It's Not Easy- Treasure Can Be Hard to Find!

Today I'm going to talk about finding treasure.

I have told you in the past that I have gone dumpster diving, climbed around in dusty attics and rummaged in musty basements in my search of treasure. There have been times when, regardless of my efforts, I have come up empty handed. I have driven thousands of miles to find nothing.

So has it been worth it? You bet it has!

I have been able to fulfill my childhood dream of being a treasure hunter. The stories such as Treasure Island are still alive and well in my mind. Where else can you have so much fun, meet so many wonderful people, share your testimony with others and at the same time make enough money to retire on? If you know of one I would like for you to share it with our group.

But it isn't always easy- if it were everyone would be doing it and the opportunity wouldn't be there for us. Where else can you involve your wife and children in a activity that is fun and rewarding, plus being a way to keep the family together? I don't know of any other one, so I will continue to share my stories with everyone I meet.

Warner Smith, a friend and business partner, tells a story of our adventures together and now I want to share it with you.

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I will never forget the two road trips that we made together out to Baltimore. A woman responded to one of the ads that we ran and told us that she inherited hundreds of pieces of Rookwood pottery. Daryle first flew out to assess the situation and upon his return told me that we would need to go out there and see what was what – there was just too many boxes packed up and it would take hours and hours to go through it all.

Knowing how Daryle loves a good story I was pessimistic about exactly how much work it was going to be. On our drive out there together (a 700+ mile journey each way) Daryle kept going on and on, telling me “You’re not going to believe it”. I’m quite a bit younger than Daryle and figured that I’d get my young able body there and dig into whatever boxes she had and we’d be out of there by nightfall.

After driving 11 hours through the night, we arrived at our destination. When this lady opened her garage door, which is where some of the boxes were stored, I was a little bit taken back by the scope of the job at hand. The garage was full from floor to ceiling with moving boxes. Still trying to maintain my optimism, it wasn’t until we were a couple of hours into unpacking these boxes that I realized that we’d hardly dented the job at hand.

We worked until we were simply too exhausted to do anything more (and for the record, Daryle can keep up with this young guy no problem!). This was really a treasure hunt, as most of the items that were packed were not even worth what the packing paper cost. I’m talking about baby food jars, pickle jars, plastic plates– total JUNK. But then every hour or so we’d find a piece of Rookwood or Roseville pottery packed in with that same junk and it was rejuvenating!

We ended up renting a 12 foot U-haul trailer and towing it all the way back, completely overloaded and towing it through the mountains in the dark – like I said, a real adventure! I told myself I never wanted to do that again, but in the back of my mind I knew that we’d made it through less than half of what was there in the 2 days we spent working.

I started thinking (and I know Daryle did too, although neither one of us would admit it to each other right then and there because we were physically drained from what we had done) that the “good stuff” might still be packed away in those boxes we left behind. Having been bitten by the treasure hunting bug in the worst way, it wasn’t more than a couple of days before Daryle and I came clean with each other and admitted that we had no real choice but to make another trip out there to finish what we started.

In a couple of weeks we were headed back out there for another grueling session. Those trips will be permanently etched in my memory forever. We worked extremely hard and at the end of the day we made a enough money to reach our goal. I still remember what Daryle said to me when we were pulling away from her house after our second trip out there. Sweaty, dirty, tired, and knowing that we had a grueling 12 hour trip ahead of us Daryle looked over at me and with the most serious look on his face asked me, “Would you do that again for another 10 thousand dollars?” I had to think real hard about that..before I could answer Daryle answered his own question, “I wouldn’t”.

“I wouldn’t do it again for 10 grand more”.

The task had finally gotten to both of us. It was something we survived and something we’ll remember forever. Over the years Daryle and I made several road trips and traveling with Daryle was (and still IS) one of my most favorite things to do. I’d rather go on a road trip with Daryle than take a luxury vacation. It’s THAT much fun! Just two guys spending time away from our families and day-to-day life on an adventure.

I guess it’s like what a fishing trip would be for some other guys, but in the case with Daryle I know that our chances of “catching” something are much greater! The time and knowledge that I’ve gained from Daryle has made a difference in my life, both financially and in the ways that I approach different situations and deal with people. He has been a very positive influence to me and through our initial meeting we have become the closest of friends.

I would recommend for anyone that wants to be in the Antique and collectible business Daryle S. Lambert is a person you must know.

-- Warner Smith



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As you can see, this is a way to enjoy the company of those that share your interest. Please share with us stories of your hunt for treasure.