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2017 Portland Rose Festival Medallion Hunt

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The Rose Festival Treasure Hunt - where people follow daily clues to find a hidden medallion for prizes - is back again this year.

The clues appear by 6 a.m. daily on Oregonlive.com/rosefest for 14 days. Readers can also sign up for a daily Treasure Hunt newsletter at Oregonlive.com/hunt.

Here's what you need to know about the hunt:

  • The clues lead to a metal box that holds a 2.5-inch by 3-inch block of Lucite with a special Rose Festival medallion embedded in it. The block will be placed in a small metal case.
  • The medallion is hidden somewhere in the Portland metro area on public property and within easy reach. Treasure hunters need not dig or move any objects to find it. The medallion may be hidden in Multnomah, Clackamas, Clark, Washington or Yamhill counties.
  • The first hunter to find it will win $1000 and one night's stay and dinner buffet for two at Spirit Mountain Casino (
  • If you are the clever finder of the medallion, return it right away to the Portland Rose Festival office, 1020 S.W. Naito Parkway, Portland.
Hunt Information
Dates
Scheduled Dates
Sunday, May 28, 2017
Find Date
Saturday, June 10, 2017
Prize
Maximum Prize
$1000 plus one night at the Spirit Mountain Casino
Awarded Prize
$1000 plus one night at the Spirit Mountain Casino
Location
General Location
Fort Vancouver
Pinpointed Location
At the base of the J2312 electrical box along E. 5th Street
Concealer
The brush and weeds at the box

45.624637, -122.659828

Clues
Clue 1
Published Date
Saturday, May 27, 2017, 7:00 PM
Leland, Jim, and Thomas
Stephen, Mary and her crew
David, John, and Robert,
Medallion brothers, and Matthew

Kathy and her family,
David, Ed, Brian and Wayne,
Michael and the girls
seem to go somewhat insane.

Aaron and her besty,
Paula's group and Seth's clan too,
Seagull and the whole gang,
George and Kris and Nat (times two).

John, Melanie, and Dustin,
All winners since '83.
This year's your chance to join them,
if you're clever and crazy.

(These two names also need to
be brought to your attention.
Marvin and Sheryl deserve
an honorable mention.)
The official meaning of the clue.
These are the 26 winners of the medallion hunt since its beginning in 1983. There was no official hunt from 2006 to 2013. In 2013 there was the Champions Hunt, a non-sanctioned hunt held for all previous winners, which was won by Nat Dale, the 1990 winner. An identical hunt with the same clues was held immediately following the Champions Hunt, and it was open to everyone. It was won by Sheryl Maydew. Marvin is a long-time treasure hunter who runs a Facebook Medallion Hunt page, and has been right there when the treasure has been found more times than he cares to count.
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Clue 2
Published Date
Sunday, May 28, 2017, 7:00 PM
Dorothy's destination
matches both. (The name's the same)
Draw a line that joins them.
Searching east of it brings fame.
The official meaning of the clue.
In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy's destination was the Emerald City. There are two major northwest cities that have "The Emerald City" as their nickname, Seattle and Eugene. If you draw a line between those two cities, it passes a few miles west of where the medallion was hidden.
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Clue 3
Published Date
Monday, May 29, 2017, 7:00 PM
A shadow of its former self,
it's strictly average now.
Your quest will be much better if
this place you disavow.
The official meaning of the clue.
This eliminates Clackamas County from the search area. When it was formed by the provisional government in 1843 as a district, it covered parts of what are now four states and one Canadian province. In 1845 it was designated a county. Today it ranks 18th in size among Oregon's 36 counties.
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Clue 4
Published Date
Tuesday, May 30, 2017, 7:00 PM
You're focused on the target,
the medallion in the distance.
How far is it, you wonder,
west of the third, for instance?
The official meaning of the clue.
The distance to the target is called the "range", which is a reference to the Willamette Meridian System. This is telling you to search west of Range 3 East, since Range 3 West has already been eliminated by clue #2.
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Clue 5
Published Date
Wednesday, May 31, 2017, 7:00 PM
Can you rank this geographic entity?
It's among last of all, says Caeser.
The answer to this is the answer to all.
Let the stars guide you with this teaser.
The official meaning of the clue.
The "last" of the word "all" is an L, and Caeser is a hint about Roman numerals. Since L = 50, this tells you that the geographic entity is ranked among 50, hinting at states. The last part of the clue is a reference to the movie "A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". ("stars" and "guide") In the movie, a race of hyper-intelligent beings built a supercomputer named Deep Thought to calculate the answer to "The ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything." The answer it came up with was 42. The geographic entity is the state of Washington, the 42nd state.
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Clue 6
Published Date
Thursday, June 1, 2017, 7:00 PM
Many people really like
the strong and silent type.
Search south of where they dropped him,
of where the fight was hype.
The official meaning of the clue.
In 1855 many of the soldiers from Fort Vancouver (by this time under U.S. Army command) were away fighting an uprising by the Yakima Indian tribe. It was feared that the local Klickitat tribe would join the uprising, so they were detained at the fort. When some of them escaped, Captain William Strong led a detachment of volunteers to bring them back. Many were expecting a battle, but when they caught up with the Klickitats near what is now the city of Battle Ground, Captain Strong talked them into returning peacefully. Somehow during these events, the Klickitats' leader, Chief Umtuch, was killed. Just how that happened remains a mystery. The area became known sarcastically as Strong's Battle Ground, and later as simply Battle Ground. This establishes the northern boundary of the search area.
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Clue 7
Published Date
Friday, June 2, 2017, 7:00 PM
Dickens' book,
George's fame.
Ours is older,
get in the game.
The official meaning of the clue.
The Charles Dickens book is "A Tale of Two Cities". Vancouver, Washington shares its name with Vancouver, B.C., and both are named after Captain George Vancouver. Vancouver Wa. is older, being incorporated in 1857, 29 years before Vancouver B.C.
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Clue 8
Published Date
Saturday, June 3, 2017, 7:00 PM
They're impressed
with a rock.
Near this place
hunters flock.
The official meaning of the clue.
This points you to the area around Clark College. Their school mascot is the penguin. In the courtship and mating rituals of some species of penguins, rocks are often presented as gifts to the female, aiding in the nest-building effort.
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Clue 9
Published Date
Sunday, June 4, 2017, 7:00 PM
"Paper or plastic?" was often asked.
Toward which sacks do you lean?
This business preferred a different kind
in the middle of '13.
The official meaning of the clue.
A different kind of "sacks" is Saks 5th Avenue. The Hudson's Bay Company bought Sak's 5th Ave. in July of 2013. HBC is the same company, begun on May 2nd, 1670, that built and operated Fort Vancouver in the early 1800's. The medallion was hidden in the Hudson's Bay Neighborhood, just north of the fort.
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Clue 10
Published Date
Monday, June 5, 2017, 7:00 PM
Come on down to Themis' house
and ogle the display.
Something there among the lines
will send you on your way.
The official meaning of the clue.
Themis is the Greek goddess who was considered to be the personification of justice. She is often depicted as Lady Justice, with balance scales in her hand. Her "house" would be the Portland Justice Center, which is currently hosting a display of art from the Portland Society for Calligraphy. The display can be viewed at any time from the sidewalk on Madison Street between 2nd and 3rd. One of the art pieces contains a clue which reads as follows:

A little less than two dozen
policemen are a sign.
But only if they're all in shape
and standing in a line.

A line of policemen can also be called a row of officers. Officer's Row is in the Hudson's Bay Neighborhood, and consists of 21 restored homes which once served as residences for officers and their families stationed at Vancouver Barracks.
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Clue 11
Published Date
Tuesday, June 6, 2017, 7:00 PM
A number viewed with superstition
will certainly make its case
for being your next destination,
if you start from second base.

Bonus clue:

Make sure you don't limit the clue.
The Center is Themis' abode,
where beavers abound, not evergreens.
Don't continue till you view this node.
The official meaning of the clue.
The number referred to in the first line is 13. The last line hints at base two. The number 13 in base two is 1101, which is the address of the Grant House on Officer's Row.

Bonus clue

After the clues were written, it was thought that more direction might be needed in order to find the hidden clue. The C was capitalized to point to the Justice Center. Oregon is the Beaver state and Washington is the Evergreen state, so that directs you to the Justice Center in Portland.
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Clue 12
Published Date
Wednesday, June 7, 2017, 7:00 PM
March up the street four hundred more,
but use the right dress now.
You'll mimic men of long ago,
then stop and take a bow.
The official meaning of the clue.
From the Grant House, adding 400 takes you to 1501 Evergreen Blvd., the address of the visitors center for the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. "Right dress" is a drill command which requires you to, among other things, keep your head turned to the right. This part of the clue is needed because if you continue straight ahead you will find a residence on your left which is also 1501. The address of the visitors center is found on a fence close to the street, and a stop sign is right there as well.
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Clue 13
Published Date
Thursday, June 8, 2017, 7:00 PM
You'll be following orders
if you stand at a command.
Through a V, you'll see a tree.
Walk south from it one-third grand.
The official meaning of the clue.
Another reference to the stop sign in front of the visitors center. "Stop" is a command, so you are to stand next to the stop sign and look for something that forms a V. To the southwest there are two trees growing at angles away from each other, and from this perspective their trunks appear to form a V. Framed in the V, farther down the hill, is a tree. Walk south of that tree approximately 330 feet and you will be within about 20 feet of the prize.
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Clue 14
Published Date
Friday, June 9, 2017, 7:00 PM
Just above the home of
White Eagle and his crew,
take the fifth and look for
the J2312.
The official meaning of the clue.
Dr. John McLoughlin was the representative of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver from 1825 to 1846. From the Indians he earned the name "White Headed Eagle". Fifth Street runs just north of the fort, and within the utility easement there is a large enclosure with "J2312" in large letters. The medallion was hidden at the base on the southeast corner, concealed by a few weeds.
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