| Pasadena Lapidary Society Pasadena, California |
A well-known collector and seller of rocks, fossils and unique items - Edwin Howard Vose II (widely known as Chuckawalla Slim) made his summer home in Pasadena in the 1940's and 1950's. This self-proclaimed “Rockologist” was so popular that he attracted a number of other collectors from the Pasadena area wherever he spoke. Slim, C.D. Gibson, Clarence Chittenden and Vic Armstrong formed the Pasadena Lapidary Society in the mid-1940's and incorporated it as a California non-profit corporation on May 19th, 1949. For years their gatherings were informal affairs - tailgate swapping and meetings in local parks. The ranks of the new Pasadena Lapidary Society grew quickly. It was not unusual to have more than 50 members at a club meeting. Meetings were held at the Odd Fellows Hall in Pasadena and Jessie Chittenden taught jewelry design there. The club began planning field trips for its members almost immediately. Clarence Chittenden and his wife, Jessie, (a dean at Pasadena City College) compiled a series of rock collecting maps which he published and were widely used among Southern California rock collectors. In 1953 the club ventured outside of Southern California to spend the Labor Day weekend at Cambria, California, to search the beaches for jade. The club has been active in keeping collecting areas open for collectors and were involved in the fight to keep Dinosaur National Monument from becoming a storage project - as was reported by Desert Magazine in August 1954. The club’s annual public show, the "Tournament of Gems", began in 1955 and was held at the Davies Memorial Building at Farnsworth Park in Altadena. The club, lead by Harry and Arlene Billheimer, was a leader in showcasing rocks and gems at the Los Angeles County Fair, where the club’s exhibits won ribbons and accolades. Members of the Pasadena Lapidary Society have a history of being leaders of our hobby. The PLS was one of the first clubs that formed the California Federation of Mineralogical Societies (CFMS) in 1947. Clarence Chittenden’s maps were the standard for the hobby. Arlene Billheimer served with distinction as president of CFMS and we are represented among the officers of SCRIBE, which promotes newsletters for lapidary societies worldwide. |
| HISTORY OF THE PASADENA LAPIDARY SOCIETY |
| 1947 - 1948 Jessie Chittenden 1949 - C. Dale Gibson 1950 - Hamer Pugh 1951 - John Whatley 1952 - Clarence Chittenden 1953 - Al Staltz 1954 - Vic Armstrong 1955 - Beatrice Lidell 1956 - George Lowe 1957 - 1958 Tom Mahan 1959 - Clarence Chittenden 1960 - Clarence Greere 1961 - Clare Beam 1963 - Jessie Chittenden 1964 - Clarence Ritter 1965 - George Snyder / Malcom Meacham 1966 - Clarence Ritter 1967 - 1968 Aleta Purcell 1969 - 1970 Malcom Meacham 1971 - 1974 Harry Billheimer 1975 - 1976 Dick Crotty 1977 - 1978 Arlene Billheimer* 1979 - 1980 Vic Armstrong 1981 - 1981 Earl Thornton 1983 - 1984 Dee Thompson 1985 - 1987 Susan Arnold 1988 - 1989 Grace Cargill |
| PRESIDENTS OF THE PASADENA LAPIDARY SOCIETY |
| 1990 - 1991 Vern Cliffe 1992 - 1993 Sandie Fender 1994 - 1995 Gail Poulson 1996 - 1997 Tony Fender 1998 - 1999 Todd Neikirk 2000 - 2001 Sandie Fender 2002 - 2003 Tony Fender 2004 - 2005 Todd Niekirk 2006 - 2009 Joe Goetz 2010 - Drew Wilson / Chris Kyte 2011 - Chris Kyte 2012 - 2015 Marcia Goetz 2016 - Present Ellen Ferrell * Designates members who also served as president of the California Federation. |
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| "Chuckawalla Slim - Rockologist" |
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| Click on the emblem, above, to view and print a copy of the membership application! |
