Did Anyone Call for a Limo & a Cicada Watch?

[ANTIQUARIAN]

I’m literally going crazy not being able to field hunt these days! So I made the decision to approach the owners of a c.1870 farmhouse across the street from a ‘naturalized’ park that I’ve been making some interesting ‘horse related finds’ at over the past two years. I took the finds from the park, which was part of the original farm with me to show to them. They were very interested and offered to let me detect their now very small property on Sunday morning. I even gave them a horseshoe and a half dozen iron & brass horse buckles I'd found.

I had some time to kill Sunday before I went to the old farmhouse, as it was only 7:00am, so I decided to hit the c1923 Ritson Public School.

Built in 1923 when The City of Oshawa was growing. Ritson PS has seen its share of students, but the 2011-12 class was the last. The Durham District School Board voted to close down Ritson PS. Ritson was built when General Motors of Canada Ltd., was making its mark in Oshawa, and drawing new families to the area. "When Oshawa became a city in 1925 there were eight elementary schools and the population (of the schools) was 3,000 and Ritson was one of those." That year, there was a six-classroom addition to the school, marking the last construction to any school in Oshawa for 20 years. The school was named after John Ritson, who came to Oshawa in 1820. Apparently, John Ritson was travelling through Oshawa from Ottawa when his wagon broke down on the Kingston Road. He decided to stay in Oshawa when he heard of the need for teachers, and became Oshawa's first schoolteacher. He purchased land on Concession One, where present day Ritson Road is located, and where he lived with his wife and seven children.

My first find was the aluminum Jack & the Beanstalk game token, which I've been unable to find any information of online. Next came the 'Kronatron Electro' Cicada Watch, then the limo arrived! This watch is so clean it looks like it could be wound and used today! After not finding much else except for a handful of pennies, I headed to the farmhouse. My one and only find of interest at the small farm property was a Canada (100th Anniversary) Ontario 1867 Commemorative Coin.

These were medallions issued by the Shell Oil Company as a promotion (1965-68) during the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation. There was one medallion issued for each Province in Canada. The White Trillium Flower and Moose are two popular Canadian symbols for the Province of Ontario. Pieces for other provinces from this set had similar designs, such as a Tiger Lily flower, etc. Even though the date says 1867, it was actually produced in 1967. In pristine condition, these can bring up to $20 US dollars retail!

Thanks very much for looking,
Dave

 

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[Erik in NJ]

Very interesting set of finds! I really like the watch and it seems to be in nice shape.

 

[sutphin]

ATIQUE WHAT TIME IS THE LIMO TO PICK YOU UP WITH ALL YOUR FINDS......BUG WATCH IS DIFFRENT AND JACK AND THE OLE BEANSTOCK TOKEN PRETTY COOL.

 

[pepperj]

You're having a bad need to scratch the itch I see. Cool watch and it cleaned up something nice.

 

[UnderMiner]

I have the same little lady bug watch, always enjoyed how that little thing opened.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Very interesting set of finds! I really like the watch and it seems to be in nice shape.

Thanks for your post Eric!
The retractable wings protected the watch face while it's been in the ground and the plating has held up surprisingly well.

Take care buddy,
Dave

ANTIQUE WHAT TIME IS THE LIMO TO PICK YOU UP WITH ALL YOUR FINDS......BUG WATCH IS DIFFERENT AND JACK AND THE OLE BEANSTALK TOKEN PRETTY COOL.

Thanks sutphin, I've never seen a stretch-limo toy like this before... then again, I don't do schools or parks very often!
Sure wish someone could tell me more about the Beanstalk Token?
Dave

You're having a bad need to scratch the itch I see. Cool watch and it cleaned up something nice.

I know Jim, I admit it... I'm a detecting addict!
Keep cool my friend, thunderstorms are in the forecast for this afternoon.
Dave

I have the same little lady bug watch, always enjoyed how that little thing opened.

How old do you think this piece is UM, I'm thinking it likely belonged to a teacher at the school?
Dave

 

[g-olden years]

Fascinating assortment! Andi

 

[Loco-Digger]

Looks like you made good use of your time, Congrats on coming back into the civilized world to hunt and on the nice assortment of cool finds. I detect fields from time to time as well as wooded areas, but my passion is coin shooting. I have the best odds of finding older coins on private permissions. You and I are much alike. I always try to read up on the history of an area before I hunt it. Thanks for the hustory lesson of the school and on the city.

 

[pepperj]

I know Jim, I admit it... I'm a detecting addict!
Keep cool my friend, thunderstorms are in the forecast for this afternoon.
Dave.

It has been pretty sticky these past few days, a little relief would be nice.

 

[thrifty76now]

Very cool items you have unearthed there. I really love that unusual watch.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Awesome finds! The watch is great! I've never found a limo either! Nice tokens too! Congrats!

The property looks interesting!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Love that watch wow!

Thanks for your post otrkid!

Fascinating assortment! Andi

Thanks very much Andi!

Looks like you made good use of your time, Congrats on coming back into the civilized world to hunt and on the nice assortment of cool finds. I detect fields from time to time as well as wooded areas, but my passion is coin shooting. I have the best odds of finding older coins on private permissions. You and I are much alike. I always try to read up on the history of an area before I hunt it. Thanks for the history lesson of the school and on the city.

Thanks for your interest and for posting Sarge!
Don't get me wrong, I started out coin shooting in local parks in Toronto, but I got hooked on finding relic sites within a year.

I always try and give a bit of local background history to the items I find, I think it makes the finds more interesting.
Best of luck to you,
Dave

It has been pretty sticky these past few days, a little relief would be nice.

You made some very cool token finds yesterday Jim!
Must be nice to have a property right outside your backdoor to detect anytime you feel like it!

Very cool items you have unearthed there. I really love that unusual watch.

Thanks thrifty, I still think there's a silver or two hiding at this school site?
It's likely been by others over the years, although detecting is still a relatively new hobby here in Canada... but you never know!

Best of luck to you,
Dave

Awesome finds! The watch is great! I've never found a limo either! Nice tokens too! Congrats!

The property looks interesting!

I've ridden in a limo, but this is definitely a first for me MsBB!
Thanks for commenting on the tokens, I'd trade in a limo for an interesting game piece find any day!

You've made some nice finds this year too,
Dave

 

[Old Dude]

Dave, the cicada watch is great! What a neat little find. I bet someone was very sad to have lost that.

 

[NEPADIGGER7]

I've never seen one but I found this in completed listings on ebay. Cool finds hopefully u will be gettin into some silver and gold now!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Dave, the cicada watch is great! What a neat little find. I bet someone was very sad to have lost that.

This is definitely one of the things I miss most about field hunting Dave... finding 'vintage' interesting junk!
As opposed to the farm junk I usually find!

Take care,
Dave

View attachment 1187643

I've never seen one but I found this in completed listings on ebay. Cool finds hopefully u will be gettin into some silver and gold now!

Thanks very much for this NPD!
These look like they're from the 1960's, although they weren't easy to find online.

Dave

 

[Professor of Engineering]

That is an awesome watch find! Congratulations!

 

[Garrett424]

Nice bunch of finds.

The limo reminds me of one I used to drive part time; a 32 foot Cadillac Escalade.
It was fun to drive but an absolute nightmare to turn around in tight spots.

 

[CRUSADER]

Not seen a bug watch before - different find

 

[heepiepow]

Wow, that cicada watch is one of the awesomest things I've ever seen!!! (full disclosure--I'm a big cicada fan) Amazing!! If I found that I'd wear it every day as if I were Flavor Flav.

I also really like the two pics in a row of before and after cleaning. You're an excellent cleaner.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

That is an awesome watch find! Congratulations!

Thanks for your post Professor!
Best of luck to you,
Dave

Nice bunch of finds.

The limo reminds me of one I used to drive part time; a 32 foot Cadillac Escalade.
It was fun to drive but an absolute nightmare to turn around in tight spots.

I can imagine how hard these long vehicles are to maneuver Garrett.
I used to drive a Ford E450 Cube Van with a 25' trailer attached with a Wacker 2.5ton wheel loader on it most of the time!

I've driven down a few of dead-end streets looking for the entrance to a construction site and had to get creative to turn around!
Dave

Not seen a bug watch before - different find

I'd much rather find this kind of bug, then the deer flies we're now having to deal with!
Dave

Wow, that cicada watch is one of the awesomest things I've ever seen!!! (full disclosure--I'm a big cicada fan) Amazing!! If I found that I'd wear it every day as if I were Flavor Flav.

I also really like the two pics in a row of before and after cleaning. You're an excellent cleaner.

Thanks very much for your post heepiepow!
Glad to hear that you really like the Cicada watch I found, unfortunately I think it's beyond repair as it's likely been in the ground 30+ years.

As far as cleaning goes...
Most pieces I simply wash with dish soap and a soft nail brush in warm water, others I lightly brush with a toothbrush after the dirt has dried (the cicada watch) because I don't want to submerse the object. With brass and iron relics, I'll often brush them with a beeswax / mineral oil combination (like I did on the aluminum & copper tokens) to even out the finish... which makes the piece look amazing when it's dry!

Look for a PM from me heepie!
Dave