Hats off to all who've volunteered on club activities this year: it's more than in the past and it's appreciated. We still need to have people to run hunts, committees to look for the best prices on coins and prizes, committees to secure the prizes and coins and non-participants to help plant coins and tokens. For those who haven't participated before, you only need a detector and headphones (a must), a sand scoop and a side basket. I'll try to bring a side basket to show at the next meeting: these can be bought fairly reasonable or made by those of you who are handy. Please be sure to be at our May meeting to offer your suggestions and help. We'll now have several months to plan everything to ensure that we'll have the most fun and best prizes ever.

I'd like to thank Ginny DeVaughn for her usual thoughtfulness. I intend to get the things you mention for auction and will get up with you soon or if you're in O.C., contact me and I'll arrange pick-up. As far as Ginny's "mystery photo" that we passed around at the meeting, no one could solve the mystery and identify it so the mystery remains a mystery. Thanks for thinking of us Ginny.

The club hunt for May will be postponed a week. I'll be going to my class reunion in Centreville on our regularly scheduled hunt day. I won't say how many years it's been since I graduated - this also remains a mystery.

The officers' team is working very well. We alternate running the meetings and everyone is doing a great job and we're getting lots accomplished. We've updated applications and have asked all members to sign the waiver of liability for us to keep on file. The member contact list has also been updated and will be out soon. We've almost completed the club rules and regulations and these will be finalized and distributed as well. The club has grown greatly in size and as I spoke about us having 51 members (and spouses and children) in last month's newsletter, we have since added several more. We still have a few club hats available and when these are gone, we'll order more as needed. You can still order a club jacket by contacting Gardner Sign, Inc., 412 Snow Hill Rd., Salisbury, MD 21804, (410) 749-1200 individually.

Hunt day, April 12, was back to our usual lousy weather. It was debatable that we were even going to be able to have a hunt but I thought we'd take a chance as it would be too late in the month if we postponed it. Also the rapidly growing grass might have made the sites I had gotten permission for unhuntable a week later. We were teased by the weather at the beginning but managed to get a hunt in anyway.

Fourteen foul weather and die hard hunters (a little different than our usual fair weather hunters) met at 8:30, ready to swing their coils no matter what the weather was. I had lined up a spot less than 10 miles away consisting of approximately 150 acres when a late 1800's house had stood. I also had several backup spots nearby. After I explained all this to everyone, we made the short trip to our first site, hoping that we would beat the predicted raindrops.

We arrived at the site a scant 15 minutes after our departure from the clubhouse. I pointed out the boundaries and we all went looking for the lost treasures that the fields contained. I saw some buttons and buckles and a couple of coins, both of them being large coppers. I found out later that one of these coins found by V.P. Ed Donovan was a 1783 Nova Constellatio coin - a coin from England to convince the US to use this as a pattern for the first American penny which was 1792. Congrats to Ed. I don't usually mention names but this deserves recognition as Ed’s first Colonial coin.

We hunted here for several hours than drove a short distance to another former hunt site, an area of several hundred acres of unplanted land. Members found a few buckles and buttons but few coins. Since the skies were now more threatening than they had been before (and because I heard a few rumbling stomachs), we all thought lunch was in order. With this in mind, we headed to Walston Switch where good food and drink awaited.

I had made arrangements for us to eat at the Village Inn and the tables were all ready for us when we arrived. The service was fast and in no time our meals were sitting before us. The food was plentiful, good and reasonably priced. While we were eating, the bottom fell out and it rained very hard deterring a few from our afternoon hunt. However by the time we had finished, the rain had diminished to a drizzle and we thought we'd give it another try as everyone had brought their raingear and bags for their detectors.

Our first afternoon spot was near the morning's fields and was supposedly where a long-gone village and cemetery had been. The farmer had wheat planted here but told me that we wouldn't hurt anything by hunting here because he planned to turn it under. The crop was about a foot tall which made it hard to swing our coils. By now, another storm was approaching and the thunder and lightning forced us to seek the protection of our cars but we were able to emerge after 15 minutes.

The slight drizzle that remained didn't stop us from hunting but the now very wet wheat made this site almost unhuntable. After a half hour of hard swinging and no signals, we traveled down the road where we had another site to check.

This was an open, unplanted field. The few Seekers remaining managed to find a few buttons, relics and a couple of wheat pennies before the rain started once again and we decided to call it an early day.

Fun was had by all. Good finds were scarce but everyone enjoyed getting together in the challenge to find treasures. And guess what? It's almost time to do it all again.

As I've said before, field sites are getting harder to find. Crops are in now - mostly corn. However, I'll be out there looking and we'll be going. Keep your eyes open for possible hunt sites and if you don't have the time to thoroughly investigate, give me or the other officers a call and we'll check it out.

That's it for the hunt story. Keep looking and keep swinging. Be sure to be at the next meeting and the next hunt. Keep looking for places to go and keep looking for me in the field because I'll be there looking for you.

Bill Draper,
President
(and Huntmaster)

The last meeting of the SHORE SEEKERS Artifact and Recovery Club was held on Monday, Apr. 7, at 7:00 p.m. at the Fruitland Boy Scout Building.

The mint-quality 1963 silver 50-cent piece raffle was won by Bill Draper.

Magazine raffle winners were Cynthia Fassel, John Fassel, Gary Hill, Millard Johnson, John Christian and Ron Erlwein. Thanks to those who donated the magazines.

CORRESPONDENCE

We received more FMDAC membership cards and a clipping and letter from Ginny DeVaughn. Barbara read an e-mail response we got from Dr. Susan Langley concerning the Vienna situation Bill mentioned in his article last month. We also received e-mail from Karl Davies of North Wales who is starting a project to collect patches or pins from all metal detecting clubs and federations, past and present. Extra copies of The Seeker were also available.

OLD BUSINESS

The minutes were approved as distributed.

The treasurer gave her report.

We have permission from Assateague State Park to hold a beach hunt there sometime in the month of May. Several members volunteered to help with this event. Once we decide if it's even feasible to attempt this on such sort notice, we'll pass the particulars along to members as soon as possible.

Bill forgot to mention in his last article that Dave Smyth returned an item to the property owner of a recent club hunt site. The owner was extremely touched by this gesture. Congratulations Dave.

NEW BUSINESS

Members can bring their own items to Gardner's Signs to be embroidered with the club logo. The fee will be minimal. Just make sure that the item is dark blue.

Former member Craig East has volunteered his services whenever we have our next club auction.

Julie mentioned that Doug called her and wanted members to know that he has not forgotten the club. Illness and other commitments have caused him to miss the last few meetings and hunts but he hopes to be back with us very soon.

CLUB HUNT

We have at least one hunt site lined up in eastern Wicomico County. Bill will try to arrange at least one more before Saturday. We'll meet at the clubhouse at 8:30. Please watch your e-mail for further details.

The 50/50 raffle was won by Julie Pryor.

Julie Pryor,
Secretary

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