Temerity Magazine Volume 2 Issue 2 May 2012 by Theodore Media LLC

~ Index ~ Cover photo: Spes de Fides Stone discovered on 4 acres near Kensington, MN by Chad T. Everson. Story on page 21. Pg. 4– Temerity the first word By Chad T. Everson Pg. 6– Letters to the Editor Pg. 8- The Adventures of “Fearless Frank and “Bobby” Pg. 11-Relic Hunting old Town Sites In Northern Australia. By NQ Explorers Pg. 15-The Art of Beach Hunting By Farenheit1100 Pg. 18-Electrolysis By Peter Gill Pg. 19-Farenheit1100 Hot YouTube Channels Lists Pg. 20– Family Pastimes By Chad T. Everson Pg. 21-Completing the Quest: Spes et Fides Stone Revealed By Chad T. Everson Pg. 26-All-metal mode or not? By: Peter Gill Pg. 30-MY HERO . . . my pioneer aunt, Jessie Belle Men ten Morrow By Jeanine Menton Reckinger Pg. 89– Manufacturers Word Search Puzzle By MrBurtonNeal

Temerity, the first word By Chad T. Everson, Owner and Editor of Temerity Magazine Boy, how it is hard to sit in front of the computer and edit a magazine when the weather is right for relic and treasure hunting! However, weaving Temerity Magazine together is mostly a joy and the rest just plain hard work. I did not do the best job recruiting authors for this issue, yet it was a good thing because our Temerity Magazine authors really came through for us in this issue! They stepped forward and by the submission deadline I had all my articles and I continued with my relic and treasure hunts. I want to thank everyone for picking up my slack and getting your articles in. I am honored to share them with the world right here in the pages of Temerity Magazine. In this issue we have a great article from a genealogist , Jeanine, who shares with us the lady behind our Temerity Magazine logo, Jeanineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aunt Jesse. NQExplorers share their strategy for finding the great sites they always bring us from their grizzly backyard there in Australia. Peter Gill from Africa shares with us an article on hunting in all metal and sharing with us a tutorial on electrolysis. Farenheit1100 gives us another hot list of relic and treasure YouTube channels. Frank and Bobby give us their second episode and we have a word search even submitted by MrBurtonNeal! I was also given two games to give away from www.familypastimes.com I am going to give them away to two of the authors who submit and share their passion for relic and treasure in Augustâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Temerity Magazine. Send your submissions to editor@TemerityMagazine.com before July 20th, 2012 to be eligible. I get the opportunity to share with you my Kensington site finds even though it is bittersweet in doing so. I am excited to present my finds but frustrated with the site owner. With what should be a joyous occasion, I can only share with you my finds and pray that they will be cared for and protected with a quick sale. Because of family photos & Intellectual property you will not be able to freely download this issue. You can read it online and share, but if you need the file downloaded to read Contact me with above email. Arrangements may be made with protected images removed or watermarked. A small fee may be charged to support Temerity Magazine and cover shipping costs. I hope you enjoy and share this issue of Temerity Magazine and consider this your invitation to join us as an author for our August issue! Get Grizzly!

hole only when the weather cooperates . . . we can look TO THE EDITOR: through pictures no matter I have been giving a lot of what the weather is doing, it is thought to some rather interthe owner of those pictures or esting subject matter . . . the old letters or maybe church or comparison between metal de- courthouse employees that detectorists and genealogy enthu- termine whether or not we can siasts!!! One might say they are do our work!! different; but in my opinion there really are no differences, At this point I would have to only comparisons . . . what they say this could be a tiny difference . . . for instance a privy do is the same thing . . . hunthole will give up all its contents ing for relics from the past!!! with hard work; getting relaIn a recent conversation with tives to allow us to go through an avid metal detectorist, he that box of pictures may not commented that he was digging happen as easily!!! People may about three feet down in a be much tougher to deal with in privy hole and I was thinking to that respect than that privy myself that doesn't seem like hole that doesn't care if it is the way I would want to plan disturbed or not!!! You don't my day; however, think about even have to put all the dirt that again . . . it is the same as back in the hole exactly the way digging through a relative's box you took it out . . . don't try that of pictures to find those ones with Aunt Mamie's picture box, that we need to round out rethey better be in the same orsearch on someone we are try- der as you found it!!! ing to learn about!! Here is an Metal detectorists have to hunt interesting similarity . . . the detectorist can dig in that privy for a place to dig, get permis-

7 sion from a properly owner, drive lots of miles sometimes going back and forth to their dig site and hoping all the time that they will find some "relics of the past," something tangible , something that can be sold, something that someone will cherish, something that will tell the story of the land and the people who lived on it

hobby, they are ones that people who cannot commit for life should not become involved with!! They do not allow themselves to be hobbies, they may not even be considered fulltime work . . . they are addictions, yes . . . repeat after me . . . they are addictions!!! Okay, so I own that, it is my hobby turned addiction!! So . . . here we are . . . out there with no 12-step proGenealogist or family historians have to make a lot of phone gram!! calls, write a lot of letters, drive Jeanine many miles sometimes to look ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ at pictures, see family heirHow to Become a Genealogist looms if we are so fortunate to locate them in the first place, First buy a large bag of marbles. go through courthouse records, Each time you are unsuccessful in tramp through cemeteries takfinding information for a family, ing pictures of markers, hope leave a marble. they might be in line to someday inherit one of these "relics When you've lost each and every of the past" that tell the story one of your marbles somewhere, of their family and the land Poof ! that they lived on. It is interesting when you really you are a now a think about it, the similarities real Genealogist between these two hobbies . . . -author unknown oh what AM I saying, they are not hobbies at all, they become Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; This would work for Relic fulltime work!! If you are to & Treasure Hunters as well! consider either of them as a

Episode 2 “The one that avoided the Scrap Drive” Frank had gone many times to visit Bobby’s grandmother with Bobby in the nursing home, but this time was special and sad. She was in the final stage of vascular dementia and spent most of her last days sleeping. There were times of lucidity but they were rare. It was to be the next to last visit before her passing. Bobby’s grandmother had treated Frank exactly the same as her own grandson. They had enjoyed many fine meals and good conversations with her in her home. But she had not been able to live in her home for years. The house had fallen into disrepair and was scheduled for demotion to promote “urban renewal”. The city government was in the final phase of the purchasing of the property.

Frank said “I think that it is very important. Important enough to her to try and tell us something. Bobby do you still have a key to the house?” Bobby replied “Yes” “Let’s go have a look at the house. We have hunted there many times but maybe we missed something.” said Frank They went by their homes so that they could give the property one last hunt. Bobby as usual took his own sweet time to gather his gear. He was the most unorganized person that Frank knew but that didn’t interfere with their friendship.

Bobby’s key was not needed. As they pulled up to the old house, it became apparent that the house had seen better days. What had once been On this particular visit Bobby’s grandmother a small but tidy home had now become a was awake and very lucid. She recognized both stripped hulk. Thieves had broken into the of her boys. She was able to carry on somewhat empty structure and stripped anything that was of a conversation with them. Several times she of value for reuse or scrap to sell. even the coprepeated the phrase “don’t let them get the pot”. per wiring. The yard had become the community And she said this phrase with a passion that they dumping ground. Trash of all kinds including hadn’t heard in years. old furniture littered the yard. A trail of broken After they left the nursing home Frank asked beer bottles and discarded cans lead from the Bobby what she had meant by “don’t let them street to the front door. The door stood wide get the pot’. Bobby didn’t know and could not open. Bobby could hardly believe his eyes. All remember her saying it before this day. he could think about was his Grandmother. She would be heartbroken if she saw what lay before

9 his eyes. “Come on Bobby; let’s get started so we can get out of this neighborhood as soon as possible!” Frank exclaimed They grabbed their detectors and tried to pick their way around the piles of trash. It was turning into a penny, pull-tab, and junk day. There was nothing resembling the finds that they had found in the past trips to the house. It had yielded its share of silver, Indian Head pennies, and at least one 1914D Wheat Penny in the past Nothing of any similarity to a pot was to be found. The closest thing that came from the earth was a hubcap from under a pile of used shingles. Used hypodermic needles and broken glass made any detecting a very dangerous proposition,

“Are you sure that you checked everywhere?” Asked Frank “ I’m sure. Everywhere but that closet where you set our bags down so they wouldn’t get swiped from the back of your pickup” replied Bobby. “Move the bags Sherman” said Frank in a very irritable voice.

Bobby shrugged and picked up the bags. Frank swung his detector over the floor in the bottom of closet. The detector reacted with a very loud beep. Frank got down on his knees and cleared away the trash. When he got down to bare wood, he put the detector’s coil down and got an even louder tone. Frank looked at the floor of the closet and noticed that the boards looked as if they had been pieced together with Bobby said “Frank let’s call it quits. My scrap wood or repaired many years ago because grandmother must be living in the past. Maybe it the boards were shorter than all the rest of the is a delusion from the past when she was forced floors that he had looked at around the house. to give up a favorite pot or something for a He took the tip of his screwdriver probe and scrap drive during the war. lifted the loose boards. Beneath the boards was an aluminum pot with an old cloth bank bag. “Let’s look inside. It’s the only place we When Frank opened the bag they found that it haven’t tried.” Replied Frank. was filled with money, old money at that. The They went into the house to find the floor newest note was a series 1938 20 dollar bill. The covered with a layer of old newspapers and total in the bag was just over 10,000 dollars. other discarded paper from the persons who had “Holly Crap Frank, You were right” extaken refuge inside the house. They ran their declaimed Bobby. tectors over the piles hoping to find a pot beneath the trash. They checked cabinets and They put the bag back into the aluminum pot shelves also. The job was fairly easy because all and placed it into Bobby’s bag. With a sense of the brass hinges and other fittings were gone relief they left the house and that neighborhood from where they once were attached. Nothing behind as fast as possible. Soon they were back was detected except the occasional crushed can. at the nursing home and quietly entered Bobby’s Grandmother’s room. After closing the door, “Frank let’s call it quits and get out of here. they pulled the pot from the bag for her to see. We have checked every place imaginable. “Pleaded Bobby.

“You found my pot” she said in the clearest

10 voice that they had heard in years to come from her mouth. “Thank You” she said. “What do you want us to do with it Grandmother?” asked Bobby. “You and Frank keep it for yourselves. I always meant it to be for my boys. Both of you have given me so much pleasure from your visits to a lonely old lady.” She beamed. “But where did it come from?” asked Bobby “Penny by penny and dollar by dollar I saved it over all the years of my marriage to your grandfather. It was our rainy day fund.” She answered. They continued to visit with her until the nurses ran them out. When they got back to Bobby’s house, Frank told Bobby that he should rightfully have the money. But Bobby insisted that Frank take his share because it was his grandmother’s wish. Within a few days Bobby got the call that he had dreaded. His grandmother had passed away. Both he and Frank attended the funeral. Both would never forget the day that they found her pot.

Author’s disclaimer: The names have been changed to protect the innocent and facts altered to simulate the truth. Be sure and read the next Adventure of Fearless Frank and Bobby. Episode Three

“A prickly situation”

Much of remote Australia is dotted with the remains of ‘ghost towns’. The majority of these were mining towns, or were on former Cobb & Co coach routes that were bypassed by the growth of the railway network in the mid- to late 19th Century. The term ‘ghost town’ can be a little misleading, as the majority of these locations retain scant physical evidence of their existence. In North Queensland’s ‘Mining Belt’, for example (which stretches almost 1,000km from the Great Dividing Range in the east to the Northern Territory border in the west), there are few old buildings standing, due to extreme heat, prolonged wet seasons, and the voracious termites. What physical evidence that does remain includes concrete and brick foundations, mining equipment, and in the larger places, smelter and chimney ruins. The location

and history of most of the larger centres are reasonably well documented, but the smaller places can take some finding in the bush. The first point of reference for researching these places are the old town plans – but these can often be misleading. The reason for this is that most places started out as shanty towns, during gold, tin or copper ‘rushes’, with diggers living in tents along creek lines and adjacent to processing plants. By the time the Government Surveyors arrived to peg allotments and streets in neat predetermined geometric rows, the pattern of settlement was already well established. Hence some old plans, which looked great in the office of the Surveyor-General in Brisbane with their neat rectangular allotments and straight roads, in no way represent what remains on the ground today. Yet they can still be a helpful guide to the relic hunter. This is where the powerful tool of Google Earth comes in, as it is easily possible to overlay the old plans on a Google Earth screen capture – and align the surveyed town allotments with the actual terrain.

13 But of course it is the field visit which is the most important – we always treat the first visit to a new site as a ‘reconnaissance’ hunt, not expecting any great treasures, but to get the ‘feel’ of the place and the way the town is laid out. The old plans may help to determine where the ‘Government Precinct’ was located – this usually comprises the Police Station, Post Office, the School and in the larger towns, a Court House. Hotels, shops and places of entertainment such as ‘Billiard Rooms’ and dance halls can often be spread from one end of the town to the other, with no obvious order. Old photographs can be a great help here, as you can often pick out a natural landmark such as a prominent hill in the background to locate the actual spot on the ground today. Abandoned railway stations are a good starting point, as the old rail formations can usually be easily followed. Several years ago, we planned on visiting a large (by North Queensland standards) ghost town which existed from the late 1880s until the mid-1920s. The town was built around a copper mine and smelter, and boomed during the high copper price

14 period of the First World War, but faded in the ‘20s when post-war copper prices plummeted. The population peaked at around 2,000 and a large smelter with rail access was built to service mines in the area. Most of the smelter was dismantled and removed to a new location following abandonment of the town. The rail line was finally pulled up in the early 1960s. On our first day out, armed with a comprehensive town survey plan, we travelled to the very remote, semi-arid location confident we could accurately locate the main business centre, 4 or 5 hotel sites, and railway station. The station was the easiest to find – the concrete platform remained insitu. Further south there was a large cemetery (testament to the harsh environment and hazardous working conditions in the smelter). But beyond the station and the cemetery, the layout of the town on the ground bore no resemblance to the Government plan. And as the site was spread over such a large area – several kilometres in fact – it wasn’t until the afternoon of the second day that we discovered the ‘main street’ (discovered by Colleen, of course). This comprised a row of shop and hotel foundations, a church and a town well. The finds started coming in thick and fast once we were more familiar with the layout of the town. But the point here is that a single visit to an old site rarely does it justice. With all the research and energy we all put into finding those new ‘undetected’ sites, making a single visit and ‘giving up’ because the finds were a bit ‘skinny’ makes no sense. Keep going back, and back, and you will discover new landmarks and features on each occasion, and the great relics and old coins and medallions, bottles and memorabilia will come to light. The old town plans are a great research tool and starting point – but only the field visit and site survey, which may take many days on larger sites, will provide you with the information that will make your relic hunt that much more successful. The main thing is to get out there – go as often as you can and for as long as you can, and you will be rewarded! Colleen & Warren NQ Explorers NQExplorers.com NQExplorers on YouTube

The Art of Beach Hunting By Farenheit1100

If you have not tried beach hunting, you should. If you are lucky enough to live close enough to a popular tourist beach it can be very rewarding and fun also. Beach sand is much easier to dig (as long as you are using a scoop) than most dirt that you will ever find. There are three major areas to consider when you look at a beach. Area One: The Dry Sand The dry sand is the area where blankets and coolers end up. Here you will usually find items that have been lost for the most part on the same day or the day before you are hunting. It is a source for a lot of clad coins, toy cars, and anything else that people carry with them to the beach. There is however a down side to hunting these beaches. Most tourist beaches now have tractor towed sifting machines to remove the trash that people leave behind. I have been told that they do not remove all the coins and jewelry but I am not convinced. There is no way that this sifting does not remove some of the items. People were sifting beach sand long before metal detectors were invented. I if you look at some of the old photos, you will see sifting contraptions that were pulled through the dry sand and the wet sand at popular beaches in the 1920â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. They kind of looked like a lawnmower bagger pulled by people. I have actually found coins by just dragging a scoop through the sand on the beach. If you want to work the dry sand the best time to detect is just after the people leave and before the mechanical sifting starts. Also, a lot of beaches are built up to replenish the sand during the off season. This tends to bury items deeper that have been lost on the beach. That is why you tend to find fishing sinkers, lures, and hooks where they should not be found. Area Two: The Wet Sand The wet sand leading down to the water is a very fertile region if you are looking for jewelry. A very interesting fact is that peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fingers tend to shrink when they go into the water. It is like the old Seinfeld episode about the shrinkage factor. If

16 they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lose their jewelry in the water, they will lose it from the lubrication of the water combined with the shrinking of the fingers. If you watch people coming out of the water, they tend to sling their hands as they move which helps the rings come off. There is also one thing that I learned early in my detecting and that was to follow the black sand. If you look at any beach you will see a ribbon of black sand somewhere in the wet sand. The neat thing about the black sand is that it is heavier than the rest of the sand on the beach. Heavier items like coins and jewelry on the beach tend to eventually deposit themselves together in the black sand. Look for the black sand and work it. This area usually pays off. This area could never be worked by the old BFO (beat frequency oscillator) machines at all. You also could not get close to the water also with the first TR (transmit and receive) machines. The advent of the VLF (very low frequency) machines allowed this wet sand to be worked effectively for the first time. The best time to work this area is at the extreme part of the low tide. It gives you more of the wet sand to work. Area Three: The Water This area contains far more coins, jewelry, and other items that will ever be found in the dry sand or the wet sand. Think about it, the wave action pulls sand off the beach most of the time and metal items with it. The shrinkage factor also comes in play and the rings come off fingers with the lubrication of water and the swimming, horseplay, etc. When you have a vigorous wave action, you can actually see coins move in the surf. They do not roll. They tumble end over end. I know because I have seen them on many occasions Just for your information, they are hard to retrieve just like any moving target. Working the water by snorkeling, wading or with scuba gear is very rewarding. Your best aid to beach hunting: Storms Storms do more to reward you than you can imagine, especially the winter storms. Storms move tremendous amounts of sand around. They cause a lot of erosion at tourist beaches and make the replenishment of sand necessary. They throw heavy items up on the beach to make it easier for you to find them. Coins and jewelry can end up at the foot of eroded dunes or eroded levels of the beach itself. Items are also washed or blown from the dunes themselves in a storm and can be found at the foot of the eroded areas. Remember what I said earlier about the black sand, it usually ends up against the eroded dunes or eroded areas of the beach as the

17 result of a storm. On some areas you will find clumps of mud after storms. Be sure to check these with your detector as metal items tend to stick to this mud. You should also look around any evidence or old pilings or bulkheads because metal items tend to collect around them also. The items tend to act like riffles in a sluice at a gold mine. Also coins can be found with only your eyes when there is a lot of wind across the dry sand. The sand blows away leaving them sitting on a pedestal of sand, like they were waiting for you to come along and pick them up. So in closing, remember the best rule that I can offer you to help your beach hunting: â&#x20AC;&#x153;FOLLOW THE BLACK SANDâ&#x20AC;?. Farenheit1100

Electrolysis With the amount of rusty gold that I have been finding as of late, electrolysis is a great solution for those special rusty relics found to bring them back to their glory. Peter Gil., our own African Relic and Treasure Temerity Magazine author, has prepared a great tutorial on electrolosis. He has written it and it is available for anyone to view and learn from on his great website: http://petergill.webs.com/apps/forums/topics/show/3375154 Below is the text for the tutorial. Please go to the link above for the really informative photos so you can add electrolysis to your Grizzly Arsenal! Chad Everson Electrolysis Written by Peter Gill, website: http://petergill.webs.com September 2010. As a treasure hunter / detectorist one of the main jobs we have is the cleaning and preserving of our finds. Today I am going to be looking at just one of the ways in which we clean our relics, and that is Electrolysis. I have noticed on numerous forums that the question â&#x20AC;&#x153;How do we do electrolysisâ&#x20AC;? always keeps coming up. What I am going to do today is to tell you what electrolysis is, and then what equipment is needed, and finally how to do electrolysis. What is Electrolysis? Electrolysis is using an electric current that is passing through a solution of salt water, to remove the deposit that is left on the artifact being cleaned. Basically, this method is the reverse to electroplating. Instead of putting a coating onto the item, we change the polarity of the electricity to remove the deposit and fix the deposit onto the electrode, which is normally stainless steel. In electroplating, you connect the positive terminal to the work to be plated, in electrolysis you place the negative onto the work to be cleaned. What equipment is needed for electrolysis? The equipment needed to do electrolysis is very basic and easy to obtain. The set-up that I am going to show you is made using an ice cream container, a stainless steel plate for the electrode, 2x welding rods for the hanger bar, crocodile clips to hold the work in the solution, and a 12v DC power supply.

19 This is March’s list of channels to check out. All are newcomer to my lists. They are from all over the globe. Some are newcomers and others are seasoned veterans. So give them a look and some encouragement.

MrJohnson448 CarlaRedPill66 gregos75013 corazza67 POLEWAGGER tonio16ful TinaGsx1400 eyediggit2 Diggerww2 Hilbillejoe TheBottlefreak*** Wavesu6410 Nikoseyve btech2112 UrbanTreasureHunter Lmpoele April’s List This is another group of newcomers to my lists. There are several countries represented: United States, England, Sweden, and France. Check out their videos. Rate, comment, and subscribe if you like what you see. Some are new to detecting and some are seasoned hunters. All are enjoyable to watch.

aventyr1 DirtBarber jetskijohn2006 0BarberDan0 kevinniefer1*** metaldetectingoregon knrbalbi

greenwooddesign 45WEIDER Bonesquat digHistoryVideo MrMeangene21 MrSkooty1968 TactiFred 1981copey DetectMan77 May’s List Since my birthday is in May, I picked out a group of people that I would like to see get together and talk. I played the big Mega Millions lottery in hopes of winning so I could arrange a gathering of people from all over the globe. Unfortunately, I did not win.

MichaelSwan66*** NQExplorers*** krisje44 LostTreasureComAU REDDIRTDIGGER*** GrizzlyGroundswell*** Greenwooddesign IrocOn2 Cajuncoinhunter CoinageBritannia MrDreamlandboy MrVollenberg PeaceHavens*** MrSilver9759*** NicktheMainer*** Janhyooz***

*** Temerity Magazine Author & Supporter

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“Caves & Claws” and “Let’s go Digging” submit an article for the August Temerity Magazine to editor@TemerityMagazine.com The two winners will be chosen from all article submissions.

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What do you call the most significant find of your relic and treasure hunting career? I thought of naming this great stone after my great grandfather, E. W. Everson, who came to this country in 1866 at the age of 8, but it just did not seem right. I thought then that it should be named after the owner of the property, or better yet, his son, Kiet. But he is now selling the property so it just did not seem right. Then I remembered the name of the boat that E. W. as a young

child crossed the Atlantic with and it fit: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Spes et Fidesâ&#x20AC;? or Faith and Hope. Upon Faith and Hope everything rests and can be overcome. It is both bitter and sweet that I am bringing my finds from my research to the world here in Temerity Magazine. Bitter because of the business agreement being nullified by the land owners actions and sweet that I can finally share what I have been holding in now for a few years. The Spes et Fides Stone is a masterwork. It has runes, images, and shadow signs all over this enormous boulder. Depending upon the direction of the Sunlight, this stone comes alive or hides quiet, revealing its brilliance only to those who are fortunate enough to witness the light and shadow play. It still amazes me, as an artist, the skill and talent it took to create such a master work. If you remember last year, the land owner and myself announced

that I would be hunting his private property near where the famous Kensington Runestone was found by Olof Ohman in 1898 on his farmstead. Well, the Spes et Fides Stone was found there along with almost 200 other stones that not only share in the runes, images and shadow signs, but also form a large land effigy of what looks like a dolphin when all were gps located. I will share more information on this site and what I have found in future articles and the documentary and book I am planning on writing that will wrap up these finds with a bow. I will not be working again with the current land owner, but would love to continue this quest with the next. This year I am excavating each stone and documenting them as well as the other stones I am finding buried within this grand structure. It is a ton of work, but each visit the pieces of the puzzle come together and those that created this master work are beginning to make themselves known. Although now with the land (Continued on page 67)

All-metal mode or not? By: Peter Gill Email: pgvhome@yahoo.com Webpage: http://petergill.webs.com YouTube:

Basically, what I did was to get a reading for each of the items on their own before testing, then placing one item on top of the lid, and the other item beneath the lid, and taking another reading. Then I switched the items around and took another reading.

http://www.youtube.com/user/pgill174

When I go metal detecting, I always detect with the Iron indicators removed. We have lots of trash in the ground here in South Africa, as I am sure many of you also do? The question is what am I missing by detecting with Iron switched off? So I carried out an experiment with a couple of different objects, looking at how these objects mask each other when there is more than one item in a hole made The coin underneath the lid and the nail on top from different materials. From the results, I hope that some of us including me will change the way in which we detect. The equipment used for this experiment is very basic. A plastic lid and the different metal objects and the detector, which is an Ace 250.

Reading of the nail showing Iron 1st segment

A nail, pull-tab, lead washer, and a bronze penny with the lid on the side

Reading of the Bronze Penny

With the nail on top of the coin, the reading is showing iron on the 2nd segment. The coin has disappeared which for me is a lost find. What is amazing is that the size of the Penny is just under 1 Âź inches in diameter / 30mm which is a large object which is lost. With the objects switched around, the Penny is the most dominant item shown

This is the reading of the Penny on top showing the Penny 1 segment higher

An Iron nail with an aluminium pull-tab

28 ground is full of iron signals due to mineralization, then you need to remove the Iron settings, otherwise detect in all-metal mode so that you do not miss out on some great finds. Two different metals in the same hole, completely confuses the detector. I know this is not a long article, but I hope that it will be an informative article and will help you to become a better detectorist. The aluminium pull-tab reading

If we remember that small gold rings are recorded the same as a pull-tab, it will now be seen that the pull-tab with the nail is now showing the same as a bronze penny. Switch the items around with the nail on top, the pull-tab will then read in the Iron range (2nd segment), which would mean that the gold ring will not be found if we do not dig Iron. With the lead washer, the readings are exactly the same as the Bronze Penny. I think the lesson learnt here is that if the

Good luck with your hunts, and find that goldâ&#x20AC;Ś.

MY HERO . . .

my pioneer aunt, Jessie Belle Menten Morrow by Jeanine Menton Reckinger

proof that a place of that name existed otherwise.) Hi Frankie, How do you like this snapshot? Some class to our method of doing things. This is the largest timber wolf I heave ever seen. A fine and lovely. Here’e the same to you and yours. Fondly, Jessie”

Let me introduce to you a lady that I never met, but, all my life wished that I had. Jessie Belle Menten was born to Peter William and Ella Davis Menten at The note on the back of this picture their farm home on Lake Washington, Blue Earth County, MN in November says: of 1888, the sixth child born to this “Mr. Frank Menten (her brother) couple. There were seven younger children including two who died as Forestdale, MN (believed to be her infants. name for the area around her, no

I was given copies of a few pages from one of the 24 diaries she had. The dates are from 1909 to 1920 and I have placed them here as a way of letting you get better acquainted with Jessie in her own words; this lady for whom I have such respect, but, also the need to learn even more about her!! Some of her comments are very humorous, some are just ho hum; but, it is her own style of writing that adds yet another dimension to this writing. Jessie grew up in a generation when all the kids helped with the farming, housekeeping and any other chores that were given to them whether it was caring for animals, weeding the vegetable gardens, doing field work or helping in the kitchen. This family

32 was no different and Jessie became proficient at anything and everything she set out to accomplish. With this beginning it is no wonder, then, that she was able to live her life out never being unwilling to tackle anything or anybody, or for that matter, any animal!! I don’t think that having three brothers living in close proximity had anything to do with her decision not to return to Mankato to teach school; but, rather, stake a claim for a homestead; although, they were her reason for going north in the first place.

history here. Jessie’s father, Peter Wm Menten’S, parents are Adam and Maria Anna (Sorger) Menten born in Baden, Prussia with a few earlier generations shown in my records as part of an accomplished “task of love;” that being said . . . I have much more work to do there!! The Mentens and the Davises had a serious love of music with both Jessie’s grandfathers being fiddle players: Benjamin Franklin Davis, was a left-handed fiddle player!!

Peter was born in 1854 at Janesville, Rock County , WI to Adam (B. abt 1827) and Maria (Sorger) Menten. The family, including Adam’s father Martin L, and three other siblings, arrived in the US from Prussia in April of 1853, settled for a short time in Wauwautosa, WI where his older brother, Frank, and his family had arrived and settled earlier. They moved on to Janesville, WI where he worked in a lumber company for a couple of years before moving to the “Kasota Prairie” in about 1856. He farmed and worked for others as a general laLet me first introduce Jessie’s family borer when he could. In 1860 he members to you: Ella Davis’s parents enlisted with the MN Mounted Rangare Benjamin Franklin Davis and Reers stationed out of Ft. Ridgely. He becca Sweeney from Pike County, Illiwas supposed to be in charge of the nois, with several generations going hanging of the Native Americans at backward having been researched Mankato; however, he and his men all thoroughly by other members of the got drunk the night before assuming earlier families so will not go into that

if they were all locked up there would be no hanging . . . they were concerned that those who were being hanged were not necessarily the ones who had been on the rampage. This did not prevent the hanging from happening right on time and even though he was demoted in rank for this action, he never regretted his decision not to participate. When Adam and Maria left the farm, he built a new house at Mankato. Shortly after that he had a stroke that slowed him down considerably prior to his death, so did not live many years in this new home. Maria sold the house to her daughter when she went to live at the Old Soldierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Home at Minneapolis where she died about 1918.

Adamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eldest son, Peter, was 11 years old when he knew his father was to be in Mankato so he went by horse into town to try to see him. Consequently, he witnessed the hanging of the Native Americans at Mankato, but never found his father since he was in the brig. He married Ella Davis who had moved with her parents from Pike County, IL. Ellaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother had died just prior to this marriage, so this young couple lived on the Davis farm until her younger siblings were grown and gone. Their eldest son, Elmer Ellsworth, was born on this farm. Benjamin sold the farm and moved to MO and Peter and Ella eventually

34 moved to the farm on Lake Washington where the rest of their children were born.

“strike out on his own.” He worked in the logging camps in the winter months and had his little farm to go home to in the spring when the logging operation shut down. Some of the logging camps didn’t have bunkhouses so the men always went home at night. He married Florence Agnes Davis in about 1909 and they had seven children: Vivian, Carl, Doris, Maurice, Arnold, Clifford and Norman. In November of 1918 she was eight months pregnant and contracted the dreaded influenza. She went into labor birthing a stillborn little red haired girl. Al left to get a neighbor lady who was also a midwife and who lived about three miles away, as he was needing her help. It was a blusJessie’s oldest brother, Elmer Ellsworth Menten, born in 7O, died at age tery day, turned into blizzard condi22. Even at that young age he was Professor of Music in the Mankato area, teaching music to many which included a variety of instruments. In addition, he worked at the St. Peter State Hospital as a nurse. He had arrived at work one morning when he began to feel ill, a doctor examined him indicating that his appendix had ruptured, and there was nothing he knew to do for him. They hospitalized him and he died there five days later. Albert Lea was her next brother, born March 31, 1881 – he always joked about “if I had born one day later, I would have been a fool!” . He eventually went north to Remer area to

35 tions and he wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t able to get back erally slammed the door on his foot!!. for three days. During that time Flor- . ence died. The eldest of the children, Vivian, was 11 years old; but, following actions she had watched her mother and father make, she tied a rope from the house door to the barn door to ensure that she could safely go back and forth as necessary to milk the cow; she had the children carry in as much wood as they could store inside their small log house; there were root crops stored under the beds to cook so she stayed busy keeping the children warm and fed until her father returned. At one point she was followed from the barn to the house by a wolf wanting that fresh warm milk, she lit-

My father, Ernest Lon, was the next child born to Peter and Ella in March of 1883. He was born with cataracts on both eyes and lived his entire life with limited vision as those cataracts were never considered operable. He did not allow this to hold him back, however, and he worked for farmers, he played the fiddle/violin with whoever asked or wherever he could. There were members of the Menten family that always had a band wheter in the Mankato area or the Remer/ Deer River, MN area. Peter had taken both Ernest and Albert to the same music teacher for violin lessons, and been told he would be wasting his

36 Ernest married Grace May Root in August of 1915, they had ten children: Helen b. in SD, Elmer, Marieta, Harold, Elsie, Donald, Marcella, Verla, Jeanine and Carol, all born in the area around Deer River, Remer and Grand Rapids. Ernest and Grace (she also played violin) played for barn dances, wedding parties, etc., on and off over the years, they had a White sewing machine dealership for several years including sewing machine repair, which my mother was proficient at. They raised large gardens and sold

money to bring Ernest because he could never see to read the sheet music. Ernest went along with Al to lessons anyway and learned a tremendous lot just by listening. He loved playing the fiddle, especially loved all of the marches written by John Philip Sousa who he had seen at a performance at a time when Ernest and his family lived at St. Louis, MO for a couple of years. During my years growing up there were many gatherings in our homes and those of others, and there were always â&#x20AC;&#x153;jam sessionsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in one room and the women fixing food in another!

37 vegetables, he was a licensed auctioneer for about ten years until rheumatic fever put him in bed for three years. Before cars were that popular and people were transitioning from horse and buggy, he would buy a new car and drive it until it sold, making some money on the deal; then do the same thing over again. He helped everyone he knew with harvesting in the fall. Sometimes they got free rent to live in a house while getting it painted and fixed up in whatever ways needed work. That is the case where I was born . . . it was a house with three cabins and rental boats that had been empty for several years. As he got the cabins and boats repaired and ready to rent, he was allowed to keep that money to use for further expenses on the refurbishing project. It was later named “Walter’s Pines” and carried that name for many years. I recently learned that we moved from that place in anger when the owners (who had inherited the property, and who lived in Indiana) offered to pay my father $10,000 for one of my older sisters since they could not have children of their own!!! Grace’s parents are Mary Mae Davis and James Root both born in Michigan. Mary became blind as an infant, either born blind, or from a treatment done to her eyes at birth. James worked for a sawmill and a steam boiler had exploded burning his face and eyes severely, leaving him with only the ability to determine daylight

from dark until in his 80s when he announced one day that he could no longer see daylight. Together they raised three children, having lost the eldest as an infant. Their children, Walter, Clyde and Grace, were born in Michigan. James managed to find many different kinds of jobs that he was able to do as a laborer so support his family; along with the fact that this again was a very musical family and that talent helped to support them as well. James had a beautiful tenor voice, Mary played the organ learning her Braille music with one hand and memorizing, then switching to the other hand. Walter played sax and clarinet, Clyde played trumpet and Grace played violin. This family would play for things such as church

38 affairs, barn dances, wedding dances, county fair, street corners . . . whatever it took. In 1907 they set out by covered wagon and moved to Alliance, NB and although I have done lots of research in that area, I have not yet discovered what the drawing card was there. In 1910 they moved to MN as James had a cousin who owned a hotel and livery stable at Grand Rapids and had promised to give him work if he came there. Am not sure what their reason was for moving north and west of Deer River but James and Walter did work in the logging camps there. They lived in close proximity to both Jessieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and Ernestâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s homesteads; consequently the music within that neighborhood became a common

denominator.

Along came Susie May, the first little girl!! But she quickly learned to live that rough and tumble lifestyle growing up with her brothers!! My dad told about how he and Susie would sometimes hurry with their barn chores on Sunday mornings, ride bareback to the Marysville Catholic Church for Mass, then back to finish chores before their father might find out they were missing!! Susie married Claude Clark Payne who was a close neighbor, he was a

39 graduate of the U of M in agriculture, and they lived in the area for abeing few years with some of their children born in MN. From there they lived in KC MO and in St. Petersburg, FL, where he owned a grocery store. They returned to Kansas City, MO with their children: Virginia, Bernal, Arvid, Norma and Maximillian. They both died there.

had been raised on farms, they followed that lead and raised their family on the same farm where Ida had grown up from the age of ten. This farm was just a few miles from Frank’s childhood home, and he was able to start out his farming operation with the acquisition of Peter Menten’s herd. Their children are Ethel, Stanley, Glenn, Arline, Vera and Wayne, as of now Arline is the only living member of that family.

The next child is the subject of this writing, Jessie Belle Menton born November of 1888, I will expound more Frederick William Menten was born fully on her later!! in October 1891 and though I’ve never heard what his cause of death was, my father told me how very hard it The next is Francis Benjamin, born was for him he was only 11 years old. June 1887, who married Ida Oehler. It was very hard for this family to lose He loved farming and because both this precious child in May of 1894. Just one month prior to the death of little Freddie, Judd Menten was born and died, April 16, 1894. Cannot even imagine how much this event along with Freddy’s death the following month, must have torn this young family in many directions.

Ebenezer Ellsworth was born October 1895, he married Hazel Bedbury from Mankato area. Their first child was born there, before moving to Geddes, SD where he worked for his stepfather, Edmond Montagne, from about 1914 to 1917 when they moved to the Remer, MN area where they farmed until retiring. They had five children:

Eleanor b. Mankato, Orville who was born in SD, Lyle, Wesley and Leora born in Remer area.

then civilian shipping . . . he lived his life “on the water.” He married Delaware Morgan about 1927 somewhere on the East Coast, but due to a job transfer lived most of their married Bird Dewey is the next child and life in CA. Their only child Joan Ida, though Grampa had written his name was born in 1930 at Ventura, CA. in the family Bible as ‘Admiral Dewey’ that apparently did not go over well with Gramma!! When Bird retired he bought a farm at Soon as he could enlist he joined the Becker, MN and did set up a farming operation. I can remember my dad Merchant Marines, then the Navy, and uncles exclaiming about the gran-

diosity of that farm noting that it had a â&#x20AC;&#x153;three cupola barn!â&#x20AC;? Soon the sea was calling him and he was back on the water on the East Coat, Eventually Del and Joan moved to GA after she had graduated from Becker high school and had attended business college in Minneapolis, MN. At this point Bird was second mate working with a young man from NY, Walter Egan, who he eventually brought home to meet his daughter . . . Joan and Walter eventually married, Del and Bird moved to Tampa, Florida, Del losing her battle with caner there a short time later. Bird moved back to Remer, MN where he lived for several years, ena-

42 bling him to spend plenty of time with his brothers and miscellaneous nieces and nephews. He eventually moved back to Tampa, FL where he lived with his daughter and her family . . . interestingly, Joan and Walter’s three sons followed in the footsteps of both their father and their grandfather . . . three more mariners in the family. Madison Theodore is the last child born to this marriage. Peter and Ella were divorced when he was a little boy; so, Madison, Bird and Eben spent time between their older siblings’ homes as their mother moved from one to the next but also living some of the time at Mankato. Eben

remained there and Bird went into the Merchant Marines when their mother took a job housekeeping in SD for Edmund Montagne, who was widowed with small children to care for, in about 1911. Madison moved there with his mother and attended school there. Edmund owned a “chicken ranch” and he hired both Eben (who was married and had one child) and Ernest. In 1915 Ernest returned to MN to marry my mother, making their home at Geddes, SD, where my oldest sister was born. By the 1920 census Ernest and Grace and family were living at Remer, MN, Edmund had sold his farm in SD and he, Ella and his children moved to Minneapolis, MN where she had sisters. Eben also moved his family to the Remer area. Madison followed his brother Bird into the “life on the water” as soon as he could. He joined the Merchant Marines but also was in civilian shipping for many years, primarily working for an oil company and sailing on tanker ships, off the east coast but for a number of years until the company bought another company on the west coast and he was transferred there. His brother, Bird and Del, were transferred as well and they were livig at Venture, CA. He met and married Elizabeth Kohler from New jersey. They had been transferred to CA before their son,

43 Theodore Madison, was born. On the 1930 census his mother, Ella and Edmund Montagne, were living with them at San Antonio, CA in Los Angeles County. After they returned to New Jersey their son, Ronald, was born. After retiring from shipping, they owned a confectionary, stationary, cigar store until their retirement, when they moved back near his birth home at Mankato, MN. He got a job working as an engineer caring for the heating systems at Mankato State College

for a number of years, during which time he was able to get better acquainted with all his grandkids!! They were another musical family so that seems to be a strong thread woven through all of the families descending from both the Menten and Davis early ancestors, to say nothing of all those who married into these families. After the divorce Peter also married again, to Hulda Hansen Baumgardner who had been widowed some time before. They were five children born

45 of this second marriage for both of them: Clara, Peter, Hulda, Pershing and Bonita. They were all very musical and it might well be that this was the common denominator which kept both families of Peter very close, even though miles separated them.

until her parents divorced then moved with her mother and younger siblings into town. I do not know whether she had taught at country school and then transitioned into town or if she had always taught in a town school.

For awhile Susie and Eben lived in the Now that you have ‘met’ Jessie’s fam- area so they spent as much time toily members, I will tell you more gether as they could. One spring about her life. After growing up on when school was out, she decided to the Menten family farm and develop- go “up north” near Remer and Deer ing many skills she would need to sur- River to visit her older brothers, Albert vive, she taught school in the Manand Ernest , who had headed for the kato/Lake Washington area logging operations some years earlier. By this time Eb and Hazel’s family were living nearby on their farm. No Jessie continued to live on family farm exact date is known to me about this

visit; however, she was residing with her parents in 1900, with her mother and younger siblings at Kasota in 1905 (which narrows down the date her parents were divorced); and, by 1910 she was head of household in Itasca County - she had already ‘staked her claim.’ She had no intention of returning to southern MN after seeing all those big pine forests and the beautiful sunsets on those lakes . . . she was drawn to the north as a moth to a flame!!

ries which grew heavily in the area, when he broke into a clearing and came on all the yellow pansies, he knew that he was in the right place . . . he knew that this had been the site on which her little log cabin had originally been built. It is said that Ernest and Al helped her fell the trees on her property in order to build her log cabin. That makes sense to me, as many of the pictures I have from that time period show the men leaning on their axes and helping various families to fell the trees necessary to get enough materials to build their dream homes.

My father told me that she loved yellow pansies and that she had a lot of them planted around her “shack” as he called her little log cabin in the woods. He said that many years later, In pictures of both the outside and probably in the 1940s, when he went to visit her claim and to pick cranber- the inside of her little cabin, you can

see how much work it was to make a clearing on her property; but, she was up for the task!! When you went inside, her little cabin definitely had a womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s touch about it . . . all the niceties of a proper ladyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home . . . and probably in the little house out back as well!!

I have no evidence in her case; but, do have pictures of her brother, Ernest, helping other neighbors in the area to down their trees and make ready to build their homes. I never heard her brothers Eb and Al talk about her taking to living in the woods; but, I would bet that they were in on the building process as well even though Jessie worked many hard and long weeks in readying materials needed to they lived some distance away . . . this build herself a little log cabin on her was their baby sister, after all!! It was stake. And what she did not know be- a time in history when there was no question, if you saw someone looking fore, she quickly learned and one of at the land, you picked up your axe the first was you need to let the tree age for some time before peeling the and walked over to see what you could do to help. logs.

48 could always rely on her brothers if she needed assistance. Because of her nature; however, she rarely did that, she toughed things out, she was her own doctor, she was her own seamstress, she was the â&#x20AC;&#x153;whole enchiladaâ&#x20AC;? as from an old saying. It was a given that even though Madison and Bird may come to visit her during the summer months; made no difference to her, they had school work every day no matter what. Once she had a roof over her head, she looked around the area for some kind of work in order to take care of her needs; but, through it all, she

I knew her brother Bird very well and he said it was always such a joy to go

spend time with her, and that even though they had to work very hard to get through every day, it was always nice to be working alongside her, she made things fun, she had a wit and true sense of who she was and could bring out the best in you with little or no effort. He said that Madison also loved going there and did so at every opportunity. There were times that the younger brothers might be with her that she would be invited to move to someone’s home to home school their kids when someone was sick or for some reason they could not attend the nearest school and it might for days or for weeks or seasons. She mentions this once in her diary entries.

Bird also told me that there were always rest times built into the day too, it wasn’t just all hard work. Jessie played several instruments as did other of her siblings and so it was not uncommon to have a musical jamboree and play for the wild animals!! I have to include a little side story here, even though it is not a part of Jessie’s life it does go back to the wild animals responding to music . . . so we will fast forward to Bird’s life . . . during his sailing years he purchased an accordion in Italy and brought it into the USA in 1947. In the late 1970s when he had returned to MN from FL for a few years, he gave that accordion to me.. He explained “those two bellows on the front there that have been

50 it in the back seat and ran around and got in the front seat and left the area as fast as I could! I guess the bellows must have gotten bent over in the tussle.” I cannot tell you the hours I have enjoyed that accordion, it is a beautiful instrument!! It is hard to put events of Jessie’s life in chronological order so I won’t even try to do that. The things that are known is that she was a very hard working lady, she was never without her sidearm, a 399 caliber Smith and Wesson pistol, and her long gun, an 1898 Marlin 30-30. One of Jessie’s grandson told me something I had not heard from anyone before and that is she had to cut off the end of the gun barrel as she was so short and the barrel kept sticking in the ground or snow!! bent over, well, they don’t leak so don’t worry about that.” I asked what the heck he had done to bend them over like that and he said “well, I had been to your folks at Cohasset for the afternoon and was on my home at Remer when i decided I’d stop alongside the road and take out the accordion and play to see if any animals really would come out of the woods. I started to hear something in the underbrush and knew that something was approaching me; but, once I saw that it was a black bear coming to me I turned and tried to scramble up the embankment with that accordion on, got to the car, pulled it off and threw

It makes sense when you consider she was in the woods about 15 miles north of Deer River, MN very close to access onto Bowstring Lake, no close neighbors, and until my dad staked his claim about a mile away, she had no help anywhere near her, so emergency situations just simply were not allowed. Whether male or female, you could not live in this country without protection from animals that might not wish to share the land and its resources with you!! I have all the documentation in her

51 days out of a calendar year. At one point she went to ND to find work and was gone longer than allowed, nearly losing her claim. Her neighbors were more than willing to sign documentation stating that she did live there but had to go elsewhere to find work for a temporary time; consequently, she was allowed to stay on the land in good standing. Other rules were that each time you submitted a completed form, it must contain explanation of yet more improvement to the property. There was a time element involved with how soon you had to be living on the prop-

file pertaining to the acquisition and ownership of her land patent claim for 158.59 acres of land in Itasca County, MN, dated May 6, 1912. I cannot substantiate just when Jessie changed the spelling of her surname from Menten to Menton, but she signed most of those forms by the latter. In those days it may not have been necessary to file legal documents in order to change name spellings . . . that is not something I have yet learned about. The US Government required completed informational and statistical forms periodically to continue eligibility to hold this claim, one of them being that you were not allowed to be gone from the property for over 30

52 erty, so building some kind of shack or cabin or house was one of the first big hurdles. Much of the country being given to homesteaders was heavily treed land so if you were going to plant crops and raise cattle, clearing more land was also of extremely high priority. This was all back breaking manual work, nothing came easy, it was long days and the nights may have been just as long until some kind of shelter was acquired.

as a whole I will say I enjoyed myself only “some people haven’t the mind while on a pleasure trip to be “good.” July 15, 1910 Got a scythe and cut all the grass in sight and brush. I declare it looks better and talk about flowers. I have the swellest flower gardens along the house, believe me!

August 1, 1910 And all is well. Am not feeling the best in the hand. The kid Bud is with me. The following entries from her diary Came July 22, found me in town and consewill be in italics, this is Jessie speak- quently had to wait five days for me. To boot am ing to us from the past. There are ref- now the happy possessor of a dog named erences to “the kid” or to “Bud” and “Skeeter” and two small kittens, Snooks and that would be her little brother Bird!! Ikey, quite a trio. Had a card from E saying he Her references to “E” are my dad, is on his way home. Suppose he will be here Ernest Menton. Virgie is her niece, soon. daughter of Susie Menton and Claude Payne. She refers to her homestead as “the woods” or “the farm.” “G” is August 18, 1910 Virgie’s birthday be gum, reference to one of her guns. and may all her days be as cloudless as this one. As for me, I just got up at 1:p.m. for the first time in two days. Pretty sick. Some better now. “Doins of 1910” Aunt Jenny is at Dolly’s looking fine. Went to May 7, 1910: Well, here I am back in the wood see her Sunday. Anna P. too gave me the glad after spending nearly two months at Mankato and hand. Ernest will be at home again after the in Spooner, Wisconsin. The woods looks good to 20th. Poor cuss. Wish him better luck. me. Now suppose I will have to stick . WHEW! Rail fence philosophy: “The owl isn’t as smart as the bluejay but because he keeps his mouth shut July 12, 1910 After spending two weeks at the he has created a reputation for wisdom far beyond lake am again on the “farm.” Deer were very his deserts.” Surely that saying was penned plentiful at the lake and after slaying one of the before our present owl was in existence. For at elusive beasts returned home feeling OK. Taken times one can only sleep with a gun, they are

forced to desist. September 2nd, 1910 And the melancholy days are come. Think the name is right be gum. Rained all night and part of today. Have had one frost so far, otherwise weather conditions are just about OK. Al was up and spent two days then took Bud home with him. Al spent a week with me. All is quiet again. Skeeter met his waterloo. G acted as executor. Good job. Also had put in a good day’s work for herself, she had written on the back “a lassoed a skunk and hung him on a pole. Once good day’s work!” She sun dried a lot more, good job. of meat, fowl, fish and likely vegetables and fruit too . . . for those months during the year when she was not able October 9 1910 Here we are at Deer River. to have fresh food. She canned as Just got back from a two week expedition on B.R. much as she could store, she stored as (Boy River). Al and family are okay and I had many root crops for winter use as she one good time. Didn’t kill a deer this time. But had space for. many. . . In this picture you can see that she

January 3, 1911 Well, here we are, in a brand New Year, one more year has passed into

54 oblivion and nothing more accomplished. Present conditions are as follows: Three puchas doing battle to see whose boss. Foreman crazy. A veto on supplies and peace makers strike. Everything is lovely with me. January 27, 1911 Friday morning after securing my check which is two days more than is due me. One day after or Star’s (logging camp) sold out I walks out at 7 a.m. leaving them about a week without a cook with 50 men, served them right.

3 feet on the level, Seen Mrs. Ratmark’s boy. He’s a dandy. Camps are running. We can get supplies there. Thursday Eb will be up. Was some surprise when I “arrove” out the claim to find a brand new well, all finished. Martin M. is alright. Alright (she has a cousin Martin Menten) March 10, 1911 Well here we are in March and the snow is really going away. Seems like a joke. But it ain’t no be. Been going to school three weeks, from Madden’s place. Kid and myself. Everything is fine and lovely for us I can see.

January 28, 1911 Seen Deer River today, looks same as ever. Paid my debts, am on my feet once more. April 1, 1911 And it looks like winter still, about 5 inches snow. Just spent a week in Deer River, had a fairly good time. Were in town all February 3, 1911 Am on the farm, kind of the time of course. Am leaving NC’s place for like the change, think it will do me good. Snow, home. “Gee, I’m glad I’m free!”

55 Feb 2 6

Money spen for supplies

Feb 28 To mc’dise

$15.00

Overalls

1.00

Glasses

.50

Mar 3 Mc’dis

3.50

April To cash

35.00 $55.00

meeting at Lynd’s today, about 500 men on the scene. Monday June 5, 1911 Just spent about three weeks at Al’s, of course they have a boy. Ernest “arrove” from the sunny south while at Al’s and we all came home together. (Maurice Menton was born April 24, 1911 to Albert Lea and Florence (Davis) Menton)

April 5, 1911 and winter still, 6 inches snow last night . . . guess we never will have summer again. Am thoroughly disgusted, seems to me this life is only a farce anyway. Wonder why ma June 26, 1911 Big day today at Danielsons. “The blow that killed” & father, not sure be don’t come up. gum. One week fun for us. Bought a launch and brought it to B.B. landing. But Sr.G. is a April 14, 1911 Bud is in town today and just got thing of the past something better in sight. Suits me to a T. a check for $20 from Ernest, seems like a joke but its true regardless be gum. Al wants me to come up Guess I’ll have to go, haven’t heard July 18, 1911 We are all out at the lake. Boy from Ma yet. Wonder what’s up. But that Eb River Everyone seems to be happy. Yesterday I spree is a D….pt drove the mower several times around the field and even went so far as to use the pitch fork in shocking some hay. Some class to us I guess. April 23, 1911 Just got back today frm a week stay at Superior. Got my watch again, some class to Barney Bob. He sure is a dandy guy. September 14, 1911 Everything of the past has Then I like motor cars too. come to a rare finish. But I am happy as a clam. Will take delight in showing the roundApril 30, 1022 Making garden this past heads where to head in at. Will prove up week. Some farmer me. September 17, 1911 Arrive Cass Lake at the Endion Hotel and it is raining. Taken as a whole it is not overly “pleasant.” But am writMay 10, 1911 Everyone is happy ad Ernest is ing some letters then think I will retire for the filing on some land near me. Will probably have night. The royal bunch are here. Had supper one friend in the country at least . Invited R.V. with them and they sure are delightful people. up for the 4th of July, hope he comes. Town

September 19 Susie and Claude are here spending several days. We are all enjoying the simple life and Claude succeeded in killing some ducks. Bud and myself are going to Mankato for awhile. \September 28, 1911 Have proved up at last. Gee!! I’m glad I’m free. Think I will spend Mrs. K. for 10 cents per pint. hunting season on Bow String lake. Sprained my foot last evening but it will be OK in a day or two. (“prove up” might mean she is now October 9, 1911 Am looking for Frank and Ida eligible to yet the land patent deed to her then I’m going with when they go home. But they homestead claim) say they are not coming so its me for the west. October 4, 1911 Mrs. Kennedey and Jack were with me to ______ and got my fruit sold to

November 11, 1911 Spent over three weeks very pleasantly at Uncle Sid’s. (her mother’s

57 brother lived just east and south of Jessie’s homestead) Have been in Devils Lake since Wednesday – today is Sat. (I think) am at Huesgans (Harrigans) and gee I hope something happens pretty soon. Would like to see uncle awfully well. Just got a letter from Eb saying “if you go on the rocks just write me for fifty” He sure is some kid be gum.

one to drive a team or shoe a horse, she was your lady to call!! The men lovingly referred to her as “Big Red” or “Big Jack” depending on which camp she was working in. This must have been their sense of humor showing because she was a very petite woman with long dark auburn hair. Remember the information regarding her Marlin rifle barrel?

December 5, 1911 And everything is as it should be far as I can see. Am night cooking in The Aberdeen – I guess Devil’s Lake will do for awhile at least. Got a small purse from Barney Bob. He is one trump. Don’t hear from uncles very often. Sorry to hear of Julia’s misfortune. Have been working since Nov 18, at $40 per month. Not perhaps cause near being quarantined with scarlet fever.

I do not know how close the logging camps were located to her, but it seems apparent that she did not always live there for lengths of time. During the summers she cooked in hotels in the area of Deer River, Bena, Ball Club, Cass Lake and one summer went as far away as ND to find a hotel cooking job.

at some point traded her boat for a December 20, 191 Christmas is nearly here once larger one and became a “for hire” to take people on guided fishing trips or more. Never was crazy about it either. Had a hunting trips. They would pack a card from mother saying “Do come home for lunch, and spend the day on the lake, Christmas” nothing doing, am too far away. spending some time going along the shoreline to show her clients as much January 2, 1912 Well, Christmas is now a thing of the wonderful area as she could, of the past and we are really started in a brand new year. If I reach youse once think I am good for the balance of the time. OK. Received a few nice presents Christmas and everything is fine and lovely. She cooked in the logging camps during the winter months but when there were men sick and they needed some-

going ashore to introduce them to Ernest and Clare. Stopped in Grand Rapids people she might know along the way. overnight also seen friends in Deer River and Cass Lake. January 18, 1912, she married Sam Morrow. Even her grandchildren have never heard just how, or where, it was that she met Sam. In her diary entries I found two references to “Barney Bob” and I am suspicious that might have been reference to Sam since I find him on the 1910 census living at Devils Lake, ND working at a restaurant. January 29, 1912 “I see everything differently now” was married January 18. Happy as a clam be gum. Wish I had done so long ago. April 7, 1912 Went out to the claim – seen

April 23, 1912 Just got settled in Antler. Like it well enough so far. Don’t hear from the folks much. Guess they are OK though.

mund Montague who owned a large chicken farm near Geddes, SD)

Their oldest child, Forrest Ward Morrow was born May of 1913 at Minot, North Dakota (he died September 28, 1945 at Cook County hospital, IL as the result of an accident aboard a Went bump at Antler and left about September 3. Came to Rugby and went threshing. Was off grain ship which had permanently paralyzed him some months earlier). my feed for two months and boarded at the Northern Hotel. Some fierce, I guess. Left Rugby about the 3rd of November, got settled in Minot November 6, 1912. Sam is working on the road. Bud came up December 3rd. Ma is with Ernest on the claim.

During the months at Minot, not only did both Bird and Madison come and spend time with her; but so did her mother who was work both of Jessie’s brothers had a vacation September 10, 1913 Still in Minot. Sam is visit with her family working uptown. We have a boy four months old. as did her mother. Everything is fine and lovely. Ma is in South It is a Dakota. (Jessie’s mother was housekeep- puzzle ing and caring for the children of Edto as-

but the heat is awful. Forrest is a healthy little redhead over two years old and can say everything. Ma has been happily married a year this fall. October 1, 1915 We now have Howard Stanton. Came September 3rd, weigh 9.5 pounds, a fine healthy little chap. Two boys now and may they certain what took Jessie and Sam to Florida, it seems it must have been just a vacation to begin with; it may have been a visit that turned out to be a life changing event. Jessie and Forrest had gone alone but after some time passed Sam joined them there . . . did he move their possessions there at that time? Who can say for sure. August 20, 1915 Well here we are in Florida. Came by auto and train October 20, 1914. Lived at St. Petersburg two months then Sam came from Minot and we all moved to Clearwater. Claude is in the grocery business, Sam is delivering for him. I like the country quite well,

62 be a credit to us. November 7, 1915 My birthday, 27 years old and I feel every year of it. Have rheumatism mighty bad.

or the absence of relatives, that calls a person to a certain area; but, they can be a huge influencing factor.

Samuel James Morrow was born to Martha and Hugh Morrow about 1888 Howard Stanton Morrow was born in Wisconsin. By the 1910 census they September 3, 1915 at Clearwater, Flor- were living at School District 17, Valida; died January 10, 1983 Stephenson, ley County, Montana. Sam, along MI). Sam had been living and work- with his older brother Herbert, was ing in North Dakota prior to their farming with his father, there were marriage and apparently they preeight younger siblings with their parferred this area over staying any ents as well. longer in and around the area of The January 9, 1920 census, shows Jessieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s homestead. Sometimes it is not the pull of relatives living nearby, Sam and Jessie and two little boys living at Cuthbert, Roosevelt, MT. It must have been immediately after this census was taken that the couple, with their children, motored to Minneapolis, Minnesota to visit Jessieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother and miscellaneous other relatives. Whether she became ill on the trip is not known to me; however, at some point during this visit she contracted the dreaded influenza. She fought and struggled but won that battle.

63 There are various stories about what happened in the following days: my younger sister told me that our father told her that Jessie then decided to take a job cooking at the Leamington Hotel at Minneapolis in order to build up their cash fund for the return trip to Montana. They had likely not planned to be gone from their home this long and had spent their money, so it is easy to understand the need to replenish and this was likely the quickest way to accomplish that. I do not know for sure whether she did, in fact, take that job cooking; however, she became ill again and according to her death certificate she died of “bilateral pneumonia as a result of influenza.”. The last entry in diary 24 of 24: February 4, 1920 MORROW, Mrs. Samuel of Culbertson, Montana died Wednesday, age 31, at 715 Plymouth Avenue No, Minneapolis, Hennepin Co., MN. Funeral service will be held from Knaeble and Scherer Funeral Parlors Friday at 3 p.m. Interment Crystal Lake Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin, Co., MN.

much too early age far this young mother. Who would have thought this could be possible, this young woman with the iron constitution!!. Only on her death certificate does her name appear as Jessie Isabelle . . . had she changed her middle name? Was it always Isabelle but she just liked the shortened version of Belle better? I have not yet captured her birth certificate, that is still on my list of “relics to acquire.” There were three pictures in my father’s things that were numbered on the back, I could not find the first picture but it is a telling message from the other two:

“2) the boys F & H, poor little fellows miss their mother and Sam isn’t home but seldom. Wish he would get married Had a nice letter from Mrs. MorThis once strong, vivacious, robust and willing woman who now had the row and Forrest wrote in it. He said husband and children that she had re- no one could take pictures but his mother, so they never have cently realized that she had always “3) any more taken. Wish they lived wanted, had succumbed to a teeny tiny bacteria on February 4, 1910, at a near so I could see them and it would

64 be a comfort to them. Say can you that I know and love to call her homesmell lily of the valley in vase on table stead “Yellowstone Park” just because by me? Some sweet “schmelle.” she was who she was!!! I did do some checking on Yellowstone Park and it was first recognized by Congress It appears to be Susie Menton Payne’s March 1, 1872 so she would have handwriting and I might think it was known of it for sure. So DID she call to Ella Montagne, their mother. her place Yellowstone Park?? Or did she really work there at some point after she married and lived in MT? I For those who may read this and find don’t know. In the few pages of her themselves related by blood or mardiary entries she did not refer to it, so riage to this wonderful young woman; it will always be an unknown in her please remember, that some of the story!! Even though we will never details included in this writing could know for sure, we can still add it to still be found to be “not quite right” other anecdotes surrounding her life as time goes on and more information just the same!! becomes available, sometimes it changes the complexion of what we have learned to this point. After typing, re-typing, removing, adding and sifting through pictures, I have to tell you my favorite is still the Much of what I know is what I have picture with the timber wolf she shot, heard from my dad and his brothers, which was a record wolf shot in Itasca some information from the grandchilCounty for many years. I could not dren has struck a note of familiarity locate anyone now who knows about and suggest that “this ties to that” . . . such records, so because I cannot give but cannot say that with certainty . . . you a current report, we can just let for instance: One of them was asking her keep that credit!! me when DID their grandmother work at Yellowstone Park? And I said “what? I’ve never heard anything Octoer 1, 1915 We now have Howard Stanton. about that!” I thought about that Came September 3rd, weigh 9.5 pounds, a fine question on and off over a period of healthy little chap. Two boys now and may they time and then I remembered . . . AH be a credit to us. YES, remember those yellow pansies my dad mentioned that grew profusely around her cabin? One would think that February 4, 1920 was the end of Jessie’s story; but, when we go back and take another It would be just like the Aunt Jessie look at this one journal entry for

65 where she says “Two boys now and may they be a credit to us,” well it just tells me that it is not quite finished until we know what happened with those two young boys!! Sam took the boys to MT where they spent their time between their grandparents and with their dad. It seems that Sam was working at something that took him away from home a lot during those years. Forest’s last residence was Frankfort, MI and he was working on the grain boats that sailed the Great Lakes. In 1943 there was a terrible accident that caused him to fall into a vast area where they were dumping grain and he was injured severely, resulting in a broken back forcing him to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. He lived at the Marine Hospital at Chicago until his death, where family members and friends did visit him now and then. He died September 28, 1945 and is buried at Stephenson, Menominee, Michigan , where Howard and his family lived.

River Falls, Wisconsin, located on Hy 35, 7-9 miles south of Rte. 94, about 20 miles east of Minnesota border. The family moved and the children attended school in Thompson, North Dakota. (His father, Hugh's, obit says they moved in 1888, when Sam was one and stayed there for 18 years.) He moved (with his parents) to Culbertson, Montana in 1906. He Soon after Forrest’s accident, his famarried in 1912 in Devil’s Lake, North ther arrived from Montana to visit him. as he left the hospital he was hit Dakota, but made his home mostly in Montana. His wife, Jessie, died in by a truck. 1920, leaving him with two small boys. He went to visit his oldest son in the hospital in Chicago. On Friday, His obituary says: “Samuel James Morrow was born January 18, 1887 in Dec. 3, 1943, about 11:30P.M., he was

66 leaving the hospital and was struck by a truck driven by George Davis of the Clark Street Fruit Market. Samuel never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead the following day, Saturday, December 4. His son, Howard, escorted the body to Culbertson for burial.”

fall far from this tree!!

NOW, the story of Jessie Belle Menten is finished . . . she was about 32 years of age when she died, Forrest about age 30, Sam about 55 years . . . “family history” takes some very interesting dips and dives; however, first we must go on that “treasure hunt” Another news clip says, "The funeral which may take us hither, thither and will be at the Culbertson Armory, on yon searching for those wonderful Friday at 2:00 PM, and conducted by “relics” that make it all much more Rev. H. D. Simpson. The Clayton Fu- real to us!! neral Home will have charge of the ~ Jeanine body." He is buried at Culbertson in an unmarked grave. The funeral was billed to Ivan Morrow, his youngest brother; but, was paid by Martha Morrow, his widowed mother. Howard Stanton Morrow graduated from high school at Culbertson, MT; he met married Fern Clontz and they lived their adults lives at Stephenson, MI where they raised five children: James, Lorraine, Janice, Richard and Sam, In a recent note from his son, Sam, I noted this comment which was known not only to his children; but, to anyone who ever came in contact with him: “Whatever Dad did, he made

sure it was above reproach and an example we should try to match.” One would have to compare Howard’s work ethic and love of nature to his mother . . . that apple surely did not

67 (Continued from page 25)

being up for sale, who knows if I will be able to continue my work. It was quite a process to get this far in depth into this site to discover and recover the relic and treasure on this property. The first hurdle was the undergrowth and the next was the mosquitoes. There is nothing worse than swinging your coil in thick underbrush and swatting mosquitos that seem to be immune to the gallons of repellent I doused myself in. The total absence of metallic targets helped me cover the property despite the undergrowth, but it baffled me. Quickly I realized that it was the rocks and their formations that I needed to pay attention to on this property. With so many really interesting stones visible, it was very hard to make any order out of the chaos and scale of this property. The Spes et Fides Stone was one of the prominent stones that I knew was significant, but for the longest time, I had no clue to the majesty of this stone. I was working one day just north of the Spes et Fides Stone and with no leaves on the trees, the Spes et Fides Stone revealed its secret to me. The large face and eye just popped off the stone. I luckily took a photo to document it and when I sent it off to the property owner, he was not that impressed. He thought that it was the lichen on the stone. But, I have learned working with the land owner that anything I find and bring to his attention usually falls on deaf ears until he can actually see it and touch it. A few weeks later when he saw the Spes et Fides Stone, one of his first

71 comments was that it was not lichen! It was magnificent, and it was very early in the morning and he could still make it out. It seems once you see the image, you train your brain to pick it up the next time you look for it. The land owner still does not believe me when I tell him that damn near every stone in this dolphin stone effigy formation has runes on it. This may be why he is willing to sell this property now without truly investing the time and effort to uncover this siteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mystery. After a while I started to doubt myself, but I found a great researcherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book at the Alexandria, MN Kensington Runestone Museum that saw the same things and documented it. He was finding the same thing I am seeing on mooring stones and any stone related to the Kensington Rune Stone creators. He even links the great Serpent mound site. So being very relieved that my artistic eye was not deceiving me, the hard work of documenting and translating has already begun. With all the success in finding such great relic and treasure on this property, I am confident that what I am learning and quickly becoming an expert on will assist me on many other properties well into the future, God willing. I am not going to tell you who exactly created this Spes et Fides Stone or moved these almost 200 if not more stones into the shape of a dolphin effigy and landscaped this property. Mainly because when I came to this property, I came with open eyes, heart and mind. Being of Norwegian and German heritage, of course I hoped I would find evidence of the Vikings. The evidence is highly leaning in this direction.

72 However, there is still a lot of questions in my mind that leave the door open for the Knights of the Golden Circle or even the Spanish that may of created these. Although, the evidence and caches are not yet found to confirm this option, I am still leaving this option on the table. Another option is the mound builders that built the great serpent mound. It is my feeling that these are the same people who built both sites. The creators of this creation would have had to know runic writing. So if it was not the Vikings, then it was someone who probably had contact with them. The KGC according to the Larson Papers may well of also used these runes. So the only discrepancy is the post Civil War and the 14th century. If these stones and their carvings date back to the end of the Civil War, then it is KGC or one of their many offshoots. If they go back further and into the 14th centuries, then it looks like the Vikings may have had a great influence on the creators or actually were the creators. It is truly awe inspiring to caress these stones and follow the contours, feeling the texture created by these master stone artists. Revealing the buried sides of this Spes et Fides Stone was so exciting. I was the first human probably in over 600 years to have even witnessed what was written and sculpted there. I would say that only about a quarter of the images and shadow signs are discovered on the Spes et Fides Stone to date. In fact, I just found the Viking Ship with sail tonight as I was setting the front cover images. So on the Spes et Fides Stone face of the boulder that was visible and in plain sight are the following images: ď&#x201A;ˇ

A man carrying what looks to be a rockâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; in orange- Lower

84 Right Corner 

What looks like a Viking Ship with Sails– in black– Mid-Right of boulder



A large face that looks almost European, but with no facial hair and an “eye of God” eye that looks to have a fish tail doubling its meaning– in Yellow– taking up the entire top face of the boulder



There is another “eye of God” -in green– lower left corner of stone. Notice the mark?



What looks like a Viking battle axe-in blue– in the mid left of the stone

I hope my crude drawing on the cover outlining what I am seeing will help you find them on your own. Under the lichen looks to also be a Templar cross on the sail of the ship and many designs, textures and runes. On the side of the stone there are some really awesome images and a lot more writing. I am going to share with you some of the preliminary photos taken when I dug out the stone to reveal its secrets for the very first time. The photos are taken during and shortly after I revealed the sides of this great master work. So I hope you feel as if you are right there with me at the moment of discovery. Talk about Temerity right? On the East side face of the Spes et Fides Stone there is a dragon that is found on the Viking ships. Most of this side is flat and has a feint inscription on it. The South side has a very incised Native American head with a

85 war bonnet that doubles as a sail for the Viking ship. The West side is covered in images and shadow signs of faces and ship masts as well as a bird that I think is a falcon and many runes. The North side has inscriptions and continues the under chin of the large face found on the front of the stone. In conclusion, the work is only begun on this site and the surrounding area. While I will no longer be working with the current owner of this site, I am prayerful that the sale will be quick and a new private owner will be approachable to continue my work on this site. There are thousands of other sites to pick and choose from so I am not too worried. I am concerned for my findings protection and safety with the current owner, but after all it is his property. I respect the property owners rights above all, even if I do not agree with him. If you have what you think is an ancient site on your property, I would enjoy hunting and researching it. My dance card is a bit full at the moment, but contacting me now assures you a slot in my queue of great sites to recover the story just beneath the sod for both of us and the world. If anyone is interested in purchasing this property and working with me to further study this amazing site, I want to highly encourage you to contact me as soon as possible. Chad T. Everson editor@TemerityMagazine.com