Who We Are

Decided to add this page to my site because I think it could help many of you when facing local or state restrictions.  It’s a collection of letters, articles and    personal entries that tell the world what our pastime is about, and just who we really are.  Please feel free to use any of the following for your efforts….

May 7, 2013

An article about a friend from New Jersey, Dan Knight. Dan went the extra mile to locate the owner of this ring, and I thank him for this. Love the story.

Voorhees Man Finds 1963 Class Ring, Tracks Down Owner in Arkansas
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 July 27, 2012

Heard from Butch Holcombe publisher of American Digger magazine about a mention he got in a West coast write-up. Nice  read, nice plug for the pastime and Butch as well. Click here to read about Peggy Higgins, and the input Butch had  in the article. Thanks to both of you for showing the rest of the world who we really are.

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June 9, 2012

COUPLE OF GREAT STORIES ABOUT WHO WE ARE

Brain Surgeon Botches Proposal

Connecticut Ring Returns

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FROM MARCH 27, 2012 UPDATE

Regton, Ltd. sent the following excellent story of another ring return…..

ANOTHER GOOD DEED IN THE BOOKS…

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February 26, 2012

ANOTHER RING RETURN

Professor Returns Class Ring

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ANOTHER FEATHER FOR THE RING FINDERS

From their Facebook Page…..

Jeff Lubbert commented “A little ring set I found for a wonderful couple yesterday. It was a bit chilly, 17 degrees, but luckily the search lasted only about 30 minutes.
The couple had purchased a metal detector and also rented a metal detector to try to find the ring. Unfortunatly without the experience on using a metal detector  they had no luck in several hours of searching. They found me and I recovered it in about a half hour.”

Be sure to check out this groups website at The Ring Finders.com

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ANOTHER GREAT RETURN

Received the following information from Danny Brown, editor of the Pelican Pouch, newsletter of the Pelican Relic and Recovery Association.  Nice story, nice ending, and another feather in the cap for all of us.  Thanks Danny and Robert!

“I know everyone loves to hear about a good metal detecting find, but it’s even better when you can find something for someone else that is especially near and dear to them…”

“Yesterday, a Mr. Adams called to ask if I could help find his wife’s white gold 2 carat diamond wedding ring that had been lost about a month ago. His young grandchild somehow got his wife’s jewelry bag, took it outside, and managed to scatter jewelry all over the large country yard while playing. The couple didn’t even know it had happened until the next day when the Mrs. Adams accidentally found a watch and other jewelry in several areas of the yard. Luckily, the couple’s steady searching over the next few weeks allowed them to find everything – that is, everything except her 2 carat diamond engagement ring. It had been in the bag with her matching white gold wedding band, which was found during their search. The husband, who is a deputy sheriff, then happened to see one of our club’s newsletters and contacted me.”

“I asked club member Robert DeBate to help, and we went this morning to search for the ring. Mr. Adams had marked areas in the yard where the other jewelry had been found, and had even gridded the area with string. Unfortunately, one large area had been used as a burn pile area both before and after the ring had been lost. It was mostly bare dirt and contained a good deal of metallic trash.”

“Robert put a small coil on his Fisher 1266 and dived into the trashy area. I decided to give my very old and trusty Golden Sabre with notch discrimination a try. I took the matching wedding band and notched it within the accept mode. That would allow me to hear ONLY the ring. I began at the edge of the search area and worked the grid pattern toward the burn area. Reaching that area in about 10 minutes, I got a loud signal just about in the middle of the burn area. I looked at the ash-covered ground, but didn’t see anything at first. Then waving the detector over the spot, I came to barely make out the outline of a black circle in the ashes. It was the ring, completely blackened from a fire, but otherwise in perfect shape.”

“Needless to say, Mrs. Adams was thrilled, as were Robert and I. She said her first order of business was a visit to the jeweler to get the ring cleaned and polished back to its original look. She and her husband will attend the club’s next meeting to show off the ring, and issue an official thank you to the club and our hobby. The ring will be a feature in our February newsletter.”

“I can only hope that you enjoyed your day as much as Mr. and Mrs. Adams, Robert, and I did….”

Danny Brown, Pelican Relic and Recovery Association, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

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THE AVAR GRAVES

As I always do each morning I checked to see if John Winter had posted anything new on his blog. Just as I was  ready to click on the link I got a call from him via Skype, telling me about his “one second after midnight” post. He was calling to make sure I watched the  video shown there in it’s entirety. He thought it would be a great video to share with everyone on this side of the pond, in that it was a good example of how the  detectorist and the archaeologist can work together in harmony.

After watching the “Avar Graves” I very much agree, and have added it to the “Who We Are” link. Please take the time to watch the following video, and save it somewhere  on your hard drive. It’s well done, and an example of what mutual respect can do for two opposing sides….

Be sure to click on the underlined “watch on YouTube”

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The following is a letter sent to the Alabama and Kentucky legislators, and was written by Bob Sickler, January 30, 2012…

Metal Detecting — More Than Just a Recreation

I’ve taken to writing in defense of having a recreation which is greatly misunderstood by many and unfairly threatened and discriminated against by most of  the archeological community world-wide. More specifically I write about a recreation called metal detecting.

So what is the recreation of metal detecting all about? To me it has been more than just a simple outdoor activity, it’s a 44 year continuing journey  to satisfy an intense desire to know first-hand my country’s history, more importantly the people (our ancestors) who lived it and created it. It’s the excitement  of recovering something lost in the ground for centuries and knowing you are first person since the last to touch it again… My link to the past and the education  it provides. We all inherited our past and no one person or group has the right to keep anyone from discovering it in a responsible manner and learning from it.

Many in the misinformed general public unfortunately tend to view we Detectorists as “scavengers”, “looters”, “grubbers”, “pot hunters”, “thieves”, and greedy “treasure hunters”. Fact is a lot of people are jealous of the recreation simply because they can’t stand to see anyone profit from anything, even if it’s one penny at a time. Many of us are just simply finding and collecting lost coins. In the many years I’ve enjoyed researching huntsites and operating a metal detector, the worth of anything found collectively would never equal the expense of owning the equipment necessary to do so. It’s never been about profit for me in my pursuit of history. It’s been about the rewards of educating myself and others about the items found and giving myself some quality time outdoors. It’s also about rescuing these pieces of history from the ravages of time and acid rain destruction. In the years I’ve enjoyed my recreation, I’ve actually witnessed an accelerated degradation to metal  finds. It’s about time spent sharing friendship and comradery with people of similar ideals. It’s honor and respect and returning a precious lost heirloom to someone  who asked for your help and you never ask for anything in return. It’s about volunteering our time to help law enforcement at crime scenes or to help anyone in need  of our skills.

Bob Sickler, author/treasure hunter….

The only monetary profit I ever gained from my recreation was to write a book to help others enjoy the same recreation. The profits went directly into providing a living for my family when employment was just not enough. The true profit and satisfaction was knowing I taught others to use their equipment well and promote responsible use of a metal detector. Undoubtably, there are some of us who would conceal a significant find from the rightful owner or do something illegal as a means to their end…  But this is unfortunately human nature and this behavior is not exclusive to any recreation or our critics.

On a more personal level, the rewards of strenuous exercise and fresh air provided by this recreation far exceed the benefits of any pharmaceutical. Since childhood, I’ve had trouble controlling blood glucose levels. I have an occupation that confines me to a drawing board and in later years, a computer. Any weekend spent walking miles  in the sunshine outdoors, bending over, kneeling, retrieving targets and standing back up again to do it all again countless times has a significant effect on glucose levels  no pill or injection can compete with. My recreation is probably the reason why I’m still here to write this.

For years, our detractors have continuously fought to restrict our rights and want eventually to make our recreation become illegal and give themselves exclusive rights to dig and touch OUR history. During this time, the majority of the archeological community has consumed precious public resources trying to eliminate our recreation  and influence lawmakers. Many legislators are finally realizing we Detectorists are not the monster threat they were lead to believe. Currently a few lawmakers are seeing this “inquisition” as a self-preservation tactic to insure a livelihood. If our critics were to succeed, not only will they deny people a healthy lifestyle, they will destroy  American metal detector manufacturers and the employment they provide.

Without metal detectors, the archeological community would not have the major discoveries made recently in Great Britain such as the largest cache of Saxon gold artifacts in modern time. Even before this grand discovery, the English government adeptly recognized the significance of the metal detectorist as an important resource…  The British government has intelligently resorted to rewarding their responsible detectorists rather than prosecute them. They financially compensate the landowner, and  detectorist for the value of the find so it can be preserved for public view for ALL to appreciate and learn from. If the item has been found not to be a major significance,  they allow the finder to simply keep what they found. A fair system we should adopt in the USA to get significant finds into daylight more quickly. Without this cooperation  we shorten precious time in which great discoveries can be made. Conventional archeology in the U.S. today cannot compete with powerful swift commercial land development.  Wait long enough and nature has a way of reclaiming historical artifacts permanently. Punishing a people’s recreation is not the means to making great strides in  archeology.

However, not all archeologists are our detractors, at least not the progressive few. Significant history changing data was gathered at the battle site of Little Big Horn because a few forward thinking archeologists realized they could work with detectorists and harness our skill for the good of all. In effect, they made their
own occupation easier, faster, and promoted good will instead of destroying it. The volunteer detectorists I’m sure made the project significantly less costly as well. Many of us, myself included, would be honored to serve on any project like that. This was a small step in the right direction, why is there not more of this happening today?

In summation, I hope these words help to convince everyone we need to work together and not waste time rescuing our history. When I became sixteen years old,I started in metal detecting because I knew my family’s financial resources would never support the extended education necessary for my life’s desire of becoming an Archeologist… Now you know why our “recreation” is so important to everyone.

— Robert H. Sickler
Author, “DETECTORIST, A How-To Guide to Better Metal Detecting