2006 Club Hunts
March
by Mike Nanson
Greetings OTTS TH'ers!
I hope each and every one of you have had a chance to put you coil on the ground this month. For those of you who made it to the March-05 Monthly Outing, THANKS! For those of you who weren't as fortunate, here's the recap: No fooling, we met April 1 st at Bush Pasture Park in Salem, Oregon. The weather was overcast with a few sprinkles, but not wet enough to be anything more than a nuisance. There were several nice jewelry finds by the 'regulars' along with some wheaties. The only silver coin found came from down the street, which has brought-up an interesting issue regarding the rules that govern the Monthly Outing competition (count-out). What are the rules? Where are they? Last year was my first year as a member and only occasionally did I hear of any rules, but I can't recall any rule specifically. Most folks could probably apply the common sense approach and stay out of trouble, but as far as I know, there hasn't been anything specific discussed with the current membership. Don't worry, at the April meeting I will open this issue for discussion and make any needed changes to a draft that, at the time of writing this, I have almost complete. Stay tuned. Back to the Report. 10 members counted out-here's a run-down of who placed where: Jerry Harris-57 points, Bill Baker-55 points, Clarence Sparks-54 points, Jim Siel-52 points and Brian Landquis-46 points. Duane (didn't catch last name-sorry)-34 points, Jim Ward-31 points, Mary Sparks-20 points & Membership 1/2 drawing, Larry W.-18 points and Carl Middlebrook-13 points. Thanks Again for participating! Reminder: Please check the website often for the additional outing updates. Typically there will be several outings, which for the sake of clarification we'll call Field Trips. IF you're interested in participating in any of those, please grab the sign-up sheet at the meetings and sign-up! The regular club Monthly Outing (name to remain the same) is always the weekend after the meeting, except on the rare occasion the meeting does not occur on the regularly scheduled day of the month. If that happens, you will be notified and reminded of when the Monthly Outing will occur.
April
by Mike Nanson
This month we had an interesting outing at the South Park Blocks. For those of you who have not done your research, the South Park Blocks are on the West side of town and occupy 11 blocks totaling 8.76 acres. The Blocks became Portland property in 1869, so older coins are certainly a possibility. In case you missed the story, KATU's Grant McOmie and his camera crew, Fox 12's camera crew and 20 members & guests showed-up for an almost perfect TH'ing day. The weather was cooperative, ground was in good condition and a few nice finds we picked-up by several members. Possibly the find-of-the-day was Clarence's diamond-platinum anniversary ring. If you get a chance, ask Clarence to take a look (my guess is that you could spot it on Mary's finger). 16 members counted-out, ranked as follows:
1st place with 101 points-Bill Trautz
2nd place with 90 points-Clarence Sparks
3rd place with 57 points- Mike Maxon
4th place with 56 points-Brian Lundquist
5th place with 52 points-Duane Flackus
One issue that is always on folk's minds... bad holes. I had a first at this outing-my first complaint on one of our holes. Actually Mike Maxon took the complaint, which came from a citizen via PSU security. The security guard was very nice and just asked us to be careful. Then a few minutes later a member approached me and told me there were several nasty holes dug by member(s) during our outing. Looking for myself, he was right. In fact, Steve Tucker spent some if his hunting time to fill and re-pack some of those nasty holes. If I could ask you to do one thing next time you're out hunting; be honest with yourself. Evaluate you technique, ask your hunting partner, ask a bystander, just do whatever you need to do to gain some feedback. If you are having trouble making a nice plug, look at your digging tool first. To make a nice plug that's easily replaced you'll need a good quality digger. This investment will be worthwhile, so if you need one, pick one up from Lucky Dog at the next meeting. If you have a quality digger and are still having trouble, don't be afraid to ask an experienced member for a demonstration. Whatever you do, please don't ruin it for the rest of us. Thanks and I hope to see you at the next Monthly Outing!