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GMDC NEWS JUNE 2016

“Can you dig it? We can!”

detectinghistory@ yahoo.com

Club Officers President

Susannah Kriegshauser

Vice President Jim Hammond

Treasurer John Westermayer

President's Corner

By Susannah Kriegshauser

Hello fellow dirt fishers!

Our first Mystery Hunt went very well. The homeowners

were amazed that we came up with so much stuff from their

yard. In fact, they kept the officers talking for a good half

hour after the hunt! And what’s better is that they are telling

their neighbors about us. There weren’t many good finds for

members, but we had a good time in the fresh air under blue

skies anyway. See the following article for some pics from

our day. We are still trying to come up with a name for the

lizard….

Yet another club member has stepped forward to give us a

new hunt site. Thanks to all you wonderful members who

help the club out! This will be for our July monthly hunt,

instead of at the St. Marcus Commemorative Park originally

scheduled. This site is in Columbia, IL, so not so far to travel

this time. More information will be forthcoming. This

member has earned an entry into our contest, where the prize

is now a Bounty Hunter PioneerEX metal detector. Our entry

jar is filling up!

Other members have also earned additional entries by giving

our June presentation (Pat Reece), sending in a bio for the “In

the Loupe” section below (John Quinn and Mark Harris), and

writing an article for the newsletter (Pat Reece). See their

contributions below. If you would like to contribute too, just

send your articles or info to our email.

A few of our upcoming meeting presentations will be about

detecting in England (June), Anheuser-Busch memorabilia

including finds (July), and two martial arts people showing us

how to use our detecting equipment to keep us safe (August).

Happy Hunting!

Susannah

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CALENDAR Jan 05: GMDC meeting Jan 16: Metal Detecting Basics Class. MO Civil War Museum Jan 23: Metal Detecting Basics Class. MO Civil War Museum Feb 02: GMDC meeting Feb 21: GMDC hunt. Willmore Park Mar 01: GMDC meeting Mar 12: Metal Detecting Basics Class Mar 20: GMDC hunt. St. Marcus Park Apr 05: GMDC meeting Apr 09: GMDC hunt. Christy Greenway May 03: GMDC meeting May 14: Metal Detecting Basics Class May 15: GMDC hunt. Mystery Hunt. DeSoto, MO Jun 07: GMDC meeting Jun 11: GMDC hunt. Fultz Field. River des Peres Jul 05: GMDC meeting Jul 09: GMDC hunt. Columbia IL farm Aug 02: GMDC meeting Aug 06: GMDC hunt. St. Marcus Park Sep 06: GMDC meeting Sep 10: GMDC hunt. BBQ/Hunt Games Oct 04: GMDC meeting Oct 08: GMDC hunt. TBD

Monthly Meeting by Jim Hammond

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm. There were 20 people in attendance. Three new members signed on: John Burke, and Tom and Pam Popp. Welcome! John was our 50th member and received a prize. The need for possible fund raisers was brought up, as the state of the treasury, while OK, was not going to allow for large prizes or special-type activities. Members were asked to submit ideas or raffle prizes. A Finds of the Month contest was discussed. Susannah talked about both the June and July hunts. She reviewed carpooling to the site, where to park at the Telegraph Wal-Mart, and liability waivers. The waiver was on view. This information is on the club website. Hunt sites should be no further than 1 hour away from the Civil War Museum, unless it is something fabulous! Signup sheets for the BBQ and Community Assistance Team were available. The BBQ is not a detecting hunt, just games and family fun. The website has sections for “Detecting Buddies” and “Buy, Sell and Trade” where members can submit articles. Thanks for pictures of interesting finds and articles for the website was brought up. Keep them coming! The presentation for the July meeting will be by Dave Steck on AB memorabilia, including Dave’s interesting finds. August’s presentation is by John Westermayer and Jim Hammond on defending yourself in the field with detecting equipment and/or your body. It was stressed that detecting in Tower Grove Park is a felony since this is a National Historic Site. Always check local and national laws governing detecting in county and local parks as some of these laws change yearly. Mike Steimel asked for a brief description of the Genevieve Method and Susannah described how it works. Members stated that it worked very well for them. A question was asked about any overlap between the GMDC and the Midwest Coin Shooters Club hunt sites. Susannah said both clubs tried to keep separate territories to not hunt out sites. Attendance prizes were given out as follows: 1. Kathy Crowell – 1866 3-cent piece 2. Dave Steck—5 V nickels 3. Lee Nunnally—5 Indian head pennies 50/50 raffle was won by Rick Crowell. Pat Reece gave a very informative presentation on metal detecting in the UK. She included many interesting pictures and information, and made us all want to go! Great job Pat!

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DeSoto Hunt

May 15, 2016

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Did You Know…? By Pat Reece

How Old is that Building?

Do you really know the old homes in your

area? Would you like to know their

addresses and just how old they are? Well

now you can. An interactive map is

available to look up the age of buildings in

St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and St.

Charles County. "Mouse" over the map to

see the approximate age, based on parcel

data kept by the city and county

governments. In the case of a single parcel

housing multiple buildings, the age of the

oldest building is displayed.

This map can help you research and locate

detecting sites. Knowing the age of a

property gives you an idea of what you

might expect to find, and provides you with

more information to help you decide where

to spend your detecting time.

Map Link:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/multimedia/s

pecial/how-old-is-that-building-check-

structures-in-the-st/html_5ce90745-d14d-

53da-9bff-

8ab53dea9ddb.html?utm_medium=social&u

tm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-

share

BBQ/GAMES Hunt

September 10, 2016 Jefferson Barracks Park (Registration Required—sign up through our email or at a meeting. Tell us how many are coming.) We have another fun hunt that is for

MEMBERS ONLY (and their families).

We are a family club, and we invite you and

your family to a fun time in the park. There

will be BBQ, fun games, and a giveaway of

a Bounty Hunter PioneerEX metal detector

to all who participated in our contest, plus

other goodies.

Bring your pinpointer and a hand digger,

but no shovels, since this is a county park

and no digging is allowed. We are playing

games with our diggers, not finding relics.

We need many people to help with this, and

we will have a signup sheet at all future

meetings. Thanks to those who have already

indicated their willingness to help! We need

chefs, people to run the games, and crews to

setup and takedown.

The club will provide the hotdogs and

hamburgers, buns, and condiments.

We ask that those whose last names begin

with A-M bring a side dish, and those

whose last names begin with N-Z bring a

dessert.

The club will provide water—you will need

to provide any other drinks you want. Bring

a chair and sunscreen!

Come on out and play with us!

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IN THE LOUPE…

John Quinn

Hi. I wanted to introduce myself and say

how I got started in metal detecting. I’m

John Quinn, a retired Air Force pilot

currently working for Northrop Grumman. I

am married with four children and five

grandchildren. I got interested in metal

detecting while stationed in England in the

early 1990’s, but did not actually buy a

detector and begin until 1996 when I was

back in the U.S. stationed at Scott AFB. I

have been detecting for about 20 years, but

often I would go long periods without

detecting due to being deployed. I have

lived (and detected) in Illinois, Kansas,

Okinawa Japan, North Dakota, and back to

Illinois.

My best metal detecting stories are finding a

man’s high school ring while on vacation in

Indiana, tracking him down, and returning

the ring 27 years after he had lost it. I also

found a nun’s commitment to Jesus ring at a

convent while assigned in Kansas. The nun

had lost her ring 50 years earlier! Although

the nun had passed away, I gave the ring to

the Mother Superior, who knew the nun who

lost the ring when she was a novice. The

Mother Superior forwarded it on to the

nun’s family.

The oldest find I have made is an 1875

seated quarter found at a church in

Leavenworth, Kansas and the best find I

have made was a 14K gold pendant holding

a 1600’s Atocha treasure ship coin. I found

this in Maui and was unable to find who

owned it to be able to return it. That

pendant is the only thing I have found of

significant value and the only find that my

wife wears. (cont….)

I look forward to participating in club

activities and want to thank the club officers

for taking the time to form the Gateway

Metal Detecting Club.

Good hunting!

TECH TIPS By Susannah

Coil Covers

Many detectorists never pay attention to an

important piece of detecting equipment—

their coil cover. Many do not even know if

their detector has a coil cover on it or not. If

you haven’t checked, I’ll wait while you go

and see…

OK, why do we even need a coil cover?

Although when you swing, your coil should

not be hitting the ground, it is inevitable that

sooner or later you are going to brush dirt,

mud, sand, tree roots, or rocks. A coil cover

will protect that expensive coil from

gouging, cuts, and more.

However, sand and fine grit are especially

bad for sifting down between cover and coil.

This leads to “false” signals, and can also

give you weird beeping at the end of your

swing. If you detect in salty sand or water,

salt and mineral deposits build up between

the cover and coil, again leading to falsing.

Getting your cover off can be a breeze or a

big pain, depending on your model. DO

NOT ATTACK IT WITH SHARP TOOLS!

Keep working around the rim and it will

eventually pop off. Clean the cover with a

soft brush or wash in warm soapy water,

being sure to also clean (gently) the coil. Try

to clean your cover every 7-10 hunts, or

more if in sand or grit.

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Gateway MD Club 222 Worth Road

St. Louis, MO 63125

detectinghistory @yahoo.com

"Can you dig it? WE can!"

For either the CLASSIFIEDS or HUNT BUDDIES, please send them through detectinghistory@yahoo.com

CLASSIFIEDS

Club patches can be bought from the

officers for $2 at the meetings.

If a member needs more cards, please see an

officer at the meeting.

HUNT BUDDIES

Pat Reece: I’m looking for a hunt buddy, any level of experience. I live in the Wildwood area, but hunt anywhere. Phone: 314-276-9286 Email: parreece@aol.com

WHO WE ARE

We are a group of detecting enthusiasts whose aim is to get out there and have fun, find fellowship, and find and preserve our nation's history. We dig responsibly, act

respectfully, and operate legally. We invite you to join us. You won't be disappointed!

MEETINGS

We meet on the first Tuesday of every month at

Missouri Civil War Museum

222 Worth Road St. Louis, MO 63125

at

7 pm (Doors open at 6:30 pm)

Open to the public