The Orcutt Mineral Society (OMS) was founded in 1958 and one of Orcutt’s longest lived interest groups. It is named for William Orcutt, our town’s namesake and the geologist who discovered oil in the Orcutt hills and the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles "one of the most significant fossil finds in paleontology history," says the OMS bulletin.

         OMS, has 60ish members and meets every second Tuesday at Orcutt’s Oasis Center. Its mission statement is spoken out-loud at the beginning of each meeting and goes like this, “The collection and lapidary treatment of and to stimulate interest in rocks and minerals. To gain knowledge of the methods and procedures for collecting, identification, classification, cutting, polishing and mounting of rocks and minerals for display. To promote good fellowship and proper ethics in the pursuit of the lapidary arts.”

          All are welcome to this very friendly affair which includes members sharing their collections, recollections, and skills as well as expert speakers who come to educate the group about a wide range of lapidary subjects.

          Its most recent meeting focused on the success of its August annual three day event, held at Nipomo High School. The show included over 75 dealers with an estimated 3000 people attending. Besides selling beautiful stones for collections, jewelry and art purposes, there were many demonstrations and an entertaining kid’s booth. 

          Throughout the meeting lottery numbers were called with people winning rock specimens.

          The group plans to visit the Owens Valley to see volcanic rock petroglyphs, a rock shop, and the Alabama Hills, where many Westerns were filmed. 

          Besides trips and educational opportunities, OMS’s community service includes “Adopt a Highway,” scholarships in geology and earth sciences, and donations to good causes.

          The ‘Roc Doc,’ Wayne Mills is available at meetings to identify members’ rocks, uses chemicals and a lifetime of knowledge to make his assertions. Mills wears the OMS red vest, literally covered with club badges and medals. A member of the club since 1994, with over 6 years as president, he says his obsession began at 13 when his uncle gave him a box of rocks. Mills spent 10 years as a Caltran’s Paleontological Coordinator and recently won first prize from the national branch of OMS, The American Federation of Mineralogical Societies, for a mineralogical poem he wrote.

        Orcutt resident and OMS secretary, Joey Nichols, is an avid rockhound who spends vacations backpacking and hiking to find rock specimens. "Meetings are like a big family. We're all just a little unique. It's a way for all of us to come together and share our passion."

          Wes Lingerfelt is the oldest member and in his late eighties, and the most knowledgeable, says Nichols. He runs a business with a machine that transforms rocks into spheres. People can go to his house, use his workshop, and buy stones from his giant rock pile for 25 cents a pound. 

          Orcutt resident Margaret Henson, a 20-year member, says her grandfather had a rock shop. She got her first amethyst geode at 5 years old. Her house is now filled with rock displays, and she learned to make 8 inch “rock trees” at the club. She describes OMS as her extended family. “You feel welcome there. A lot of us have been members for a long time, and we try to help each other with anything about rocks.”

         To contact the Orcutt Mineral Society, visit OMS-INC.ORG or come to the meeting at the Oasis Senior Center at 7 PM, second Tuesday of the month.