As an adult boy scout leader I have the opportunity to metal detect various scout camps. I have an Ace 250, Lesche tool, and a Propointer II just for the boys to use (I use a Tejon). Each boy must ask the camp director for permission first and then I show them how to use the detector and how to dig a target without damage to the ground. The boys get to keep what they find. Most scout camps are heavily hunted during the off season but an occasional silver coin or ring does show up here and there, the boys have a good time as most camps are filled with clad coins.
At one camp in Pennsylvania I found an old harmonica reed. This particular camp has an 1800s house and a real Indian burial ground on the property. The house is rumored to be haunted, in fact half of the staff won’t go near it at night, adding to the fear factor. The house is named after the former owner who donated the property and is called the Heydrick House. As the boys were looking at and holding the reed I explained how the wood part will rot away leaving only the reed, then I commented that Mr. Heydrick himself may have been playing this harmonica on the day he died, and he may not be too happy that YOU are holding it right now. The boys dropped it immediately and wanted nothing further to do with it.
Over the next few hours the reed appeared in different places and some ghost stories were told. After dark at the camp fire, the reed appeared on the chair of one of the older boys, a tough guy kid who didn’t believe the ghost stories. This boy took the reed and threw it deep into the woods as hard as he could claiming now no one will never see this thing again. The next morning I got up early and took my detector into the woods, it’s not difficult to find the reed with a metal detector. After breakfast when the plates were cleared the tough kid turned ashen when he found the harmonica reed was under his plate. Eventually, the boys asked that I bury the reed back where I found it, which I did, but a lot of great ghost storied came from this simple find.
At one camp in Pennsylvania I found an old harmonica reed. This particular camp has an 1800s house and a real Indian burial ground on the property. The house is rumored to be haunted, in fact half of the staff won’t go near it at night, adding to the fear factor. The house is named after the former owner who donated the property and is called the Heydrick House. As the boys were looking at and holding the reed I explained how the wood part will rot away leaving only the reed, then I commented that Mr. Heydrick himself may have been playing this harmonica on the day he died, and he may not be too happy that YOU are holding it right now. The boys dropped it immediately and wanted nothing further to do with it.
Over the next few hours the reed appeared in different places and some ghost stories were told. After dark at the camp fire, the reed appeared on the chair of one of the older boys, a tough guy kid who didn’t believe the ghost stories. This boy took the reed and threw it deep into the woods as hard as he could claiming now no one will never see this thing again. The next morning I got up early and took my detector into the woods, it’s not difficult to find the reed with a metal detector. After breakfast when the plates were cleared the tough kid turned ashen when he found the harmonica reed was under his plate. Eventually, the boys asked that I bury the reed back where I found it, which I did, but a lot of great ghost storied came from this simple find.
And well written too