By Linda Jones
Central City Police Chief Terry Krelle, Central City Mayor Ron Engels, President of the Gilpin County Historical Society Martie Fast, President of the Eureka Club Ron Erickson and Eureka Club VP Steve Montano
The Eureka Treasure Hunters Club, a Colorado-based treasure-hunting group, awarded $500 to the Gilpin County Historical Society for its Submarine Fund. Eureka Club President Ron Erickson presented the check on March 1 at Central City Hall to GCHS President Martie Fast.
This check is the largest gift yet to the Submarine Fund. The cost of purchasing and transporting the 1898 submarine exceeded $10,000, but the society considered it a priority to keep the submarine in Gilpin County. No other submarine was ever built in Colorado and the story surrounding this historic sub only adds to its uniqueness. The Grand Unveiling of the strange relic, which now rests in the Gilpin History Museum in Central City a few hundred yards from where it was constructed, will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 28.
Treasure hunting, or metal detector searching, is the avocation of the 120 members of the Eureka Club, who include Terry Krelle, Central City police chief. A top priority of the club is bonding with historical societies and museums, Erickson said. The group finds many artifacts and treasures in their hunts and they want to preserve these historical objects in local museums for future generations. Most of their monthly digs take place at historic Indian sites and fort locations on the plains and at mining towns in the mountains. Some metro area police departments have requested the group’s assistance in locating evidence, which they’re happy to provide, but history is the lure for most of these hunters and occasionally some rich finds are made.
Steve Montano, vice president of the club, said, “I was just playing around in the park behind my house when I found a ring. It appraised for $8,000.”
The hunters get very excited when they can return a lost object.
Montano said, “It’s fun to locate the owners.” He checked with the police and every way he could, but never found the owner of the ring.
Erickson chimed in with a story about his wife’s co-worker, who lost her wedding ring, a family heirloom, in their yard. After endless searching of her house and its plumbing, the woman realized she must have lost it in her yard and put a memo out at work asking if anyone knew someone with a metal detector. Erickson and his wife Linda have a dozen of them and volunteered to search for the ring. Within five minutes Erickson located the ring worth $25,000.
Modern metal detectors are nothing like they were even 15 years ago. The metal detectors tell the operator exactly what’s been located and some even display a picture of the located object.
Historical relics are Erickson’s favorite finds, such as coins, kitchen tools, dolls and trade tokens. In Victor he found a token from the Pioneer Saloon. His most memorable find was a token from Fort Wallace on the Kansas border, which was the last post the immigrants would find on the Smoking Hill Trail before arriving in Denver. Leadville is a favorite hunting ground for artifacts. Erickson calls his passion “Easter egg hunting for adults.”
For more information on the Eureka Club and how to join, call 303-279-3584 or visit www.eurekathc.com.
