Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
Here is the link.
After 17,000 Years, a Rediscovered Conch Horn Is Played Again (gizmodo.com)
Below is a horse conch horn that I found a few years ago. It isn't easy to play. I just went out and tried it again. Didn't do very well.
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| Horse Conch Horn. |
They aren't necessarily ancient. They were used in pioneer days for hunting and other things. I would guess the slit on this one was for a strap.
Here is something you will want to read.
My pioneer days in Florida, 1876-1898 (ufl.edu)
Here is a brief excerpt that mentions the use of a conch horn.
Very good reading. Here are a couple more quick excerpts.
You might enjoy reading the rest of it.
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The Dream Home.
About twenty years ago on a road not far from where I live, there was a tangled thickly overgrown corner lot covered by pepper trees, vines and thorns that defied exploring One day I crossed the railroad tracks, like I had done hundreds of times before, and came down the hill and noticed the lot being cleared. Days later, a concrete foundation appeared, and then walls and window and eventually a nearly complete house. I wondered who would move in. Then one day, when I crossed the tracks, I noticed a car parked on the other side of the road. A young couple excitedly got out, crossed the road and with obvious excitement inspected the new home.
I got to know that couple. They were originally from the Philippines where one of them was a dentist. They moved to South Florida, but the fellow couldn't practice dentistry there without repeating a lot of -his schooling. Being a very bright fellow, he took up day-trading during the dot-com boom of the 90s and made a good bit of money. He saw a plane descending one day and took it as a sign that the boom was over, so he sold in time.
He found that lot, which overlooked the water, and built his dream home. He told me that he always wanted a house overlooking the water.
I remember my wife attending a baby shower at the new house. Before long he had a two children.
Things didn't go so well from there. The fellow tried various things - sales, landscaping and generally anything he could do but had trouble getting anything going.
I sat in the house and prayed with the fellow one day. He wondered how I knew what he was going through.
The children grew, attended grade school and then high school. The beautiful new lawn gradually died and turned to weeds.
An old house across the road, which was built in 1909, was torn down after the hurricanes of 2004. I detected that lot and found some interesting things.
Then one day, I saw an elderly man with a walker in front of the home. Evidently it was the grandfather. I saw him from time to time. It made me sad. I know how it is to take care of a declining parent.
Eventually the dream home was put up for sale. Agents changed a time or two. The house was put up for auction and didn't sell again.
The home was eventually bought. I would guess for a very low price. Now it has been somewhat remodeled.
A new young couple lives there now. They built a small porch looking out over the water. Presumably they dreamed of having a house on the water too. All in a lifetime.
Dreams come and go, but hope springs eternal.
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Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net