I Was a Very Shy Little Girl. When My Mother Would Drop Me Off At

People often ask me whether my interest in searching for buried items started in my childhood. Left: Sue at age nine. Right: The Hendrickson family at home in Munster, Indiana.

GrowingUp

by Sue Hendrickson

To start at the beginning: I was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 2, 1949, and grew up in the suburb of Munster, Indiana. I was the middle of three children, with an older brother and a younger sister.

I was a very shy little girl. When my mother would drop me off at

birthday parties, I'd simply sit on the doorstep for hours. Mom would come back to get me and find that I'd never even gone inside!

When I was seven, I joined the Brownies and stayed with the Girl Scouts until junior high. I loved the challenge of earning badges and learning about the outdoors.

Sue as a Brownie (front row, left)

I enjoyed going to school and always wanted to know more. My love of learning earned me straight A's in all of my subjects. Not one for large groups, I was happiest when I escaped into my world of books. I read almost anything I could get my hands on, usually finishing a book a day.

People often ask me whether my interest in searching for buried items started in my childhood. The answer is yes.

My earliest memory of finding "treasure" is when I was around four years old. In those days, there was an alley near our house where people would burn their garbage. I loved wandering down that alley, poking through the wire bins that held the burnt ashes.

One day, I'll never forget it, I saw a shiny piece of metal winking at me from the dusty blackness. I reached between the wires and pulled out a small brass perfume bottle. It was perfect--smooth and bright, with a tiny, white heart on it.

I never found out who owned that bottle or who had been silly enough to throw it away. All I knew was that I had found it. I've kept it to this day. It is one of my most favourite discoveries.

In addition to reading, I also spent happy days just playing outdoors. Being a "city kid," I didn't often get to enjoy a lot of

the things nature had to offer. But when summers rolled around, I could hardly wait to get to Girl Scout camp. I felt truly at home out in the open with no walls or roofs. That's where I learned to love nature and the wild outdoors.

As I grew older, my shy personality stayed with me. My mother wanted me to join the town swim team, where I would compete against other girls my age. I did as she asked and won all of my races. Though I loved swimming and being in the water, I hated every minute of the competition. Competing against others (and having people watch me!) was something I never wanted to do.

I quit the team after two summers. But my love of the water would serve me well in years to come.

By the time I was 15, I began to develop "itchy feet." I wanted to go somewhere, anywhere. I wanted to do something. Suddenly, the town of Munster seemed far too small. I began to work various jobs--baby- sitting, working the cash register at a clothing store--to make money. Being able to pay my own way would mean independence and freedom.

Though I didn't know it at the time, I was about to get both of these things much sooner than I expected.