This is the seventh and last in a series of articles concerning the History of the Club. 

Joel Johnstone

The Naming of the Newsletter and Changes to the Masthead: 

Early Nuggets were just typed – nothing fancy. Each editor seems to have put their “mark” on the newsletter in accordance with their abilities. 

First News Nuggets masthead – 1963-1968 

In August of 1963 we see the first hand drawn masthead of just the text News Nuggets, which also seems to be the first time the newsletter officially gets that name. The July 1963 newsletter states; “The winner of the Newsletter Name Contest is Mrs. Beryl Russell. Her entry “News Nuggets” was chosen by the judges and from now on the Newsletter shall be known by that name.” 

Ruth Bronson takes over several years later and makes the font a little fancier and in February of 1968 a simple hand sketched landscape scene is added behind the text. In March the sketch becomes more detailed and is clearly the view of Albuquerque and the Sandias from the west mesa. In April the sketch is replaced with a black and white photograph of the same Albuquerque & Sandias scene. 

Rock-pick  masthead  –  1969- 1973 

By March of 1969 the photo is gone and we have a text masthead where the “T” in Nuggets has been replaced by a rock pick. That masthead stays around with slight modifications until February of 1973. 

Cover by E.R.Wood – 1973- 1977 

In March of 1973 the rock-pick masthead is replaced with a professionally drawn cover by artist E. R. Wood showing a wooden arch/gate, which is used until November of 1977. 

NM mineral map cover – 1977-1983, 1985-1987 

The rest of the 70’s seem to be a mix of simple typed newsletters with no graphics, to some that have a very simple hand drawn text masthead. Even the Rock-pick “T” isn’t brought back. But the cover sheet for mailing purposes starts to contain a hand drawn map of New Mexico with several mineral locations drawn on it. In the lower right is the text News Nuggets. It was drawn by Pete Modreski, President at the time. 

Club Logo cover—1983-1985 

This continues until 1983 when the cover is replaced with the early club logo until February of 1985 when the Pete Modreski’s map cover is brought back. It was only supposed to be an “interim” cover but stayed well after the Modreski’s moved to Denver. It pretty much stays this way until February of 1987. 

Rockhound sketch cover – 1987-1998 

In February of 1987 the cover is radically changed to have a fancy text masthead over a hand sketch of a rockhound swinging a pick at a nice outcropping of minerals drawn by Ms. Sharon Peregrine Johnson, Albuquerque artist and co-author (with husband Byron) of such notable literary gems as “Gilded Palaces of Shame” and “Wild West Bartender’s Bible”. You can spot her “SJ” in the lower right corner. Although the font in the masthead changes over the years, the drawing remains until February of 1998. 

After 1998 the masthead is a simple text font with a mineral cluster clipart – I think the mineral cluster is the basis for the mineral cluster on the old name badges. The January 2000 issue is the first one that members are converted over to receiving entirely electronically and by August 2001 editor Orlando Garcia indicated that over 80 members now receive their Nuggets electronically.

Even though being mailed electronically, the News Nuggets remains pretty much just black & white text with little or no graphics or photos. What graphics there are is generally hand drawn maps and black and white clipart. The February 2001 Nuggets contained the first color photo of a specimen inserted by Editor Orlando Garcia for the monthly Mystery Mineral column. More mineral photos and color clipart appear through- out the rest of the year but disappear in 2002.

Graphics, photos and clipart go missing from the Nuggets from 2003 until 2013. A hint of what’s to come first appears in the December 2013 Special issue edited by Earlene Shroyer – some simple color poinsettias in the masthead. In January 2014 the first full color News Nuggets with lots of graphics and color pictures is published. It incorporates the new club logo designed by Joel Johnstone and voted on at the December 2013 Holiday Party. The rest, as they say, is history. 

Editors through the years: 

It appears that prior to 1963 the newsletters were probably written by the corresponding secretary as there generally is no indication of who put it together. Typically the current president’s name is at the top. The first person identified as the editor is Ardythe Beavers on the new News Nuggets masthead. In the January 1976 Nuggets, editor Regina Modreski states bulletin cannot be a one-person job as it has in the past. 

This concludes my journey into the Club’s history and I hope it lets you understand how things became the way they are today.  

First Published: AGMC News Nuggets Vol 64 #3 March, 2017