By Matt
For the past three years my son and I have participated in the Rochesterfest Medallion Treasure Hunt. During the week of Rochesterfest a medallion is hidden somewhere within the city limits and a clue to its location is given out at 6 AM each morning. Usually we are out by 8 AM searching whatever park we think is the most likely location based on the clues. Two years ago we got close, and were in the right park (Indian Heights Park), along with about 15 other searchers who surmised the same location that morning. However someone else had already found the medallion and left the park before we got there. Here are this years clues and some thoughts (Italics) we had on what they meant.
Rochester Fest Clues and Guesses
All of the previous medallions were found in the city limits so Chester woods park and oxbow park are probably not locations
Parks and places the medallion has never been placed
Eastwood Park
Clue #1 – Saturday, June 16
A Super Celebration and two of the three dozens, I’ve served up this fine mystery.
Where a city may learn or inculcate the lesson.
My hiding place open but keepin’ you guessin’.
The first clue typically has no information in it.
Bonus Clue
In verdurous park or nature reserve
Through basin or hollow and you struck a nerve
Look for me closely with passion and verve
Clue suggests that the location is not in a city location but a park, possibly one of the more green (trees and bushes) parks
Hollow, a low, wooded area, such as a copse. Hollow, a term meaning a small vee-shaped, riverine type of valley. Definition of copse. : a thicket, grove, or growth of small trees — called also coppice.
Clue #2 – Sunday, June 17
The sun may not rise but will shadow my space.
The note and the flick tease the side of my face.
Where two join as one, onomastics prevail.
Are you closer to guessing the point of this tale?
The medallion is covered? The medallion is on the westside of some object so that it is shaded at sunrise?
Onomastics is the study of names, so where two join as one could be some compound name like East-Wood Park.
The flick could be that it’s hidden in grass, see pick: https://goo.gl/images/M12YwG
Clue #3 – Monday, June 18
Numerologists four is the sum of my shroud.
Total letters and see if you’re not easily cowed.
Though the cow to porcine form a line near my locus,
Continue on through so you won’t lose your focus.
Shroud is the thing covering/hiding the medallion, count the number of letters of that thing and it would equal four, so tree, rock, lake, bush
Cow and porcine clearly cant be an actual cow or pig, but how about using a breed of pig and cow name as a place through which we could draw lines.
So far I have found Linconshire and Essex park which are both breeds of pigs.
Bonus Clue – Monday, June 18th
Where water divined is a neighbor well used
Those hundred year cats will not be found amused
A grimalkin, like water, I might be accused
We think “the water divined is a neighbor well used” could be the water treatment plant (water well used), the neighboring park could be foster-arrend park.
Could be eluding to a water tower?
I hear 100 year cats could be century high school panthers
(WE SEARCHED EASTWOOD PARK ON A LARK MONDAY MORNING BASED ONLY ON THE MEDALLION NEVER BEING HERE BEFORE AND THE COMPOUND NAME THOUGH IT DIDN’T REALLY MATCH THE OTHER CLUES. WE WERE GOING TO SEARCH FOSTER-AREND PARK ON TUESDAY MORNING IF THE TUESDAY MORNING CLUE DIDN’T LEAD US ELSEWHERE. BUT THEN IT DID!)
Clue #4 – Tuesday, June 19
The octet of the crescents and lion do coat.
The name of the forest and fourth now promote.
His title is same and his peerage renowned.
A winner you’ll be even down for viscount.
The coat of arms of Allendale is a lion and 8 crescent moons! Allendale park…. Go go go
I had googled eight crescents and lion and coat of arms, but the word and image search did not turn up any matches. I then started looking at park names in the northeast corner of Rochester, based on the water clue which we thought was the water reclamation plant and the 100 cats clue which we thought was Century high school whose mascot is a panther, both of which are in the northeast quadrant of Rochester. On the third or fourth attempt I put in Allendale, eight crescents, lion and coat of arms and got this!
I was almost sure the medallion was in Allendale park, though I guess it could of been a clue that only triangulated the medallion to the northeast of Rochester. I was also sure the park would be swarming with hunters. I got Max up and was able to get to the park around 7:45. There was only one car there and no one seemed to be searching! We went to the field and ball diamond on the south side of the park first based on the clue that it was out in the open. We circled the field, but there didn’t seem to be anything there where it could be under, so we headed for the north side where there were lots of trees and a playground.
By this time one other young lady had shown up, and she was defiantly searching for the medallion. I searched the northwest side, poking under tree(s) (four letter shroud), found one divet which could have contained the medallion at one time… Hmmmm. Max was searching the northeast side, and I eventually headed towards his side after my tree search in the northeast was fruitless. Came to a cluster of bush(es) (Hey, another four letter shroud) which had a nice under-story where it could be. Max said he had searched the perimeter of the bushes, but go ahead and search under.
I searched the westside of the bush and within seconds I saw something within the leaf litter that looked like the top of a fast food soda lid and poked it with a walking stick. It was hard! Pushed it around and immediately knew what it was. Walked back to Max and said BLEEP YAH! We hightailed it out of the park and headed home to call it in!
We get to pick up our prize at Rochesterfest on friday!