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    The Green Sinkers: Metal Detecting for Beginners
    The Green Sinkers: Metal Detecting for Beginners
    The Green Sinkers: Metal Detecting for Beginners
    Ebook145 pages1 hour

    The Green Sinkers: Metal Detecting for Beginners

    By J.P. Ripple

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    About this ebook

    In December 2010, J.P. Ripple made a handshake agreement with an eighty-seven-year-old man named Red to hunt for treasure on Stigley Ridge in northern Oklahoma.

    Red didnt balk when Ripple, who bought his first metal detector as a senior in high school, told him it would take about six winters to cover the 200-acre ridge.

    While Red never gave one reason why he wanted the ridge searched, he claimed his friends had lost coins, tax tokens, toys, and jewelry under a red cedar on the ridge. The Stigley kids were classmates during parts of the Great Depression, and they had a great time playing under the tree with Red once a month.

    In sharing his story about searching for treasure on the ridge, Ripple reveals the methods he used, what worked, what didnt, and how he dealt with an elderly man who wanted to tag along and help dig.

    He also shares the best places to search for valuable items, how to sell coins and bottles, and federal regulations that every treasure hunter must keep top of mindas well as what he found on Stigley Ridge.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisheriUniverse
    Release dateOct 31, 2017
    ISBN9781532030949
    The Green Sinkers: Metal Detecting for Beginners
    Author

    J.P. Ripple

    J.P. Ripple, a native of Pryor, Oklahoma, grew up in Oaks, Oklahoma, and attended Oaks High School. He earned a master’s degree in chemistry from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. He taught in Oklahoma and Missouri public schools for twenty-seven years and at the college level for ten years. He has three U.S. patents in chemistry, was a medic during the Vietnam War, and taught caregiver education in the U.S. Army. He is also the author of Strangers Doing Alzheimer’s: The Assault on Caregivers. He has three kids who live in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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      Book preview

      The Green Sinkers - J.P. Ripple

      Copyright © 2017 J.P. Ripple.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      iUniverse

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.iuniverse.com

      1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      ISBN: 978-1-5320-3095-6 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-5320-3094-9 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2017914599

      iUniverse rev. date: 10/30/2017

      I would like to dedicate this book to the memory of Troy Nelson (Red) Weddle, Sr. (1923-2015). Troy was one of the best treasure hunters to work Stigley Ridge. He knew the ridge like the back of his hand! He had a big smile when I said, You’re the Greatest Treasure Hunter!

      Troy’s remarkable memory, about kids playing under a red cedar, was crucial writing this book. I have a dignified respect for people who lived during The Great Depression. Without Red’s keen memory and his love for the Stigley family, I wouldn’t have the knowledge to write his memoirs. He and I shared the joys of treasure hunting by taking a look into his past. Treasure hunting is looking into the past. His past wasn’t the brightest, but I made it feel better by finding a few old memories. I ‘m glad he found a loving family on Stigley Ridge! Mr. Stigley knew Red was having a hard time without a father, and decided to help with his problems.

      CONTENTS

      Chapter 1 Introduction

      Chapter 2 Green Sinkers

      Chapter 3 Modern Metal Detectors

      Chapter 4 Prime Locations (Part 1)

      Chapter 5 Plants Growing In The Front Yard

      Chapter 6 Physical Safety

      Chapter 7 Safety On Stigley Ridge

      Chapter 8 Boots And Socks

      Chapter 9 Tools

      Chapter 10 Business Cards

      Chapter 11 Tokens, Sinkers, And The Law

      Chapter 12 Marijuana Pipes

      Chapter 13 Bad Weather Oklahoma

      Chapter 14 Introducing Ida Red

      Chapter 15 Cleaning Your Finds

      Chapter 16 Calendar Notes

      Chapter 17 Prime Locations (Part 2)

      Chapter 18 Medallions, Play Money, And Tokens

      Chapter 19 Ponds

      Chapter 20 Trash Dump?

      Chapter 21 Selling Your Coins And Bottles?

      Chapter 22 Code Of Federal Regulations (Cfrs)

      Chapter 23 Cache

      Chapter 24 Searching Outdoor Toilets (John’s)

      Chapter 25 Maps

      Chapter 26 U.s. Mint

      Chapter 27 Training Ida Red

      Chapter 28 Coffee With Red

      Chapter 29 Epilogue

      Chapter 30 Appendix

      Bibliography

      Special Thanks:

      CHAPTER 1

      INTRODUCTION

      I n 2010, I was offered a job to treasure hunt Stigley Ridge. I estimated it would take six winters to hunt the 200-acre ridge. In December of 2010, Red and I picked a cold day to hike Stigley Ridge to do a survey. He started to shiver once we reached our destination. I gave him a cup of coffee while we rested under a red cedar. I worried he hadn’t worn appropriate clothes during the hike. His wardrobe of short- sleeve shirts, under a light jacket, kept him bellyaching about the weather. Red was proud of his birth in 1923, and assured me he wasn’t going to let the cold weather stop him from treasure hunting Stigley Ridge. He added, I feel physically well and would like to tag along and help dig this winter! I replied, We appreciate someone who wants to dig! Nevertheless, I had reservations about the health and stamina of an eighty-seven-year-old man.

      I met Red earlier in the year, after asking if I could run a metal detector over his lawn. We had completed Jo Jo’s Ranch, and were looking for another place to hunt. Red was familiar with treasure-hunting jargon. I ask him if he knew any old homes we could survey. Red asked me to work for him. He wanted Stigley Ridge hunted from end to end; He never gave a reason for the job. I said, I want you to work with us if we agree to take the job. He announced his birth in 1923 as a way to express his physical prowess to those he met. In spite of his announcement, Red outlived his friends including his wife, Vergie. He told me he had retired from the local phone company after thirty years of physically-grueling work. Red compared his career as a lineman to the rigors of treasure hunting. His knowledge of Stigley Ridge convinced me he would be a good client for the enormous task. I offered him a supervising job next winter to seal the deal. He was thrilled with the offer and said, Yes, I can do that! Thank you!

      Red claimed his friends lost coins, tax tokens, toys, and jewelry under a red cedar on Stigley Ridge. The Stigley kids were classmates during parts of The Great Depression. They played together from 1933 to 1937 and had a great time under the cedar. Mr. Stigley was a farmer on the ridge during the Depression years. He worked out a plan for his kids and Red to play together one Saturday each month. The kids were ecstatic for the Saturday plan to play and have lunch with Red.

      Red’s childhood began in 1933 when The Great Depression was taking control of the country. He was ten-years old and his Depression stories relayed some uncertainty— there would be less of everything under that red cedar! Red told a story about the time he visited Stigley Ridge, during a hunting trip in 1935. Red hunted rabbits, with one of the Stigley boys, to sell at the flea market in Oologah, Oklahoma. He emphasized, Money was tight and shooting rabbits was the only way we could earn money. He added, We got fifty cents for each rabbit and sold all we could shoot! Red’s hunting skills produced some pocket change and the extra money was one of the happiest times in his childhood. He said, I felt comparable to the Stigley kids on Saturday mornings! He mentioned the Stigley kids carried lots of change and thought some was lost under the cedar. Sadly he said, I never lost any money under the cedar! Red’s mother worked odd jobs after his dad died and couldn’t provide an allowance. She was depressed and had personality problems raising kids without help," he said. It wasn’t long before Red dropped out of school due to his mother’s escalating mental problems. He was underage both times he joined the Army. After he got a station, he made it a point to send money home at each paycheck.

      Mr. Stigley knew the Depression was taking a toll on his family, but had no idea it would last another seven years. Mr. Stigley proposed milking cows as a way to earn extra money; and the dairy would provide milk and butter. A small garden appeared on the west side of the home where they parked the car. Eventually, a smokehouse was constructed on the west side of the house to cure meats and to store jars of canned vegetables. A blackberry patch, several peach trees, and some passion fruit were planted on the north side of the house next to the main road.

      As we rested under the cedar from the long hike, Red pointed to some dormant- passion fruit growing over some blackberry vines. He smiled and said, "I’ll bet those blackberries are descendants of the ones we planted for Mrs. Stigley.

      Red retired in 1986 and it has been twenty-five years since he stopped climbing poles for Southwestern Bell. During the long hike to Stigley Ridge, I insisted we stop often and used the excuse, I just turned sixty-two! I reminded Red I was fragile and needed to be cautious with my health. Red laughed at me needing to stop often for my health. He must have thought I needed some encouragement and said, That cedar is going to be a gold mine! Get ready to fill your pockets with Depression-Era coins and jewelry, you can count on that!

      CHAPTER 2

      GREEN SINKERS

      M y career as a treasure hunter began in 1966. I purchased a metal detector from White’s Electronics my senior year in

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