As those of you who live in my neck of the woods know, this week is the annual Fun Fest event in Kingsport. One of the events is the Treasure Hunt, which this year is sponsored by Kingsport Town Center, WTFM, WJHL, and State of Franlin Savings Bank.
For those who aren’t familiar with the Treasure Hunt, the way it works is that each day, the contest officials hide a glass medallion somewhere in or around Kingsport. Three times during the day, clues are given out to help treasure hunters figure out where the medallion is hidden. Daily winners receive $100 (yeah, that seems a little low by today’s standards, especially considering that the prize was the same when this event began in the early 80s). This year, there is supposed to be a grand prize of $5,000 – I assume there will be a drawing among the daily winners.
Here on my blog, I thought I’d analyze the clues each day after the medallion has been found and try to see if I can figure out how the clues lead to the medallion.
On Monday, the medallion was found early in the morning after only one clue had been given out. Fortunately, they posted all 3 clues on the website so we could see what the second and third clues would have been, so I get to analyze them all!
On Monday, the medallion was found at Miller Perry Elementary School on Fordtown Rd.
Clue #1: “You don’t have to visit the Queen city to find this kitty”
At first, this clue meant nothing to me. Then one of my friends pointed out that the Queen City is a nickname for Charlotte, NC. That immediately led me to assume that the “kitty” was referring to either the Charlotte Bobcats of the NBA or the Carolina Panthers of the NFL. So, we checked Miller Perry’s website, and there is an image of what appears to be a mountain lion at the top of the site. I suppose it could pass for a bobcat or a panther in a pinch. So, I assume the first clue was referring to Miller Perry’s mascot.
To stretch this clue even further, I also saw Cincinnati referred to as the “Queen City”, and their NFL team is the Bengals (which are Tigers).
Clue #2: “Catch a ride….over to Bayside”
There doesn’t appear to be a street in Kingsport named “Bayside”. I’ve never heard of any area in Kingsport being referred to as “Bayside”, and if there is a business of that name, my research failed to turn it up.
So, that leads us to the only other thing I could think of – Saved By The Bell! On that TV show, the High School was called “Bayside”, and their mascot was the Tigers. To tie all of that into these clues, perhaps “Bayside” was supposed to make you think of a school in general. Maybe the fact that Bayside High’s mascot was the Tigers further ties into the fact that the school where the medallion was hidden had a big cat as their mascot. The fact that Bayside High was featured in a show called “Saved By The Bell” might tie into the third clue. As you’ll see below, the third clue refers to a bell ringing.
Clue #3: Rings at 8, don’t be late…Then at 3, we are free!
I think it’s pretty clear that this clue refers to a school. I didn’t think there was anything more to it than that. However, one of my friends mentioned that maybe the medallion was actually hidden near a bell at the school, but I don’t know if that was the case or not.
The thing that struck me about Monday’s Treasure Hunt is that the third clue is the sort of clue they’d usually use for the first clue. The first clue usually leads you to a general location (such as a school – but it could be any school in the area), and then the later clues will narrow down which school. I actually wonder if they made a mistake today and gave out the clues in the wrong order!
If anyone has any comments or additional insight into what the clues meant, please post your thoughts in the comments. My analysis might be completely wrong!
