Rumors that gold had been discovered at La Hacienda Recreation Center near Spanish Springs in The Villages were swirling Wednesday morning, as a group of eight Camp Villages children all found gold sparkling in their pans.
Back in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, periods of feverish migrations of workers and their families occurred in areas where major gold deposits were rumored — in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, South America and the United States. People picked up stakes and moved lock, stock and barrel in their quest for instant riches. Some claims were bogus, leading to grave disappointment; but where large veins of the precious metal were genuine, heavy equipment was brought in to process the gold. Small settlements and even cities grew up around the bonanza sites, forever changing the surrounding landscape. Much smaller lodes, like those discovered by grandkids near Lake Mira Mar in The Villages, may also spark kids’ summer vacation migrations back to grandma and grandpa’s house next year!
Taller kids stood in a row and panned for gold using a series of
water bins on tables. Smaller kids’ bins were placed on lower chairs for easier reach. Chloe Ringler, from Erin, Ontario, Canada (near Toronto), was working her pan of dirt, looking for any glimmer of light she could find. Chloe was having fun visiting her step-grandpa, Blais Marcel and his wife, Carmelle, in the Villages. “Chloe is a little firecracker,” Marcel said, “very outgoing and active; her sister, Gabrielle, 10, is much more quiet.” Gabrielle was also shuffling her pan, squinting her eyes looking for paydirt.
Village of Charlotte resident George Drake took some good pictures of his grandson, Riley Drake, from Woodstock, Ga., and his pan of dirt. Riley was one of the first kids to get lucky! Project leader, Gary Carr, from Santiago Village, collected the gold threads Riley found and put them in a small vial of liquid. “People can make jewelry out of their gold,” Carr told Riley and his grandfather, and others just have them as keepsakes. Just like in Alaska, the kids can place their gold inside necklace lockets, and they make nice ‘lucky’ keychains too.
About 40 minutes into the project, Rec Department staff pointed out some black clouds approaching the outdoor area. “You can’t really see it now,” they announced, “but we were just told a big storm is coming — so we need to move all this inside.” With perfect timing, the rain held off until all the chairs, tables and participants were safely inside. “The Villages is so good about safety,” said Samantha Rey, who was watching the activities. “They relay storm information to all their rec centers and golf course people, and they’re accurate most of the time.”
