Pieces of history — Treasure seekers dig into Utah

The treasure seekers, all part of the Utah Treasure Association, are devoted historians searching for forsaken objects. From coins and trade tokens to bottles and artifacts, the metal detector users, dump sifters and bottle diggers search for pieces of the past.

"For me it's kind of a quest to find out more about Western history," Brent Montgomery of Millcreek said. "I'm very interested in that. It's kind of what got me into metal detecting."

Montgomery has been treasure hunting for the past 12 years. Four years ago he joined the Utah Treasure Association.

"It's just kind of a fun group to get together and share our stories of what we do," Montgomery said.

The Utah Treasure Association was founded in June 2001 by Dave Kyte of Midvale.

"We're a varied bunch," Kyte said. "We dig bottles, look for metal in the ground (and we're) historians."

Today there are 65 members who come from as far away as Morgan and Provo. They are experts in finding, metal detecting, locating and "tracking down the most likely spots to find stuff," Kyte said.

Hunter Rick Holt, of Midvale, who has an extensive bottle collection, got involved with the association because he said it gives him and fellow collectors an opportunity to bring new folks into the hobby.

"The group is a great fellowship of collectors addicted to our particular pastime," Holt said. "We get together and share common interest and give sympathy to our wives who have to put up with us."

The group meets monthly at the Midvale History Museum, 7699 S. Main. During these gatherings, members listen to experts discuss their collecting passions. Past speakers include collector Doug Wright, KSL radio talk host; Douglas Nyholm, who recently published a book on Mormon currency; and Chuck Larson, who recently published a book on forgery.

Association members also take the stage on occasion to school the group on their collecting expertise.

"It's a hobby where you've always got new people coming in, and they need to know how to go about finding stuff," Kyte said.

Group members often share tricks of the trade with each other. One treasure-hunting tip is that certain areas are more conducive for finding buried goods. Kyte said hunters often search in old trash beds for artifacts.

"There's certain things you look for, old gullies, the edge of the towns, there's always a trash pit someplace," he said. "Even in people's yards. In the early days they'd bury a lot of the trash in their own yards."

A lot of things that people threw away in the past are valuable now, Kyte said.

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