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2006 - 2007 Pawling Recreation Summer Camps for 5th, 6th, & 7th Graders
Among his many contributions to the hobby of metal detecting, Ken Sterling passionately promoted community
awareness and shared the enjoyment of the sport in many ways, including civic education and advocacy of
ethical target recovery practices. Just one example of his many kindhearted efforts was his generous
donations and enthusiatic participation during a series of metal detecting seminars that Ken championed for
the Pawling, NY Recreation Center's Summer Camp programs for 5th, 6th, and 7th graders during 2006 and 2007.
On July 18th of 2006, the P/WMD&AS club, in conjunction with sponsorship from Valley Coin, conducted
a metal detecting seminar, specifically tailored for the Summer Day Camp program. As one can imagine,
successfully organizing such an effort for 45 youthful participants takes a lot of effort to secure loaned machines,
acquire targets, seed a recovery zone, patiently provide instructions on proper retrieval, and ensure that
everyone had a safe and fun opportunity to find treasure.
At the display and refreshment tables, Ken exhibited his numerous, inspiring display cases of finds as he
answered many questions. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and thanks to the contributions by Ken Sterling
and Ed Zehall, all in attendance were able to search for coins and tokens.
Ken worked alongside other club members, including Conrad Rasinski, and Don and Carol Mayers, to assist
the excited participants with instructions on how to operate the equipment and safely retrieve targets.
On that day, Ken also donated a metal detector, that was used as a grand prize for a seeded hunt contest.
The pictures at the top of this page show Ken with his display cases and awarding the metal detector
to the young man who found the winning "Lucky Leprechaun" token.
The enthusiasm of the 2006 seminar was so well received, two additional seminars were held during July and August of 2007,
with approximately 70 youngsters. Thanks to the generosity of Ken Sterling, Fred Shipman, Carol Mayers, and Steve Barrett,
the beach at Lakeside was well seeded with wheat pennies, Indian heads, U.S. Dollar coins, foreign coins, and tokens
that could be exchanged for prizes. Don Mayers provided the instructional program, while Ken Sterling, Ted Izzo,
Fred Shipman, Carol Mayers, Don Carter, Paul and Edie Maloney, and Steve Barrett provided "in the field" hands-on assistance
with using the machines. Wayne Homon donated a Bounty Hunter detector, complete with headphones that was presented
to the Recreation Department, who used it as an adjunct to their day camper program.
In appreciation for the staff promoting the advancement of metal detecting opportunities, a display case was
assembled, containing interesting finds from the Lakeside Park area, and presented to the Town of Pawling, who in turn
provided a colorful collage of the successful 2007 Summer camp metal detecting seminars.
It truly takes a village to organize and execute events such as these, but Ken Sterling was certainly a prominent
and pivotal member, who not only attended, but provided expertise and inspiring leadership on those wonderful days!
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