[meteorite-list] Greensburg meteorite raffle in the news

From: JKGwilliam <h3chondrite_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2007 08:35:38 -0700
Message-ID: <20070621153541.DFXP4247.fed1rmmtao101.cox.net_at_fed1rmimpo02.cox.net>

Mike's right...that would have helped a lot.

However, a quick search on Google for "
greensburg fundraiser meteorite" was
successful. In fact, the first seven results are
about the fund raiser. This makes it pretty easy
to find even if you don't have a direct link.

Best

John

At 07:58 AM 6/21/2007, Mike Jensen wrote:
>Hi All
>It sure would have been nice if they had put a link to Geoff's Raffle site.
>
>http://aerolite.org/events/greensburg-fundraiser.htm
>
>See how easy that was.
>
>Mike
>
>--
>Mike Jensen
>Jensen Meteorites
>16730 E Ada PL
>Aurora, CO 80017-3137
>303-337-4361
>IMCA 4264
>website: www.jensenmeteorites.com
>
>On 6/21/07, Darren Garrison <cynapse at charter.net> wrote:
>>http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/158869.html
>>
>>Outer space rocks to the rescue
>>$10,000 worth of meteorites will be part of a raffle for Greensburg recovery
>>efforts.
>>By LISA GUTIERREZ
>>The Kansas City Star
>>Before a tornado decimated Greensburg, Kan., last month, the south-central
>>Kansas town was known for two things ? the
>>world's largest hand-dug well and the
>>half-ton "Space Wanderer" meteorite.
>>
>>Meteorite hunters and enthusiasts weren't
>>surprised the Wanderer survived. They
>>knew it would take more than a tornado to destroy a 1,000-pound rock that had
>>endured a tortuous journey here from space.
>>
>>They were more shaken by the news of what the tornado had done to the rest of
>>the town.
>>
>>Now they've joined the effort to rebuild
>>Greensburg. To raise money for relief
>>efforts they're holding a raffle of ? what else? ? meteorites.
>>
>>Winners will be announced at ? what else? ? a meteorite festival on July 7 in
>>neighboring Haviland, Kan.
>>
>>"Greensburg is a historic meteorite town," said
>>raffle organizer Geoff Notkin.
>>"Now it's time to help the people who made it all possible."
>>
>>The May 4 tornado wasn't the first monster to
>>roar out of the sky above what is
>>now Kiowa County.
>>
>>About 10,000 years ago a meteor ? brighter than
>>the sun and faster than a jet ?
>>thundered through the layers of Earth's atmosphere over that part of Kansas.
>>
>>The fireball exploded and rained space rocks over a 6-mile area. The fury
>>created the Brenham strewnfield ? "strewn" as in space rock shattered and
>>blasted like gunshot into heaven only knows how many meteorites.
>>
>>Some pieces as big as large-screen TVs plunged
>>7 feet deep into the soft blanket
>>of the plains. Smaller meteorites lay just
>>below the surface, shallow enough to
>>be exhumed centuries later by farmers' plows.
>>
>>During modern times the strewnfield became a mecca for meteorite hunters,
>>including the granddaddy of them all,
>>Kansas-born Harvey H. Nininger. The former
>>Kansas science teacher scoured the strewnfield
>>extensively and established the
>>world's first meteorite museum in Arizona.
>>
>>Interest in the strewnfield had largely died
>>off over the past 50 years until an
>>Arkansas man named Steve Arnold came along in
>>2005. After two weeks of digging
>>in a farmer's field near Greensburg, Arnold
>>discovered "the mother lode" of the
>>Brenham strewnfield ? a 1,430-pound meteorite
>>now on display at Union Station.
>>
>>It was a cosmic trifecta. The meteorite was
>>bigger than any other found in the
>>strewnfield; it was of a scientifically
>>desirable shape; and it was a pallasite,
>>a rare type of meteorite seldom found in the U.S.
>>
>>The discovery fired up new interest in the
>>strewnfield. An episode of the Travel
>>Channel's "Cash and Treasures" was filmed there last year.
>>
>>Suddenly, Greensburg and the strewnfield were on the map again ? only to be
>>nearly wiped off it in May.
>>
>>When Notkin, who lives in Tucson, Ariz., heard about the tornado on the day
>>after the storm, he thought, That's my town.
>>
>>"We don't want to abandon Greensburg because it was flattened," he said.
>>"Greensburg had real character ? lovely
>>frontier-style buildings, the big water
>>tower, big trees. It just felt like a lovely,
>>idyllic American town. I remarked
>>to Steve that as I walked to the hardware store I expected Norman Rockwell to
>>step out and do another painting."
>>
>>The British-born Notkin is meteorite-hunting
>>partners with Steve Arnold and one
>>of the first people Arnold called when he found "the big one."
>>
>>For days after the find, they dug up and dragged other meteorites out of that
>>wheat field and kept them on the floor of their room at Greensburg's J-Hawk
>>Motel. They ate at the diner, bought supplies at the hardware store and
>>purchased sandwich fixings at the convenience store.The two have hunted
>>meteorites all over the world. But in the end,
>>Arnold hit the scientific jackpot
>>in his own backyard. The 41-year-old was born
>>in Wichita, about 100 miles east
>>of Greensburg.
>>
>>Arnold has hunted the strewnfield off and on since, unearthing about 30
>>meteorites, ranging from 16-pounders to his back-breaking titan at Union
>>Station.
>>
>>Because Arnold was spending so much time in the
>>area, he bought a small house in
>>Greensburg to use as a base of operations.
>>That's where he was headed the day of
>>the tornado ? before his wife summoned him home to Arkansas.
>>
>>"I kind of regret not being there," said
>>Arnold, who arrived in Greensburg two
>>days after the tornado to find part of his roof
>>gone. "It would have been nice
>>to help people. I got to know quite a few
>>neighbors. The town has been extremely
>>good to me and very friendly."
>>
>>Within hours of the tornado news, worried
>>meteorite fans around the world began
>>e-mailing each other. It didn't take long for
>>Arnold and Notkin to decide what
>>to do next.
>>
>>Because the Greensburg tragedy hit especially
>>close to home, meteorite devotees
>>have donated more than $10,000 worth of meteorites and meteorite-related
>>collectibles for the Greensburg raffle.
>>
>>Arnold's record find is not among them, however. He hasn't decided what to do
>>with a rock that some have valued at $3
>>million, so it's been traveling. When he
>>called Science City to see if it would like to
>>host the meteorite for a while,
>>Executive Director Ray Shubinski didn't
>>hesitate. Perhaps it had something to do
>>with Shubinski's love of meteorites, a passion he wears not on his sleeve but
>>around his neck in a meteorite pendant.
>>
>>Now Shubinski gets to showcase "The King of the
>>Pallasites." Pallasites make up
>>less than 1 percent of the meteorites
>>discovered and are known for the olivine
>>crystals that stud their iron mass. A couple of pockets of the tiny green
>>gemstones shimmer on The King's bumpy backside,
>>which still wears Kiowa County
>>dirt.
>>
>>Standing next to the rock outside the
>>planetarium at Union Station earlier this
>>week, Shubinski drew a group of kids and
>>grown-ups closer to the rock. Like an
>>excited schoolboy, Shubinski announced: "It came from outer space!"
>>
>>Yep. Via Greensburg.
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Received on Thu 21 Jun 2007 11:35:38 AM PDT