Just a few feet below the ground, some of the greatest treasures are itching to be discovered.
Charlotte Stevenson has mastered the art of finding Chattanooga's hidden treasures. She started metal detecting about 15 years ago and has been discovering lost or forgotten items ever since.
"I have learned a lot about Chattanooga just from some of the things I've found, like store tokens that tell you about stores that are long gone and forgotten," she said.
She says she has always been interested in history and reads quite a bit about it. The showcase of found items by the Chattanooga Area Relic and Historical Association always fascinated her each year while they had a booth at the county fair.
Now, she is a finder, and keeper of stories.
In addition to store tokens, Stevenson finds Civil War bullets, coins, school tokens and political tokens. She says her favorite item discovered was an Abraham Lincoln political token dated 1864, the year he was assassinated.
She is not always successful, however. She finds quite a bit of trash, especially in places where people have lived for a long time. Despite this, she keeps searching.
Stevenson always keeps her metal detector with her so she can explore new places, she says. When she can find the time and get permission to search on new property, she pulls the detector from her car and starts the hunt. Some of her most successful places are where construction is taking place, allowing her to get better access at objects buried deeper in the soil.
While the hobby frustrates some people, Stevenson finds that it makes her feel more relaxed. She only occasionally gets frustrated if she comes home with absolutely nothing.
"But you know, it only takes coming out with that one thing and you're hooked," she said.
Moment is a weekly column by the Times Free Press photo staff that explores the seldom-told stories of our region.
Charlotte Stevenson searches for buried objects with her metal detector in Chattanooga.