Shelli Barnett and her family strike again. They found the Farm City Days Medallion for the fourth time.
The family, about 11 members altogether, join forces every year to hunt for the medallion — except for one year, where they actually helped write the clues instead.
But this year, they returned to sleuthing. It took just four clues for Barnett and her daughter, Chloe Sinclair, to put it all together. They found the medallion hidden high in a tree on the far side of Fees Park in Gas.
So what gave it away? The sound of music.
Clue No. 4 read: “Hear ye, hear ye! A message from your king! Finding me won’t be a simple thing, so don’t forget to take care of yourself. Rest and listen to some music; that’s what I’m doing myself.”
Chelsea Lea, who wrote the clues for this year’s hunt, figured that clue would send hunters to the wrong place, perhaps to the bandstand on the Iola square or the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.
Barnett and her family looked in those places, to no avail. Barnett wondered: “Where else can you hear music?” She thought about Lighthouse Music in Gas and headed to Fees Park. Soon, she heard music being played from a radio at a nearby gas station. She knew she was in the right spot, and looked high and low.
Clue No. 2 could have helped. It mentioned “tall tales,” which Lea hoped would encourage people to look up.
Barnett finally saw the medallion high in the branches, and had to boost her daughter into the tree.
“If my daughter hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have been able to get it,” she said.
This year’s clues were “very vague,” Barnett said, “which I like. One year I found it literally two hours after the first clue came out.”
Lea also prefers when it takes a few clues before the medallion is found. But, after all, “We hide it so people will find it.”
THIS YEAR’S clues followed a literary motif, in keeping with the FCD theme “Once Upon a Time.” Lea figured that might lead some hunters down the wrong path, perhaps to some of the Lending Libraries in the area.
Here’s the full list and what they meant:
1. Once upon a time, a medallion was hidden. In order to find me, several hints were given. To find me, your skills will be put to the test. What say you? Are you ready for your quest?
