Tomah Wisconsin GPAA Chapter – May 2019

Welcome

Welcome to the 2019 GOLD FEVER Newsletter.  Another year, another gold prospecting opportunity.  If you have not tried to find gold, you need to give it a try.  Let us know if you need help to get started, there are many people with experience that the help you.

 Do not forget the Newsletter and pictures can always be found at:

President’s Message

  Disappointing news about Camp McCoy! But a new area to detect has been decided on. We will be meeting at Veterans Park in West Salem just northeast of LaCrosse and 8:00 am in the morning. Unfortunately I will probably get mandatory that weekend, the company I work for can mandatory us two weekends in a month and I am taking the first weekend off to go fishing on opening day. I had to burn a vacation day on Friday to protect myself from OT. I end up using a lot of my vacation just to protect a Saturday for outings and other important events in my life. It doesn't leave enough vacation days for all the club events.

 There won't be any more meetings at the town hall until October, the summer is full of outings. Between our club and Wausau’s, I will be going to 5 or 6 outings this summer. I heard at the Wausau meeting last month that there wouldn't be any East Coast Gold Shows this year, Kurt talked to the main office in Temecula. That saved me one or two days’ vacation right there.

 With all the OT I get on Saturdays I haven't gotten out even to metal detect yet! The only good weather we had was Easter Sunday. All the area rivers are way too high to try and prospect yet. If I have to work on May 18, I can get to West Salem by 12:45 if I leave right from work, depends how I feel and how the weather is that day. Hope I can get there. I'll be at Nugget for sure! My mechanic finally decided that my trucks new fuel pump isn't working right not enough pressure, maybe now I will be able to depend on it starting every time. I had a new fuel pump put in it September and needed the truck towed twice after that, and it didn't start for more than a month one other time but when they came to pick it up it started, worked for a week then didn't start for a week when I finally got it started the Saturday when I got home from our April meeting I drove it back to the shop and let him have it until he could solve the problem. Hope this ends my bad luck with the truck.

  See you in the creeks   Mike Fait                                               

Upcoming Events    

Planned Outings:

-       May 15, 2019 -  Tomah metal detecting outing site to be determined - metal detect the camping area at Fort McCoy

-       June 7-8-9, 2019 -  Upper Michigan outing Wausau chapter to Ontonagon for copper ,Yooperlites and maybe gold

-       June 15, 2019 - Nugget Lake outing –Tomah

-       July 13, 2019 -  weekend Muskellunge Lake Michigan outing - Tomah   gold in black sand, agates, fossils and Yooperlits

-       July 26-27-28, 2019 -  Midstate metal detectors club 23rd annual open hunt

-       August 9-10-11, 2019 - Thermal City North Carolina outing - Wausau – Tomah

-       Sept 6-7-8, 2019 -  Snyder county Park outing – Wausau

-       September 21, 2019 -  Nugget Lake group dig -Tomah

Tomah Club Meeting - Town of LaGrange Town Hall. 22731 Flint Ave. Tomah WI. 54660 - 1.8 miles west of the 12/21 Hwy intersection in Tomah. – At 1:00 pm on the following dates, speakers will be announced as they are scheduled:

-       October 19, 2019

-       September 23,2019

Tomah Wisconsin GPAA Chapter Minutes April, 2019

Club Business:                                                                                                                                                              

  The meeting in April was attended by 18 members including two new members

Mike demonstrated his new flow pan. He showed how to assemble it and how easy it would be to lose screws or wingnuts in the field. LOL No gold was recovered but there may not have been any in the sample.

Next month’s metal detecting outing will not be a Fort McCoy, they do not allow any metal detecting on the installation. Instead those who are able will meet at Veterans Park in West Salem at 8:00am. Saturday May 18, It was decided that we would also detect at the Lacrosse county fairgrounds The address for the park is N 4668 county rd. VP .If it is raining hard you will have to make the call on whether you will be there or not. Bring your own drinks and snacks or plan to run to a food provider, but it is a park and they will have picnic tables. I’m not sure if I can make this it all depends on whether or not I get mandatory at work that weekend.

More bad news the Muskellunge state forest is redoing their electrical system and only one third of the park is open until July. If they get it done more May open. There are other campgrounds in the area and also cabins to rent.  You have to do your own research here. I got a site for the park for the July 13 outing but have to more midweek to stay for the whole week. More on this In future issues!

Wayne informed me that he has a booth at the Coulee Rock Club Rock and Mineral Show at the Omni  center in Onalaska June 1 10:00 - 5 and June 2 10:00 -4. We will be demonstrating panning and some small prospecting equipment at the show. Volunteers are welcome!

Richard Powell is seeking volunteers to help teach gold panning to disabled veterans at the Veterans Hospital in Tomah. No dates have been set yet. You can reach him at 608-769-1278 or call Mike Fait at 715-384-9265

Donations for the raffle were Lisa Fait, Gary Morrison, Larry Bender, Merlin Meyer, Kurt and Barb Bublitz, and Steve Miller.  Sorry if we missed anyone.

50/50 winner Merlin Meyer                                                                                                                 Gold nugget and gold pay dirt Marty Cina                                                                                            We also had a snuffer bottle with a vial in it with a small nugget but I didn't write down who won and now I can't remember who it was, sorry!                                                                                            Door prizes of two 1/4 hams were won by Richard Powell and David Fannon but Dave forgot his and when called him, he said to donate it to someone else so Kim Mickelson accepted it, there was hardly anyone left when I discovered the ham was still in the cooler.

 Gold Price on 04/29/19 was $1,279.40               Silver Price on 04/29/19 was $14.89

Respectfully submitted by Diane North – Newsletter Editor

Thermal City Gold Mine in North Carolina. Open March 15 – October 31 / 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.   7 Days a week

Thermal City Gold Mine is the best recreational gold and gem mining facility in the Eastern United States. For a great family adventure, Gem Mining in North Carolina, Gold Panning in North Carolina, Camping Mining in North Carolina and so much more, Thermal City Gold Mine is the perfect find!

Thermal City Gold Mine offers a unique experience hosted by people who are real prospectors! We are dedicated to keeping the tradition and history of Gold Mining in North Carolina alive. Anyone who wants to pan or prospect for gold is welcome. We enjoy teaching and talking about mining!

Camping Sites: Our Camping Mining North Carolina sites offer riverside camping, hot showers, a place to pan, gold mining, sluicing, dredging and metal detecting. We also have a complete line of prospecting equipment. You do not need reservations for camping. Sites are available on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Cabin Rentals: Four riverside cabins and one creek side cabin are available for rent, by reservation only. There is a two-night minimum for the cabins with a $50.00 Non-Refundable Deposit for every two (2) nights required to make reservation. Cabin occupants are NOT allowed to have ANIMALS on the premises. No Smoking allowed in the cabins. All cabins have air-conditioning and refrigerator. RESERVATIONS BY PHONE ONLY. Ph: 828-286-3016

Motels are also available nearby in Marion, NC.

Prices for Gold Prospecting

Panning is $10 per person per day at our panning station with our screens and pans. You can also pan in the river for the same price, but you must have your own equipment.  You can set up your sluice in the river for the same price. 

If you have your own high banker you can set up on the beach and have a load of material to process for $50 or $60 for screened material.  We have 4 high bankers you can use for $60 per load of material or $70 for screened material. 

We also have 2 trommels you can use for $60 or $70 for screened material.  If you have a dredge you can dredge in the river, $10 up to 3″ and $5 for helper, $15 for 4″ and $5 for helper. 

You can call Miss Betty in the office at (828) 286-3016 for additional information.   See Y’all At The Creek Bank!

You can check out the website at: http://www.thermalcitygoldmine.com

Welcome to the Wausau Prospectors Outing at the Snyder County Park & Campground September 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, 2019

This Outing will take place at the Snyder Park Campground, located about 7 west of Neillsville Wisconsin off of HWY 10. Watch for the park sign. This is a large park with a lake and the park has a lot to offer. There are restrooms, shelters, ATV Trails, camping, etc. All personnel are responsible for getting and paying for their own camp site. Come up on Friday or earlier and do some prospecting on Wedges Creek. The activities for this Outing will take place on Saturday September 7^th. Two nice pamphlets to get from the Clark County Forestry and Parks Department would be the Clark County Snyder Park Campground and Clark & Jackson County ATV Trails (this one has a nice map of the area).

Good places to pan and sluice are to the north where Wedges Creek flows into the lake. The further north you go up the creek, the shallower it gets. There is an ATV Trail that follows the Creek north for about 3 ½ miles. A good place to access the river and still be on county land is where Chili Road crosses the creek about 3 ½ miles to the north of the lake. If you access the creek at Chili Road you must stay on the south side of the road to be on county land. You can also pan and sluice on the south side of the dam where Wedges Creek flows out of the lake.  Always think safety when entering the water from the bank. Do not dig into the banks and fill in your own holes. Stay within the park boundary or if on private land ask for landowner’s permission first.

Saturday Activities:

In the morning go on down to the creek and get some gold.

Noon Time: There will be a cookout with a short meeting and raffles to follow at picnic shelter #1. Please bring a dish to pass. The club will be providing the hamburgers, hotdogs, condiments, buns, paper plates, plastic ware, and napkins. Bring your own beverages. The club will provide water.

For more information and online maps: http://www.co.clark.wi.us/index.aspx?nid=207

Website for reservations: https://parks.co.clark.wi.us/parks/ or call 715-743-5140.

Contact person is Kurt Bublitz at 715-340-2831.

Officers – elected for 2019.

President – Michael Fait (mgfait@charter.net) 715-384-9265   (Cell phone to be used only on meeting days = 715-305-8319)

Vice-President – Gary Morrison 715-316-2555

Secretary – Jeanne Morrison 715-316-2555

Newsletter Editor - Diane North (dbnorth@centurytel.net) 608-635-7031

Treasure – Gayle Fait (mgfait@charter.net) 715-384-9265

Outing Chairman – Jeff Hastings (monkeyhast@frontier.net)  (608) 637-3097

Claims Director – Richard Niemyjski (richnski@frontiernet.net) 608-637-3295

State Director – Mike Flint (mwink12@excite.com) 608-372-0694

APPROVED DEALERS:

Deer field Detectors.  Dealer for Whites, Fisher, Garrett, Minelab, Bounty Hunter, Detector Pro Detector & Pinpointers, Sunray Detector Accessories, & many misc. detecting accessories.  Deerfield Detectors, N3091 CTY Rd. B, Hancock, WI 54943 (715) 572-1845 or e-mail stmill@uniontel.net or http://www.deerfielddetectors.com/

Wisconsin Area Clubs

The Kettle Moraine Prospectors of Wisconsin – We still meet in the Community Center in Plymouth, Wi.  on the second Saturday of the month, providing the church doesn't have something else on their schedule .- 1:00 PM Meetings  Contact: Chuck Riel – 414-328-3194 or visit wisgold.org/index.html

Midstate Metal Detecting Club – meets every 3^rd Wednesday at 7:00 pm at Shooters Bar and Restaurant at the intersection of Hwy 39 and 54, next to the Shell Station.  Contact: Steve Miller 715-572-1845

Wausau Prospectors – meets the 1^st Saturday of the month at 11:00 am at the Village Town Hall in Brokaw Wisconsin. Address is: 218 2^nd St., Brokaw, WI. Take US 51 north of Wausau and take exit 197. Then go east on county road WW. At the 4 way stop in Brokaw take a right. You are there (just past the Credit Union).  Contact:  Kurt Bublitz 715-340-2831 or e-mail lizzy101@charter.net

Wisconsin Michigan Prospectors.GPAA Chapter – holds their meetings on the 3^rd Saturday of every month at 11:00 am, at meeting location for the next few months at Newinghams Supper Club at 722 Main St. Wausaukee, WI 54177. Contact Ron Smith.