Clues

2009Treasure Hunt Clues Explained

This page was last updated: May 3, 2009

To whom it may concern,

First of all, I would like to thank all of you that participated in this year's OSTF Treasure Hunt.

The majority of the hunters really enjoyed it. But, as usual, there are always sore losers that think they searched in the exact spot and didn't find it. We have had other complaints saying that this was near a major intersection, I have to disagree, it was hid under the bridge and NOT on the roadway where anybody could have walked. The most complaints this year were from people saying that it was not hid inside of the Crestview City Limits; we never said that it was!

The following words 'THE TREASURE IS HIDDEN ON PUBLIC PROPERTY" was announced or printed with all the clues. "PUBLIC PROPERTY" includes Federal, State, County and City property.

The funny thing about this is that the family that found the treasure was out everyday hunting and also spending extra time researching the clues. These people walked the same areas as many of the other hunters did, but they aren’t complaining!

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN THE PAGE AND YOU WILL SEE WHERE I HAVE ADDED MY EXPLAINATION TO EACH CLUE.

ALSO, I TOOK PICTURES OF WHERE THE TERASURE WAS HIDDEN SO ALL CAN SEE.

And one more little bit of information that I would like everybody to know. Every year that I have hidden the treasure I have spent many hours riding around looking for a good spot to hide it. And then I spend many more hours writing the clues and getting them into the proper order. Why do I do this? I do it to give you and your family something to do with the hope that you will enjoy it. Every committee member in the OSTF Society, including myself, is volunteers and we spend all this time every year just to give Crestview a Festival. And last, this year's treasure was hid 2 weeks prior to the first clue going out. This was also witnessed by another person not affiliated with the OSTF. This past Thursday night (April 30th) I verified that the treasure was still where I originally hid it. It was found the next day (Friday, May 1st) around 1PM.

I hope after reading the above and how I have explained the clues and photos below, all of this will make more sense to everybody. I seriously doubt that I will ever do another treasure hunt, one more of the OSTF events down the drain!

Sincerely,

Larry L. Woolley, OSTF President & Treasure Hunt Chairman

I welcome all of your comments, please send them to info@ostf.info

CLUE #6 scheduled for Saturday, May 2nd

(not used because treasure was found on Friday)

On the barns you will see a ray from the sun,

The sound from boats will cause all gators to run.

Now look on the fourth pillow and very close to the trail.

There it is! – Conquistador, you have done very well.

In this clue I'm telling the hunters to go to Ray Lynn Barnes public boat launch off Hwy 90 east at the Shoal River. Look on the 4th concrete pilling supporting Hwy 90.

CLUE #5 for Friday, May 1st

The others made a detour and stumbled up on a guard,

Then they saw a colonel chasing a liebre in the court yard.

Years ago from Kentucky they say he came,

He looked for opportunities and pozos of the same.

English translation - liebre means hare & pozos means wells

In this clue I'm telling the hunters to go east of the National Guard Armory. Back in 1942 Col. A.R. Shoffner, bought the land but did not move down from Kentucky until 1945. He sold 25 foot lots for $100.00 with a dollar down and 5 cents a day (later it was a dollar a month). A realtor, auctioneer, land appraiser, and subdivision developer, started Shoffner City. He named it after himself, as he always believed that if you didn’t toot your own horn, nobody else would. Shoffner was a shrewd businessman. It originally stretched from approximately the Shoal River to within three miles of Crestview. It has since exceeded those boundaries and the city limits have moved out closer. It incorporates all the Opportunities Subdivision to the north of highway 90, and south to highway 90 to the CSX Railroad tracks. Opportunity, Hare and Wells are all street names in Shoffner City. (Mr. Hare and Mr. Wells both lived in the same area)

CLUE #4 for Thursday, April 30th

Then they heard a ruido from the sky,

What kind of ave could fly so high?

Back then crops had to be planted by hand,

Too bad the tractor was not known by man.

English translation - ruido means noise & ave means bird

This clue is suppose to throw the hunters off a little but it still has meaning with the airport being east of town and Well’s Tractor was once located on Hwy 90 near to where the treasure was hidden. The Tractor Supply icon on the map would be the throw off.

CLUE #3 for Wednesday, April 29th

They traveled east to where waters flow well,

Riding for days and staying north of the rail.

Some stopped to fish while others went to school,

But most of them were only looking for some place cool.

In this clue I'm telling the hunters to look near running waters,

north of Hwy 90, where the shade is always cool.

CLUE #2 for Tuesday, April 28th

Traveling southeast from where the last tesoro was found,

This time they decided to go further from downtown.

After passing the cárcel and then seeing a cop,

This was a signal for them to know where to stop.

English translation - tesoro means treasure & cárcel means jail

In this clue I'm telling the hunters to look southeast from where the treasure was hid last year (Community Center). I’m also saying not to look in town but travel east of the county jail.

CLUE #1 for Monday, April 27th

As the Conquistadors traveled back through,

Once again they hid a treasure all completely new.

Guided by the moon at night and by the sun of day,

They knew that both would appear the same way.

In this clue I'm telling the hunters that this year’s treasure is hidden in a completely new location, never used by me before. Both the sun and moon rise from the east.

Click on any image above to enlarge)