By Jared Janzen
Local Yokel Reporter
Since the day I moved into my new apartment in Hutchinson, I’ve known there was treasure waiting to be found in the backyard.
That very first day in late July, I was already finding coins all over the yard. I don’t remember exactly how many I collected, but I think there were a couple dimes and seven or eight pennies. It made for a nice little reimbursement on my deposit.
Over the past couple months, I’ve continued to find pennies in the dirt on occasion and even a few marbles.
There’s been not-so-fun stuff to find in the backyard, as well. One evening I filled up an entire bag of trash that I picked out of the fence line. On another occasion, I worked on picking smaller bits of trash, like bottle caps and gum wrappers, out of the grass throughout the yard.
According to the legend that was passed down to me by a neighbor, the person who lived in this apartment before me was something of a hoarder. I’m guessing that may have something to do with all the riffraff in the yard.
After that person left, the apartment was fully renovated, so there’s probably also some construction refuse at play in the yard. And then, when you factor in that our dumpster is right there in the yard as well, you’ve got a trash trifecta.
This week, I got serious about finding treasure in the backyard. My parents have a powerful magnet attached to a three-foot-long stick that’s perfect for just this sort of thing.
Monday evening, after a relatively short South Hutchinson City Council meeting, I had enough daylight left to grab the magnet stick, put on an Amy Poehler podcast, and get to hunting.
I was not disappointed (although maybe I just have low standards).
Get a load of this list: 18 nails and 12 screws of various shapes and sizes, four nuts, four washers, a thumbtack, a bottlecap, a staple and some miscellaneous bits of wire and metal.
All I need is a few pieces of wood, and I could build a birdhouse.
But wait, there’s more! I also found two short bungee cables, a AAA battery, two watch batteries, a sewing pin, and a small earring. You could argue that at least a few of these items still have value.
I also picked up two more pennies and another marble during this search. Not bad for a day’s work.
I can’t promise that I’m going to throw all this junk away, at least not immediately. After all, I’m the same guy who once fished several hundred rusty old nails out of a campfire pit and kept them for five years, even though they were beyond any practical use.
I just find this odd assortment of scraps really interesting.
After all, how does the old saying go? One man’s trash that he won’t even bother cleaning up is another man’s treasure that he’ll place in a jar on his mantlepiece and proudly show to any guests in his home.
Jared Janzen is a reporter for the Hutchinson Tribune. He may be reached at jared@hutchtribune.com.