Young keeps childhood dream alive yard by yard

Nov. 4—After more than 20 years away from Muskogee, Gary Young finds treasure in his own back yard — plus yards and fields all over the area.

Young uses a metal detector to search for old belt buckles, coins, bullets and other items.

He said he had wanted to do it since he was a kid.

"About 26 years ago, after got married, I decided to give it a try," he said.

He said a person he met while detecting introduced him to the Three Forks Treasure Hunters Club and the Indian Territory Treasure Hunters Club.

Young, who recently retired from the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs, said he often goes treasure hunting "as many hours as the sun's up."

Treasure hunting isn't the only interest Young had as a youth.

He said he wanted to join the U.S. Air Force when he was 13. Being part of Muskogee High School's Jr. Air Force ROTC intensified that desire, he recalled.

"My parents told me, when I turned 17 and scored high enough on the test they would sign it for me," Young said.

The Air Force took him from the tropical Philippines to frozen North Dakota.

He said the Philippines was beautiful, but poor. He recalled snorkeling in clear water. But it was hard to keep in touch with his family in those years before the Internet.

"For four years, I never saw my family. I would call mom once a month, talk to her for 10 minutes and cost $50 bucks," he said. "If it weren't for the Red Cross, you'd probably never be able to do it."

Then he became manager for minuteman missile sites at Minot Air Force Base in Minnesota.

"I'd spend three days at a time managing security people, I was eyes and ears for missile crews underground," he said. "In case of nuclear war, we were supposed to go underground, 50-60 feet underground."

Then, he got nine days off.

"I became very good at fishing," he said. "Not a whole lot up there, but there is great fishing — pike, walleye."

Love of history inspires hunting

Gary Young has found all sorts of items while metal detecting, even gold and silver.

His biggest thrill is in small things.

"It's not the value of the item. It's who is the last person that touched that," he said.

It helps to have a love of history.

Young has a case of bullets, belt buckles, buttons and other items he found in the Fort Gibson area. He found an 1883 seated Liberty quarter near the Arkansas River north of the Pilot truck stop.

He also has found his share of colorful glass marbles.

"You've got your eyes on the ground and you're digging, and it will glisten," he said. "You'll dig up a lot of old marbles."

He found a toy pistol and several Matchbox cars dating from the 1940s,

"I like finding thimbles," he said.

One treasure is a brass Port Arthur Route train auditor stamp he said he found in an old ghost town near McAlester.

"After they would collect money in their bag, they would seal it with wax and stamp it with this," he said. "It's one of a kind, and when I found it, I thought it was junk."

He said he never learned the stamp's value because he never saw another one like it.

Know equipment, repair ground

Young says the secret to good detecting is to "know your detector."

"I don't care how good you are with the detector, if you're not over your treasure, you're not going to find it," he said. "You've got to know your signals Most detectors are a lot alike, but they do have their differences."

Young currently uses a Deus II model made in France. It was a birthday present from his wife. He said he can hook it up to his computer and get the latest detecting program.

"Some people will tell you to dig everything, and there is a truth to it," he said. "Gold will come up as junk sometimes if you don't know what you're doing."

It also helps to research the property and get permission from property owners.

"That's something I'm big on, you better get permission before you hunt," he said. "Every now and then, you get somebody that's very dumb and goes out and messes it up for everybody."

Be considerate and cover any holes you dig he said. Young said he digs with a spatula-type device that cuts holes "like cake"

"You go down into the ground four ways, pop it up, find your item and lay it back down," he said. "You can't even tell you dug."

Teaching children treasure hunting

Young seeks to pass metal detecting to new generations.

"This is high tech," he said. "Ever since I've been involved with the clubs, it's been my big thing, doing things with the kids. We've done classes up at libraries in Tulsa."

Young said the Three Rivers club used to do kids hunts at Kelly B. Todd Cerebral Palsy and Neuro-muscular events.

In September, the club hosted kids hunt at Three Rivers Museum during the city's LocalMotion celebration. They also have kids hunts at national gatherings.

"I purchase prizes and toys for kids hunts all year long," he said. "I've done the kids hunts for the last 25 years."

Young said he loves watching youngsters search for tokens that were preset in the ground.

"When you see a kid find something, you really can't beat it," he said. "You see the excitement. Then they get to change it in for a prize. They get to keep the money. We throw money out there too. We keep it filled with money and tokens."

HOW DID YOU COME TO BE AN OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE?

"I was born here. When I left Muskogee, I said I would never be back. I ended up in Muskogee about a year after I got out of the Air Force for family. I left Muskogee two other times, but I ended up coming back. After I got married, our daughter was legally blind, so guess where Oklahoma School for the Blind is. That's really what kept us.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT MUSKOGEE?

Probably the people.

WHAT WOULD MAKE MUSKOGEE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE?

"Probably more things to do. There's not much here for people to do, a little bowling alley. I don't think the town offers a whole lot."

WHAT PERSON IN MUSKOGEE DO YOU ADMIRE MOST?

"Richard Large, he was also my sixth-grade school teacher. He was my pastor after I got out of the Air Force in Muskogee. He was also my friend. We went to Promise Keepers in Washington, D.C. with him. If anyone left an impression as somebody I've got to respect, it would be him. I always said he's the pastor of pastors."

WHAT IS THE MOST MEMORABLE THING TO HAPPEN TO YOU IN MUSKOGEE?

"Meeting my wife. We attended an English prep class at Connors. I knew her sister, but I never knew her. We hit it off when she told me she was a hair dresser and she told me I got a bad hair cut. The rest is history."

WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

I retired from 29 years at the VA, I got 35 years of service. My daughter has a lot of health issues. I have two kids who are disabled, so I make sure they're taken care of. I play house husband, I do a lot of that, anything that needs to be done, I take care of."

HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP MUSKOGEE IN 25 WORDS OR LESS?

"A town a lot of friendly people.