New England Antiquities Research Association

Oak Island in the News (two items)

Terry J. Deveau

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July 2, 2005

An article appeared in the Halifax Herald on Friday, July 1, 2005, entitled “For Sale: One ‘money pit’ — Partners give up treasure hunt, put Oak Island Tours on market;” the article is by Beverley Ware of the South Shore Bureau. Quoting snippets from the article:

WESTERN SHORE - One of Nova Scotia's greatest mysteries is up for sale. The company that owns most of Oak Island is being liquidated, its two owners locked in a legal dispute for seven years with no solution in sight. …

[Dan Blankenship] said he and David Tobias have mutually agreed to pull the plug on their business, Oak Island Tours Inc., and their hopes of finding any treasure on Oak Island. …

There is no deadline by which the land must be sold. Indeed, a buyer would have to receive the seal of approval from both Mr. Blankenship and Mr. Tobias. That means either of them can also veto a potential buyer if he doesn't agree with the buyers' plans for the land.

Mr. Blankenship said this agreement effectively brings to an end seven years of legal wrangling between himself and Mr. Tobias, in which they had each sued and counter-sued each other. …

Mr. Blankenship said that is all water under the bridge now. "I withdrew my action," he said, and didn't want to talk about the court action. "There's no reason to rub salt in the wound. We reached the stage where we both agreed we can't get along, so let's sell." …

… Mr. Blankenship said it is difficult to give up completely on his dream to one day uncover the hidden mysteries of Oak Island, whether it's the treasure of Capt. William Kidd or lost manuscripts of William Shakespeare.

"If a treasure hunter comes in and he's very well-heeled and wants to pursue this to the ultimate end, that's fine," he said.

But his preference is to sell the island to the province to develop as a tourist destination. "I think it can be a tourist mecca that would rival anything we have in the province. I personally am very, very partial to the province buying it."

Mr. Blankenship turns 82 this year, and Mr. Tobias will be 81. Oak Island has consumed their lives for decades, and Mr. Blankenship said it is hard to let go.

It will be with a touch of sadness and regret that he signs a sale agreement, and he hopes whatever that deal will be, it will allow the mystique of the famed island to live on.

"I spent the better part of 40 years on Oak Island. When I gave up a very good business in Miami to pursue Oak Island, I did it with the full intention of completing the mystery of Oak Island," he said.

Now, if the right person with $7 million comes along, he would be invited to take over that dream. "It would depend upon the buyer and their reasons, and they would have to have deep pockets, but we're in a position to control some of that; we don't have to accept just any offer," Mr. Blankenship said.

He said he does not want to see the island broken up into lots, and will only agree to sell if the land goes as a package deal.

He has already turned down a good offer from a developer who wanted to build condos on the island. "It won't happen in my lifetime," Mr. Blankenship said steadfastly. "Money's not my god. It has never been, and it isn't now."

In an unrelated piece of news, passed on by the Oak Island Tourism Society …

The Oak Island Tourism Society presents, "Explore Oak Island Day" 2005

Here is the schedule for our event that will be happening at the Western Shore and Area Improvement Association building also know as the bingo hall, August 13th and 14th. For those of you who will travelling from afar, Western Shore is very close to Oak Island and is situated between Chester to the East, and Mahone Bay to the West.

Saturday August 13th

- Doors open at 9:30

- Static display all day, includes Oak Island movies (running all day), photographs, maps, artifacts and curiosities.

- At 2pm, listen to a rivetting presentation by Les MacPhie and John Wannacott. See description of their talk below.

- Dan Blankenship will be on hand all day to answer questions and show off some of his artifacts he has found over the years. See his famous Borehole 10X movie.

- Doors close at 4:30

After hours social time Saturday evening will be at the Oak Island Resort, Spa and Convention Centre. This is an exclusive event for OITS members and their guest and will feature a one pound Lobster, Mussels, tea, coffee and dessert for $50, taxes and gratuities included. If you are going to attend, I have to know ahead of time so I can place the Lobster order. We will eat and mingle on the deck overlooking OI, but if foul weather rules the day, we eat and mingle inside. This starts at 7pm and ends whenever we are finished. Happy hour(s) follows.

Sunday August 14th

- Doors open at 9:30

- Static display all day, includes Oak Island movies (running all day), photographs, maps, artifacts and curiosities.

- At 2pm, listen to a passionate presentation delivered by OITS member, D'Arcy O'Connor. See description of his talk below.

- Dan Blankenship will be on hand all day to answer questions and show off some of his artifacts and his famous Borehole 10X movie.

- Doors close at 4:30

Our presenters:

Les Macphie (Saturday at 2pm):

My presentation will be titled "Review of Geotechnical and Archaeological Conditions at the Money Pit (1967 to 2005), Oak Island, Nova Scotia." I will present information on geotechnical (soil and bedrock) conditions from investigations done by Warnock Hersey in 1969 and Golder Associates in 1970 as they affect design and construction of a deep excavation at the Money Pit. I will then review the archaeological findings, with particular reference to the numerous Becker holes put down in 1967, and illustrate with detailed sketches my interpretation of the presence of man made chambers in the bedrock at 200 feet depth in the Money Pit. Reference will also be made to some of the more relevant archaeological findings before 1967. I will discuss how the archaeological information was used to select the optimum diameter and location of a proposed deep shaft to 200 feet depth at the Money Pit.

John Wannacott (Saturday at 2pm):

My part of the presentation will describe the procedure we propose to use to construct a deep excavation to bedrock, that will allow us to positively manage water intrusion from flood tunnels or bedrock. In summary the procedure I will explain, will be a "freeze ring" of 100 foot diameter, with a steel shaft liner constructed inside, in the unfrozen soil.

D'Arcy O'Connor (Sunday at 2pm):

In May of 1970, as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, I was sent up from New York to do a story on the Nova Scotia fishing industry, and happened to run into Dan Blankenship (we were both staying in the same motel near Chester). That's when and how I first heard about Oak Island and the search for its treasure. I was intrigued by the enigma from the start. Now, 35 years later, after having written three books, dozens of newspaper and magazine articles, and co-produced several TV documentaries on the subject, I still can't let it go. There is a secret there that I want to discover, or have others discover. However, it is the motivation that drove (and still drives) all of these people over the past 210 years to spend so much of their time and energy and money on this pie-in-the-sky venture that fascinates me even more than the answer as to who did what and where and why on Oak Island.

Another special guest will be Jo Atherton who runs www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk a well respected web site all about Oak Island. Ms. Atherton will be travelling all the way from England for our event and would like to meet every one of our members. We also have members travelling from the US and distant parts of Canada, so come out and say hello if you can.

Western Shore will be a buzz on Saturday with their annual Fireman's parade and garden party that includes a supper at the fire hall. There will plenty to do, inside and out.

Medallions, stickers and autographed books signed by D'Arcy and Les will be on sale at the door. Admission at the hall is $3 for non members, current members only, are admitted free, children under 12 also free. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me by e-mail or phone at any time.

Danny Hennigar

Publicity and Communications

Oak Island Tourism Society

flhs@eastlink.ca

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Material reproduced here is for educational and research purposes only.

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