Tag: TBT
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Throwback Thursday #321: The Fossil Legacy of Thomas Jefferson
The following article “The Fossil Legacy of Thomas Jefferson” by Trick Runions, a long-time ESCONI member, first appeared in the May-June edition of the Flatirons Mineral Club newsletter “Flatirons Facets”.
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Throwback Thursday #319: Happy 150th Birthday, George Langford!
May 26th, 2026 marks George Langford’s 150th birthday! He was born on May 26th, 1876 in Denver, Colorado. George Langford Sr. is giant in the history of Mazon Creek. Before Jack Wittry’s books, George’s books were the go-to source of information about Mazon Creek. George wrote three books about Mazon Creek fossils. The first was…
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Throwback Thursday #318: 2001 Chicagoland Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show
The 2001 Chicagoland Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show was held at the DuPage County Fairgrounds. This was the 25th year for the show. Back then, the show spanned three days, for 2001, that was May 26th, 27th, and 28th, 2001.
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Throwback Thursday #317: The Fossil Story from Shell Oil Co.
I saw this video mentioned the May 1956 edition of the ESCONI newsletter (see Throwback Thursday #316). I vaguely remember watching it in grade school. It’s interesting how our view of paleontology changed with the addition of plate tectonics.
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Throwback Thursday #315: Empire Quarry in Bloomington, Indiana
Atlas Obscura has an interesting post about the Empire Quarry located in the area of Bloomington, Indiana. This quarry supplied the 18,630 tons of stone used to build the Empire State Building in the 1920’s. Indiana is known for its rocks. Some of the world’s finest limestone hails from the area surrounding Bloomington and Bedford,…
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Throwback Thursday #314: Collecting from 1954
We are in the midst of the spring field trip season and this article by Roy Beghtol from the May 1954 edition of the ESCONI newsletter seemed appropriate.
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Throwback Thursday #313: Who Was DuPage? How the River and County Were Named
The BeHistoric channel on Youtube has a fascinating video about the history behind the name of the DuPage River and DuPage County.
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Throwback Thursday #312: Ron Schinderle Donation
Barb Schinderle stopped by ESCONI Show last month to drop off a donation of her late husband Ron’s fossils. Ron passed away in 2021. He was a long time ESCONI member and an avid fossil collector . He went on many ESCONI field trips. A group of us remember him fondly from our many trips…
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Throwback Thursday #311: Looking Back At ESCONI For April 2026
A look back at 25, 50, and 70 years ago
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Throwback Thursday #310: History of the Thornton Quarry
Ran across this interesting episode of “It’s History” on Youtube…. “Why This Highway Runs Through Chicago’s Biggest Hole”. It’s about the Thornton Quarry and one of the founders of Chicago, Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard, who is the namesake of Hubbard Street in Chicago.
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Throwback Thursday #309: ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 1992
ESCONI has been holding a show in the spring since about 1960. In the mid 1970’s, it became the Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. Before that, there was the Indoor Field Trip hosted by the Paleontology Study Group. Today, we are looking back 30 years to the 1992 show. The show was held on March…
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Throwback Thursday #308: “Oh, do this rock for me”
This poem appeared in the February 1963 edition of the ESCONI newsletter. It seems to originated with “Agate Pete”, which was a feature in the newsletter of El Paso Mineral and Gem Society. They are still alive and kicking…
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Throwback Thursday #307: Looking Back At ESCONI for March 2026
A look back at March 1956, 1976, and 2001
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Throwback Thursday #306: This is Life…
This is Throwback Thursday #306. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. I received an interesting book from Bob Goss last November. You may remember him from a couple Fossil…
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Throwback Thursday #305: The Sinclair Dinosaurs at the New York World’s Fair in 1964-1965
This is Throwback Thursday #305. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. The Sinclair Oil company was formed by Harry Sinclair in 1916. The dinosaur known as “Dino” first appeared…
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Throwback Thursday #304 – Lizzadro Field Trip in January 1971
This is Throwback Thursday #304. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. The Lizzadro Museum was originally located in Wilder Park, Elmhurst, IL. It was opened on November 4th, 1962…
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Throwback Thursday #303: Looking Back At ESCONI For February 2026
A look back at February 1956, 1976, and 2001
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Throwback Thursday #302: More Old Cars
This is Throwback Thursday #302. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. In Throwback Thursday #267, we posted field trip photos that showed old cars from the 1950s and 1960s.…
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Throwback Thursday #301: Century of Progress – Sinclair Exhibit
This is Throwback Thursday #301. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Ran across an interesting post on the Original Chicago Group on Facebook last month (December 2025). In…
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Throwback Thursday #300: Poem… The Rockhound
This is Throwback Thursday #301. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. We have a poem this week. This poem appeared in the July 1970 edition of the ESCONI newsletter.…
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Throwback Thursday #299: Macfallite
This is Throwback Thursday #299. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. This post is a follow up to last week’s Throwback Thursday, where we mentioned the mineral species Macfallite.…
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Throwback Thursday #298: Looking Back At ESCONI For January 2026
A look back at January 1956, 1976, and 2001
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Throwback Thursday #297: Season’s Greetings from the Langfords!
In 1939, their Christmas card included a photo of the “Fossil Gardens of Northern Illinois”. The picture is a view of the strip mines about 1 mile south of Wilmington, IL, at a place that was not far from where Cinder Ridge Golf Course is today.
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Throwback Thursday #296: More Don Auler Mineral Slab Paintings
Don was a very good artist. He did the artwork for the “Creature Corner” and ESCONI “Keys” books. He also was known for doing little painting on various mineral slabs. His paintings were integrated will the mineral colors and grain.
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Throwback Thursday #295: Snowflake Collecting
Yes, you read that correctly… Snowflake Collecting. Is that even possible? Well, ESCONI member Mark Blazek wrote this article for the January 1975 issue of the ESCONI newsletter.
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Throwback Thursday #293: Field Museum – Charles Knight
This is Throwback Thursday #293. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. The Field Museum has an interesting Photo Archive page about Charles Knight. Knight was an American wildlife and…
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Throwback Thursday #292: Isabel Bassett Wasson… revisited
This is Throwback Thursday #292. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. You may remember Throwback Thursday #284, where we discussed Isabel Bassett Wasson. Wasson (1897-1994) was one of the…
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Throwback Thursday #291: 60 Years of ESCONI by Kathy Dedina
This is Throwback Thursday #291. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Happy 76th Birthday, ESCONI! Our 76th Birthday was on November 11th, 2025. The dedication for the 60th Anniversary was…
