www.houstonshellclub.com Volume XXVII, Issue 5 January, 2020

The Epitonium

Houston Conchology Society

January Program

We hope you can join us at 2:00 p.m. on Sun-

day, January 19th for the Houston Conchology

Society meeting at the Weekley Family

YMCA.

Ted Driscoll from the Galveston Bay Founda-

tion will give a presentation titled the “2019

Galveston Bay Report Card.” He joined the

Galveston Bay Foundation in June 2018 as

Community Engagement Coordinator. He at-

tended Texas A&M University at Galveston,

where he received a B.S. in Ocean and

Coastal Resources and a Master of Marine Re-

sources Management. Prior to GBF Ted

worked offshore as a Protected Species Ob-

server in the Gulf of Mexico and Chukchi Sea.

He has two cats, a dog, and enjoys kayaking,

fishing, and bird watching.

Anyone who wants to help with the Jamboree,

please contact Lucy and throw your hat in the

ring. We can always utilize good help in some

capacity. I have been working on the oral

auction for Jamboree now for several months

and I am very excited about the potential rev-

enue the club could make. We have the

shells, and all we need now is the interest and

the people willing to spend the money. I have

done many COA auctions over the years, and

I am willing to stack our oral auction against

many of those auctions from years past. We

have an excellent selection of shells and shell

related items that should do extremely well.

The registration forms are out and available;

Continued on page 2

President’s Message

By Dave Green

I would like to extend a Happy 2020 to all the

members of the Houston Conchology Society

with the hope that it will be a great year for

all of us. 2019 was a good year for HCS over-

all, although we lost a few good people that

will be missed, but certainly not forgotten. I

hope each one of us will strive to make 2020

an even better year and one that will be re-

membered.

One of our greatest opportunities coming up

in April is being the host club for the Texas

Sheller’s Jamboree to be held in Lake Jack-

son. Lucy Clampit has been working hard, as

always, getting things in order and tasks as-

signed to make sure all those attending walk

away with a very positive opinion of our club.

In years past, we have always lived up to the

expectations of our club and those of other

clubs around the state of Texas. Unfortunate-

ly, all of our shell clubs in Texas, and around

the United States, are getting smaller due to

members passing away or just getting out of

shell collecting altogether. It seems we are

unsuccessful in attracting new members for

some reason. It is a common problem with all

the shell clubs in Texas and the United

States. Each time we hold Jamborees, the at-

tendance always seems to get smaller. I ex-

pect the same trend this coming year. Howev-

er, lets see if we can change that trend. Talk

to people you know about the event. That in-

cludes people outside the state of Texas. May-

be we can attract a few more and start a more

positive trend.

November Minutes Submitted by Rusti Stover

The November 2019 meeting of the Houston Conchology So-

ciety was called to order by President Dave Green at 2:26 pm on

Sunday November 17, 2019 at the Weekley YMCA.

Dave welcomed everyone and noted the guest that drove the

farthest to help the club celebrate its 50th anniversary was Eric

Shepherd, President of the San Antonio Shell Club. Also present

were new members Craig Latimer and his wife Sompong. Dave

then asked for approval of the October minutes as mailed: Sandy

Clark made the motion, Mary Harris seconded, all approved.

Treasurer Angie Haneiko gave the treasurer’s report.

Dave also asked for a moment of silence for all deceased

members of the club, including our recently deceased member

Gary Olson, who passed away on October 28th.

Under Old Business, Dave mentioned the Jamboree vendor

tables are going fast. We have room for only 7 tables, one per

dealer, and there was only one left at this time. Dave also report-

ed the COA 2021 convention plans for Moody Gardens, Galveston,

are moving along nicely. Darwin Alder also mentioned that the

date for decorating the HCS Christmas Tree in the lobby of the

Houston Museum of Natural Science is Wednesday December 4th.

Tina Petway added please be there by 9 am if you wish to help,

but not before 9 am.

Dave also reminded everyone that the club Christmas Party

was scheduled for Sunday December 8th, from 1 to 3 pm at the

home of Nancy and John Mustachio. The club pays for the meat

entrée and everyone is asked to bring sides and dessert. If you

wish to participate in the gift exchange, please bring a wrapped

shell-related gift at a value of 20 dollars. Bring a gift, get a gift.

Discussion on a club field trip over the winter of 2020 was

tabled for the January meeting. Tina mentioned that the museum

is having a field trip on Saturday January 11th from Galveston

State Park to San Luis Pass; there is a fee for the field trip, but

she thought shellers might just turn out at San Luis Pass to join

in. Contact Tina for more information.

Darwin Alder mentioned upcoming programs: January will

be Galveston Bay Foundation. February will be a program by

John Haneiko. March will be a program by Bruce Neville of Texas

A&M University, College Station. The Annual Auction is part of

the Texas Sheller’s Jamboree in April of 2020, Continued on Page 3

PAGE 2 THE EPITONIUM VOLUME XXVI I , I SSUE 5

Visit HCS online at

www.houstonshellclub.com

President:

David Green

713-435-9971

Vice President:

Darwin Alder

713-256-9087

Treasurer:

Angie Haneiko

281-481-5155

Recording Secretary:

Rusti Stover

713-614-4882

Corresponding Secretary:

Lucy Clampit

713-468-0610

CALENDAR

1/19/20 HCS Meeting

2/16/20 HCS Meeting

3/15/20 HCS Meeting

4/24/20 Texas Jamboree

5/30/20 HCS Banquet

President’s message from page 1

the chairman and her

team are busy making de-

cisions on many issues

that need to be finalized,

and before you know it, we

will be in April. We are

expecting guest from other

states to attend: Louisi-

ana, Florida and North

Carolina. This is our op-

portunity to showcase

HCS.

Have a great year folks

…….and most important,

let’s enjoy it.

PAGE 3 THE EPITONIUM VOLUME XXVI I , I SSUE

5 THE EPITONIUM

VOLUME XXVI I , I SSUE 5

Minutes continued from Page 2 and we will end

the 2019-2020 meetings season with the annu-

al banquet at the Monument Inn on Saturday

May 30th.

Announcements: Rusti Stover men-

tioned she brought along a sympathy card for

the relatives of Gary Olson, and would every-

one please sign it.

There being no further business before

the board, Mary Harris made a motion to close

the meeting, Craig Latimer seconded, all ap-

proved. The meeting was adjourned at 2:45

p.m.

Members then partook of a nice after-

noon feast of ham, potato salad, delicious sides

and desserts, and watched a program by Lucy

Clampit from photos and slides over many

years of the club, and Lucy also put together

another slide show following that, with many

photos of events, trips, and Christmas parties

through the years. Members also had brought

many photo albums for members to peruse,

and some members also brought and wore

items from past events featuring the club. Al-

lison McHenry made a special table display of

vintage club items and events, and Darwin Al-

der made “HCS 50” gold and white coaster

giveaways. A great time was had by all!

Jamboree 2020

The Jamboree Committee is busy planning

the event scheduled for April 24-26 at Jas-

mine Hall in Lake Jackson. There will be in-

teresting programs, good food, good friends,

and lots of ways to spend your money, so we

hope you are saving for it. Dave Green is

working on a fantastic oral auction. He took

a few pictures of some of the beautiful shells,

and a sampling is included in this newsletter.

On Sunday after the oral auction, Patty Hum-

bird will open her beach house for those who

would like to spend some time on the beach.

On Monday the 27th, Tina Petway will con-

duct a tour of the new Strake Hall of Malacol-

ogy at the HMNS for those who are interest-

ed. Some of the details need to be worked

out. Participants might be required to pay

museum admission and parking.

A registration form is available on the HCS

website: http://www.houstonshellclub.com/

PDFfiles/2020%20Jamboree%

20Registration.pdf.

Upcoming Texas Seashell

Events

Texas Sheller’s Jamboree April 24-26, 2020

at Jasmine Hall, Lake Jackson, TX

Seashell Searchers Shell Show

The SSS will be hosting a shell show October 9

-11, 2020 at the Lake Jackson Civic Center.

More details will be available soon.

COA Convention 2021

The 2021 convention, chaired by Dave Green,

will be June 1-5, 2021 at Moody Gardens in

Galveston, TX.

In Memoriam

Texas and Malacology/Conchology has lost

another valuable asset. Fabio Moretzshon

who worked at TA&M Corpus Christi passed

away on January 6. He had battled stage 4

lung cancer for about

a year. He presented

several programs at

HCS meetings and

was a great resource

to HMNS. His wife is

planning a Celebra-

tion of Life service in

Corpus Christi next

month. When more

information is availa-

ble, it will be shared

with members.

PAGE 4 THE EPITONIUM VOLUME XXVI I , I SSUE

5 THE EPITONIUM

VOLUME XXVI I , I SSUE 5

Jamboree 2020

These are pictures of some of the auction items available at the 2020 Jamboree:

PAGE 5 THE EPITONIUM VOLUME XXVI I , I SSUE

5 THE EPITONIUM

VOLUME XXVI I , I SSUE 5

Christmas Party

Many thanks to Nancy and John Mustachio for hosting the HCS Christmas Party. Those in attendance enjoyed good

food and company. Pictures are from Rusti Stover.

Christmas Tree

Wow! Darwin and his elves really outdid themselves with the Texas themed tree.

Nancy Mustachio, Georgia Mustachio, Linda Green, Victoria Craig, Angela Doucette, and Ra-

chel Zelko helped with the workshops for the tree decorations.

Sabrina, Rusti, Tina, Linda, Angela, Rachel, Allison and Nancy brought the tree to life!

My heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all who helped in any way! I have been told the tree is

magnificent! Darwin

Pictures on next page from: Allison, Darwin, & Rusti

PAGE 6 THE EPITONIUM VOLUME XXVI I , I SSUE

5 THE EPITONIUM

VOLUME XXVI I , I SSUE 5

Christmas tree pictures:

PAGE 7 THE EPITONIUM VOLUME XXVI I , I SSUE 5

Annual New Year’s Day Beach Trip

By Cathy Betley

ROLLOVER PASS - NEW YEAR’S DAY 2020

The bridge at the pass remains, but the Historical Texas Marker has been removed. The site is

completely fenced, and the pass area closest to the Gulf has already been filled.

From the web site - Rollover Pass, Texas - Rollover Pass Is Now Closed Due to Erosion on the

Beachfront and Silting of the Intracoastal. Galveston County took control of Rollover Pass by

Eminent Domain. Filling in Rollover Pass has begun, and plans are to build a County Park and

Fishing Pier in the future.

Prior to this current project - Rollover Pass is an important landmark on the Bolivar Peninsu-

la. Smugglers used the narrow strip of land between the Gulf and Galveston Bay on the Boli-

var Peninsula long before there was a man-made channel. They rolled their ill-gotten gain

(usually packed in barrels) over from a ship on the Gulf to a waiting boat on the Bay side,

where it would be carried for distribution. During the American Prohibition, the practice con-

tinued, with barrels of liquor being rolled over the pass to waiting boats on the other side. In

1955, the pass was mechanically dredged to create a new opening between the Gulf and East

Galveston Bay. This was intended to improve ingress and egress of fish and shellfish. It was

believed that this would produce better fishing. Fishermen would agree that this was success-

ful. The pass is excellent for recreational fishing. It is a very popular location for shore-based

anglers. Every weekend finds dozens of fishermen lined up on both sides of the pass. The fish-

ing continues by lantern light at night.

Beyond the pass, Darwin and Cathy stopped at the beach access road just east of the ferry. The

water was calm as was the water at the rest of the New Year’s Day beach stops: East Beach,

the beach near Woody’s, the surfing spot east of the east jetty at Surfside, and the Quintana

Jetty. Minimal shells were found.

However, there was a minor ferry adventure during the trip. As the ferry pulled away from

the landing, the vessel drifted more than accelerated. The captain reversed and the crew

helped to get the ferry re-attached to the landing ramp. An announcement was made about a

mechanical issue that could not be repaired quickly. The ferry was about two/thirds full and

one by one the vehicles on the south side of the ferry were carefully backed up and loaded on

the next ferry at the adjacent landing to the north. Once the south side was vacant, the crew

backed out a few vehicles from the north side, but by the time our SUV had its turn, we had on-

ly to drive forward, around the bridge to the left and then board the second ferry. Only one big

truck with camper followed us to the second ferry, and we were on our way to Galveston.

A beach trip on New Year’s Day, seeing the waves, wild life (lots of hawks, two roseate spoon-

bills and a small flock of Sand Hill Cranes), and other hearty beach-goers, is always a peaceful

way to start a New Year.

HOUSTON CONCHOLOGY SOCIETY Lucy Clampit, Corresponding Secretary

10532 Hammerly Blvd.

Houston, Texas 77043

The Epitonium is published monthly August through May

and is an official publication of the Houston Conchology

Society. Items of interest concerning shells and shelling

are welcome for publication. Credit will be given to

contributors when known unless anonymity is requested.

Permission is granted for reprinting articles, provided

credit is given to The Epitonium, the writer, and the

Houston Conchology Society and a copy of the reprint is

sent to the editor of the newsletter. Editor: Lucy Clampit

10532 Hammerly Blvd., Houston, TX 77043

Phone: (713) 468-0610

E-mail: lclampit@comcast.net

The Society holds regular meetings on the third Tuesday

of September, October, November, January, February and

April. There are seasonal events and a yearly shell auction

scheduled in the other months.

VISITORS WELCOME!!!

Membership year extends from June 1 through May 31.

Annual membership dues: Family $12; Single $10; Junior

(under 18) $6.

Make checks payable to Houston Conchology Society and

send to Angie Haneiko, 11407 Blackhawk Blvd., Houston,

TX 77089.

Weekley Family YMCA

7101 Stella Link Road, Houston, TXmm77025