By Andy Jansen, ESCONI Librarian –

The Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois has a long and distinguished history that began with its first meeting in November 1949. Fortunately for the Club, one of their first decisions was to document their activities with a newsletter. The first newsletter was issued January 1950, which was five pages long and made with a mimeograph. It is fascinating to read these early issues to see the Club form from a group of people interested in natural history to an organization with purpose. Few people had ready access to these early newsletters – until now. 

Over the last couple years, ESCONI members have gathered all of the newsletters and scanned them into PDF documents (at 300 dpi resolution). It was surprising to learn how many issues were nearly lost to time – in some cases only a single copy could be found. The complete ESCONI Newsletters collection totals 683 issues (1950 – 2011). In addition, all of the anniversary issues were scanned along with old club library lists and Constitutions & By-Laws. This much paper occupies over four feet of shelf space, but now thanks to modern digital storage, these PDF files easily fit on one DVD with plenty of room to spare.

This DVD is a great addition to your ESCONI collection, for both new members and long-term members. There are many interesting facts to learn about ESCONI and how rock and fossil collecting in the world has changed over the last sixty years. It is painful to read how easy it was for the general public to have access to almost every quarry – even during the quarry’s operating hours with heavy equipment flying by. Ahh, the good old days! 

Past members of ESCONI were just as passionate about Earth sciences as many members are now. One member in particular, George Langford, Sr., deserves special recognition. Many of us know of him only through his famous books on Mazon Creek fossils, which were published through ESCONI Associates. But there was much more to Mr. Langford that every Club member should read about – from his earlier work in archaeology to his amazing recovery after losing his arm in an industrial accident. This story can be found in the June 1994 and April 1998 issues.

Throughout this DVD are many discussions of Mazon Creek fossils. Of particular interest are the numerous articles by Andrew Hay under the heading of Creature Corners. You can read these original articles in many of the issues after 1984. Most of us have heard of Dave’s Down to Earth Rock Shop in Evanston and many assume it has always existed throughout the ages, but it too had a beginning. You can see the flier announcing its opening in the November 1970 issue.

The cover of the new DVD shown here is easily recognized by anyone familiar with ESCONI. Its round design is ideal for a DVD cover, but I’m sure the original artist, Stevens T. Norvell, did not have that in mind when he first drew it in 1950. His emblem appeared on the fourth issue of the ESCONI Newsletter and has been used ever since. But, there was a different, experimental, emblem used on each of the first three newsletters. See what the Club’s emblem could have looked like.

Now, how can you obtain this great DVD, and free up some valuable shelf space! You can purchase this DVD for $15 at any of the general meetings or purchase it online by contacting Andrew Jansen at Esconibooks@AOL.com.  As an added bonus, this DVD will not get musty!