We are a metal detecting club in Northeastern Illinois around the Joliet / Chicagoland area. Our club was formed in 1983 and several founding members are still active with the club. Our current enrollment consists of 100 members, which includes several young metal detectorist (between the ages of 12 and 17).
Club Meetings are held the fourth Tuesday of the month at the American Legion Hall, 2625 Ingalls Av, Joliet 60435 (click on the Directions Map at the bottom to get directions. )
At the meetings we have tables set up for exhibiting members finds of the month. Categories include Best Coin, Oldest Coin, Foreign Coin, Jewelry, Tokens, Relics and other categories. Each attending member then votes for the best find of the month in each category and points are awarded to the member that found the item. Prizes are awarded at the end of the year.
The meeting is also a great place for members to discuss research techniques and methods, demonstrations of new equipment, how to sessions and general knowledge sharing. In addition to all of the great sharing of information, there are three fun events that happen during the meetings . The first is the the attendance drawing. When members sign the attendance roster they get a number based on the list and then we use a ping pong ball Bingo spinner and numbers are pulled in a random drawing. Interesting prizes are awarded. We have a raffle during each meeting. Members buy tickets and then a random drawing occurs. Again many interesting prizes are awarded. The third fun event is a 50/50 ticket drawing where everyone who buys a ticket gets a chance to split the pot. Guests are always welcome.
Club Hunts are a members only with guests of members or people who would like to join the organization, event held twice a month (once a month during the winter). Our Hunt Master or club members select a location(s) that has a lot of history surrounding its use and purpose. The appropriate permissions are gotten for the location. WCHRRA members gather at a designated spot and are briefed about the history and any restrictions, then disperse into the field to look for coins and other relics or artifacts. The hunt lasts about 3 hours and then the members return to the meeting spot to share their finds and stories. As members of the Will County Historical Research and Recovery Association, we abide and practice the Code of Ethics of metal detecting.
The Club Family Picnic is a fun filled picnic sponsored by WCHRRA. A barbeque grill is set up and our Grill Master cooks up a selection of hot dogs, burgers, chicken and buns which are supplied by the club. Members bring a salad, a side dish or dessert to pass around and their own drinks. While at the picnic, a scheduled club hunt is held in the morning. There is a special President's Surprise Target(s) hunt buried around the area with special prizes awarded to those dig up the specificed targets. Then the event of the year is held. In the afternoon a Seeded Hunt is held in a nearby location. Coins of all sorts and sizes as well as tokens are hidden in the hunt area. Many of the coins are silver and range in dates from the 1800's to modern coins. The tokens are numbered and each numbered token has a prize associated with it. The prizes are wonderful and well worth the fun and effort of the hunt.
The Club Raffle is an annual event that WCHRRA sponsors to fund various events and programs throughout the year. The tickets go on sale in April and the drawing is held during the August club meeting. Winners will be notified and need not be present. Raffle tickets cost $10 each, there are total of 300 tickets issued. This year's (2022) prize list includes first prize: TBD, second prize, TBD, and third prize is a TBD and additional prizes maybe drawn depending on the total ticket sales or if additional prizes are donated.
The WCHRRA Christmas Party is another family oriented event held at the end of the year. At this event is a catered dinner is supplied by the club and we share stories and talk about the great finds we discovered throughout the year. It is a chance for all the long suffering metal detecting widows, widowers, and significant others to commiserate. It's also a time to reflect on the events of the year and a look forward to next year's treasure hunts.
For additional information please send an email to info@wchrra.org