By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Sometimes the things you are looking for are right in front of you. Other times they’re right between your feet while you talk to your grandfather.
That’s exactly what happened to 6-year-old Jillian Maglott Saturday during the Crawford Park District’s Arrowhead Hunt. Maglott had been hunting for arrowheads with her grandfather Jerry Ball when she walked over to him. As they stood talking, Maglott happened to look down and laying right between her feet was a perfectly preserved arrowhead.
To say the least, that was the crowning jewel in Maglott’s haul that day. The 6-year-old, decked out in a camouflage ball cap, amateur archeologist vest, and freckles, also found four pieces of flint.
Ball, who is a member of the Johnny Appleseed Archeological Society, has been hunting for arrowheads for 35 years and decided to get his granddaughter involved. She now has a great start to her collection.
Micah Harris also had a pretty successful morning. Joined by his mother Kristin and his sister Hope, Harris brought a bucketful of possible artifacts he found in the fields to Skip James, who helps participants identify anything they’ve found.
James explained to Harris that one of his finds could possibly be a cutting tool.
“I am a small collector of artifacts. I just started out a month ago,” Harris said. “I have already acquired some artifacts from probably the archaic period.”
Harris said it’s exhilarating to find something but sometimes the search can be discouraging, too.
“We’ve been searching out here for quite a while. One find is pretty exciting but considering the time it takes, it’s not as fun,” explained Harris.
Kristin Harris said the search has been fun. “It’s something they can do to find a little history, hopefully. They just like being outside and looking for things,” she said.
As for Hope, her favorite part was spotting killdeer in the fields.
James, an archeologist herself, said the arrowhead hunt allows for people to learn about local history.
The amateur archeologists searched three fields on Leesville Road Saturday morning.
A photo gallery of Arrowhead Day can be found on this site’s Photo page.