Behind the 8-Ball!

    Boy, that's me, all right! At the April board meeting I turned over a master copy of the April club newsletter to our vice president, John Dudley. For the second time in a row now, John agreed to take it from there and he has done a great job. It is one thing to write the newsletter, then have my dear wife edit it for major mistakes. And it is a second mountain to climb, just to get 130 copies printed (usually 780 printed pages), folded, labeled and affixed with postage and shipped. With still no time to relax, then I start the online version. Sometimes, as I start this work, it just seems so overwhelming!

    At that same board meeting I told the gang that I was turning the newsletter over to someone else, whomever they chose. Well, word spread and I started getting everything but cash offers to keep cranking out the newsletters! When I gave it some thought, I figured that if John could do the printing and mailing thing, maybe the newsletter is still doable--- we will see. Another thing that brings me some piece of mind is that the job that John is doing can be passed around and even shared. So, thanks John!

    I am sure that most of you are getting good and tired about hearing my trouble with cancer. Well, I am almost done! I had my last chemotherapy on April 30th and they even gave me a fancy Diploma for Chemo Graduation! My diploma was signed by my doctor and all my nurses! That was really neat and not expected at all! I went on my way feeling pretty good and was already counting down my last few radiation treatments.

    Well, you don't want to let your guard down with chemotherapy! It can sneak up on you days later and crush you like a bug! I went in to work on Monday, May 8th, feeling pretty great and then Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I was sick as could ever be! I topped off the day Thursday with an IV that lasted half the day to rehydrate my weak, sick body! Now, I am home Thursday afternoon wondering if I can get a newsletter out at all!

    As most of you know, I wasn't at the last meeting because my white blood cell count was down by about 100 points below my normal, and my doctor worried about me picking up some virus. I heard it was a big meeting and everyone had a great time! I missed being there with you for sure but, Lord willing, I will see you at the next one!

I understand that our speaker from the Fly Wheeler's Club was once again unable to make it. We will have to try that again at another time. As we move into better Michigan weather, our club's Find of the Month really takes too much time for most special programs.

This month our special speaker will be Mr. Tom Dietz from the Kalamazoo Public Museum. Tom's subject will be, 'The Civil War here at home!' That should be very cool!

I had three great, great, great grandfathers who mustered out of Kalamazoo for their tour of duty in the Civil War. None of them showed a whole lot of interest in leaving their family or farms when it was a battle about retaining the union. However, when it became all about ending slavery, they put down their plows and picked up their rifles!

I hope that you will make a point to be at this very special meeting. The election business should go quickly and smoothly because all of our officers are back on the ballot and the May meeting will be mainly nominations with the actual voting in June. Be ready to nominate some folks whom you would like to see run this year! We especially need a few club board members!

    I had returned from home after my last chemo treatment feeling pretty good, but a little weak. I walked into the house and plopped down into my favorite chair and the phone rang. Debbie answered and it was one of my sisters. She went on to say that my grandmother lost her diamond ring when she was out weeding her garden. She wanted to know if I could I bring a metal detector and find it. I told her that we would take a drive over and see what we could do.

    It is about a 30 mile drive from our house to my grandmother's house. On the way over, we cross a river and go through the woods just like in the song. During the drive I can picture my 94 year old grandmother out at the garden pulling weeds. The garden has grown smaller every year. When I was a boy the garden was about a two-acre square and, between my grandmother and my mom, they grew it all! I used to take my wagon and load up with cukes, squash, tomatoes, peppers, pie pumpkins, corn and go door to door selling fresh garden vegetables. I used to do a big business!

    As my grandmother got older and all of us kids grew up, my mother put in a smaller garden for her each year. It seemed funny that she would be weeding a garden already. Most people are just getting their gardens started and even the weeds haven't grown that much yet!

    When we got to her house, the first thing I wanted her to do was show me right were she felt like she lost the ring. That is when I got my first surprise! We went out the back door, but we didn't head to the garden in the back yard. Instead she turned and walked toward the road.

    Without saying a word, I was thinking to myself that she was pulling weeds in the small flower beds near the house--- but she kept on walking. As it turned out, she was out by the road looking for mushrooms in an area where she has found them before. There were no mushrooms but there were a few weeds that she could uproot, so she did.

    Where were those troublesome weeds? They were on both sides of a 100 foot chain link fence! I detected both sides of that fence, especially where I found uprooted weeds, but the detector kept going nuts! I only had the standard 8- inch coil and I was using a Fisher F2 detector. When you have any type of interference in the area where you are detecting, the first thing that you do is lower the detector's sensitivity. That is especially true when you are searching for something that should be on the surface.

    Another trick to get you closer to large metal objects like playground equipment or metal fencing is a small coil. The small coil will reduce all sorts of problems! Radio interference, bad ground feedback even electrical interference can be reduced with a small coil. But for now, I had to hunt with the 8 inch coil and it wasn't going to be easy. Every time I got close to the fence the detector would go off. I rechecked each beep again but it didn't repeat. I knew it was the fence.

    The chemotherapy drug that I was taking causes problems with my hearing, so I didn't wear headphones. The ghost signals that I got from the chain link fence were driving my grandmother crazy! I finally had to take the time to explain to her just what she was hearing, and also explain that our chances of finding the ring were really very slim! Every few minutes she would say, "Oh well, it is only a ring--- it's only a ring!"

    No, it wasn't just a ring, it was far more than just a ring. My grandmother was in her early teens when my grandfather married her and, at that time, the only ring he could afford was a very modest one, to say the least. After raising two girls my grandfather's business had turned into a real American success story. Then Grandpa recommitted his love to Grandma with a beautiful new ring. Now, many years after my grandpa's passing, he is still my grandma's only true love and that beautiful ring was her daily reminder of him ---- now it was lost!

    I was so weak that I didn't even stop to check signals that I felt for sure were coins. I believe that the original home was built on that land in the 1830's and I think there must be a large cent or two out there somewhere.

    The only old coin that has ever been found on that land was found by my mother one spring while she was preparing that garden. Amazingly she spotted it with her eye as the rototiller kicked it up. It was an 1865 Indian Head penny and I'd bet she still has it! I had detected parts the lawn before, but as far as coins go, I had never found anything very old. After working down one side of the chain link fence on the house- side, I went around to the road-side. The road surface is about 4 feet above the yard surface. The fence is about 8 feet from the road. At one point between the road and the fence, there is a tree where they must have had some erosion problems in the past. On the road side of the tree is a large piece of corrugated tin to control wash-out and on the other side is that fence. Of course, Grandma had a gut feeling that this was the area where she lost the ring!

    Just before I was ready to call off the search, my wife started questioning grandma some more. From this, my wife learned that my grandma walked around the front of the house to go back inside. Most importantly Debbie learned that Grandma wasn't done with her weeding. Right near the side entry door of the house, she stopped one last time to pull up weeds and moss near a small bush.

    The Fisher F2 is one of the best buys in entry level detectors. One of its many features is tone ID. My wife placed her ring on the ground and asked me to go over it so that she could hear what a ring would sound like. Over and over the detector gave a mellow mid-tone response.

    I started sweeping that last location of weed pulling and there was that sweet sound-- over and over again! I reached down and started brushing clumps of moss and weeds from the ground and sure enough there was a big sparkling white gold ring with a beautiful diamond.

    People who deal with cancer patients who have been given chemo treatments sometimes lovingly and jokingly refer to them as having chemo-brains.

    In other words, their thinking isn't always clear. Upon seeing the ring, my first thought wasn't that we found 'THE' ring, it was that I found 'A' ring. I was quickly bought back to the real world as my wife screamed out, "Woo hoo!"

    Grandma learned her lesson about wearing her ring when pulling weeds! I went on to ask my wife a couple times that evening if we found the ring? I knew that we did-- it was just good to hear it over and over again!

JEWELRY

1. STERLING CROSS PENDANT                                                                                        BY: BRIAN MATECUN

2. 10 K DIAMOND RING                                                                                                      BY: TOM BEILBY

3.MOTHER-of-PEARL EARRING                                                                                       BY: RICK BURCH

4. SOLID STERLING BRACELET                                                                                       BY:  MIKE WALKER

5.STERLING LADY'S GEM RING                                                                                      BY: LESLIE BEILBY

6. RELIGIOUS MEDAL                                                                                                        BY: TOM HERMAN

7. LARGE 14K GOLD RING                                                                                                BY: JOHN CORBIN

8. SMALL SILVER RING                                                                                                     BY:GREG STONEROCK

9. FAKE DIAMOND EARRING                                                                                           BY: SHAWANO

10. STERLING SILVER RING                                                                                             BY: JEANNE BRINK

Our winner was John Corbin with a very large 14-K yellow gold gent's wedding band weighing over 10 grams!

1.1893 S BARBER DIME                                                                                                        BY: TOM BEILBY

2. 1940-D MERCURY DIME                                                                                                  BY: JOHN DUDLEY

3. ROMAN COIN 156 TO 161 AD                                                                                          BY: NANCY LIPSCOMB

4. 1863 INDIAN HEAD PENNY                                                                                              BY: BRIAN NORGAN

5. 1867 2-CENT PIECE                                                                                                             BY: JOHN ASSENMACHER

6. 1897 INDIAN CENT                                                                                                             BY: GREG STONEROCK

7. 1852 SILVER 3-CENT PIECE                                                                                              BY: MIKE WALKER

8. 1935 SILVER HALF DOLLAR                                                                                             BY: LESLIE BEILBY

9. 1954 ROOSEVELT DIME                                                                                                     BY: JANET JENNER GRAY

10. 1917 MERCURY DIME                                                                                                       BY: JEANNE BRINK

Well, it has been said a thousand times over the years, "If you want to win in the Coin Category, you must have the oldest coin!" The oldest coin sure did the trick for Nancy Lipscomb last month! Great find, Nancy!

1. MASONIC BADGE                                                                                                                  BY: RON JENNER

2. 1917 MASONIC ID TOKEN DATED 191 7                                                                          BY: ERIC ANDREWS

3. WAR BADGE MEDAL                                                                                                           BY: DENNY NOEL

4. JUNIOR PILOT WINGS                                                                                                         BY: TOM BEILBY

5. POLICE BADGE                                                                                                                      BY: RICK BURCH

6.1863 CIVIL WAR STORE CARD                                                                                           BY: JOHN ASSENMACHER

7. 1955 DOG TAG                                                                                                                        BY: TOM HERMAN

8. ALLIED PAPER MILL BADGE                                                                                            BY: LESLIE BEILBY

9.1955 FIRE MARSHAL BADGE                                                                                              BY: MIKE WALKER

10. G.R. CENTENNIAL 1826-1926                                                                                             BY: JEANNE BRINK

The winner was John Assenmacher with his 1865 Civil War StoreCard! I know of at least two, or maybe three, guys who went into this last meeting expecting to win at least one category, yet they went home empty handed! You just never know how theses contests will come out!

1. CONDUCTORS CUFF LINK                                                                                                   BY: BRIAN MATECUN

2. HORSES BRIDLE ROSETTE                                                                                                  BY: JEANNE BRINK

3. 1851 SWORD BELT PLATE                                                                                                     BY: GREG STONEROCK

4. RIFLEMEN MILITIA BUTTON                                                                                              BY: JOHN ASSENMACHER

5. LEONIDA ELECTION SEAL                                                                                                    BY: MIKE WALKER

6. JACKSONIAN BUTTON                                                                                                           BY: JERRY LIPSCOMB

7. OLD SKELTON KEY                                                                                                                 BY: RON JENNER

8. WHAT IS IT? PAT. FEB 5, 1889                                                                                                BY: RICK BURCH

9. EAGLE BUTTON                                                                                                                        BY: BRIAN NORGAN

10. GIRLS TOY DISH                                                                                                                     BY: JANET JENNER GRAY

11. OLD LIGHT BULB 25 WATT                                                                                                  BY: TOM HERMAN

12. PETERS 30-30 RIFLE SHELL                                                                                                  BY: WAYNE MARVIN

Our winner was Greg Stonerock with his awesome 1851 style sword belt plate buckle! Way to go, Greg!

    The seeded hunt will be on May 31st and there will be camping on Friday, May 29th, and Saturday, May 30th, for all those interested. The fee for the spring hunt is $35.00 and, as usual, it is a members-only hunt. There will be a $5.00 late fee.

    This spring the seeded hunt will be at the Flywheeler's Show Grounds in South Haven. If you don't need electricty, the camping is free! If you use electric for the weekend, it is only $10.00! I hope you will be there! There isn't a whole lot going on for Friday night, but I am sure there will be a few campers. Saturday night is a fun night to be at the campout! We always have a big campfire with lots of story telling and hot dog roasting!

    This hunt will be loaded with silver! However, with silver prices going higher and higher, the club members voted to raise the hunt fee last fall. The new $35.00 fee will help us maintain the same amount of coins per hunter that we have come to love!

    The hunt-planning team is interested in having a kid's hunt again. However, they really need to know how many kids to plan for. So far, they tell me that the interest is very small. Do you plan on entering any kids or grandkids? We would like to know how many at, or before, this month's meeting!

    The Hunt Master and his prize coordinators, Greg Stonerock and Mike Walker, are ready to accept any hunt prize donations for the hunt! Donating something for a prize is not, nor has it ever been, mandatory in order to hunt. But keep in mind that the more prizes, the more prize tokens, and this all adds up to more fun! Donated items do not have to be costly. They can be something that you made yourself or something that you bought. Items can be new, or in some cases, used. How about some of you handy craft people making a folksy bird house adorned with natural items from the forest?

    Your club board has some great plans for our 2009 Spring Hunt! There are many special events planned, like a special fellowship hunt that will be launched at 3:00 Saturday afternoon. That will be at a local huntsite to be announced. Then at 8pm Saturday evening, there will be a special hunt. There will be a $5.00 fee for that special hunt.

    The Sunday morning activities will start at 8:30 and all members are invited. First, there will be a continental club breakfast on the grounds (8:30).

    At 9:00, we will have a short Sunday nondenominational church service with an ever-so-slight Baptist leaning. Your Bible teacher will be the not-so-reverend Al Holden! Hey, that's me! I have been a regular speaker at the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission for several years. Also, I have been a substitute Sunday School teacher for both adult and children's classes, so I can promise this message will be safe for all ages!

    Remember, everyone is welcome to attend the camping, the worship service, the breakfast, and the pot luck-- even if you don't plan to hunt!

    Our famous pot luck dinner will be held at 12:00, before the first hunt. As most of you know, we usually have this feast between the two main hunts, so you'd better make note. The kid's hunt starts at 11:00 am for those who are 12 years old and younger, just before lunch. Then, as I mentioned, the first main hunt starts at 1:30 pm. And the second big hunt will start at 3:00.

    Well, it's official. I talked to Captain Gary Nichols today and once again Gary is donating that super, awesome prize of a Lake Michigan Charter Fishing Trip aboard the beautiful Miss Vicki!

    Last year was a costly season for Gary and his beloved charter fishing boat, Miss Vicki. This beautiful boat received her Coast Guard inspection last spring and she needed some minor tweaking. Then, near the end of the fishing season, Gary had some minor engine problems. Gary tells me that Miss Vicki has been updated and is good to go! One of the new upgrades is the latest type of G.P.S. that tracks and records, by computer, the course traveled, marks productive fishing areas, and then the computer looks for repeatable patterns! Wow!

    Just imagine, an 8-hour salmon fishing charter for the hunter who finds that one very special token, and three of his friends! It gets better! All the fishing gear is provided, as are the snacks and soft drinks! All you need to bring is soft-soled shoes, jacket, camera, sunglasses, and a valid Michigan fishing licence with a trout validation.

    But wait, it gets even better! Your catch will be professionally cleaned and bagged! Don't forget to bring a cooler to carry your trophy fish home in.

    Gary said that the best fishing has been in July and August, so you may want to keep that in mind.

    Your fishing trip has a value of over $600.00! I raised the value from last year's figure of $500.00, even though I don't know if it has raised. But you can bet these gas prices have got to be pinching Gary pretty hard!

    You will be on- board the beautiful 32' Trojan sport fishing boat "MISS VICKI". The vessel is a very stable six-ton craft with twin V-8 inboard engines. She is Coast Guard inspected and equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, including three marine radios, five electric down riggers, Lee outriggers, Loran location system, and two fish finders.

    WOW! This is an adventure you will never forget! Is Captain Gary successful? We have the pictures to prove it, as well as a picture of this beautiful boat! The winner will contact Gary to set up the date and time. Thank you again, Gary! Just thinking about this donation raises goose bumps! Is this a great club with great members or what!

SEE YOU AT THE MEETING MAY 19th. MEETING STARTS AT 7:00