The Kettle Krier

Artic

VOL 10 Issue 6

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Official Publication of Kettle Moraine

Geological Society

JUNE

2026

2026 SPONSORS

Thank you to all our sponsors who support us in our educational mission!

VIP Sponsor!

MONTHLY MEETING NOTICE

The JUNE meeting of KMGS will be held at the Pewaukee Public Library on Wednesday, JUNE 17, 2026 at 6:30 PM.

**MEETING DATE CHANGE IN OCTOBER!

We were unable to reserve the library for our usual date, so the October meeting has been changed to  October 14th, one week earlier. Still at 6:30 pm.

June -Letter from President

The 2027 KMGS raffle was kicked off at the May member meeting. If you have not picked up your ticket pouch yet please do so at any upcoming meeting. Additional tickets can be checked out at any member meeting.

Once again the top prizes will be cash with additional donated prizes also awarded to our lucky winners. The revenue from the raffle helps fund our many educational opportunities so your participation is critical to our continued funding of these programs.  

Thank you in advance for support and effort selling raffle tickets once again this year.    

Tim Perrin

KMGS 2026President

Minutes of May Meeting

5-20-2026 KMGS May Monthly Meeting Minutes

(1)   Meeting Called to Order at 6:40, by President Tim Perrin.

(2)   The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by 23 members in attendance.

(3)   As the group snacked provided by Bob & Linda Wesner. James Van Eerden presented on his prospecting adventures.

(4)   Meeting Minutes: The Reading of the April Minutes was waived as they are posted in the Krier and on the website.  Motion to accept as posted by Debbi Elftman and Second by Gail Perrin, Motion Carried.

(5)   New Guests: NONE

(6)   Treasures Report: The Treasures Report was provided by Treasurer Don Shervey. Motion to accept as read by Tony Ilecki, Second by Dave Elftman, Motion Carried.

(7)   Tech Committee: Javier Benitez reminded Walmart employees, that any volunteer hours reportedto Walmart volunteer program get us a cash benefit for their time donated.  He also asked for any website ideas.

(8)   Show Committee: None

(9)   Tentative schedule for the summer Field Trips are:

• June 13th – Ledge View Park – Calumet County.

• July 11th – Cana Island– Door County

• August 8th – Simmons Island Beach

(10) Janet Schmitt reminded everyone about the Club Summer Picnic August 8th,2026 at Nixon Park in Hartland from 11:00 am – 4:00 or later, provide your own main dish and a grill will be provided for those needing it, please bring a dish to pass.  Stories and rocks will be in abundance.

(11) 12 door prizes were given away.

(12) A motion to Adjourn was made by Mary Nettesheim second by Larry Christopherson Motion Carried 7:45 pm.

by Tim Perrin - President

Upcoming Programs

Mary Nettesheim

• June 17 is Lee Turner telling about his trip west and his first visit to the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming.

• July 15 will be Mary Nettesheim presenting       " Sand Dunes & Dinosaur Tracks".

• Need a Lapidary volunteer for a program on August 19-could be making cabs, how to select rough to work with, hardness challenges, etc. Contact Mary for more info.

• September 16 is the pot luck and show & tell what you did on your summer vacation.

   

   

  A heartfelt thank you to our amazing members who share their rockhounding adventures with the club! Your effort and dedication in creating and presenting programs truly enrich our community. We appreciate your willingness to step up and share your passion. Thanks for helping make our club vibrant and engaging! Keep those stories coming!

   

It’s a Happening Thing in  June!

Our annual Rock, Gem & Earth Science Show may seem far away, but the work that makes it successful starts now! Over the coming weeks, KMGS will be holding work sessions at the club storage shed to help organize supplies, and identify, label and sort through the many generous specimen donations the club has received.

Many hands make light work—and a little rock dust, laughter, and teamwork go a long way. We hope you’ll join us and help turn organized chaos into geological greatness!

Work sessions:  All are from 9 am to noon

Saturday May 30

We had locker/trailer work party started with great progress made.  At the end of the work session we all agreed that we could add 1 more shelf to the far 6ft section already in place and on the right side wall we could use 1 8ft shelf unit with 4 shelves. We also labeled the bins and their corresponding locations.

Still more work to do!

Saturday June 6

Saturday June 13

The storage unit is at:

JH Universal Storage, 4889 Jackson Dr, West Bend WI 53095

(From the Fair Park, take highway P north to NN east, then to Jackson Drive -south of the roundabout)

KMGS Annual Picnic - August 8, 2026

Nixon Park Shelter #4 - near the playground

Hartland, WI  53029

We enjoy each other's company from approx. 11 - 4.  There are picnic tables, but you may also want to bring a lawn chair.  Bring whatever you want to eat + your own plates/utensils.  Also, many of us bring something to share....a dessert, chips, salads, fruit, etc.  John R. likes to grill, so bring meat to grill if you want.

What is fun:  bring your summer "finds", stories of your travels, plans of where you are going next, anything of interest to any of us!

Rain or shine - we have a shelter - we haven't been rained on for many, many years.  Did you know we have been having out picnic there for over 40 years.

Public washrooms are nearby.

If questions or more information, contact Janet Schmitt.

Lannon Quarry Field Trip

John Rettler

It was almost 1:00 on Saturday May 11th,and the breezy spring afternoon was awash in sunshine as the KMGS Field Trip began. As we assembled, visited, and shared rockhounding stories, the park-n-ride transformed into a makeshift staging area and outdoor classroom.

As we waited for the buses to arrive, children and adults alike grew anxious about the adventure we were about to embark upon. The assortment of bags, buckets, tools, and gloves, was only outdone by the workwear and sun hats, glasses, water bottles and tanning lotion.

The original signup indicated nearly 120 guests wouldbe attending, but things came up and the two busses comfortably transported the 44 adults and 33 students, to the Quarry, where the 77 were joined by a dozen or more Lannon Employees who also brought their families who also joined us in the fun, to make the day complete.

As the bus descended the ramps almost 300 feet into the mine, Nate & Hans; the Lannon Guides answered questions and pointed out unique geological anomalies and brought millions of years of geology to life, as we saw firsthand the points of interest.

Once deep into the mine at the level they had prearranged for our visit, we gathered as a group for a safety meeting before debarking to find our treasures. Lannon Stone was kind enough to bring a few loads of various sized rock material and spread it out for easy access. Immediately the sound of clinking hammers filled the air.

Soon a variety of specimens emerged after millions of years of dormancy, complimented by questions and smiles from the excitement of the newfound specimen.  It’s note worthy to say some rather remarkable fossils were found and the excitement and education was shared among all present.

After a couple of hours, it was time to return to the park-and-ride.  But before we left on the last excursion into the mine we laughed at how much fossilized material was removed, and we said the next time – we would weigh the bus on the truck scale to have before and after totals, to see how much was extracted. So, with buckets, backpacks, and pockets filled with treasures, this time we did. The Answer was that between the two buses we carried out over 840 pounds of fossils and material.  

It was a fine afternoon of rockhounding, and it goes without saying, that all expressed thanks and gratitude to the Lannon Stone Company for their willingness to provide us the opportunity and for their continued support.

Upcoming Junior Rockhounds Events

Summer Field Trips!

Remember, the KMGS Jr. Rockhounds is not only for our young rock enthusiasts, it's for the young-at-heart as well. Be sure to register soon as some of these opportunities will fill up fast!

Our group plans trips and meetings on the second Saturday of the month so you can plan ahead and not miss out. Here's what we have in store!

Ledgeview Nature Center & Carolyn Caves Tour

Saturday, June 13th, 2026

9am - 11:30am

Ledgeview Nature Center

W2348 Short Road

Chilton, WI 53014

Exploring Cana Island in Door County

Saturday, July 11th, 2026

2pm - 4pm

Cana Island Lighthouse

8800 E Cana Island Rd

Baileys Harbor, WI 54202

Rockhounding Kenosha Beaches

Saturday, August 8th, 2026

10:30am 'till we get sick of it!

Starting at Simmons Island Beach House

5001 Simmons Island Road

Kenosha, WI 53140

SPREADING T H E L O V E

OF ROCKS!

Crack the News, the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies’ newsletter is out now - for kids and teens, written by kids and teens!

https://www.juniors.amfed.org/juniors-newsletter.

Like what you’ve read? Contribute to the next edition of Crack the News. One topic we would like to see from juniors is an article about why he/she likes your juniors club, plus any artwork, poems, and stories. Details about submitting your article, poetry, artwork, or photos are at https://www.juniors.amfed.org/juniors-newsletter.

THE LAST WORD

See you all at the Pewaukee Public Library, June 17, 2026 at 6:30PM

Please send all comments, submissions and ideas for articles to:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Ori-anna and Regina, Co-editors

The Kettle Moraine Geological Society (KMGS) was organized in 1960 for the purpose of gathering and disseminating knowledge of geology and the earth sciences.

Our meetings are held at the Pewaukee Public Library on the third Wednesday of each month at 6:30 PM. Guests are always welcome. Persons interested in becoming members can obtain an application form from any of the officers. Visit our website at www.kmgsrocks.com and like us on facebook.

The Kettle Krier is the official publication of KMGS and is published each month. Articles for publication must be submitted no later than the second weekend of the month prior to publication.

KMGS is a member of the Midwest Federation of Mineralogical Societies and the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies.