ELYRIA – There’s gold in them there hills and streams, and modern prospectors such as Mike Butcher of LaGrange are determined to find it.

Butcher spent a recent afternoon at Cascade Park with his 10-year-old daughter Alissa and found 10 specks of gold to add to his collection of gold, worth a hundred dollars or so.

Today Butcher, his wife, Jodie, and Alissa will be panning up a storm at the Swank Claim in Bellville along with other gold enthusiasts with the Buckeye Chapter of the Gold Prospectors Association of America.

“It’s not about how much gold you find – it’s about having fun!” said Alissa, who was helping her father run a couple buckets of riverbed material through a homemade sluice at Cascade Park.

With gold prices rising and hovering at $1,288 an ounce, lots of folks are taking to the streams to find gold flecks.

Mark Baranoski, a geologist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said it’s no way to get rich quickly, but the modern-day prospectors seem to be having fun.

Butcher said he has found specks of gold in the Vermilion River and even in dirt from his backyard in LaGrange.

“The next-door neighbor’s kids kept asking me about treasure hunting for gold since my daughter plays with them and tells them about finding gold, so I said we will work together and dig a hole to look for gold,” he said.

“You should have seen their faces light up when, to even my surprise, we actually found some in my backyard,” he said. “Even though it is not plentiful it can be found … even my 2-year-old daughter, Madison, gets in on the action – she loves her water shoes and playing next to the river.”

Before lifting a rock in the Black River, Butcher said he obtained permission from Elyria Parks and Recreation Director Frank Gustoff.

Gustoff said he looked into the matter and told the family they were welcome to do a little prospecting at Cascade Park as long as they didn’t do any damage.

Butcher said he’s found that fellow prospectors are extremely respectful of the property of others.

Heavy metals such as lead are often found while panning or running sluices and most prospectors remove it as a courtesy, he said.

Removing lead and trash from the riverbeds is actually helping the environment, he said, showing a pan of trash he removed from Cascade Park with Alissa’s help.

People who pay the $76.50 Gold Prospectors Association of America membership gather at three Ohio claims where they can camp for free – which is pretty important in this economic downturn, Butcher said.

“It’s opened up camping to us – we just have to come up with gas money and food,” Butcher said.

Butcher said he has only spent a few months as a member of the gold prospector’s group, but he’s already hooked.

“In May, I didn’t know what a gold nugget looked like,” he said.

Baranoski, the geologist for the state, said he tried panning for gold in Black Lick Creek behind his own house in eastern Franklin County and found a fleck or two.

Most Ohio gold found in streams comes from deposits left by the glaciers which covered northern Ohio, he said.

There might be some veins of gold 5,000 feet underground in Ohio, but it would be too costly to mine for it, he said.

Shifting of Teutonic plates which make up the earth’s surface creates mountains which brought gold closer to the surface in California, Canada and other gold mining hot spots, and Ohio is not particularly known for discovery of big nuggets of gold, Baranoski said.

But it isn’t stopping people like Butcher from enjoying the environment and trying to find a little treasure, he said.

“It’s a nice way to stay home in the state and have a little fun,” Baranoski said.

Even the most ardent members of the Gold Prospectors Association of America admit they aren’t getting rich quickly.

Dennis Staskiewicz, vice president of the Buckeye Chapter, remembered his biggest find.

“I found a 3-gram nugget, which is phenomenal in Ohio,” he said. “Mostly we’re out here for fun and camaraderie.”

GOLD RUSH DAYS

What: Gold Rush Days with the Buckeye Chapter of the Gold Prospectors Association of America.

When: Activities begin today with an 8 a.m. outdoor church service and end after a 7 p.m. talent contest. There will be a gold pan race, a kids metal detector contest, a chili cook-off, tug-of-war contest, cornhole tournament and venders selling food, drink and prospecting supplies.

Cost: Most activities are free.

Where: The Swank Claim at 1288 Gatton Rocks Road, Bellville, OH 44813.

Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.

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