The Shadow
The son of a Grundy coal miner, Don Gibson, a self-employed painter who resides in Bath County, enjoys searching for valuables with his new metal detector.
“I’ve been at it (searching for valuables) for two years now, and I really enjoy it,” Gibson remarked.
Growing up in Grundy where his family depended upon the mining industry, Don, like his father, entered the coal mines as his first job.
After four years of working in a deep coal mine with a 32” seam, Don decided to move to Bath County where he had visited as an avid deer hunter.
Don recalled, “I used to come here deer hunting, and I like the area and decided to move here.”
Don moved to Bath County in 1992 and established his business as a professional painter. Since then, he has prospered as a painter, married a girl from Bath County and built his home in Bath County.
Some of the paintings that he has done can be viewed at the Buckhorne Country Store and Campground at 3508 Douthat Road where he painted the metal structure that holds the Hunt Brothers Pizza Sign located beside Route 29.
Don camped at the Buckhorne for four months while his house was being constructed north of Douthat State Park.
He revealed, “I’ve been in construction and painting most of my life.”
Born on Oct. 6, 1962, Don continues to hunt deer, and when he is not enjoying searching for treasure with his new Garrett ACE-400, he enjoys fishing.
The Garrett ACE-400 permits Don to search underground up to 14 inches deep.
Don observed, “Larger objects can be detected 14” deep, but smaller metal objects like coins can only be detected about 10” deep.”
His metal detector features a screen that indicates the likely type of object that lies buried, and a different beep pattern indicates the size and likelihood of the metal object being a coin or a larger metal object.
Don considers his best discoveries thus far to be gold rings, silver rings and several old silver coins.
