I was embarrased

[Prober]

Hi gang,

Was in Grand Rapids, Michigan today killing time and metal detecting parks. One of the parks was on the corner of Houseman and Fountain. To the person or persons who metal detected there before me you should be ashamed. The playground looked like a mess of praire dogs had moved in. I regretted not bringing my camera; not one of the holes were filled in and there were a lot of them. Fear not, I filled them in for you. There were children in the park and they could have disappeared is some of the holes. Read the code of ethics for metal detecting please. While you are pondering the error of your ways you should know that you missed a few (37 pennies, 2 dimes, 2 nickels (one a 1955D), a key and a screwdriver).

It was hot today but I still managed to find a few items.

 

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[finderzzs]

Great Post. And good for you.. It only takes one bad apple to get us all kicked out of every park and piece of public property. Nice job.

 

[Ima Swinger]

Nice job filling in the holes !!!
Cool finds.

Ima

 

[Smokey]

Great word of advice of MDing & nice finds.

 

[Jeffro]

Lets hope those were the guys chain, screwdriver, and rings.

 

[Montana Jim]

Well done, on the repairs, the finds, and the post.

 

[MEinWV]

Thank you Prober! I have filled many holes over the years, including skunk holes and golf club divots. It is the detector user that always gets the blame and it's even worse for us when it actually is a detectorist.

Those detector users have to be confronted by all of us, if we can find out, or see who it is.

A tourist was detecting one of our local beaches. He was digging and leaving the junk laying next to his holes. Now, back then, we didnt take time to fill our holes in the hard sand because the tide would be filling them in(now we do because of public perception). The fact that he was exposing trash and leaving it on the surface is littering in my opinion. This was the reason I said something to him. He didn't think it was that big a deal, but I told him if he kept doing it I would report him for littering. I also told him that I was picking up all his junk and that he should look closer at the stuff, because one item was a 3/4" wide sterling bracelet with greek key design on one side that had been pulled out straight and was all black and crusty. He didn't ask for it and I didn't offer it. He stopped coming to that beach.

Thanks again!..........HH

 

[Jack(IN)]

Same thing happened to me today...

was truly ticked off and I know now every one can go get a $100 special, but going to lose our parks if these people don't learn. I filled at least 20 holes and some plugs were so mangled I could do noting but try my best to make it look good. I had two silver coins and I just packed it in. Very, VERY frustrating when you do your best to leave the place clean and these jokers tear it up. He was even kind enough to leave his trash for me to throw away as well.

 

[Dman]

Nice finds

 

[HaveFaith]

Tuesday I went to the beach and was gridding a fairly large size area. I saw a paper coffee cup laying on the ground and figured when I got to it I would pick it up. The maintenance man was driving his truck around and picking up the garbage that people just leave. He comes up to me and says Hey you should have picked this up. I told him I would have picked it up when I got to it. I showed him all the garbage that I did pick up, and he mumbled something and walked away.
I felt kind of irritated that he said that to me, because I always! pick up garbage and fill holes, no matter who left them. Kids dig some huge ones. I dug up 2 beer cans that were purposely buried about 6 inches. I found huge pieces of glass, about 5 rusty nails, and I made sure he saw them! Never mind all the tabs, and foil, empty cig packs, and so on. It's funny how these guys EXPECT us to pick up the garbage, and I do, but don't come up to me, when I am still a ways from the garbage!

Eileena

 

[Mirage]

The screwdriver wins the prize for the best find. Pretty many coins. Only thing I don't like is digging lot's of pennies. Guess if it's in the chips it would be fine.

I know how you feel about being embarrased. In the spring I went to a hunt with a bunch of other detectorists. I found a couple places where the person dug the plug and kinda filled it back in but left the penny on the surface. Man, if you are going to dig it you should at least take it.

Bob

 

[mountainplayer]

Hi Prober,

Thanks for taking time out of YOUR hunt to clean up the other guys mess. I live in a really small town and know of only a few other detectorists. Still hasn't stopped me from finding a similar situation in two of the spots I regularly hunt. One is out in the woods, on private property. I have permission, but I doubt the other guy does. Without fail, I fill holes every time I go there. The other is a public park, which really, really, frustrates me. Only a matter of time before a concerned citizen stirs things up with the town council and no more MD in the parks.

Most people I encounter when detecting are friendly and curious about what I'm doing. I've gotten some funny looks when I'm digging, but invariably they look relieved when I show them how I cut the plug carefully, keep the loose dirt on a towel, and take care to replant the plug so that no trace of digging is left. I try to point out that detectorists are in it for the thrill of discovery, and are much more likely to be respectful of public property so that we can preserve our priviledge to hunt. Once, I even had a lady come up and thank me for removing trash and can-slaw so that it didn't present a hazard to the kids.

These same friendly folks could be quickly (and justifiably) turned into MD haters. Only takes a few to get the ball rolling and shut things down for everyone.

MP

 

[RUDY2003]

A handshake to you for your cleanin' up after them. Some people just don't care anymore. And good diggins too....
Keep safe...

 

[Nana40]

Thank you.

Congrats on your finds! Nana

 

[Monty]

What are we going to do about slob detectorists? I wouldn't even call them detectorists, just slobs. I would like to take 'em by the scruff of the neck and rub their noses in one of those divots! That's how I broke my dog from pooping on the carpet. But wait, they probably aren't as smart as Digsy and wouldn't catch on. I found a similar situation on a Corps of Engineer lake. Some idiot had dug big holes on the beach with what looked like a shovel and left them open for someone to step into and break an ankle. I filled them in as best I could with my diging tool but I needed a shovel to do it right. I stopped by the caretakers shack and told them about it so he wouldn't think I had done it. He said that it happens a lot and the Corps is thinking about prohibiting MDs on Corps lakes. So, even if you don't do it, please take time to fill them in for the sake of all of us who are not slobs. Monty

 

[DANGLANGLEY]

Thanks for taking the time to clean up the mess. It's a shame for nuts like that to hurt it for everyone. Nice finds too!

 

[Colonial Copper Zeus]

You did us all a great service. When I'm done with a site you can't even tell someone was digging holes....Chris

 

[Boobydoo]

You're the man again Bob!
Way to "clean up"!
Hope you are rewarded nicely by the MDing gods soon my friend. Well done!

Smiles!
BDoo

 

[nealb]

Way to show us good, Prober. Thanks.

HH

 

[jimmatt_43]

good job prober