the Fluor of “The Show That Glows”

By Robert Fendrich · pp. 1–4

The Fluorescent Mineral Society’s 2022 Tucson exhibit brought together 54 displayers after its planned 2021 anniversary event was postponed because of COVID-19. The report recounts organizing and setting up the cases, challenges with show visibility, volunteer docent work, and visitor responses. It also describes displays featuring Franklin specimens, fluorescent fossils, and Red River Spillway selenites, along with the public testing table where visitors tried minerals, jewelry, and Mexican geodes under ultraviolet lamps.

FMS Hall of Fame Inductee — Bob Jones

p. 5

Bob Jones’s early writing and collecting helped establish fluorescent-mineral collecting as a recognized hobby. His 1960 book, Luminescent Minerals of Connecticut, grew out of his University of Connecticut master’s thesis, and his 1964 book documented the fluorescent minerals of Franklin, New Jersey. From 1960 to 1969, he wrote 80 installments of the “Collecting Fluorescent Minerals” column for Rocks & Minerals. His educational writing and later editorial work inspired collectors and earned him induction as a 2021 FMS Hall of Fame member.

Don Newsome and the Early FMS

By Joe Newsome · pp. 6–9

Don Newsome’s son recalls the beginnings of the Fluorescent Mineral Society and the family life surrounding its early years. His memories include the small first meeting in 1970, meetings at the Newsome home, production work on the Journal, and the influence of UVP owner Tom Warren. The account also recounts Don’s inventive display designs, his lighting-engineering background, field collecting trips, and a homemade fluorescescope used to examine thulite in daylight. Don was inducted into the FMS Hall of Fame in 2022.

Fluorescent Fossils

By Mike Crawford · p. 10

Mike Crawford’s display explores fluorescent fossils and the colors and patterns revealed in fossil material. It includes petrified wood, clams, ammonites, pine cones, and coral, with petrified-wood slabs and Permian ammonites from East Timor specifically noted. The case emphasizes how fossils can show distinctive fluorescent geometries unlike the more familiar forms of mineral specimens. Its subject is the range of fossil materials that respond to ultraviolet illumination, presented through selected specimens rather than a single locality or fossil type.

Esperite and Friends from Franklin, New Jersey

By Tema Hecht and Richard Bostwick · p. 11

This display presents a fluorescent mineral assemblage characteristic of Franklin, New Jersey: esperite, hardystonite, clinohedrite, willemite, and calcite. The contributors highlight the distinct fluorescent patterns of individual specimens and note that some have acquired nicknames. The case focuses on the combination of species associated with the Franklin locality and the visual variety found within that assemblage. Esperite is prominent in the display, with related minerals shown alongside it to illustrate the locality’s celebrated fluorescent material.

The Train

By Jennifer Moore · p. 11

Jennifer Moore’s HO-train-themed case combines model railway scenery with fluorescent minerals. Two trains carry specimens arranged by ultraviolet response: shortwave minerals on one track and longwave minerals on the other. The case is divided between a coal mine and a town, with handmade scenery and buildings. A barbecue rotisserie motor was adapted to turn the track after the mineral load proved too heavy for the original arrangement. The display joins mechanical movement, miniature construction, and mineral collecting in an exhibit designed to encourage playful engagement.

Fluorescent Minerals of the Southwest US and Mexico

By Paul Gilliam · p. 12

Paul Gilliam’s case highlights fluorescent minerals from the southwestern United States and Mexico, emphasizing their variety alongside better-known Franklin material. Specimens include sphalerite, willemite, and calcite from Nelly James; calcite and scheelite from Campo Bonito; hydrozincite from the Yellow Pine mine; and eucryptite from the Harding mine in New Mexico. The display also features calcite, willemite, and fluorite from the Red Cloud mine, plus a classic Terlingua-type calcite. The selection draws attention to regional localities and contrasting fluorescent colors.

Wollastonite in SWUV

By Franklin Mineral Museum · p. 12

The Franklin Mineral Museum’s display focuses on wollastonite under shortwave ultraviolet illumination. The brief caption identifies the mineral and the viewing method, presenting wollastonite as the central subject of a dedicated case at the FMS anniversary exhibition. The display forms part of a broader collection of cases representing different species, localities, and ultraviolet responses. No specific specimen locality, associated minerals, or additional collecting details are provided in the caption.

Eureka! The McConnell Science Museum

By Bambi Harmon · p. 13

Bambi Harmon’s museum display centers on a rotating specimen of willemite, calcite, and franklinite. Tom Warren collected the centerpiece, which was donated to the McConnell Science Museum in 2017. The case presents the specimen as a focal point for the museum’s fluorescent-mineral exhibit and connects its history to Warren, a notable figure in the fluorescent-mineral community. The caption emphasizes the rotating centerpiece and its three constituent minerals rather than giving further details about the specimen’s exact collecting locality or fluorescent behavior.

Fluorescent North America: A Rambling, East-to-West

By Bruce Cox · p. 13

Bruce Cox’s case surveys fluorescent minerals gathered across North America, drawing on field collecting from 1957 through 2022. His collecting route began at the Buckwheat Mine dump in Franklin, New Jersey, continued through North Carolina’s alaskite quarries, and reached Montana’s precious- and base-metal mines. More recent winters in New Mexico shifted his attention toward fluorescent calcite. Although the original theme centered on southwestern New Mexico, the final display expands to include colors from across the western states and a specimen from Greenland.

Russian and FSU Fluorescent Shortwave UV Minerals (SW and MW)

By Glenn Waychunas · p. 14

Glenn Waychunas’s case features shortwave- and mediumwave-responsive minerals from Russia and former Soviet Union localities. The caption highlights large delhayelite crystals in matrix from Khibiny, on Russia’s Kola Peninsula, and notes the contributor’s view that they may be the largest found. Other named specimens include agrellite, baratovite, haüynite, and microcline from Dara-i-Pioz, Tajikistan, as well as pectolite and feklichevite from Kovdor, Kola. A large single pectolite crystal is singled out for its strong fluorescent display.

Bertrandite

By Don Snyder · p. 14

Don Snyder’s display is dedicated to bertrandite, a beryllium-bearing mineral featured as a standalone subject in the FMS anniversary exhibition. The caption supplies the mineral’s name but does not specify a collecting locality, associated species, specimen history, or ultraviolet wavelength. The entry records a distinct mineral display within a program that ranged from regional assemblages and multi-species cases to single-species presentations. No additional geological or collecting claims can be established from the printed caption.

Worldwide LWUV Minerals

By Glenn Waychunas · p. 15

Glenn Waychunas’s longwave-ultraviolet case brings together specimens from several international localities. Featured material includes a well-formed phosgenite and anglesite group from Monteponi Mine, Sardinia; blue willemite crystals on calcite from Tsumeb, Namibia, noted for bright yellow and red responses; and a group of large, clear aragonite crystals from Sicily. The selection emphasizes distinctive crystal form and color among worldwide specimens viewed under longwave ultraviolet illumination, with individual examples chosen for exceptional appearance or locality interest.

Fluorescent Crystalline Minerals from Around the World, Featuring a Suite of Selenite Crystals from the Red River Floodway

By Jack Bauer · p. 15

Jack Bauer’s display celebrates crystalline minerals and includes a suite of gypsum crystals from the Red River Floodway near Winnipeg, Manitoba. The tabular rosettes, described as amber and water-clear, fluoresce and phosphoresce. Bauer draws attention to crystal symmetry, twinning, and phantom features, and compares the natural variation among the selenites to snowflakes: specimens may resemble one another, but none is identical. The case combines the Manitoba gypsum with fluorescent crystals from around the world to show varied forms and growth characteristics.

Look What I Collected in New Jersey

By Ron DeBlois · p. 16

Ron DeBlois’s self-collected case features shortwave-responsive minerals from mines, quarries, and dumps in Franklin, Sterling Hill, and Franklin Marble, New Jersey. The display is intended to show that patience, effort, and luck can yield a substantial suite of specimens for a fluorescent-mineral collection. DeBlois identifies margarosanite and banded clinohedrite among his favorites, while noting that every specimen carries personal connections to fellow collectors, including friends who have since died. The case combines locality-focused collecting with personal history.

New Mexico Tech Mineral Museum

By New Mexico Tech Mineral Museum · p. 16

The New Mexico Tech Mineral Museum is represented by a dedicated case in the FMS anniversary display. The printed caption identifies the institution but gives no specimen names, collecting localities, or detailed description of the case’s contents. This entry records the museum’s participation as a distinct display among the exhibition’s many individual cases. No further mineralogical details or ultraviolet response characteristics can be inferred from the brief caption alone.

A Rainbow of Fluorescent Minerals

By Lee, Charlotte, and Noël McIlvaine · p. 17

The McIlvaines’ display arranges fluorescent minerals in five color-themed rows: violet-blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. Lee McIlvaine describes building the case in the style of a Cincinnati design, with folding construction, an oak exterior, slanted glass, and curved, amphitheater-like risers made from foam and wrapped in black spandex. The display was updated for Tucson 2022 after more than two decades of use. Its standout specimen is gem tugtupite in lujavrite from Kvanefjeld, Greenland.

Colorado School of Mines Museum of Earth Science #1 in SWUV

By Colorado School of Mines Museum of Earth Science · p. 18

The first Colorado School of Mines Museum of Earth Science case is identified as a shortwave-ultraviolet display. An editor’s note singles out a benitoite specimen and advises readers to sit down before viewing it, signaling an especially striking presentation. The caption gives no additional information about the specimen’s locality, associations, or measured properties. This entry documents the first of two separate museum displays shown on the page and distinguishes its shortwave viewing mode from the second case.

Colorado School of Mines Museum of Earth Science #2

By Colorado School of Mines Museum of Earth Science · p. 18

The second Colorado School of Mines Museum of Earth Science case appears as a separate entry in the FMS exhibition photographs. Unlike the first case, which is explicitly labeled as a shortwave-ultraviolet display and draws an editor’s note about benitoite, this caption provides no mineral identification, wavelength, locality, or specimen description. It therefore records the museum’s second distinct display without attributing details that are not supplied in print. The case is part of the exhibition’s selection of institutional and individual mineral presentations.

My 58 lb. Calcite and Willemite Case

By Robert Fendrich · p. 19

Robert Fendrich’s case consists of a single 58-pound calcite-and-willemite specimen purchased years earlier from the Sterling Hill Museum’s basement repository. Fendrich recounts that he bought it from a young shop worker who apparently did not know it had been intended as a centerpiece for a Smithsonian display. He says he would have offered to return it had he learned of the mistake sooner, and explains that exhibiting the specimen in Tucson helped ease his lingering regret.