Desert Don
Jr. Member
- Dec 28, 2015
- 80
- 153
- Detector(s) used
- Garrett AT Pro, Garrett ACE 350, and Bounty Hunter Pioneer 505. In the past: Home made detector (circa 1969), World War II mine detector, Fisher M70 M-Scope (1971), Bounty Hunter TR 550, Bounty Hunt
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
It’s not too often that I get emotional about my finds. But this one nearly brought tears to my eyes. It’s not so much what they are, but rather where I found them. There is a little story about these items that I need to tell. It’s the story of a little boy of 9 years old growing up in the small town of Grimes California. He lived next door to the house his grandfather built in 1908. More than 60 years ago, that little boy was me.
My grandfather died in that house in 1930. My father, as well as all my aunts and uncles, were born in that house. My grandmother passed away in the same house in 1950. A family friend and her family have been the only other people to live there since 1950. As a boy of nine, I played in the yard with her son Gene. Gene and I were best friends.
One day my Uncle Joe came home and gave me the Bayonet shown in the photograph. It is a World War II Japanese Type 30 hooked Bayonet. I have no idea where he got it. But to me it was a sword. I used that sword to fight off dragons, evil knights, and of course, Indians. I chopped down many a Star Thistle in the open field across the street while making tunnels to crawl through. Then one day I got into trouble with it. I chopped the bark off my grandma’s Orange tree! My mother took my sword away from me and left me defenseless against my many imaginary foes. She placed it on top of the old pump house in the back yard. I never saw my sword again.
Jump forward 60 plus years. Last week I went on vacation and paid a visit to the old home place as I have done every few years since leaving Grimes in 1955. I discovered that the family friend who had lived there since grandma died in 1950 had also passed away the year before. A very nice young family now owns the property. After I introduced myself and told him about my connection to the home, he wanted me to tell him all the history I could about the house and the property. He also gave me permission to use my metal detector in the yard, and to keep whatever I found.
I found many odd pieces of iron, and lots of old purple glass pieces and bottle necks. Some of the items were an old water faucet handle, a broken metal knife handle, and a porcelain automobile license plate from about 1916. I also partially excavated the old root cellar that was dug in the back yard in 1909. Redwood timber lined the walls and bricks covered the floor. It was filled in and relocated about 1925. The license plate was found at the 4 foot level. But the most exciting thing found in the hole was three old beer bottles dating to the 1920s era.
All of these items are a direct link to my ancestors. They surely handled each one of these treasures. Each item recovered stirred strange emotion in me. But none did so as much as what I found near where the old pumphouse once stood. My detector rang out the sound of a large iron object about 6 inches down. At first I thought it was just another flat piece of metal. But then the pointed end was uncovered, and I realized that it was a knife. When I finally completely removed it from the ground, I was speechless and shocked to see that it was my long lost sword. Suddenly I was back in time, and my emotions ran wild. I just couldn’t help myself. The wood on the handle was gone, but that didn’t stop me from standing up and swinging it around as if I were a 9 year old boy once again.
The photos are of some of the things I kept from the day. The block of wood is Redwood from the Root Cellar. I expected to find many items from my family history, but I never expected to find an item directly linked to my personal history. This was definitely my best hunt ever!
Desert Don
My grandfather died in that house in 1930. My father, as well as all my aunts and uncles, were born in that house. My grandmother passed away in the same house in 1950. A family friend and her family have been the only other people to live there since 1950. As a boy of nine, I played in the yard with her son Gene. Gene and I were best friends.
One day my Uncle Joe came home and gave me the Bayonet shown in the photograph. It is a World War II Japanese Type 30 hooked Bayonet. I have no idea where he got it. But to me it was a sword. I used that sword to fight off dragons, evil knights, and of course, Indians. I chopped down many a Star Thistle in the open field across the street while making tunnels to crawl through. Then one day I got into trouble with it. I chopped the bark off my grandma’s Orange tree! My mother took my sword away from me and left me defenseless against my many imaginary foes. She placed it on top of the old pump house in the back yard. I never saw my sword again.
Jump forward 60 plus years. Last week I went on vacation and paid a visit to the old home place as I have done every few years since leaving Grimes in 1955. I discovered that the family friend who had lived there since grandma died in 1950 had also passed away the year before. A very nice young family now owns the property. After I introduced myself and told him about my connection to the home, he wanted me to tell him all the history I could about the house and the property. He also gave me permission to use my metal detector in the yard, and to keep whatever I found.
I found many odd pieces of iron, and lots of old purple glass pieces and bottle necks. Some of the items were an old water faucet handle, a broken metal knife handle, and a porcelain automobile license plate from about 1916. I also partially excavated the old root cellar that was dug in the back yard in 1909. Redwood timber lined the walls and bricks covered the floor. It was filled in and relocated about 1925. The license plate was found at the 4 foot level. But the most exciting thing found in the hole was three old beer bottles dating to the 1920s era.
All of these items are a direct link to my ancestors. They surely handled each one of these treasures. Each item recovered stirred strange emotion in me. But none did so as much as what I found near where the old pumphouse once stood. My detector rang out the sound of a large iron object about 6 inches down. At first I thought it was just another flat piece of metal. But then the pointed end was uncovered, and I realized that it was a knife. When I finally completely removed it from the ground, I was speechless and shocked to see that it was my long lost sword. Suddenly I was back in time, and my emotions ran wild. I just couldn’t help myself. The wood on the handle was gone, but that didn’t stop me from standing up and swinging it around as if I were a 9 year old boy once again.
The photos are of some of the things I kept from the day. The block of wood is Redwood from the Root Cellar. I expected to find many items from my family history, but I never expected to find an item directly linked to my personal history. This was definitely my best hunt ever!
Desert Don
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