Sarah Marks
After a 30-year teaching career at North Dakota State University, resident geologist Elaine Hatzenbuhler brought her five decades of expertise to the Sun Lakes Rock, Gem & Silver Club (SLRGS). She joined the club in December of 2012 after seeing a notice for a field trip to Cave Creek.
Elaine’s geological background includes assisting with field trips as a professor, often involving weeklong tent camping in places like the Black Hills of South Dakota or along the North Shore of Lake Superior, sometimes battling snow or ice overnight.
“Having been a geologist for over 50 years, I enjoy participating in the club trips, helping members identify rocks, fossils, and unusual finds.” During a recent trip to Black Hills and Round Mountain on the New Mexico border searching for fire agates, the group discovered saffordite, named for the local town of Safford, Ariz. Additional research indicates these dime-size round stones are pseudo-tektites, iridescent due to the glass nature of the lave heated and cooled during a volcanic eruption millions of years ago.
While she notes she isn’t “artistic,” Elaine has completed Lapidary I and II classes. This allows her to advise members on whether a specimen is suitable for cutting and polishing. Her primary focus, however, remains the raw material, though she appreciates the beauty of the finished, polished stones.
Rocks and Minerals Instruction
Every year, Elaine offers valuable, hands-on identification classes to club members based on demand:
• Mineral Identification Workshop: A single, three-hour session focusing on examining and testing a few common rock-forming minerals
• Rock Identification Class: A longer course spanning two three-hour sessions that covers all three rock types
For instruction, Elaine uses specimen sets and showcases exceptional pieces from her personal collection. With over 5,000 minerals identified in the world, students enjoy bringing their own finds for classification, making the process interactive and rewarding for both the members and Elaine. The next Identifying Rocks and Minerals workshop will be offered in early 2026. In her downtime, Elaine and her husband travel across the U.S., often camping in national parks and monuments and visiting presidential libraries.
Club Information
The SLRGS Club operates entirely through volunteers, with all class fees directly funding tools and supplies for the shops.
Monthly meetings are on the third Monday of the month at 10 a.m. in the Computer Lecture Hall of Cottonwood Country Club.
Visit the website at www.slrgs.com to learn about field trips, lapidary, silverwork, and creative crafts, including wire-wrapping, faceting, gourds, beading, fused and stained glass, and metal clay.