October 3, 2025 Plan “C” Here we are, Randy, Monty and I, all geared up and no site to detect on. Well, we had a site picked out but we just could not locate where in this field sat the Old House. You see, I can remember as a young boy, this impressive large two story house whose walls were made of field stones. It was abandoned, even back then and now the house and any sign of it are apparently gone! I’d taken the time to get the land owners permission to metal detect on this site. Thank you Brian , very much appreciated. Randy and I had cased-out this field early in the spring and we had actually found and picked up a few pieces of glass. You’d think we could remember exactly where in the field this glass was found… not a chance. The field had recently been tilled and quite deep too which is ideal for metal detecting. Randy, Monty and I walked almost the entire length of this field, just a bit off from the road looking for some sign of life, but nothing. Randy did find a folded sheet of lead but no glass or ceramics. The idea was to locate debris that would point to past human habitation. Nothing… Ahhhwww… Now what…. So this is where Plan “B” comes into play. Our next stop was in the Marais area where Randy has permission to detect on the land where an old school and church sat. Great Eh! Well here we are, foiled again! The crop of soybeans that sat on top of our old one room school site and church site had not been harvested yet so needless to say, this too was a no go. Time was ticking and we, all three, were no closer to getting our coils to the soil. Plan “C”. Randy knows of another site nearby where he has a long standing permission to metal detect. Any closer than this to Emerson and we’d all end up in the USA, risking deportation to El Salvador. Is metal detecting allowed in El Salvador? Finally, we arrive at a non-disclosed farm field that has some historical significance. An old saloon once stood here according to local lore. It’s almost 11:00 AM and finally we are off metal detecting. The lesson to be learned here is to plan ahead. I should have ordered aerial photographs of the location showing where everything was in the 1950’s or 60’s. Then we could have pinpointed the exact spot. I had consulted my 1873 Surveyors Map but no structure existed here yet. Going in blind can be fun and exciting but hey... it doesn’t always work and you don’t want to drive all that distance just to return home empty handed. Well, the day turned out Ok none the less and wow, was it ever hot. Go future, 32C. in and around Emerson in early October. Now that alone was a bonus. Highlights of the hunt: 2 – Buttons. 1 - Double King ? and 2 - * * * Star Pattern reverse side * J N ??? 1 – Clothes Grommet (copper) Shotgun Shell: Rem - UMG No 12 Nitro Club Cir.1915 – 1942 1 – .22 Short RimFire Casing. 1 – Fired and Flattened Bullet 7.242 grams 1 – 3 cm long Fired Bullet Casing (copper) 1 – Buckle. Possibly Horse Tack. (iron) 3 – Buttons Golf Balls. Who says farmers don’t have any time off? 1 – Kerosene Lamp Collar with Wick Adjuster Various Ornate Old Iron Pieces with Fleur-de-Lis & Wheat Pattern 1 – Horse Shoe Nail Roger References: https://cartridge-corner.com/remumc.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleur-de-lis

October 7, 2025 St. Malo Reservoir: Drained! Now this is a rare opportunity. I don’t have all of the details as to when and why but much to a metal detectorist’s advantage, the water reservoir that happens to make up the two beaches at St. Malo has been drained by about 10 feet. The link below explains the details of the draining. So with that in mind, Randy and I headed out to try our luck. The debate was: do we go and find out that the place has already been detected by detectorists that got there before us in the preceding days, or do we stay home, or go elsewhere? I knew that for myself, I would regret not going, even if we’ve been beaten to the punch. Hey, if everyone thinks the same, that the place has been combed over and stays home then oddly, no one goes and the treasures to be found remain out there. Yes, some detectorists like going into the water with tall waders and finding the items that get lost by people who are out swimming, but you can only get so far out using that metal detecting method unless you're scuba diving. A 10 foot drop in water level means that you have access to going out way farther than ever before. Well, yes someone had beaten us to the punch, of course. But hey, I have no problem with sharing a site, besides, they simply can’t have covered the entire newly exposed area and they’re bound to have missed stuff. Did I not mention in previous posts that a site is never completely detected out? And so it proved to be. The find of the day has to be the 5.2 gram precious metal men’s ring. I also picked up a vintage charm bracelet piece showing exquisite details. The penny was from 2002. The live round is a .22 long. Randy found a series of Matchbox cars and a variety of fishing lures. Man, you really have to be careful of the hooks. They catch everywhere. You put them in your carry pouch and you can hardly get them out again. All and all it was a good hunt blessed by fantastic weather, especially for October. BUT: A word of caution. The St. Malo lake bottom is horribly mucky. In some spots you sink 5 to 6 inches in. Try getting your foot out of that without leaving your boot behind. Also, last but not least and I apologize for the following rant but… To the one detectorist in particular that was there before us… Your actions reflect on all the rest of us. Read the Detectorists Code of Conduct just once would you. 1) You dug holes and once you realized that the signal came from a pop can, you just left the can in the hole. I pulled out and properly disposed of numerous cans that you carelessly left behind. The picture shows only a few of the cans that you couldn’t pick up and dispose of. 2) Fill your holes. Everyone I’ve ever metal detected with does; be it a farm field, a beach, or a park… (HINT HINT maybe some palace like Emerson’s Centennial Park) Yes we all suffer the consequences of your actions. You don’t have to dig a hole the size of your coil to get a penny out of a park or beach landscape. Educate yourself on how to dig and create a proper grass plug. Leave no trace. It’s called common courtesy and respect. Other detectorists were there metal detecting in the days before us. I saw the outline of holes that had been refilled but it seems like you’re above all that. 3) I’m inviting you to a sit down and let's have a meeting. An open and frank discussion might help clear the air and go a long way in resolving these multiple issues and problems that you’re perhaps unknowingly causing for the rest of us. Roger References: https://www.metaldetectingworld.com/code_of_ethics.shtml h t t p s : / / w w w . s t e i n b a c h o n l i n e . c o m / a r t i c l e s / p r o v i n c e - l o w e r s - s t - malo-reservoir-to-fight-zebra-mussels-