Scouring an old farmhouse in Flowery Branch with a metal detector, Cheryl Collins unearthed a piece of Hall County history that was almost a century old. Collins, of Cumming, found a Hall County Police badge near the driveway of the Church Street home, roughly 3-4 inches deep in the ground. After contacting the Hall County Sheriff’s Office to find out information, Collins was eventually connected to retired Gainesville Police Capt. Chad White, the department’s de facto historian. “When I saw his email and how much information he had and a love for the history of the department … there is absolutely no way I can keep this in my house,” Collins said of her decision to donate the badge to Gainesville Police.