M E T A L M A N 9

M E T A L M A N 9

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January 10, 2023 - Winter research project yields new Discoveries

January 10, 2023 - Winter reasearch project yields new discoveries

January 10, 2023 Winter research project yields new Discoveries. Let’s first go back to basics for a bit. As with any hobby, a little research can go a long way. In-depth research goes even further. Simple internet inquiries like “History of Manitoba” or “History of a favorite Town” or whatever topic interests you will yield all kinds of leads and spur ideas as to where you might like to go Metal Detecting. For example, try “Historical Beaches of Manitoba”. You’ll get some historical information and a bonus list of the 10 best beaches in the province. Some of these you may know of, others may be totally new to you. Pick a topic or an era of interest and peruse it on the internet. Information is so easy to access today and then go exploring with your detector and pin pointer. There are all kinds of public places that you can access for free. And your research is now done. It’s that easy! For those that like a little more of a challenge, add a bunch more hours on line. Delve into the details. Look for obscure places that are not really known to the general public. Then use Google Earth’s Satellite Imagery to get a close up look. Your local library is also a great place to start your research. Another great source of information are the local residents that live in a given area or town. Get out here and talk to people. Try using this thing called a “Telephone” and call up a local municipal office and ask to talk to someone that knows about the local history. A lot can be learned from the comfort of your own home on a cold winter day or when you’re looking for a new place to get out too. Remember to keep it fun. It’s also beneficial to know what you like to detect. For example, if you primarily like to find coins… Coin Shooter… then a quick google search of your city will show you each and every bus stop in town and it will show you every public park too. If you like military type artifacts then find out where the old WWI or WWII training bases were. Bridge approaches and old river fords can yield nice treasures too. Many of the detectorists that I have spoken to have their favorite go to spots and often, they have specific detecting interests. What’s yours? Another major piece of research is getting your “Permission”. You must have permission to detect on private land. The Metal Detecting Code and the Law demands it. This will undoubtedly take up many hours of research. Canadian privacy laws have made this process even more difficult. Finding who owns a piece of land and their phone number should be simple… but it’s not. Yet it needs to happen. It’s doable but it can take a lot of time and there is no guarantee that you’ll get the permission that you are hoping for. Call me “Old School” but asking someone, in person, to detect on their property tends to yield better results. There are a great many sources for information. Too many to list here but I’ll include a few of my favorites at the end of the post. Over the course of my first year at detecting, I spent a lot of time watching YouTube videos. I still do. I picked up a lot of good ideas and inspirations from it. An example of that is a floating screen / sand filter. I built one using pool noodles, a ½ inch screen and a wood frame. I’ve also learned to adapt and glean information from various government websites that have nothing to do with metal detecting but by putting information together and by overlapping maps, I can better focus my searches when I go out. Then there are the Manitoba Provincial Archives. The service is free. In December, my brother and I attended the Archives. I had booked an appointment to view some oversized maps that had been printed in 1870. By oversized, we’re talking big: 3 feet by 6 feet or so. When researching at a deeper level, it is important to have specifics as to what you’re looking for. I knew the legal land locations of what I wanted to look at and I have my permissions in place. What I was hoping for now was to see features on the land that may not be apparent to the eye today. Also of particular interest to my brother was seeing the names of some of the original settlers. We discovered farm buildings and cultivated areas and we also saw multiple cart trails that served as the original Pembina Trail. Once we know some of the names of these pioneers, then we can cross reference the Census from that time period and discover yet more fascinating details of what life might have been like for these people. We also arranged to see our great great grandfather’s homestead information (1889) and documents including the government inspectors notes in regards to the 160 acres that became home to him, his wife, and 5 children. I had purchased aerial photographs from Natural Resources Canada and I will be overlapping these photos with copies of the maps from the Archives to enhance my next outing and hunt. You can also purchase and make great use of topographical maps. I just can’t wait for spring to come and to hit the ground running. Or is that swinging? Metal detecting and history are indeed intertwined. The University of Manitoba also has a huge amount of research material and I assume that the University of Winnipeg does too. And last but not least, consider joining a local Metal Detecting Club if it can provide benefits that fit your needs. If an actual club is not for you, then there are numerous on-line forums you might want to consider. The long and short of it is that you can Metal Detect at whatever level you like. It’s not a contest, it’s a hobby. It’s a hobby that tends to be solitary but searching with a friend or in an organized group can be a lot of fun too. It’s great exercise, it’s the great outdoors and fresh air, and it’s meeting new people and learning a world of new skills. Get out there and enjoy the day. Roger References: http://canadianmetaldetecting.ca/canadian-metal-detecting-code-of- ethics/ Goggle: Historical Beaches of Manitoba. https://www.google.com/earth/index.html https://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/ https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/Pages/census.aspx https://www.eodms-sgdot.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/index-en.html https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/earth-sciences/geography/topographic- information/maps/9773 https://maps.google.com/maps/contrib/112056086582216082821 Picture by: Abulin Abulizi https://mr4tunehunter.wordpress.com/