We Grew Along With Tampa!

The first meeting of the Tampa Bay Mineral & Science Club was held March 3, 1957, at a private home. There were 15 persons present. By November there were 33 members and by January 1958 membership had grown to 48. The first meetings were held in the homes of members, then at the Dome Theater at the University of Tampa, and from October 1962 until May 1970 we met at the Fellowship Hall of Tampa Federal Savings & Loan on South Dale Mabry.

The first issue of the club newsletter, The Coral Geode, was published in 1962 as a one page reminder of the club meeting date, program, and facts pertinent to the membership.

Application for incorporation was sent to Tallahassee on 1959 and was approved February 25, 1960. In 1984 our club received official Federal tax exempt status as an educational non-profit organization.

Our first club show was held in Oct. 1957 at the Tampa Municipal Trailer Park; the admission was 25 cents. Two shows a year were held from 1958 to 1960. Shows have been held at Lowry Park, The Sulphur Springs Pavilion, The Dome Theater (University of Tampa), The Citrus Building of the old Florida Fairgrounds, Curtis Hixon Hall, the new Florida Fairgrounds, and the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory.

Original clubhouse on W. Osborne Ave.

In January 1970, the club purchased an old WWII barracks at 4706 W. Osborne, and our first meeting was held there in April 1970. Members donated materials and labor and worked 5 nights a week for the first year to give the clubhouse a much-needed facelift. In 1972 the job was completed and the burning of the mortgage was celebrated at the April 1972 general meeting.

In the 1990's, we learned that our property stood in the path of proposed airport expansion. In 1995, the Hillsborough County Airport Authority appraised the property and made us an offer. We found a house in a commercial area near Brandon, offered at a "distress" price, leaving us with enough capital to remodel and equip it just the way we wanted.

Through the years our club members have participated in Eastern Federation shows, mall bazaars, city hobby shows, and local museums. We have organized many field trips to Florida phosphate mines and coral fields. We helped the Eastern Federation establish its lapidary workshop in Nicaragua after the disastrous 1972 earthquake; contributed to scholarship funds, foundation funds, and Wildacres Workshops; and supported Florida self-taught paleontologist Frank Garcia on his nationally renowned Leisey fossil dig. One of our most important continuing activities has been going in to the public schools and libraries, giving lectures on so many facets of our hobby.

Since 1957, we have evolved into a well organized club. Decades of TBMSC members have set an example which we are proud to follow, and we are proud to foster increased understanding of the rocks and minerals which make up Planet Earth, and to use our club activities as a vehicle for passing on the skills of lapidary artistry.