From The Vice President’s Desk

FALL CLASSIC DEFIES THE ODDS AND GOES ON AS SCHEDULED

Neither threat of snow nor sleet nor dark on night was sufficient warning to cause the P/WMD&AS Board of Directors to postpone the long awaited Fall Classic. The thirty members who attended the event held at Fairfield, CT were rewarded with clearing sky’s and light winds. Two seeded hunts were held, the first rewarded hardy detectorists with V nickels, Buffalo nickels, Indian pennies, and US Dollar Coins. In addition to the coins, tokens were found which could be redeemed for prizes.

Following the initial hunt raffles were held for a Morgan Dollar and a 1350 Garrett Detector. Todd Olson held the winning number for the Morgan and Ted Izzo went home to Mahopac with his new Garrett. 

Lunch was provided by Mattei's Deli of Derby, CT. No one went home hungry after enjoying a six foot sub, potato and macaroni salad, tossed salad and soft drinks. While members and guests ate, the sand was reseeded with silver dimes, Barber quarters, halves and assorted tokens. No "stone" was left unturned and many collectible coins and prizes were retrieved by all involved.

 

The club owes a special "Thank You" to Roger Young, Todd Olson and Joe Snow for their help and generosity which lead to the success of this annual event. Donations and discounts from Garrett, Kellyco, Gary Storm, Minelab and Valley Coin are gratefully acknowledged.

 

INCIDENTAL CATCH

 

Dolphins find their way into tuna nets and short fluke with hooks in their bellies end up as crab fodder. Both are real good things but due to circumstance they fall into the category of "incidental catch", un-respected discards of an effort to recover items of "greater value". In the day of $3.00/gal. gas and a falling dollar it is getting harder and harder to justify those long trips to the beach in the midst of a cold northeast winter to harvest gold rings and silver coins. Especially true when these "good things" are no sure bet. Years ago at the end of the day the trash section of the old treasure pouch got dumped in the nearby refuse bin. Gone were the old sinkers, that brass door knob and those little sections of copper pipe; gone with the pull tabs and bottle caps and those old broken Matchbox Cars. They were naught but unwanted incidental catches. But times they are a changin! Check the internet folks. Scrap lead is nearly a dollar a pound, copper goes for three times that. Sure gold is nearly $900 per troy once and silver is bringing about $16.00. Only problem is my pouch is heavy with sinkers and a bit light on the gold and silver. Time to rethink what goes into that trash barrel.

 

Many a day sees the sunset come with 5 to 10 pounds of sinkers and a pound or 2 of copper junk sitting in the back of the truck. Let's not forget those beer cans and bottles too.

 

Add 'em up and there is $5.00 to $10.00 to go toward gas money and the next trip when, for sure, we will find gold. Now if we can only exchange those zinc pennies for Euros.

 

 Club News

Ralph Langham will speak at the March meeting on topics relavant to metal detecting and the Civil War.

 Putnam/Westchester Christmas Party is Always White

As President Ted Izzo predicted there was plenty of snow for the December 7th Christmas Party.  Undaunted over 40 members and guests made their way to the Lantern Pub in Mahopac, NY.  As always the buffet was excellent and there was enough wine and beer at the tables to guarantee a Merry Christmas to all.

 

Those members assisting this year's highly successful Pawling Seminars were recognized by the board for their generosity and hard work.  Patty Osmer was presented with a silver round for her diligent efforts behind the scenes publicizing the club in its efforts to increase membership.  Paul Maloney also received a silver round for generating a truly great club website.  Although sadly, Todd Olson will no longer be able to continue his post as Newsletter Editor, his outstanding work in the past earned him a shinny silver dollar. 

By the end of the evening the snow had ended and driving home with visions of sugar plumbs in their heads were 40 happy, full, gift laden TH'ers.

 

Call for Volunteers

 

1.  We have an opening for a newsletter editor anyone interested contact

Don Mayers or Ted Izzo.

 

2.  The Club needs a Hunt Site Committee to help find and secure search locations.  Interested parties contact Don Mayers or Ted Izzo.

 

Website additions

 

A chat room has been added to the website for your use. Create your ID,  a password, and enjoy.

 

Real time Precious Metal Value Charts, from Kitco, have been added to

the bottom of page 1 of the Newsletter online version. 

 

In Memoriam

 

We would like to express our condolences to the families and friends of two members who passed away last year.

John M. Anderson

Vinnie Arrigali

 

 

Treasure in the News

 

Last of three Civil War battlefield looters sentenced in federal court
By RUSTY DENNEN

Date published: 11/9/2007

The last of three men caught illegally relic hunting on Spotsylvania Court House battlefield has been sentenced in federal court.

Jeremy Burroughs, 30, of Spotsylvania, was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Richmond. He received two years in jail, a year of supervised probation, and was ordered to pay $28,600 in restitution to the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.

In March, Burroughs and two other Spotsylvania men, Fenton E. Terembes Jr., 28, and Vincent E. Williams, 37, were caught by a park ranger who saw them digging in the national park on a Sunday, during the day. Their metal detectors and the relics they unearthed were confiscated.

Among the items recovered were bullets, and a Confederate belt buckle. According to evidence in the case, the men had found the buckle during an earlier foray into the park and had sold it for $3,300. The buckle was recovered and is now in the park's collection.

"These are public property and owned by future generations. Once these artifacts are gone and in private collections, they cannot be replaced," said Keith Kelly, military park's chief ranger.

"If someone is poaching deer or cutting trees, those can be replaced. With Civil War artifacts, once every bullet is

removed there's no way we can have that back."

Terembes was sentenced on Sept. 24. He received two years in jail, one year of supervised probation, and ordered to pay $28,600 in restitution.

Williams, who authorities said had a lesser role, was ordered to pay $1,400 in restitution.

The men were charged with felonies under the Archaeological Resource Protection Act. It's a federal crime to damage archaeological sites on or remove property from federal lands. It is illegal to collect or search for artifacts on federal land without permission.

Violators can be fined up to $250,000 and sentenced to two years in prison.

A week after Burroughs, Terembes and Williams were caught, two juveniles were  

caught metal detecting in the Hill-Ewell Drive area of the Wilderness battlefield.

They were from Orange and Spotsylvania and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in federal court in Charlottesville. The 16- and 17-year-olds were sentenced to community service and ordered to pay restitution.

The Fredericksburg area is home to some of the nation's most significant Civil War sites. The park commemorates four battles--Spotsylvania Court House, Chancellorsville, Wilderness and Fredericksburg--and encompasses more than 8,000 acres.

 

Call for Classified Ads 

Have equipment you are looking to buy, swap, or sell?   Want to arrange a car pool to the Membership Meetings? 

Run your metal detecting–related classified ads in the Hudson Valley Explorer. It’s free, and your ad will run for two issues (six months) before it needs to be renewed.

For inclusion, please send your ad to:

Paul Maloney

26 North Third Street

Cortlandt Manor, NY 10567

or e-mail the information to Paul Maloney

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