AnOldPro
Full Member
TRUE STORY... A Relic Hunter's Bad Day #1
Greetings all,
Back in the late 70's I was the marketing director for Garrett Metal Detectors. I was responsible for managing the sales activities of about 400 dealers. During the 3 and 1/2 years I filled that position I got to know many of them personally and hunted with quite a few.
One of these who became a close friend was a man I will call "Johhny Blank" (I changed a letter or two in the last name for legal purposes... you will see why in a minute.) Johnny was one of our top dealers and located in a town in Northern Virginia... the heart of Civil War relic hunting country. Johnny was not only a great detector dealer who took very good care of his customers he was an accomplished relic hunter in his own right. I say "was" as he is no longer alive.
One day, after we had been on a great hunt at a place called "Camp Measles" we were sitting around in his shop swapping stories and he told me one that had me on the floor when he finished. I now share it with you.
Johnny was scruplously honest when it came to NOT violating the laws against hunting Civil War artifacts on Federally protected battlefield land. In twenty years of hunting he told me he never gave in to temptation even once in that respect.
BUT.... the day finally came when he was hunting in the thick woods of the Wilderness battlefield... one of the biggest battles of the Civil War... when things changed. The National Park there only encompasses a percentage of the actual battle site and he was hunting on private land next to the park that he had permission to hunt on. He had started finding a string of dropped Civil War bullets that relic hunters know as "Minie Balls" and was following the "trail' when he saw a national park boundary marker on a tree right in fron of him. Johnny said that he just KNEW that there was belt buckle or cartridge box plate just over the park boundary line waiting for him to dig it. He carefully looked around and seeing no one in the middle of the thick woods he was in broke out in a sweat as he wrestled with the tempation to "cross the line" for the first time in his life.
Finally, he could stand it no longer and took about 3 steps into the National Park where he immediately got another signal. He had no sooner finished digging it when he got that feeling like he was being watched. He no sooner turned around when he spotted a park ranger standing with his hands on his hips about 30 feet from him. Johnny jumped up in a panic (he was in his mid-forties at this time) and took off running out of the park as fast as he could. He had not gone but about 50 feet or so when he tripped over an old strand of barbed wire about a foot off the ground going full out. The barbed wire cut his legs pretty bad and to make things worse he fell on his detector and broke the stem in two pieces. He was in a world of pain... and FEAR... and jumped up even with his injuries and kept running. He decided he had better risk a look behind him to see how much ground the ranger had gained on him. When he looked back.. to his shock and surprise... and EMBARRASSMENT.... the ranger was still standing in the same spot laughing his head off.
That was the first and last time that Johnny ever "crossed over the line".
If you folks like that story I have other true and very humorous stories related to relic hunting. Let me know in your comments if you would like to hear more.
Johnny, if you're up there reading this... here's to you! You were a great friend and detectorist and I post this in tribute to you!
AnOldPro
Greetings all,
Back in the late 70's I was the marketing director for Garrett Metal Detectors. I was responsible for managing the sales activities of about 400 dealers. During the 3 and 1/2 years I filled that position I got to know many of them personally and hunted with quite a few.
One of these who became a close friend was a man I will call "Johhny Blank" (I changed a letter or two in the last name for legal purposes... you will see why in a minute.) Johnny was one of our top dealers and located in a town in Northern Virginia... the heart of Civil War relic hunting country. Johnny was not only a great detector dealer who took very good care of his customers he was an accomplished relic hunter in his own right. I say "was" as he is no longer alive.
One day, after we had been on a great hunt at a place called "Camp Measles" we were sitting around in his shop swapping stories and he told me one that had me on the floor when he finished. I now share it with you.
Johnny was scruplously honest when it came to NOT violating the laws against hunting Civil War artifacts on Federally protected battlefield land. In twenty years of hunting he told me he never gave in to temptation even once in that respect.
BUT.... the day finally came when he was hunting in the thick woods of the Wilderness battlefield... one of the biggest battles of the Civil War... when things changed. The National Park there only encompasses a percentage of the actual battle site and he was hunting on private land next to the park that he had permission to hunt on. He had started finding a string of dropped Civil War bullets that relic hunters know as "Minie Balls" and was following the "trail' when he saw a national park boundary marker on a tree right in fron of him. Johnny said that he just KNEW that there was belt buckle or cartridge box plate just over the park boundary line waiting for him to dig it. He carefully looked around and seeing no one in the middle of the thick woods he was in broke out in a sweat as he wrestled with the tempation to "cross the line" for the first time in his life.
Finally, he could stand it no longer and took about 3 steps into the National Park where he immediately got another signal. He had no sooner finished digging it when he got that feeling like he was being watched. He no sooner turned around when he spotted a park ranger standing with his hands on his hips about 30 feet from him. Johnny jumped up in a panic (he was in his mid-forties at this time) and took off running out of the park as fast as he could. He had not gone but about 50 feet or so when he tripped over an old strand of barbed wire about a foot off the ground going full out. The barbed wire cut his legs pretty bad and to make things worse he fell on his detector and broke the stem in two pieces. He was in a world of pain... and FEAR... and jumped up even with his injuries and kept running. He decided he had better risk a look behind him to see how much ground the ranger had gained on him. When he looked back.. to his shock and surprise... and EMBARRASSMENT.... the ranger was still standing in the same spot laughing his head off.
That was the first and last time that Johnny ever "crossed over the line".
If you folks like that story I have other true and very humorous stories related to relic hunting. Let me know in your comments if you would like to hear more.
Johnny, if you're up there reading this... here's to you! You were a great friend and detectorist and I post this in tribute to you!
AnOldPro
RR
