“Why should you subscribe to my Substack page?”

Hopefully, by the time you finish reading this brief “About Me” page, you’ll have a better understanding of who I am, and what my newsletter, “Exploring History’s Treasures” is about.

“Treasure Island”

At the age of ten, I watched the movie, “Treasure Island. I was instantly captivated by the story. After that movie, I began reading stories about pirates and buried treasures. I dressed like a pirate and even had a black eye patch to cover one eye. My friends and I would bury coins pretending they were treasures.

From A Ficional Pirate To Real World Events

I eventually grew from a ten-year-old pirate to a curious seventeen-year-old with many questions. It was a time when my incessant love of fictional treasure-hunting stories was replaced by the real-life tragedies of the early 1960s.

There was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. At the same time, Russia was building nuclear missiles and wanted to wipe America off the planet. The Vietnam War was killing my friends and thousands of others. Those were the horrors of my young life. And to make things worse, the ice age was coming. Every night the TV news showed stories about how America and the rest of the world were going to turn into a frozen kingsized popsicle. “Millions will die within twenty years,” were the oft-repeated words from the media.  I was confused. All of the above happenings impacted my young life. I didn’t know who or what to believe. But what I did know, was that a change in my life was needed.

The Military and The Vietnam War

After graduating high school, and with the Vietnam War raging, I witnessed more horror. My high school friends were dying in Vietnam. My Selective Service number and the Draft were approaching. It would not be long before I would also be off to war. Attending college was not for me. I was smart enough to recognize that college would be a waste of money. It was inevitable. My time to serve America had arrived.

After speaking to an Army recruiter I took the physical and failed it. Scoliosis was the reason why the Army did not want me. I knew if the army did not want to take a chance on me then the Marines surely would not.  The Navy was out of the question because I disliked the water and boats. And because I disliked the water, I couldn’t swim a stroke. I was a sinker. Drop me in the water, tell me “sink or swim,” and I sank like a rock. So, off to the Air Force recruiter I went.

At seventeen, I joined the Air Force. The Air Force recruiter told me that enlisting would assure me of being a jet engine mechanic. I loved that idea. Building plastic model airplanes was a favorite pastime.  However, Mr. AF Recruiter pulled the three-card monty on me. After basic training, the Air Force assigned me to a Titan II Missile outfit in Arizona. “No. No.” I screamed to my CO (Commanding Officer). “This is wrong. The Air Force made a mistake. I’m supposed to be a jet engine mechanic. I’m gonna call my Congressman.”  Well, my tantrum fell on deaf ears. Off to the desert of Arizona, I went. I was now a Titan II Missile Maintenance technician in the Strategic Air Command, SAC.

The Treasures of Arizona

During that time, I read stories about the various treasures in that part of the country. I was fascinated by the adventures of the treasure hunters who were locating hoards of all kinds. Treasures were being found in mines, old ghost towns, inside old settlers' homes, and in caves.  Those stories were seeds planted in me, which would later grow into exciting adventures of my own.

Business, Marriage and Family

After being discharged from the Air Force, I moved from job to job. That’s when I realized how independent I was. I did not like the idea of a boss or a company controlling my earnings, my life, or how I should work. So I decided to sell insurance and eventually opened an agency that included Financial Planning. This gave me the freedom to control my work schedule and my income.

During this time my interest in treasure hunting peaked. I was reading every treasure-hunting and metal-detecting magazine I could get my hands on. I read books about treasures and stories about pirates. I read one after the other. I saved the magazines and books. I kept notes and files for future research. It was the beginning of the creation of my large library of information.

In those early years while working in my business I continued to metal detect part-time.  But, I realized I was becoming bored with locating old silver coins and relics. I wanted the excitement of searching for and locating a buried treasure. “Why not me?” I asked myself. “If others could locate buried treasures, then so can I. After all, I reasoned. My research information library had grown to more than 1000 books, magazines, and hundreds of files on buried treasure. I had the information to locate treasures. I knew it was time to begin concentrating first on buried treasures in my immediate area. But there was also something else I was understanding.

All of my reading, research, and traveling to metal detect across America, I was awakened to the fact that America’s history is not what I nor millions of others had been taught. The realization that we have been duped into believing myths about America only infused me with more curiosity to search out the truth about all history. Metal detecting was one of the tools I used to discover the truths regarding history.

For thirty-five years I worked in my businesses. And then one day after realizing how bored I was, I decided to retire. I was now able to concentrate full-time on metal detecting/treasure hunting and discovering history. 

What About a TV Show?

It was also a time when I realized that with all of the information printed in books and magazines about metal detecting, there was not one TV series about the hobby. I knew that the metal-detecting community was a huge market. It was worldwide. I believed that the interest in a TV show that depicted the hobby in a real, adventurous, and honest way would be popular among metal-detecting enthusiasts. That was the thought that moved me forward to produce and host the first metal-detecting, reality, TV series, “Exploring History’s Treasures.”

The time for such a TV series was right. Reality TV was beginning, and shows like “The Great Race”, and “Survivor” were at the top of the rating charts. Not knowing anything about TV production, I jumped with both feet right into the world of television production. YouTube metal-detecting videos at that time were still in its infancy. My “Exploring History’s Treasures” TV show trailer was one of the first metal-detecting videos on YouTube.

But I also learned “if you aren’t in the club. They aren’t letting you in.” The television industry is the “good ole boys club.” It doesn’t make any difference how good your show is. If your ticket to the club isn’t punched…you ain’t getting a seat. If you are lucky to get into the club to meet with a TV Exec, well you only end up getting the “two-step” slap on the back, “you got a nice show, we’ll be in touch” kind of drivel. Anyway, in the end, without any help from the “club”, I persevered, and my TV series was broadcast to every State. Since that time, countless TV shows are about the hobby.

Viewers were telling me how much they loved the show. They were saying, “It’s about time we have a series like this.” “I can’t wait for the next episode.” “You and your co-host John are great together.”

“I love the history you tell about the items you find.” “When’s the next show?”

"Love Your Show."
"More Please"

When we filmed the series there was no benchmark to go by. I had no one to follow. We were going purely on instinct and my years of experience in metal detecting/treasure hunting. But, the one thing I did know, was that my series would not lie to my viewers. If we had to film ten hours a day to get a half-hour show, then we would. My commitment to my viewers was to have an honest, reality, TV series. There would be no scripting of scenes before filming. I wanted my series to be truthful.

For three years “Exploring History’s Treasures,” TV series, was broadcast on small, independent, cable stations. As the shows were televised, emails from viewers who heard of buried treasures wanted me to help search for them. Moreover, I was being contacted by people saying they had seen strange-looking symbols carved into rocks and trees on their properties, or where they hunted. They thought the symbols might be indications of a treasure. Those contacts allowed me to travel and treasure hunt in areas I never thought I would ever get to see. I began writing about my journeys. I traveled and spoke about buried treasures, American History, secret codes, symbols, and secret societies. Junior high schools and high schools purchased my videos of “Exploring History’s Treasures” as a teaching aid for American history classes.

Why Subscribe?

My fifty-plus years of being in the metal-detecting/treasure-hunting, and my knowledge of American history have provided me with the opportunity to pass all of that information to you.

Subscribe, and receive stories about metal detecting/treasure hunting, lost and buried treasures, treasures found, secret societies, metal detecting updates within the hobby, chatroom discussions, videos, “How To” articles, and more.

And subscribing is FREE…However

By being a “Paid” subscriber, you will be receiving much more in subscriber benefits, such as SPECIAL articles and stories, chatroom discussions, SPECIAL videos, access to archived articles, and more. In addition, by being a paid subscriber you will also be contributing to my future involvement on Substack.

Writing, researching, and managing a page of hundreds of articles, future podcasts, and archives is a major endeavor.  Much of what is being read on the net is now “subscriber paid.” Large media companies have moved to “paid subscribers”.

Stay Up To Date

You won’t have to worry about missing anything. “Exploring History’s Treasures” goes directly to your inbox. Issues will arrive sporadically, anytime I feel like sharing a story, a report about the hobby, a treasure hunting find, a “how to” article or a commentary, and more.

Join Many Others

Join others who have followed me through my TV series, websites, newsletters, books, and now here at Substack.

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Thanks,

F.W. Pandozzi

Substack.com.

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Discover history through metal detecting. You will read about lost and buried treasures. View metal-detecting TV show videos. Join in discussion threads and chatrooms. Learn about the metal-detecting hobby. Understand metal-detecting laws and more.

People

F.W. Pandozzi is a writer, author, researcher, TV producer, and treasure hunter, with more than fifty years of experience.