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Might have put myself in somewhat of a pickle here....

Midknight

Elite Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2011
Messages
2,020
Location
CA
I attempted my first door knock today, although this door knock was not for the actual owner of the property I want to search, but instead the owner's neighbor. I was hoping to get contact information for the property owner. More on this later.

A little bit of background, I live in CA gold rush country, and there is a unincorporated town a few miles from my fathers house that I have known of for the last 5 years, but have never bothered to really research or ask permission to hunt. The main street of the town is where all the remaining old structures are, although the Main St ends at a private gate and the road becomes private as it meanders through the oak land and over the nearby river that was placer mined in the gold rush era. The distance of the remaining town site to the river is probably about a quarter mile to a half mile.

From looking at satellite photos of the property I am interested in hunting, which is quite large, I can see that today there is a house on it some where down the road, as well as an old bridge that crosses the river. Once again, the road and bridge are all private inside the gates. I can see what look to be small mounds of dirt, which if they are would mean they could be the dumping ground for the mined earth. Other than that I am having trouble seeing anything that may have been an old foundation etc.

Now, back to the neighbor who I spoke to today. When I pulled up on the road opposite their house I quickly noticed that they had somewhat of a bottle collection displayed on their front window ceils. With that in mind, I walked up to the front door, and also realized that they had a welcome sign with a carving of the neighbor's historic bridge on their front porch. Before I could knock on the door, the homeowner's daughter (daughter-in-law???) opened the front inside door. She wasn't angry or anything, but just asked how she could help me, but before I could respond the owner (or owner's wife) came to front door and asked how she could help me.

I started out by saying hello and then explained that I was once a local and had graduated from the local high school a few years ago and that my father lived nearby in an effort to make her understand I actually had a connection to the area. Then I asked her if she had the owner's contact owner, which is where I believe I may have gone wrong and dug myself into a small hole. She told me she wouldn't give me that info, but that if I wanted she would take my info and pass it onto them if they wanted to talk with me. I agreed of course because I realized in advance that it was very likely she may not give me any info on them.

Now, you may all be wondering when am I going to mention my intentions, which is where I believe I made a critical error. I didn't actually mention metal detecting, but instead that I was interested in the history of the town. For whatever reason I kind of froze on that info. She was somewhat helpful in explaining some basic info on the town to me, but she didn't go into much depth. What she did tell me that is important though is that every second Sunday of each month the family that owns the property that I am interested in does hold a local Odd Fellows breakfast at the lodge across the street and that I was welcome to come and ask the family any questions I had about the property there.

So, now I guess I am left awaiting a call where I can reveal my true intentions, or I can go to the breakfast in a few weeks to make contact with them. I should also mention that my interest in the towns history is not false at all. Heck, if all they let me do was explore the property but not dig that would be somewhat of a victory I guess.

But still, I am not sure how to ask them about actually searching their property. What if they want to keep everything or a portion of what I find? I would be willing to give them a portion I guess if they granted me permission, but that is assuming they grant it. So many questions going through my head right now.... Any advice on my situation?
 
If you have the time to invest you might attend a couple meetings first and find out who in the group you connect with then bring up detecting in the conversation as one of your pass times you may get invited to search the area without asking. For some reason I get the feeling from reading your post the lady you spoke with at the door will be your main obstacle. Good luck on your mission.
 
Good luck with obtaining permission. I agree that attending the breakfast a couple of times could pay off. You might be able to approach the idea of metal detecting once they know you. I would also play up the idea of being interested in the history of the town and maybe even showing some artifacts and other finds that you have. Hopefully you can get in good with someone that will give you permission.
 
Only guy I know that goes knocking for permissions and doesnt ask permission to detect!

Lol, in this instance I just wanted info on a certain property. The neighbors property wasn't somewhere I would like to detect.

Also, I am blazing my own path.:lol:
 
I have gotten several permissions by asking about the history of areas that I am interested in, and asking if I can take photos, etc. I've been researching my local history for some time and have made up some informal scrapbooks that I sometimes share.
Asking to take photos often leads to a tour of the place and a history lesson, at which point I ask if they know if anyone has detected there. That response gives me a chance to decide if I want to ask permission. Sometimes I bring it up in that fashion. It depends on how friendly they are and how the conversation goes, but asking about history and if you can take photos and maybe take some notes on what they tell you can lead to permission or lead to finding out some other local history that gives you more ideas on where to detect! It's all good!
I'd go to that breakfast, too, and see if you can make friends with folks who can tell you plenty about history. Once they know what your hobby is, if you can make friends, you might find they start giving you places to hunt.
 
I would put the breakfast on hold till you get past the frozen part of your story. You seem to want this place a lot. I would go door knock in a area where you don't care if you get told no. Get as many no's s possible where you are very comfortable approaching the owners at the breakfast. Be confident in yourself. Never miss a beat when speaking to them. Make sure you give them a lil back ground on your self. Your a very knowledgeable guy that I'm sure is very well spoken. Good luck midknight. Hope you lock that place down
 
From my experience, I always cut to the chase as quickly as possible. I've knocked on 50+ homes. That works best for me at least.
 
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