MONEY TREE

Every now and then we all could use a little extra money. Maybe 20 dollars, 100, or maybe 1,500, maybe more or less. And a lot of us watch our money really well. Dome of us have a hard time just balancing a checkbook. Others seem to just have a knack for money -- seems like it just kind of sticks to them, and the more it sticks it seems the more they get.


Wouldn't it be neat, as the saying goes, to just go out to the money tree and pick some money. Well, years ago, that wasn't as far fetched as it sounds. Your great, great, great grandfather and grandmother may have had a money tree or a nest egg somewhere. Back then, some people did not trust banks or the bank was too far from home.


If you lived out in the country and maybe sold some of your cows or corn you were paid in hard cash right there on the spot. So, you would take your money and set some aside for paying on your bills and then you would maybe stash a dollar or two. But, where to put it? Maybe you'd stash all of it until you could get to town. Maybe you were afraid of being robbed or were one of those who did not trust the bank.


So, some farmers would pick a good spot that they could always keep an eye on. Like that big old pecan tree in the backyard that he can see from his upstairs bedroom window. There we have our money tree! Or grandma sells some veggies out of her garden and maybe some eggs from the chickens. She takes her money and wants to have a little to put aside also. She takes and hides a little of it out in the chicken coop. There we have our nest egg. Maybe she wants to keep a closer eye on her little bit of money and stashes it in her garden that she can see from the kitchen window.


People will hide stuff just about any where they can think of. My dad used to collect silver coins. Well, my sisters and I found a whole jar of dimes back in the late 1960's. I'm talking about a whole Mason jar full! We were in hog heaven. We made a run to the candy store. We made a run to the toy store. We made a run to the ice cream store. We spent that whole jar of dimes in one day.

We found this jar in a box of junk that was in the shed in our backyard. We were told to clean out the shed. It was so full, that if you needed to put something in it it took two people. One to open the door real fast and the other to hurry and throw whatever it was into the shed and slam the door shut. If you needed to get into the shed, you stood to one side as you opened the door. Otherwise you were buried in stuff as it fell out of the shed.


It wasn't until years later that we found out from our dad that the coins were silver and had been quite valuable. Can you imagine what they would be worth today? Wow! People use to hide stuff of value all over the place. I found a old coffee can years ago on a hunting trip that had been stashed under the front porch of a old home stead place on my uncle's ranch. In the can were some silver forks, spoons, and a couple of knives, also some old Confederate paper money. The can had been sealed up in a old dutch oven. The oven was upside down and the coffee can was upright in the oven. It was not buried, but just setting under the porch. If that part of the porch had not fallen in and rotted. I would not have ever seen it.


If you're out and about yard sale surfing, garage sale looking, or maybe at the flea market look at some of the stuff they are selling. If you buy something like an old mirror that set on a dresser, take a look at the back. Has it been messed with? Or on old pictures -- check out the backs of them. I had a friend who bought some old picture in one of those oval looking frames, and when he got it home he took it apart to clean the frame and glass. When he took it apart, out from behind the frame fell three one hundred dollar bills.

For sound found items, the owners have passed on. People have found things from the Civil War or earlier. If you have lost something of value, like a ring or jewelry, look and see if you can find a metal detecting club in your area. They will be more than glad to help you find it. Lots of these people have found old class rings and such on their own and have gone to the trouble to look for and return the item to the rightful owner.


So, keep your eyes open -- you never know what you might find. You just might be lucky enough to find your own little money tree!