Meetings were well attended in 1949. There were few formal programs, but members were content to share knowledge and experience about their hobby (which was one of the early primary functions of the new Society). Usually there were swaps and informal sales of personal material at meetings.
The First Exhibits: Attendance dropped off in 1950, and it became apparent the new Society would have to find some activities in which to engage. One was a Christmas dinner which ended up being a traditional annual activity of the club. Also, since meetings were held at the library, it was a natural fit for members to have exhibitions there. The first exhibit was held in 1950 (dates were not specified). The second was held for the month of May, 1951. Interestingly, by this time four members had “studios” (i.e. lapidary workrooms), including Mr. Vietti and Mr. Swain. Members were invited to socialize at these shops, and the response was good.
The library exhibit was held for the month of April in 1952. Mr. Vietti announced in June that the State Mineralogy Show (held jointly with the Rocky Mountain Federation of Mineralogical Societies Show) would be held in Houston in early May, 1953 (at the Sam Houston Coliseum), and a motion was passed that the club would act as host. (Mr. Vietti was president of the State Society in 1953, and thus he was able to secure Houston as the site of the annual show that year). The library exhibit was moved to the month of April so the club exhibits could be used for the show. Mr. Ken Fry (president, 1951, and owner of one of the 4 “studios,” also a vice president in the State Society) was the show chairman. A sapphire was donated for the door prize and was mounted.
Unfortunately, no club records exist of the show but several references allow us to piece together some of the details. The list of show committee personnel posted in the State Society’s publication (The Mineral Hobbyist) consisted mostly of charter members of the Houston club. Mrs. Massingill (secretary, 1951-1955, and the club historian until 1970) noted that it was the first show if its kind in Houston and that attendance was good (she handled registrations at the show). It was a dealer show, and it had competitive exhibits. The show’s sponsors (the State Society and the Rocky Mountain Society) gave our club $200 in November, 1953 as a gift for our participation. It seems clear that while we organized the show and supplied personnel to run it, we were doing this as members of the State Society, not as members of the Houston club. Our financial records indicate we did not incur any financial liability in the event nor did we take in proceeds, except for the $200 gift.
In 1954, the club authorized payment to the Odessa club to construct four cases for us so we could exhibit at the state show in Odessa that year. The library exhibit was already booked for May, and we could not change it so that the library material could be used in the Odessa show (also in May). In September, Mr. Fry led a discussion regarding organizing a hobby show for the city. The idea met with the approval of the members at the meeting. It was agreed that it would be for exhibitors; no dealers would be allowed. However, no vote was taken so no action was initiated.
The Houston Gem and Mineral Society: 1955 was a busy year for the budding club. In January the club was invited to participate in the International Flower and Garden Show to be held in the Coliseum in early March and to assist in the planning of this event. The club agreed to do so. Mrs. Eleanor Smith was appointed chairperson of the committee to head that effort. In February, she organized another committee to decide on the design specs of cases to be built to hold club exhibits. Six were constructed in February for $99.30, making a total of 10 cases owned by the club. The Garden Show went off well, with the club helping to sell tickets and earning $40 from ticket sales. Our exhibit generated a lot of interest. But it was apparent the club would need to rethink its financial strategy as there was $124.50 in expenses on the $40 return.
In April, Mr. Vietti proposed several changes to the bylaws, among them a name change to The Houston Gem and Mineral Society. These were approved. Subsequently at the state show in Corpus Christi, the regional society changed its name to The Texas Federation of Mineralogical Societies. Our club helped rewrite the constitution of that society.
In October, the club was invited to participate in the Men’s Garden Club Show in the Garden Center at Herman Park in November. This was approved and we did so, using our new cases. There was no financial income or outlay for this show.
In January of 1956, permanent standing committees were approved and formed for the first time. Among these was a Display Committee that was in charge of exhibits the club placed in various shows, with Mrs. Myra Byrd being the first chairperson. Among the first responsibilities of this new committee were the organization of our exhibits for the library and the Flower and Garden Show, both to be held in April. A separate committee was formed to head up a “sales” booth at this show. Members were requested to donate material (jewelry, slabs, etc.) for the booth.
It was a big success. The booth generated $207 net profit on expenses of $74. Following the show, discussions were held regarding the need to generate our own publicity for the event and to appoint a display committee well in advance of the show. This was done, and planning began in the summer for the 1957 Flower Show with a Mr. Fischer presiding.
In addition to these two events in 1956, the club continued its usual practice of sending at least one delegate and case (usually more) to the State Federation show. In November, the club participated for the second time in the Men’s Garden Club Show in the Garden Center.
Houston, we have a show: 1957 marked an historic watershed event for the club: Its first show was held on April 6 and 7 at the Garden Center. This followed their annual participation in the Flower and Garden Show in March (organized by Mr. Fischer). There is no indication of any financial outlay or income from the Flower and Garden Show.
The chairman of our first-ever show was not specified, most likely due to the lack of good minutes from 1957. Nonetheless, the sales booth was headed by Eleanor Smith, Bill Vietti, and Ken Fry, all of whom were experienced hands by this time (each helped run the Federation Show in 1953). They requested donations from members of such items as slabs, cabochons, and baroques. There were no dealers at the show, and the exhibit committee reminded people that they were permitted to show any material within their personal collections, regardless of whether it was “new work” or not. The show earned $535 in income, which is pretty remarkable from only a sales table. Their net profit for the show was $145. This net profit was offset by the construction in March of another 10 club cases for $206.
The other watershed event in 1957 was our incorporation as a nonprofit society (probably as a 501(c)(6), meaning donations were not tax-deductible. Incorporation as a 501(c)(3) would take another couple of decades).
In February, 1958, there were ongoing discussions regarding the two upcoming shows in the spring—a “Hobby Show” being held at the Shamrock Hotel at the end of March (Mrs. Brydon chairman) in which the club was invited to participate, and the “local” show (meaning the club’s show) to be held April 12–13 (Mr. Fischer chairman, Mrs. Eleanor Smith sales, Mrs. Mulvey publicity). These shows were successfully carried out by the busy young club. In April it was announced that the club had won 1st place at the Hobby Show for the most professional exhibit. There were apparently no financial transactions at that show.
At our “local” show (Garden Center), there was a faceting machine and a trim saw operated as demos in addition to a substantial number of cases which were being lined by Mr. Vietti. The minutes are rather skimpy, so no details are known about the show. The sales booth generated $295 in sales, a significant drop from the previous year, and this income was offset by $290 in expenses.
1959 began with serious discussion about a show. The date was chosen to be April 10–12 at the Garden Center after Mr. Fischer was able to secure this date. Mr. Dick Potter was show chairman, Mrs. Carey was sales chairman. Mrs. Carey and committee came up with the idea of putting labeled mineral specimens in boxes and selling them. Club volunteers were elicited to help with this project (although it should be noted that a substantial number of specimens were purchased specifically for this purpose). From brief references in the minutes, it appeared to be a struggle to get everything properly prepared for the show. From today’s perspective, we can surely understand considering they started planning in January for an April show.
At the April general meeting (following the show), it was reported that the show was an outstanding success. And indeed it was: An income of $741 was realized against $490 in expenses.
To cap off the year, the club exhibited at Weldon’s Cafeteria in late October or early November.
The Early 60s: By 1960, the show and a regular, standing show committee were considered standard business necessities. All the committees that we are familiar with were present such as sales, publicity, property (including floor plans), hospitality, demonstration, florescent light, and mineral identification. There were also some we are not familiar with: Floormen Committee and Rock Garden Committee. Apparently a “floorman” is a person who circulates on the floor of the show performing any such task as necessary, such as answering questions from visitors, keeping order, and being ready to explain the use of equipment on display. However, often spare floormen ended up being stolen by the sales booth, since this was really the lifeblood of the club at this time.
The shows from 1960–1962 continued to contain no retail dealers. Exhibits and demonstrations were the main focus, with an increasing number of demonstrations being slotted. The club earned a profit from the sales booth which consisted of club member-donated items such as mineral specimens, slabs, cutting rough, and tumbled stones. Grab bags were also a big item as they sold cheaply and were good repositories for low-grade material. Hundreds of these were made for each show.
The main detraction at the time was not show related: They were having problems with the IRS in 1960 for their failure to properly file returns. A rewrite of the constitution and bylaws followed in order to be in compliance with nonprofit statutes. In 1961, the Texas Federation followed suit due to the same difficulties. 1961 president Richard Offeman dealt with the State of Texas regarding our tax-exempt status, as there were difficulties there also.
Also, in 1962 the club started meeting in the Garden Center. This was a positive move because the club had been floating from one meeting place to another since they left the Downtown Library in 1955. The Garden Center finally represented a home for the young club, and one they kept for the remainder of the decade and well into the 1970s.
Following the 1960 show, the club voted to move the show to the fall. The 1961 show, in addition, was moved to the Downtown Recreation Center because the Garden Center was undergoing renovations and they couldn’t book it far enough in advance to give the show committee a proper lead time for preparations. It was held September 15–17. Show Chairman Irene Offeman did her customary wonderful job preparing and organizing the show and thoroughly documenting these preparations as well as the results. Her show chairman handover document detailing what, when, and (at that time) with whom things were to happen was exquisitely detailed. It constitutes the first surviving version (that I’ve found) of the master show preparation and planning document that has been passed down through the decades.