[meteorite-list] Elma Field Report Part 1

From: David Freeman <dfreeman_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:21:06 2004
Message-ID: <3F174E7A.8050009_at_fascination.com>

Dear Greg, Adam;
What a wonderful report. It's the stuff dreams are made of! I have met
the girl....yikes!
Very thankful for your report,
Dave Freeman

Walter Branch wrote:

>Adam-
>
>"Rattlesnake Eggs"
>
>Are you serious?
>
>-Walter
>
>
>
>------------------------------------------
>www.branchmeteorites.com
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Adam Hupe" <adamhupe_at_comcast.net>
>To: <meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
>Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2003 9:36 PM
>Subject: [meteorite-list] Elma Field Report Part 1
>
>
>>Elma Meteorite Field Update Part 1.
>>
>>We thought List members might be interested in a report from the field
>>concerning the Elma incident.
>>
>>Greg and I arrived in Elma at 11:00 a.m. yesterday to find several dozen
>>people searching for meteorites in the shot-put area next to the Elma High
>>School running track. There was an unbelievable amount of news networks
>>covering this story, at least four major networks. We were dispatched by
>>the University of Washington to investigate the suspected meteorites and
>>
>to
>
>>report our findings directly to them. Before we had a chance to look at
>>what was being found we had to locate our contact Levi, of the Daily
>>
>World.
>
>>Levi found us in the crowd and put us in touch directly with the three
>>
>young
>
>>men who witnessed the fireball and presumably found some material.
>>
>>Picture of School:
>>http://www.lunarrock.com/elma/schoolsign.jpg
>>
>>As soon as everybody saw us interviewing the teenagers several news teams
>>with their cameras ran over to where we were and asked if we were the
>>officials who were there to give the final word on the incident. We
>>explained that we would be happy to offer an opinion on the material that
>>was being found but we needed time to examine the hundreds of black
>>
>pebbles
>
>>that were being recovered from the shot-put pit. As I looked around I saw
>>
>a
>
>>familiar face in the crowd, a competitor. Thinking we may have been
>>
>scooped
>
>>we asked what his opinion was. We were told he would not offer an
>>
>opinion.
>
>>Knowing this competitor knows what a meteorite looks like we feared that
>>what was being found was not meteoritic. This left it up to us to break
>>
>the
>
>>bad news to the excited crowd.
>>
>>Shot Put Pit:
>>http://www.lunarrock.com/elma/filmcrew.jpg
>>
>>We relocated to the bleachers and opened our kit to examine the stones
>>
>that
>
>>were being found. We used a loop, a magnet and if needed some chemicals
>>
>to
>
>>determine the hundreds of stones being pulled from the pit were
>>
>terrestrial.
>
>>This is not what everybody wanted to hear and it put us in the awkward
>>position of announcing to the crowd and news teams that everybody was on
>>
>the
>
>>wrong track. We pulled out some real meteorites and showed them to the
>>crowd so that they would have a better idea of what to look for. Knowing
>>there was the possibility of disappointment we brought some NWA meteorites
>>to donate to some of the crowd. That way sincere searchers were not left
>>empty handed and the freebies were greatly appreciated. More importantly,
>>it sparked an interest in meteoritics and the crowd responded by asking
>>dozens of questions. After they examined real meteorites some of them
>>dispersed to other parts of the town in search of the real thing. We told
>>them if they found anything of interest we were going to the "Rusty
>>
>Tractor"
>
>>for lunch, then to a quarry to hunt for some fossils and then onto the
>>Bowling alley.
>>
>>The Rusty Tractor:
>>http://www.lunarrock.com/elma/rustytractor.jpg
>>
>>We arrived at the "Rusty Tractor" to find a large contingent decided to
>>
>join
>
>>us for lunch. The locals suggested rattlesnake eggs and tractor treads
>>
>for
>
>>appetizers followed by the main course, a giant yak burger. The lunch was
>>not half bad and we had some great conversations with the locals who told
>>
>us
>
>>some interesting facts about Elma. The population of Elma is about 3,600
>>and that the meteor was the biggest news to hit this little town since the
>>great bank robbery of 1914 and the Tractor tragedy of 1929:
>>
>>The Great Bank Robbery of 1914
>>The bank robbery of 1914 rocked the little town of Elma, Washington.
>>
>$4,280
>
>>was lifted in the heist. The robbers overlooked another $7,500 in plain
>>site on the cashiers desk, taken from the vault just minutes before.
>>
>Shots
>
>>were fired, but nobody was injured. The gang was eventually apprehended
>>
>in
>
>>Seattle.
>>
>>Tractor Tragedy of 1929
>>One stormy day, in 1929, George Mouncer, of Elma, was out on his "rusty"
>>tractor at the Oaksridge Golf Course when, suddenly, his tractor was
>>
>struck
>
>>by lightning. George was thrown nearly 30 feet and was "out" for some
>>
>time.
>
>>He had to be carried in by his cousin, Lee. Fortunately, George suffered
>>
>no
>
>>ill effects from the strike, besides shock and a rather severe headache.
>>
>>Rusty Tractor Menu:
>>http://www.lunarrock.com/elma/menu.jpg
>>
>>Later into the lunch John Cornish joined us. We were surprised to see
>>another familiar face, which had not been seen by us since Tucson. We
>>talked for some time about meteorites and decided it was time to go to the
>>quarry and search for fossils while the rest of the town was looking for
>>meteorites.
>>
>>
>>To be continued see part two
>>
>>
>>______________________________________________
>>Meteorite-list mailing list
>>Meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com
>>http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>>
>
>
>______________________________________________
>Meteorite-list mailing list
>Meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com
>http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>
>
Received on Thu 17 Jul 2003 09:33:46 PM PDT