Todd McCulloch is shown with two of the tools of the trade — a metal detector and shovel. He noted you often have to dig several feet before making a find.

SYRACUSE — The Lake Wawasee area is rich with history and what better way to discover that history than metal detecting.

Todd McCulloch, Syracuse, started eight years ago and his collection of found items are varied. He has located a Civil War belt buckle, a parachute jumper buckle type item, swim buckles, old toy cars, lead soldiers, rings, locks, old knives and a lot more. “I haven’t found any expensive rings,” McCulloch stated. “The best ring I found was an 18 karat gold ring in front of the Little Flower Church.” That ring had a date of Sept. 1, 1914, engraved.

Numerous coins have been among his finds, including Barber quarters and dimes, minted between 1892-1916. He’s also found a few Shield nickels, minted between 1866-1883. Even Indian head pennies from 1928.

“My friends were doing it and were finding good stuff,” he stated. “I thought I’d see what I could find.”

His detecting has occurred primarily in the waters of Lake Wawasee. At one time the lake was home to seven hotels, including the Spink and its famous guests. The finds in front of these former hotels have included items off possible rosary beads or religious necklaces and a bottle from Goshen City Bottling Company, manufactured around the 1890s. This was found in the area of the old Johnson’s Hotel. He stated it wouldn’t have been found if it would not have been for a metal pull tab inside the bottle.

During the summer, you can often find McCulloch in the waters of the lake, searching at the end of piers or even at the sandbar, going no deeper than his neck. Sometimes property owners have thrown objects at him claiming he is on private property. Others have even offered him rewards for finding an object, mostly jewelry, lost while enjoying the lake near shore. After he’s given the general area a search, he finds the object covered in the sand.

Todd McCulloch looks at the various coins, buckles, knives, necklaces and other items he has found in the waters of Lake Wawasee.

McCulloch also does his metal detecting around old homesteads. Using a township plat map from 1867-1874, which names Lake Wawasee as Nine Mile Lake, he compares the location with a newer map. Getting permission from the land owner, he then begins his adventure. “I’ve found ax heads and different stuff,” he said noting the key is looking in the fields for pottery and glass dug up by farm equipment. “You have to dig through the trash to find the good stuff.”

His land searches have also uncovered a variety of arrowheads.

Gallons of trash have been removed from the lake and fields during McCulloch’s searches. “The detector descrambles the trash for coins,” said McColloch, adding you have to “dig the trash out of stuff and dig deeper to go to the find.” He noted sometimes you have to dig between 3-10 feet before finding what the metal detector located.

His searches are normally after work and in the spring and fall. “That’s the only time you can ‘hunt’ the fields, when it’s not planted.”

Locating finds is all done by sound. According to McCulloch you listen to the tones for the different minerals, copper, silver, gold, aluminum. “You learn by the tones what you will be digging for.”

“It’s addicting. Once you get started you can’t quit,” McCulloch said. “One finding and you just can’t quit. There might be more and you’re there for hours. Some day you think you’ll hit it big.”

This is also a hobby that is solitary. “You’re by yourself, listening. Your mind is empty. It’s like sitting in a deer stand,” noted McCulloch, who is also a hunter.