Editor’s Note: This is an ongoing series which runs each Thursday morning titled the Richland Chronicles, by author Paul Lintern. It is set in the 1800s and tells the story of Richland County through the eyes of young people. The books are available from Lintern for $25 a set, tax and shipping included. Each book is about 120 pages written for intermediate readers (4th grade) with local illustrations. Volume I is Amelia Changes Her Tune. Volume II is Isaac and Wolf Paw Find Their Home. Volume III is Autumn Keeps Her Secret. Volume IV is Mr. Gamble Starts a School. Volume V is Jacob Blows his Horn. Volume VI is Cassie Fights the War. Volume VII is Emilene Adopts Her Family. Volume VIII is David Dances the Bases.
“A scavenger hunt.”
Cassie pondered, then smiled.
Marty nodded his head.
Levi smiled.
Autumn raised her eyebrows and considered.
Jane clasped her hands together and raised her shoulders.
Natalie beamed.
Together they looked at each other and said:
“A SCAVENGER HUNT!”
Then they looked around at each other, and Autumn said, “So what does that mean?”
“It means,” Lucas said, “That every schoolchild in town will be looking for answers to the questions we give them, the questions, Natalie, that your classmates give them.”
“What sort of questions?” Marty asked.
“Things that can be found by looking downtown, things that can be learned by asking someone, things that answer a riddle,” Lucas said.
“Things that my friends and I will make up,” Natalie said.
“Does Miss Osbun know about this?” Cassie asked.
“I rode out to the school with Natalie earlier today and talked with her,” Lucas said. “She is excited about it and the class will work on it the rest of the week, before school lets out. They want to apply what they have learned this year to what they will ask about Mansfield.”
Jane Vasbinder jumped up from her chair and clapped her hands several times.
“Bravo,” she said. “Bravo to you and your idea. May it pave the way to a glorious dedication in July.”
“Wait, what about the Mansfield students?” Cassie asked.
“I talked with Mr. Simpson, just uptown, took Dear Girl here with me,” Lucas said. “He is thrilled with the idea, and thought that having a country school make the guidelines and questions would lend a sense of fairness to the contest.”
“If the superintendent is for it, it should be rather successful,” Cassie said.
“So it is a contest then? Who wins and what do they get?” Marty asked.
“Everyone who completes their hunt, who answers everything correctly, will get to put their name in a box that will be buried under the fountain for 100 years,” Lucas said.
Everyone was silent.
“And gets a prize from one of the local merchants.”
Everyone nodded their heads in approval.
“And perhaps a couple of grand prizes from a drawing,” Autumn suggested.
Lucas nodded his head in approval.
Then he clapped his hand and said, “Well, there it is. You have the information, and Natalie and I have work to do.
“Class dismissed.”
The newly formed partnership of Zimmerman and Burns, contest creators, set out for an extensive tour of downtown Mansfield, especially as it bordered the Square.
“Who should we talk to first?” Natalie asked.
“That’s up to you.”
“But you know all these people.”
“And you should meet them.”
“But I am just a child.”
“That has never stopped you before.”
“But what should I ask?”
“Suddenly you stopped thinking?”
“But everyone at school will expect me to tell them what to do.”
“You lead them, Natalie. Let them learn for themselves.”
“Were you this mean to your college students?”
“Much worse, and they had to pay tuition,” he smiled.
Despite Natalie’s fears that she would be on her own, Uncle Lucas did give her a lot of ideas and told her about many of the people and businesses that were downtown. As she walked into her school the next day, she was ready to lead the pack and herd the sheep.
“Attention everybody, listen up,” she said when Miss Osbun invited her forward. “We have to gather information, collect ideas, find willing partners and organize the contest, so get out your slates.”
“I need a recording secretary to write out everything that is said, and someone to make a map of downtown and assign areas for us to canvass. That’s a word my uncle taught me — canvass. It means to cover an area thoroughly, like a canvas, I guess, but spelled differently.
“Of course that is not so important right now. At any rate, pay attention.
“We will team up and make a trip together into town, when Miss Osbun says we can, and some of you will ask questions and gather information, and some will seek donations of prizes, and some will seek out a printer for the contest rules and quest.
“I guess that is where the word question comes from, having a quest and asking about it.
“Everybody, please pay attention.”
And so it went with Natalie’s class, as she whipped them into shape to prepare for the great scavenger contest.
But, she didn’t use a real whip.
