Meet London’s own treasure hunter

Londoner When spring rolls around and Steve Miles dusts off his metal detector, it means potential new treasures and hopefully a new story or two about some of London’s early pioneers. For the past 16 years or so, Miles, a retired high school teacher, has been scouring farmers fields in what used to be London Township. After unearthing a few interesting artifacts that can be linked back to pioneers like Richard Talbot, Miles has found an engaging hobby that has him excited every year to learn more about local history. “Every time you go out, it’s like you’re finding treasure that’s never been found before,” said Miles, who now has an extensive collection of military buttons, pipe stems, coins, bells and other trinkets from the 18th and 19th centuries. “Once I started associating the finds with people (like Talbot), and finding things like bells and what they meant … I found that their lives are very, very exciting.”

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