We'd love to see you at our monthly meetings! They're held on the fourth Thursday of every month, and it's a great chance to catch up, join a committee, be aware of board changes and see what's new at the shop. Mark your calendars for our upcoming meetings on Aug 27, 2026, Sep 24, 2026, and Oct 22, 2026. August is looking like a blast! First up is the Cheers to Charity event on Aug 8, 2026—grab your tickets online and join the fun! Then, we have the Mountain Fest weekend from Aug 15 to Aug 16, 2026. We've got raffle tickets ready for you, and we'd absolutely love some extra hands to help with setup, teardown, and running the event. Come be a part of the team! The excitement continues through September and October! September starts off strong with a field trip to the Natural History Museum in LA on September 1st! The plan is to meet at 10 am at the Museum entrance so we can ensure a group rate discount. We're looking for friendly volunteers to join us for Old West Days in Randsburg on Sep 19, 2026. Then, from Oct 2 to Oct 4, 2026, we'll be hanging out at Gold Rush Days in Mojave—come help us run the prize wheel! Finally, help us wrap up the year at the Apple Festival in Tehachapi on Oct 10, 2026. We can't wait to see you there!
The Tehachapi Senior Center provides vital services to our community and serves as a home for many local organizations and clubs. To show our appreciation for the use of their facility during our monthly meetings and other functions, the Tehachapi Valley Gem and Mineral Society holds an annual Yard Sale in the Senior Center's front parking lot. We would also like to thank The Loop Newspaper for their wonderful support for this year's event. This year’s fundraiser, held on June 27, 2026, was a wonderful success. Although the day was a bit cooler with some wind, the turnout was great. This year’s sale featured an even larger selection of tools and clothing than in years past, along with fossil and meteorite displays for the public to view. A particular highlight was seeing children—both young and old—having such great fun spinning the Spin Wheel to win exciting rock and mineral prizes! All proceeds from the Yard Sale go directly toward supporting the essential work of the Senior Center. We invite you to consider making a donation of usable items for next year’s event. Keep an eye out for a notice in The Loop Newspaper and flyers posted around town in early June 2027 for more details.
Turquoise in Tehachapi by Jessica Ann Goodman
By Deb Burken and Jim Tobin TVGMS hosted a fun-filled, entertaining, educational, first annual Open House on April 11th! The day was filled with things to see and do for all ages. The Open House was an opportunity to introduce the community to our club and the things we do. We are celebrating our 40th year and are proud of our contributions to the Tehachapi community. Each year we give several scholarships to high school students and provide educational resources to area schools as well as send out knowledgeable members to give presentations to schoolchildren on geology and Earth Science. As a group we are interested in rocks and minerals and go on a wide variety of rockhounding field trips and museum trips. Our monthly meetings often feature speakers on topics dealing with Earth Science. We also have a workshop of lapidary equipment for members to learn to cut and polish rocks, and classes to learn various jewelry techniques. All field trips and classes are free to members making it the best deal in town! The Open House was a collection of visual and hands-on displays to introduce the community to TVGMS.
Our February guest speaker was our very own Jim Tobin who gave another wonderful presentation on meteorites. Jim's presentation was on the history of meteorites, types of meteorites, and their importance to science. It was a very informative PowerPoint presentation. Jim also brought a display case full of various types of meteorites, an electronic microscope to view the Widmanstätten pattern on a slice of etched iron meteorite, and a thin section viewer to display a very colorful thin section of a meteorite. Jim also brought samples of various meteorites which he passed around during his talk. After Jim's presentation he answered all questions and then invited everyone up to where his display case, electronic microscope, and thin section viewer were set up. Jim then continued his fascinating explanations of everything meteorites. We'd like to thank Jim very much for his third presentation to the club. Jim had previously given a talk on meteorites, and another talk on Meteor Crater to TVGMS.
Traditionally the December meeting of the Tehachapi Valley Gem and Mineral Society is the Sweet Treat Meeting. After the short business portion of the night we lined up to indulge in the desserts spread across tables spanning the width of the room. It was a sight to behold. Desserts, a few sandwiches, and casseroles offered selections to please the sweet tooth of all in attendance. Ron purchased DIY snow globes this year which was a hit with both the adults and children. Some snow globe objects were provided including Santas, little red truck figurines as well as the snow particles. Members were encouraged to add their own treasures to the snow globes. Put this on you calendar and wait with all the rest of us till next year to enjoy this tradition again.
October 11, 2025 was the annual Apple Festival in Tehachapi. Begun in 1998, it has become a tradition that draws visitors from far and wide to enjoy a day dedicated to all things apple. The Tehachapi Valley Gem and Mineral Society had our traditional booth in the Festival. The Spin Wheel had very nice offerings for the children and adults. All who wanted to try their luck at winning a nice natural treasure. There was a good crowd of visitors all seeming to enjoy the great atmosphere of the Festival, even though the weather was a bit chilly. Remember to put the Tehachapi Apple Festival on your calendar for next year. And a rock, mineral, or crystal treasure will be waiting at the Spin Wheel for you.
On Saturday September 13 about a dozen members and guests of the Tehachapi Valley Gem and Mineral Society gathered at the Senior Center for a presentation by Rick Homan on desert safety. The very informative talk covered every area from planning a trip to what to take. And how to stay safe while offroading in the desert and mountain areas we often take field trips into. Rick has vast experience with safety and rescue as a professional in the field. All the attendees of his talk learned much new knowledge which will be of practical value for the rest of their lives. After the instruction class many of the group drove out to Clay Mine Road and into the desert for some 4 wheel driving. It was just a bit more challenging than we usually do with the club. But the view from the top of the hill was fantastic. Rock hounding was done at three sites along the way. More buckets of rocks were taken home by all. A great day of learning and exploring. Thank you Rick for sharing your years of experience and knowledge with us.
At this year's Mountain Festival the Tehachapi Valley Gem and Mineral Society hosted its yearly Gem Show at the Senior Center. The parking area and inside of the building was filled with vendors selling all manner of wonderful items from rocks to jewelry with precious gemstones. Our spinning wheel was enjoyed by young and old and raised money for the club. On the patio out back of the senior center there were hundreds of slabs of rocks cut by club members at our workshop which were for sale. Display cases of fossils and meteorites along with a display case of the work done at our workshop, and another of the item from the Wednesday classes held at the Art Center were enjoyed by the visitors. Slabs and larger specimens of rocks were bought by many guests of the gem show, who took home wonderful items for their next project or for display. It was a great time of fun for all the members who participated also. YouTube by Hunting with Rocks with David
On Saturday July 23 the weather was unseasonably cool and offered an opportunity to have a field trip to Castle Butte one of our favorite local rock collection spots. A big turn out with perhaps 20 members in attendance. Ten vehicles formed the caravan to out beyond California City. Far more people attended than are in the picture. Buckets of agate, jasper, chalcedony were picked up. Even another piece of the rare ripple marked sandstone was found again by Ron Ray. It did get quite warm later in the day, but sneaking in a great field trip to the desert in July was an enjoyable time for everyone. Come and join us next time for some good rock collecting fun.
The Tehachapi Senior Center provides very needed services to the community. The center also provides space to other organizations and clubs in our town. Every year the Tehachapi Valley Gem and Mineral Society shows its appreciation to the Senior Center for the use of the facility for their monthly meetings and other activities by holding a Yard Sale in the front parking lot of the Senior Center. All the proceeds from the Yard Sale go to support the fine work of the Senior Center. Consider making a donation of usable items next year. Look for flyers that will be posted around town early June with the details.
The Tehachapi Valley Gem & Mineral Society annual potluck dinner was held Saturday, May 10th at the Tehachapi Senior Center. By a unanimous show of hands and voices in a previous meeting we were again treated to Ron's Famous Brisket. We were all presented with a wonderful array of side dishes and desserts brought by fellow members, and we all brought our appetites. There was also a carrot cake brought by someone, (name later if possible), as a thank you to all of our wonderful board members. The carrot cake was delicious and even had a rock border. Everyone had a great time and no one went away hungry.
The Tehachapi Valley Gem & Mineral Society heads out to the world famous Borax mine about once a year and it is always a fun, informative and exciting trip.
By Jim Tobin On Saturday, February 8, there was a well attended field trip out to Pine Tree Canyon. There was some wonderful recoveries of many colors of jasper and agate. The collections were made both east and west of the huge pipeline which is part of the California Aqueduct System. I tumbled up a lot of the rocks.
