Kindness contest!!!!

Since I have not been detecting for very long, only this past spring that I finally got a machine, I haven't has the opportunity to do anything like return lost items. But one thing I will say that I do practice is kindness and courtesy, and I take the time to educate those interested in getting into the hobby, answer questions by the curious while out detecting, and be nice to the kids who are always buzzing around while at parks, beaches, etc.

One such instance is where I was detecting at a local park and there were a small group of younger kids maybe in the 6- 10 year old bracket who approached me and asked tons of questions-mostly about "buried treasure". Since I had not found much other than clad coins and some really crusty zinc pennies I told them I was always on the hunt for treasure whether it was new or old. They made it perfectly clear that "older was better"! So when I showed them the zincolns that were so crusty they were barely identifiable they went crazy with the ooohs and ahhhs-I then realized that to them, 1995 was older than dirt! :lol: So of course I asked them if they would like to keep one which of course was a resounding "yes!", I gave them each one of the crusties and they were ecstatic! They then followed me around for the next hour "helping" me dig for treasure. I spent time also explaining why I fill back holes or don't just leave trash behind-this way they learned the ethics of digging too, and were competing to be the first to fill the hole-sometimes to my disadvantage because I had not even retrieved the target yet! :shocked02: This went on until their mother came to collect them. Of course first thing they did was show off their "treasure" with great pride and dirty hands while headed out of the park.

Made my day, and gives hope that maybe one day they will be back all grown up with their own machines searching out their own "treasure".

:daydream: Nicely done!

OxShoeDrew said:

:daydream: Nicely done!

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Agreed , thanks for participating DOD !!!

Anyone else wish to share a good example of "kindness" and be eligible for a chance to win a contest prize ??

del said:

Anyone else wish to share a good example of "kindness" and be eligible for a chance to win a contest prize ??

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This is a great contest and I am happy to see the forum do these. There were one or two last year.

One instance I cant use yet because it's not followed through. I have not made it to the Glastonbury Historical Society to donate the 1858 CW canteen FOC. I have spent my free time getting in the detecting as much as possible.

One that I can say was yesterday. After the errands yesterday afternoon I went to a permission place. The guy is selling it, but the first time I went there he told me he owns a detector but never used it. He was really interested in the three ringer I pulled up in the yard. The third trip when I got a Kearny cross medal/fob he was shocked. Last night before I started detecting, I brought along some of the recent great finds as well as the Kearny cross. Since he owns a detector and has a great yard, I offered him the medal since it was from his yard and he never got to detect it. Now his interest might be peaked due to what came up later last night. He did not take it, however, because he told me he owned too much stuff already and moving he didn't want anymore to take along. He acknowledged the gesture and thanked me, but wouldn't accept it.

Well, that was a very nice gesture to offer the find to the owner. And yes, I can whole heartedly understand the concept of "too much crap" while moving! :lol:
Just wondering-did you ask him to join you detecting his yard?

Digger_O'Dell said:

Just wondering-did you ask him to join you detecting his yard?

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Thanks DOD. Yes I asked him about it. He just said it is somewhere packed away. He told me it was a yellow one. I said "Garrett?" He said " Yup, but not the bottom level one". So it was the Ace 350. Maybe he did try once and never knew the dog fence was prob killing his machine and just never wanted to get back into it. Lee was having a heck of a time using the ATP in one of the best areas to check, due to the EMI and the fact his frequency shift on the ATP wasn't enough to compensate. I just made a mention the guy likes learning the history and is getting the vicarious aspect of seeing what gets unearthed.

When does he move Jim? I hope you can recover some more stuff. Maybe he already hunted the yard and thought there would be nothing left?

I wouldn't consider this an act of kindness, but more a show of appreciation. A couple years ago, I stopped at an old farm to ask permission to detect. The farmer was in the barn with his son replacing the broken/missing cutters on his corn harvester. After talking for a while, he granted me permission to detect. I thanked him, and asked if he needed any help replacing the cutters. He accepted, and I spent the morning helping him and his son. It was quite the operation. Although I didn't find anything good on his property, I still feel good about helping him, and still stop by once in a while to visit and detect for a while. It's a 1700's property, and I don't give up easily.

Exact same thing happened to me 10X....I've befriended this 90 yr old WW2 vet and help him all the time. I've found some things there, but the real fun was getting to know the guy.

You'll start to find the hot spots there...I bet soil was brought in around the house and they dug up the yard for various reasons, but you'll find the spots/fields. Congrats on the kindness and good luck on return trips!!

OxShoeDrew said:

When does he move Jim? I hope you can recover some more stuff. Maybe he already hunted the yard and thought there would be nothing left?

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Idk, Drew. As of a week ago when I got the medal spill, he said he'd know in 48 hours. We were there the following day which is <24 Hours. I did send an email on Wed as an update on very minor details I got as he was interested in learning the history behind them. I did finally get a reply from schwaab but they don't have any records back then. The hope lies within the foot guard enlistment records which one sent a reply that he was looking into it. The homeowner, however, I haven't heard since so Idk if they are closing nor when.

I think I did say that somewhere, that he could have tried himself using the ACE350 he owns (which I deduced was the 350), and couldn't figure out why it was going crazy. (Dog fence). He did say he knew of areas where there was fill added but I assumed that was from being the homeowner and doing property maintenance. My walker was close to the bushes so he could have only tried the "obvious" spots. I say "obvious" because people assume that the front door is the most active. The hitching post and a nice brownstone doorstep sits close to the road, on the side of the house. The area I found most of the older stuff was actually down a small hill to a flat area by these old trees. In the same general area, he did say there would be a lot of toy cars from his son. Again, I just assumed it from being the owner. Maybe he was tired of hitting a few with the lawnmower vs digging them up while using the detector and then getting frustrated with the hobby. Idk...

This wasn't metal detecting per se, but is related to metal detecting. I put a thread up about it so it will be a repeat for some. I was looking at a Salvation Army store for a small display case to show off some of my MD finds. I found and bought a case but it had memorabilia inside from a child's birth in 1982. I thought it was odd to find something like that for sale so I did some investigating and found the boy was still alive in his 30's in Oregon. In short, I was able to return that memorabilia of his birth card, hospital jumper, announcement, etc., back to him. His mother had put it together and gave it to him. Turned out a girlfriend got mad at him one day and threw it out with some other stuff a few years ago. He and his mom both thought it was all long destroyed. They were both very surprised but elated to get it back.

That's awesome Skamaniac! A great story!

I'm reading some inspiring stories and would like to read more !! erfect10:

I and fellow Dayton Digger Tom Johnson were called out to see if we could find a lost wedding ring. The gentleman had lost it he believed in his garden plot two years before and after much fruitless searching thought it was gone for good. His daughter contacted Tom and Tom asked me to help him find it if we could. The gentleman showed us the garden plot and explained he noticed his ring was missing while he was washing his hands. Tom took one side of the plot and I took the other. First target I dug was an old button; the next target gave me a solid 12-29 at about 3”. I turned over the tilled soil and could see the edge of a gold band shining at me! I called the others over and showed them the ring still in the soil. Tom, the gentleman and his daughter all peered into the hole and with a trembling voice the man said “That’s it!” I looked down at it and I too felt the emotion of the moment, here is the ring that he had for over 65 years now back in his possession as I looked at him I could see tears welling up in his eyes and I must admit I too had tears I never felt happier over any find I have made as I watched him clean it off and slip it back on his finger. I now told him “Well now you are out of trouble with your wife”; he just smiled at me and nodded his head!

Bell-Two said:

I looked down at it and I too felt the emotion of the moment, here is the ring that he had for over 65 years now back in his possession as I looked at him I could see tears welling up in his eyes and I must admit I too had tears ..........

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This is making me kind of misty eyed also :crying01: .

Now that's a great recovery and better deed Tony!

Oh boy Tony! Maybe your best "hunt" ever!

A friend and I were asked to help find a woman's platinum wedding ring that had been lost when her house was destroyed by fire. When we got there we immediately knew that our detectors would be useless so we got the sifting box out and started digging through the ruins in search of the ring. The Good Lord must have been on our side that day because after about a half hour of sifting, the ring appeared in the bottom of the box. Needless to say the owner was overjoyed to have her prize possession back and was even able to laugh when I also handed her the key to her front door.
Here are some pictures showing the total loss of the home and vehicles.

That's amazing that you were able to find it in all that mess! Nice work.