Treasure Found Near Dexter!

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A very excited group of treasure hunters from Proven Kitchen and Bath Studio celebrate discovering the first-week's chest in The Great Dexter Treasure Hunt

By Doug Marrin, STN Reporter

Chris Jones, owner of the Dexter Creamery, created The Great Dexter Treasure Hunt as a way for people to get outside and have some healthy fun together. It’s working.

For six weeks from June 17 to August 5, Chris is hiding over $2,000 in silver and gold (in an actual treasure chest) around Dexter for people to find. Each week a portion of the treasure is hidden in a new location, with a new set of clues released each week in the Creamery.  All the locations are on public property and associated with Dexter’s history.

The first clue was released June 17 at the Dexter Creamery, with more than forty people crowding in to get the hint right at noon. Chris would end up sending the clue to more than 150 people.

Once mighty, my foundation has been left to crumble.

Six types to mill, but if you're of the buck variety, it's Frigedag only.

No need to shell we do that too.

Follow the path less traveled, and gold will be your reward.

Treasure hunters quickly realized they were looking for an old mill foundation. The mill processed six types of wheat in its day, but buckwheat was only milled on Fridays (Frigedag). The mill also shelled corn. An overgrown path would lead to the old foundation where the treasure was hidden. Those who have read the interpretive signs around Hudson Mills would quickly recognize the references in the clue.

With some searching, the treasure chest is found!

Cassandra Provenzola didn’t initially start out to find the treasure chest. She had noticed the crowd gathered at The Creamery for the treasure hunt and mentioned it to her office staff at Proven Kitchen & Bath Studio. Someone read the clue just as Cassandra’s kids returned with ice cream from The Creamery.

“We realized what the clue was and had an inclination as to where it might be,” says Cassandra. “The crumbling foundation clue linked with milling and buck gave us an idea as to where the clue might be hidden—along the B2B Trail next to the river where the ruins of the old mill were.”

Excited, Cassandra closed up shop, and everyone raced out to Hudson Mills. Other groups had beaten them to the spot, but no one had yet found the treasure chest.

“All the kids were really excited,” says Cassandra. “But when we approached the crumbling mill and saw the large crowds, we never thought in a million years we would be the crew to find it.”

Cassandra found a game trail nobody had yet explored. Following it led them to a second old foundation. The group searched the foundation and eureka! They found the treasure.

It was hot, and we were in the woods,” says Cassandra, “but the kids were out of their mind.”

Family fun means everyone. “Boatie” also got to come along. No word on whether the canine helped sniff out the treasure.

With the treasure being found within a few hours, Chris opted for making the next clue a little more challenging. An even larger crowd showed up to receive the information on June 24.

A milling village along the river made quite a bit of sense, but if you’re on the B2B, you’re on the wrong side of the fence.

Both a village and township that once eastern markets served. The settlement long gone, but the land still preserved.

Those who explore can do so to near the mighty river’s flow, but should you come to a fork take the high trail or the low.

If you’re going and come round again, you’ve passed the hiding place. Keep on going, go around in circles. This time slow your pace.

A place that once stood proud, not more, holds the treasure for its own. But if you want to take the treasure home you must go where the squirrels roam.

But the treasure hunters thus far are proving to be more than a match for the enigmatic rhymes. The second treasure was quickly found in the Burns-Stokes Preserve. The Preserve is the site of the old milling village of Scio, which is explained on the sign. The treasure chest was hidden inside a fallen oak log at the far end of the trail, where it loops around. The folks who discovered it credit a squirrel with running across the fallen tree just as they were passing, drawing their attention to it.

Perhaps the real treasure here is all of the fun so many people are having with their kids and each other following enigmatic clues. It is exactly what Chris was hoping for and falls in line with his mission for The Creamery—to create something fun for families to do together.

“Chris from The Creamery is one of the most outstanding and creative humans for coming up with this incredibly fun event,” says Cassandra.

Stay tuned to The Creamery’s Facebook page for information on when clues will be released for future hunts.

Good luck!

All photos courtesy of Cassandra Provenzola

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