Tag Archives: Wayne County

Ontario Center Paint Mill

I had driven by the sign in the title box dozens of times and often wondered what might be behind the cattails and railroad tracks in Ontario Center.  Motivated by the visit to the old Wolcott furnace last month and by the possibility of obtaining a hematite “sand” sample I decided to stop on my next excursion that took me through western Wayne County on Route 104.  Continue reading Ontario Center Paint Mill

A Tribute to Marion Wheaton

Marion Wheaton, WCGMC co-founder along with her late husband Jim, passed away last month at the age of 89.  She is survived by her daughters Nancy and Diane, her sister Barbara, her brother Paul, many nieces and nephews, and by a host of WCGMC rockhound friends.

In addition to being a co-founder of our club, Marion served as Editor of this newsletter for many years.  Marion and Jim volunteered many hours displaying and educating young and old all around Wayne County and beyond with their mineral collection and Mastodon bones.  Her daughter Diane tells us that Marion was buried with a Herkimer diamond, her Wayne County Gem & Mineral Club pin, and a beautiful pink rhodochrosite brooch necklace she always wore.  Continue reading A Tribute to Marion Wheaton

The Long Long Chimney

This article is republished here with permission of its author, Kathleen Cappon.  She wrote the piece for the September, 2018 Wayne County Gem and Mineral Club newsletter.

This is a story about how I dreamed of having a large stone chimney on my future home.  The idea was inspired by seeing the stone pillars at the entrance of Fair Haven State Park each time my family went there in the 1950’s.

Some of you may remember the movie “The Long Long Trailer” starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.  They purchase a travel trailer to go cross country and at each new place Lucy picks up a sentimental or pretty rock to bring home.

Continue reading The Long Long Chimney

Lake Ontario Stones

At the November meeting of the Wayne County Gem and Mineral Club there was general bemoaning that the field season seemed over.  That was until two members suggested that we visit the Lake Ontario shoreline on Sunday for one last outing.  And so we did.  In fact ten of us spent several hours walking the rocky coastline at a couple of our favorite haunts.   It was our 22nd club field trip of the year, and probably our last.

Continue reading Lake Ontario Stones

Drumlins in Wayne County

Published in the June 2016 WCGMC Newsletter

All of us who live or travel in Wayne County in western New York State  know it is easier to travel north-south than east-west.  Most of us know that is due to the elongated hills called drumlins that cover much of the region.  And we also know that those geomorphological features were formed by the continental glaciation that covered western New York with ice a mile thick until their final retreat 12,000 years ago.

BUT, did you know that until very recently, glacial geologists could not agree on exactly how these elongated parallel hills came into existence.  It was known that the drumlin fields were aligned with the glacial flow and retreat, but it was unclear whether they represent debris built up progressively during glacial advance and retreat or whether they were sculpted out of older sediment from previous glacial deposits.  The debate has raged for over 150 years.

Continue reading Drumlins in Wayne County