The Vol.

1 Issue 5 Winter, 2010

DIGGER’S GAZETTE
A Quarterly Publication for the Dayton
Diggers
The Digger’s Gazette is a quarterly publication for and by the members of the Dayton Diggers. We are a locally based organization specializing in
historical research and recovery in and around Dayton, Ohio. The Digger’s Gazette is the property of and, copyrighted by the Dayton Diggers. All requests
for reprint must be accompanied by the written permission of the author and approval by the Editor of the Digger’s Gazette Copyright 2010
Volume 1 Issue 5 Winter

1305 Arbor Avenue, Dayton OH 45420

Chairman---------------------Steven Lee Greene
Treasurer--------------------Bill Baecker
Secretary---------------------Phil Townsend
Newsletter Editor --------Ronald Fulcher Jr.

http://www.daytondigger.com

This Month’s Cover features a photo from the Winter Invitational Privy Dig. It Shows Mark Ferguson and Mike Haer using the
sifter Mike had built the night before the dig. Mike will assist you with building your own too! Photo by Mike Notarvicola

Calendar of Upcoming Events

January 30th, 2010..............Antique Beer & Brewery Item Road Show, 12 until 5 PM, Brixx
Ice Company
February 6-7, 2010-----------------Dayton Diggers Groundhogs Day Invitational Hunt
Join Steve Greene in the search for the R 10 Pine Hill Script treasure trove

February 14th, 2010---------------Meeting at Diggers' Hall, 6PM to 8PM

March 14th, 2010--------------------Meeting at Diggers' Hall, 6PM to 8PM
November 8th, 2010------------------Dayton Diggers Fall Invitational Hunt
Chairman’s Sounding Board
Howdy all, I'd like to have you join me in welcoming our
newest club members. Ed Schwaberow from Germantown
(eschwaberow@woh.rr.com) wow!, that's a long
one.........Ed enjoys Golf and bottle hunting. Ed brought a
nice Sigritz Hutchinson soda to the last meeting.
Doug Wagner of Middletown(DWAGGS1@aol.com) is
into camping and metal detecting, sounds like a road trip to
Civil War relics, huh?? Jerry Reed of Batavia, why did I
think his name was Amos Moses??, strange, huh......... sent
me a check that had gotten lost in the mail, when it finally
arrived it looked like it had been through a twister. I have
his snail mail address and that's all.
The next meeting is March 14th , 2010 at 6PM at Diggers'
Hall a.k.a. 1305 Arbor Avenue, Dayton OH 45420. Winter
stinks!! I've even written up notes for the next meetings,
geesh! Hope to see y'all there.
Steve

This Month’s featured Digger Mike

Notarvicola on the search for GOLD!!! ->
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 The Diggers and the Winter Invitational Hunt
By: Mike Notarvicola

Here are some photos of

the dig. It was very
interesting and a lot of fun
for all but especially for us
newbie's. If we had found

Figure 4: Chuck Cannon Diggin' It!

Figure 3: Mark and Mike work the pit

Figure 1; Spring Valley Dig Sight
Figure 2: Tony Mantia in Digger Wear
nothing it still would have
been worth it to be with
such a great bunch of
people. I wish the ladies
could have made it but
they had an emergency.
Unfortunately my back
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Figure 6: Wagner's Safe Cure Bottle

 lasted about 10 minutes. them. I can't wait for the
That's what not working next one. I might even be
and sitting at the computer in shape enough to dig.
all day will do for you. lol
I'm going to start in earnest Well that's my take on the
to get into some kind of day. I'm sure you'll get a lot
shape just so I can more but as you can see
participate in privy digs. I the Dayton Diggers had a
missed out on the real fun great time recovering
but enjoyed myself taking history.
pictures, watching, metal
detecting and sharing in
the excitement of the finds.
We had a fantastic lunch
from the diner across the
street. Chuck went and got
a menu and took orders
and he and Manny went
over to get it. I heard a
rumor that Chuck got 2 free
beers for bringing them the

Figure 5: 1880s Elixir Bottles fresh from the pit

business. The 2 pits

became Phil's pit and
Steve's pit and the
competition sparked a lot
of ribbing and laughter.
Manny really shined for his
first dig. He looked like he
never got tired and was
rewarded with one of the
best bottle finds of the day.
Peggy from the museum
braved the cold with us
until after dark. We were all
happy to donate most of
the finds. They drew
numbers for the picks of
the bottles with Peggy also
getting a number. It was
cool to see the guys drop
out one by one so she
could get more picks and
when all the Diggers
dropped out she got all the
remaining bottles. She
knows of other sites and is
going to try to get us in to
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 met when I was 15. Before him
NEW it was my horse and dog.

MEMBER I belong to several writing

organizations. This past year I

ROUNDUP have expanded into the world

of internet marketing, where I
have a new opportunity
developing to combine the
Cindy Carver world of publishing and writing.
I found out about the Dayton
Diggers by doing research for a
I live in Ludlow Falls with my book, authored by a friend.

Editor’s Corner
What an amazing year and more importantly an amazing bunch of folks!!! When we started with the meetings, who would have
guessed so many would join the Dayton Diggers. The club has met many important goals one of, which was sharing expertise and
manpower in order to recover more artifacts. This has happened in spades. Another major goal has been to get you, the member-at-
large, to send your stories and photos in for the newsletter. I am proud to say this issue is filled with Diggers’ tales shared with all
and as an editor I could not be more pleased!!!! I am confident that the membership growth will continue and our collections will
continue to grow collectively. Our officers continue to lead the Dayton Diggers in superior fashion so pat them on the back too.

Speaking of officers; this year we will conduct our first election and I would like to oversee this process as the Election Committee
Chairman. Our constitution provides for this every two years and we should engage this process within the next 6 months. Elections
give us an opportunity to discuss future plans and offer each member a chance to try their hand as an officer. One very important
point to keep in mind, there are no term limits! Yes, currently serving officers or their future replacements can serve as many
consecutive terms as their hearts desire. So, I ask the current officers to let me keep an eye on this very important 1st election and
ask for each and every member’s participation in the process.

Editor, Ron Fulcher

husband, Jeff, and our two youngest daughters. Our The research led me to treasurenet.com where my
older two daughters have families and live in Miami interest grew. As of yet I have recovered not even a
and Darke County with their children. I've been in the new penny, but a lot of rusty broken treasures.
Dayton area all my life except for my military tour.
Jeff has been my best friend since high school; we Welcome Aboard Cindy!!!
Woodman until I headed off for mushrooms, or just walking and
NEW MEMBER Capital University. I returned to the have found a few medicine bottles,
ROUNDUP cont. Dayton area (Germantown) in 1991 milk bottles, canning jars and the
when I took the job as City Manager like. I cannot wait to get going on a
of Germantown. privy dig!
Ed Schwaberow What kind of historical recovery How did you find the Dayton
experience do you have? Diggers?
I don't recall having found anything I have never been a member of any
Tell us a little bit about yourself. of great value before I was 18. In similar organizations and, just
I was born in Dayton at Good fact, I don't think I have found happened to learn about the Dayton
Samaritan Hospital in 1946 and anything of great value after I was Diggers by chance. I googled the
lived in east Dayton on Eastman 18 either. I have found some old Roy Sigritz bottle that I had sitting
Ave. between Spinning Road and dump areas while out hunting around for a long time, and saw a
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comment about it by a Dayton
Digger. I then Googled Dayton
Diggers, and, as they say, the rest is
history.
Do you own any specialized
equipment?
I received a Bounty Hunter Quick
DrawII metal detector when I
retired from my kids and haven't
fully learned how to use it most
effectively. I would like to go out
with some of the other members to
get their help and advice. I would
also like to do some privy digging
and/or old dump digging. I'm
holding off buying a good shovel
until I see what works best!

What is It?? Buttons from the Civil War

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 Continued page 10

Mike’s Top Secret Electrolysis Set-up Exposed

By: Mike Notarvicola esq.
I thought this might be of interest because I
remember someone mentioning
electrolysis at the last meeting. I got
the idea from a guy on T-net and
expanded on it. Notice the contact
points are outside the container to
reduce damage from corrosion. The
brass bolts are threaded into the
copper tubing and held in place with
the nuts. I can clean as many objects
as I can fit in the tank at one time. I
got a list of optimum charges to use
on different size objects on T-net and
have chargers from 6-24V at different
amps but normally use 12v at 4 amps
for larger pieces and 12v at 800
milliamps for coin sized items. For
really large nasty items I'll use the
higher voltages and for delicate items
I'll go lower. I use salt or baking soda
for electrolyte. It’s a hell of a lot of fun.

Easy Set Up & Storage!

This is one of the best treasure restoration

tools you can put together and will pay you

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back in the long run. Thanks again to Mike for
sharing this technology.
A Combination of Hobbies
By: Steve Greene a.k.a. Daytondigger
Those of you who know me may
be aware that I run a website
pertaining to my hobbies. I have
been metal detecting since I was
probably 12 or so. I collect
tokens, coins, old bottles, mining
collectibles and other historical
items. Most of my collection is
found by me using the metal
detector and probes constructed
to locate buried bottles. I started
caving in 1995 and have enjoyed
it through the years. I spent time
caving and surveying in
Rockcastle, Pulaski and
Bell counties in
Kentucky, in Greenbrier
county West Virginia
and in Fentress county
Tennessee. I always
enjoyed being in these
remote areas and would
search for remnants from
the past. Old dumps
mines and railway tracks
would often lure me
away from the caves
themselves. Eventually I
was becoming less
involved in caving and
more involved in
digging.
A few years ago I
received an email asking
for help in Hart county KY
to clean up a sinkhole. I began
to think what had been tossed
into these sinkholes. I decided it
would be an opportunity to
satisfy both of my hobbies,
might find some new cave
passages and “treasure”. I
arrived at the Cave museum and
saw their display on solid waste.
In the display I saw flat top beer
cans. I have digging buddies
Editor’s Note
that search exclusively for old
beer cans. They soak the rusty
cans overnight in a mild acid
solution which removes the
majority of the rust without
taking off the paint. There is a
National club of collectors called
The Rusty Bunch. And yes, there
can be value in these rusty cans.
I have personally found cans that
catalogue for $1000. and up non-
dug. Rusty cans obviously are
tougher to sell, but rare ones can
Steve Greene and the Sinks Clean-Up Crew
bring $100.00 and up. I have
traded cans for bottles and other
collectibles.
The clean up was at a
large sinkhole full of trash
dumped in the 70’s and 80’s. No
collectibles were found, but a
great deal of satisfaction was
gained after seeing all this trash
removed. The landowners were
very kind and invited me back.
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After hearing the history of this
site, I determined I would return
with my detector at another time.
This was a beautiful area. I
would like to thank everyone
involved and promise to help out
again.
In June of 2007 I traveled
to Rockcastle county Kentucky
for a clean up. Deb Bledsoe had
sent out a request for cavers to
help. I met up with Deb and the
Rockcastle solid waste folks
near Sand Springs. We
walked a karst influenced
stream and removed all
sorts of trash including
appliances, bottles and
cans, clothes, a car frame
and who knows what. I
was later treated to lunch
by Deb and enjoyed the
best lunch I’d had in
some time. Thanks, Deb.
Once again no
collectibles were found,
but I’m still enjoying
myself. The crew also
gave me some dump
leads.
In the fall of 2007
Ron Fulcher and I
attended a clean up at
Sinks Of The Roundstone
cave in Rockcastle. Once
again Deb and the solid waste
crew were there to greet us and
supply us with tools and bags,
Ron and I removed a dozen or
more bags of trash, some were
nearly too heavy to get back to
the drop off point. I can’t believe
the bags held up. Some older
cans and bottles were located
and one nice insulator was
recovered. I am happy to give
my time to this cause. Check out www.daytondigger.com for
more info.

FINDS TO REMEMBER
This is where we record our best finds during the past few months and the awards are determined by anonymous
ballots cast by an equally mysterious group of concerned coin and bottle experts.

Best Glass found with a metal Detector..

A.M. Buchanan 1897 Paperweight found
by Mike Notarvicola. The paperweight, coins
and rings were found next to what Mike said is a good
sight. Looks to me like Mike found a great spot where
he was at ..

Best “Find of the Day” Coin… Large

Cent found by Mark Ferguson Oldest coin of
the day, best coin of the
day and all within cont. a

Figure 1: Mike's 1897 Paperweight & horde

few minutes of starting. Congrats Mark, it's a keeper. As reported

by Steve Greene. This was found at the Fall Invitational Hunt near
Hillsboro, Ohio and as it turns one of a few coins that were found

Best Bottle Find Brewery Bottle Hollencamp & Weddle Xenia,

O…. Recovered by Chuck Cannon and the Diggers in Spring Valley, Ohio. This was just one of
many great pieces of glassware recovered from the privies but, one of the judges is very partial; to Greene County items

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 What is it?? Buttons from the Civil War
Continued from pg. 6

Member Files Update

Bob Brigeman Dayton Digger #6
I was at the first meeting of the Dayton Diggers when just six of us got together at the
Digger’s Hall. Steve had some comments on Treasure Net about the club, if memory
serves me right, and he invited me to the meeting. I was born and raised in Dayton, but
first left the area to serve in the Korean War. Later on I lived in Houston, Tx. at least from
1981 till 2002 and then I moved back here.
My best find has probably been the Dayton Diggers club not to mention some coins a few rings and the highly
collectible,, pull-tabs. I am looking for anything whenever I get out,. My daughter is Robyn Trimble and Dayton
Digger #9. She was also the first of several women who have joined the club now. I Have a D F X detector but no
shovel, would like to get a Lesche though.
Another Great Issue brought to you by Nick Looking forward to seeing all of you at the next
meeting
Arnold and XYZ Printing.

Please insert an ad for your business here

buddy!! You never know where they are going
to end up

Lots of great material in here too!!!!!

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"In Search Of History"
Southern Ohio's Authorized Dealer for
White's MineLab and Garrett metal detectors
1600 E. St. Rt. 73 Waynesville
Ohio 45068

We are your source for all your treasure hunting supplies and
needs.
http://www.treasurehunters-supply.com/

11
Finds to Remember cont. from Pg. 9
Best Bottle Collection, from Mike Notarvicola

Best “FIRST SILVER OF THE DAY”

Coin….. Double Mercurys in the same hole from Terry
Everly and the Fall Invitational Hunt!!!

Mark Ferguson with Best Coin

Submission.. This photo from Steve Greene
is a keeper and if you want your original
photos and stories to be part of the next issue
send them to me at,,,,, ronfulcher@aol.com

Thanks again for your submissions!!!!

Bill Baecker Treasurer for the

Dayton Diggers

COMING
SOON: The
Dayton
I would like for all you Diggers to join with me in thanking Diggers
Brandon for serving as the 1st Dayton Diggers Treasurer. Spring
Brandon was here for the critical building year but family
commitments have tugged him away from the Executive
Committee. Bill Baecker has graciuosly stepped forward and
will oversee the finances and spearhead the Dayton Diggers
Invitational becoming a 501-3-C non-profit. We welcome your expertise Hunt so
and look forward to another great year of diggin’ it!
mark your Chairman, Steve Greene calendars
and get ready for
our next historical recovery.

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The Digger’s Gazette Editor
1305 Arbor Ave.
Dayton, Ohio 45420

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