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The Great Pumpkin Pin Search

Sponsor: Clearpath IT Solutions
Prize:  $300
Clues Released:  2013 dates to be announced

The kick-off to the Morton Pumpkin Festival is The Great Pumpkin Pin Search, a treasure hunt for the official festival pin that begins 4 weeks prior to the festival. This time-honored tradition has a huge following and generates a great deal of excitement from Mortonites each year. 

Clues will be released this year on Fridays at 5:00 pm on August 17, August 24, August 31, and September 7. The clues will be posted here on our website, on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mortonpumpkinfestival, and on the door of the Morton Chamber of Commerce office. The clues will also be posted in the Morton Times News during the following week.

The person who finds the pin wins $300 and an invitation to participate in the Grand Opening Ceremony of the Morton Pumpkin Festival.

The pin will be hidden in a non-dangerous location on public rather than private property.  The pin could be anywhere, indoors or outdoors, in the vicinity of Morton.  Individuals of all ages are encouraged to seek the pin.  

Once the pin is found, a note will be posted at the Chamber office, on the website, and on Facebook.  Until then, contestants are encouraged to maintain their searches vigorously and not be swayed by others who claim he or she or someone else has already found the pin. The person who finds the pin must bring it to the Chamber office to claim the prize and congratulations for a job well done. 

Please help us thank our sponsor

 

Clue Solver 2012

The pin was found under a rock in an area of stones alongside the bike trail (which used to be railroad tracks) heading away from Morton past the mobile home park.  Here are some of the clues that the writers had hidden.  Once again, searchers had plenty of clues to find the pin the very first day of the search.

First Clue
LET’S TRAVEL BACK TO THE TIME OF “PEACE, LOVE AND PUMPKINS”
(First train “travel” clue)
IF YOU DON’T FIND THE PIN, 300 DOLLARS SOMEONE ELSE WINS
INTERNET SURFING, UNLIKE YESTERDAY, IS THE NORM IN 2012
(A number of answers required Internet searching; Beatles reference non-clue; fake clue to schools or village property as in Durflinger)
INTO THIS YEAR’S SIXTIES CLUES YOU SHOULD DELVE
19 THIS WEEK THEN 20 TIMES THREE TOTALS UP TO 1960
(Mailbox on Jackson Route 150 by pin location is number 3800, variation of 19 times 20)
LOOK, SEARCH AND DISCOVER MAIN AREAS OF TOWN
AT FIVE FRIDAY EVENINGS, DON’T DAYDREAM OR MONKEE AROUND
(Monkees sang Daydream Believer and Last Train to Clarksville)
WOODSTOCK ’69 WAS HELD OUT EAST ON PRIVATE LAWNS
(Subdivision right across from pin  location is named Woodlawn; fake clue to east Morton locations)
PARENTS! DON’T ALLOW THAT; AND DON’T WAIT TILL DAY DAWNS
(See reflectors reference in Clue 2—can see only at night)
ELECTRIC WIRES MAY BRING YOU NEEDED JUICE
(Huge electric wires right over location of pin; fake clue to Southwood Park’s wires and  football fields “OJ” the Juice)
SO YOU CAN WATCH A FUTURE SEQUEL  STARRING BOTH NICK AND BRUCE
(Willis said “Happy Trails Hans” in Die Hard;  trail and Happ Lane sign on Jackson when heading to pin location; Cage starred in “The Rock”)
AN AIRPLANE MAY FLY OVER SOMEONE YOU LOVE
(Jefferson Airplane tie into Jefferson running near Jackson in that area; from a plane you’d see Jefferson and pin location off trail)
WHETHER THEY WERE A HAWK OR A TURTLE DOVE
THE SCENT OF THE SIXTIES WAS FLOWER POWER
(Turtle Power as in Teenage Mutant variety lived in sewers – sewer pipe right by pin location)
EVEN THOUGH MANY HIPPIES RARELY DID SHOWER
(See Sean Connery reference in Clue 2)
GO GRAB YOUR SHADES AND QUICK LEAVE YOUR PAD
IF SOMEONE ELSE FINDS THE PIN, YOU WON’T BE GLAD
PAY HOMAGE TO THE STARS FROM THE FIELD OR COURT
(On poles on Courtland by WalMart are Stars for our Morton service personnel including Lance Dietz—poor untimely reference to now disgraced biker Lance Armstrong)
IF STUMPED, THROUGH NEXT WEEK’S CLUES YOU’LL HAVE TO SORT
(Pin found at base of tree –stump)

Second Clue
HOPE THE FIRST CLUES DID NOT LEAVE YOU SITTING IN LEFT FIELD
(Fake clue to Morton baseball fields, but if one passed pin you get to baseball field in Bunnell Park just across East Peoria limits)
JUST GIVE ME SOME SKIN; THE FAR OUT LOCATION WILL BE UNCONCEALED
(A Soderstrom was a key person in getting bike trail developed; pin was far out of Morton proper)
GET A BEAD ON THE PIN LIKE AN OLD HIPPIE
SEE IF IT IS UP IN A SMALL TREE
(Cypress and Cedar Streets (“SEE = C”) in close proximity to location; pin found under  a rock right in front of a small tree)
THE SPIRIT OF THE SIXTIES WILL NEVER BE BROKEN
OUR NEW GRASS IS WHERE ONE ONCE USED A TOKEN
(fake clue to new area where old car wash was)
HARSH MEMORIES FROM KENT AND ALTAMONT FROM LONG AGO
(Ken Street close by and  Mobile Home Park’s Ken Lindstrom; Rolling Stones headlined Altamont concert)
TURN BACK IF YOU’VE GONE PAST THE BRICKS OF JOE’S
(Fake clue to Joos subdivision but really Joos Landscaping just across into East Peoria when coming from Morton)
MANY THOUGHT THESE WERE DARKER TIMES
PLEASE DIG UP THE KEY CLUES; WIN 3000 DIMES
(The word “PLEASE” is scrawled right on the bike trail near pin location; cemetery close also)
HOLMES PERFECTED SMOKING THE PIPE BEFORE THE HIPPIES WERE BORN
IT WOULD BE YEARS BEFORE THE FIRST TIE-DYED SHIRT WAS EVER WORN
VISITORS EATING PUMPKIN FOOD KNOW WE’RE NOT OUT OF OUR GOURD
REFLECT WHILE TAKING A TRIP PAST MIKE MURPHY FORD
(Along Jackson at night you can see reflectors on guardrail; Rock-Ford, Illinois)
VISIT A MEXICAN RESTAURANT WITH TEACHER SENOR
(LaFiesta in area; Senor is Senor Russell, man by that same surname was last person to ride Interurban Railroad)
THEN TO THE WALL OF TRUSTED HEROES FROM THE VIETNAM WAR
(The metal wall along Jackson right by pin is rusted)
IF YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF MORTON LANDMARKS IS SLIM
SHOOT UP TO THE LIBRARY; IT’S FILLED TO THE BRIM
(Basketball hoop can be seen from pin location; library clue to Arnold/Armstrong below)
NEXT WEEK OUR WHOLE GENERATION WILL GET A NEW EXPLANATION
TO THE PIN, PEOPLE WILL BE IN MOTION WITH A STRANGE VIBRATION
(These two lines are taken from the “Are you going to San Francisco” song sung by Sean Connery in the shower scene in “The Rock”)

Third Clue
THE SIXTIES HAVE BEEN IN MORTON FOR 14 DAYS NOW
CHALLENGE YOURSELF, BUT DON’T SEARCH IN THE DIRECTION OF MAO
(Sign on bike trail of “Challenge” level; don’t head towards Pekin)
RECALL TOTALLY ALL THE PREVIOUS CLUES
(Must be an Arnold clue)
FIND THE PIN BEFORE THE LAST ONES APPEAR IN THE MORTON TIMES NEWS
PRESIDENTS SORT OF POINT LIKE AN OLD PEACE SIGN
(Jackson and Jefferson from the air are shaped in either direction like a peace sign , but bike trail is the third “middle” prong” pointing to the pin)
HOPE YOU’RE STILL NOT SEARCHING WHILE IN THE PORK CHOP LINE
(Fake clue to festival grounds)
WARREN SAID LIKE IN THE SIXTIES HE SHOULD PAY HIGHER TAX
(Buffett as in the Lin’s Chinese Buffet; bike path goes right by)
WHILE SOME ARE MORE UPRIGHT, OTHERS RELAX
(Most bikers are upright but some are ones where riders lean back with pedals in front of them)
HIPPIES WORE BEARDS AND MUSTACHES WHILE ON THEIR BARE FEET
THEY’D LEAD PROTEST MARCHES RIGHT UP THE MAIN STREET
(Another fake Main Street clue)
TOWARDS SAN FRANCISCO, LIKE IN THE 1860S, HIPPIES WENT WEST
(Another San Francisco clue, site of The Rock, and reference to western location of pin)
MAKE SURE YOUR PUMPKIN PIE WITH CIDER SLUSH WILL DIGEST
THE 1960S SAW A RENAISSANCE OF A SORT
BUT STRAY FAR AWAY FROM THE FIELD OF THIS SPORT
(Stay west far from eastern soccer fields)
THE HIGH SCHOOL CUT BACK SOME ON CLASSES OF ART
IF YOU THOUGHT PAUL WAS DEAD, YOU WEREN’T VERY SMART
(Art Garfunkle and Paul Simon sang “I am a Rock; I am an island”)
KICKAPOO CREEK FESTIVAL HAD 60,000 OF THESE
(Hippies watching a concert in that era; or that number of Half Pennies totaling $300; clown named Penniwise in Stephen King’s “It” lived in sewer)
GAZE FOR THE DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH; USE BOHEMIAN EXPERTISE
(A Gazebo is right by pin location; a building has Diamond reference when viewed from trail coming from East Peoria into Morton)
IF YOU HAVE NOT FOUND THAT OF WHICH YOU SEEK
(Seek and ye shall find said Jesus, our “Rock”)
WRESTLE WITH OUR CLUES FOR ANOTHER WEEK
(Actor “The Rock” was a wrestler before being in the movies)

Fourth Clue
PUMPKIN TASTES GREAT COMING OUT OF THE CAN
KEEP ON THE TRAIL OF THE SECRET AGENT MAN
(Google refers to the trail as the River Trail of Illinois; the secret agent man song was sung by Johnny Rivers)
DURING THE 60S, THE PIN’S LOCATION DIDN’T EXIST
(Bike trail not there in 60s)
AND BY THEN, PEOPLE STOPPED DANCING THE TWIST
FOLLOW THE WAY WHICH WAS SET UP BY JACK
(Nicholsen in Easy Rider)
DON’T RUN IN CIRCLES ON AN ASPHALT TRACK
(Run on trail not high school track)
YOU WON’T DIE FROM A WEAK LEG; IT CAN BE CURED
(Another Armstrong bike reference, not weak leg/strong arm)
LIKE TWO WATER TOWERS, THE PIN’S SPOT IS OBSCURED
(Pin location near two water towers one in East Peoria)
BASKETBALL SHORTS IN THE SIXTIES WERE SMALL
(Hoop right by pin location)
FROM WHERE YOU’RE STANDING YOU WON’T CATCH A FLY BALL
(Another left field Bunnell Park clue, close but not too close)
IMITATE BUTCH FROM THIS FAMOUS SCENE
(Butch Cassidy & Sundance Kid famous bike scene)
SINCE WE ALL STILL LIVE IN THE YELLOW SUBMARINE
(Sub as in under something)
IF YOU’RE WISE, YOU’LL LOOK WITHIN
YOU WILL BE KING IF YOU FIND THE PIN
(Penniwise Stephen King again)
REDEEM YOURSELF AND END YOUR SEARCH LIKE RED
(Jesus Redeemer “Rock”; Red searched through rocks at end of “Shawshank Redemption”)
1968 PAVED THE WAY FOR “THE WALKING DEAD”
(Movie “Night of the Living Dead was from 1968; paved walking trail)
DON’T GIVE A FOUR YEAR OLD FOURTH CLUE SHORT SHRIFT
(Clue then was to “bike out west”)
LIBBY’S HEAVY PUMPKINS ARE HARD TO LIFT
(Had to lift rock to get pin)
BEND LIKE A BRANCH AFTER CURVING LEFT FROM MORTON
(Hard left is made by trail right by pin location; pin under rock right in front of tree that is bending down)
THROUGH SOME BIG ROCKS YOU’LL SOON BE SORTIN’
(Search through the rocks)

CLUE #1 2012

LET’S TRAVEL BACK TO THE TIME OF “PEACE, LOVE AND PUMPKINS”
IF YOU DON’T FIND THE PIN, 300 DOLLARS SOMEONE ELSE WINS

INTERNET SURFING, UNLIKE YESTERDAY, IS THE NORM IN 2012
INTO THIS YEAR’S SIXTIES CLUES YOU SHOULD DELVE

19 THIS WEEK, THEN 20 TIMES THREE, TOTALS UP TO 1960

LOOK, SEARCH AND DISCOVER MAIN AREAS OF TOWN
AT FIVE FRIDAY EVENINGS, DON’T DAYDREAM OR MONKEE AROUND

WOODSTOCK ’69 WAS HELD OUT EAST ON PRIVATE LAWNS
PARENTS! DON’T ALLOW THAT; AND DON’T WAIT TILL DAY DAWNS

ELECTRIC WIRES MAY BRING YOU NEEDED JUICE
SO YOU CAN WATCH A FUTURE SEQUEL STARRING BOTH NICK AND BRUCE

AN AIRPLANE MAY FLY OVER SOMEONE YOU LOVE
WHETHER THEY WERE A HAWK OR A TURTLE DOVE

THE SCENT OF THE SIXTIES WAS FLOWER POWER
EVEN THOUGH MANY HIPPIES RARELY DID SHOWER

GO GRAB YOUR SHADES AND QUICK LEAVE YOUR PAD
IF SOMEONE ELSE FINDS THE PIN, YOU WON’T BE GLAD

PAY HOMAGE TO THE STARS FROM THE FIELD OR COURT
IF STUMPED, THROUGH NEXT WEEK’S CLUES YOU’LL HAVE TO SORT
 

Clue #2 2012

HOPE THE FIRST CLUES DID NOT LEAVE YOU SITTING IN LEFT FIELD
JUST GIVE ME SOME SKIN; THE FAR OUT LOCATION WILL BE UNCONCEALED

GET A BEAD ON THE PIN LIKE AN OLD HIPPIE
SEE IF IT IS UP IN A SMALL TREE

THE SPIRIT OF THE SIXTIES WILL NEVER BE BROKEN
OUR NEW GRASS IS WHERE ONE ONCE USED A TOKEN

HARSH MEMORIES FROM KENT AND ALTAMONT FROM LONG AGO
TURN BACK IF YOU’VE GONE PAST THE BRICKS OF JOE’S

MANY THOUGHT THESE WERE DARKER TIMES
PLEASE DIG UP THE KEY CLUES; WIN 3000 DIMES

HOLMES PERFECTED SMOKING THE PIPE BEFORE THE HIPPIES WERE BORN
IT WOULD BE YEARS BEFORE THE FIRST TIE-DYED SHIRT WAS EVER WORN

VISITORS EATING PUMPKIN FOOD KNOW WE’RE NOT OUT OF OUR GOURD
REFLECT WHILE TAKING A TRIP PAST MIKE MURPHY FORD

VISIT A MEXICAN RESTAURANT WITH TEACHER SEÑOR
THEN TO THE WALL OF TRUSTED HEROES FROM THE VIETNAM WAR

IF YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF MORTON LANDMARKS IS SLIM
SHOOT UP TO THE LIBRARY; IT’S FILLED TO THE BRIM

NEXT WEEK OUR WHOLE GENERATION WILL GET A NEW EXPLANATION
TO THE PIN, PEOPLE WILL BE IN MOTION WITH A STRANGE VIBRATION
 

Clue #3 2012

THE SIXTIES HAVE BEEN IN MORTON FOR 14 DAYS NOW
CHALLENGE YOURSELF, BUT DON’T SEARCH IN THE DIRECTION OF MAO

RECALL TOTALLY ALL THE PREVIOUS CLUES
FIND THE PIN BEFORE THE LAST ONES APPEAR IN THE MORTON TIMES NEWS

PRESIDENTS SORT OF POINT LIKE AN OLD PEACE SIGN
HOPE YOU’RE STILL NOT SEARCHING WHILE IN THE PORK CHOP LINE

WARREN SAID LIKE IN THE SIXTIES HE SHOULD PAY HIGHER TAX
WHILE SOME ARE MORE UPRIGHT, OTHERS RELAX

HIPPIES WORE BEARDS AND MUSTACHES WHILE ON THEIR BARE FEET
THEY’D LEAD PROTEST MARCHES RIGHT UP THE MAIN STREET

TOWARDS SAN FRANCISCO, LIKE IN THE 1860S, HIPPIES WENT WEST
MAKE SURE YOUR PUMPKIN PIE WITH CIDER SLUSH WILL DIGEST

THE 1960S SAW A RENAISSANCE OF A SORT
BUT STRAY FAR AWAY FROM THE FIELD OF THIS SPORT

THE HIGH SCHOOL CUT BACK SOME ON CLASSES OF ART
IF YOU THOUGHT PAUL WAS DEAD, YOU WEREN’T VERY SMART

KICKAPOO CREEK FESTIVAL HAD 60,000 OF THESE
GAZE FOR THE DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH; USE BOHEMIAN EXPERTISE

IF YOU HAVE NOT FOUND THAT OF WHICH YOU SEEK
WRESTLE WITH OUR CLUES FOR ANOTHER WEEK
 

Clue #4

THE PUMPKIN PIN HAS BEEN FOUND ON THE BIKE TRAIL NEAR OAK LAWN ESTATES IN A PILE OF ROCKS BY MIKE GETZ AND BEN GETZ.  THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR PIN SEARCHERS FOR PARTICIPATING IN THIS FUN FESTIVAL TRADITION!

 

PUMPKIN TASTES GREAT COMING OUT OF THE CAN

KEEP ON THE TRAIL OF THE SECRET AGENT MAN

 

DURING THE 60S, THE PIN’S LOCATION DIDN’T EXIST

AND BY THEN, PEOPLE STOPPED DANCING THE TWIST

 

FOLLOW THE WAY WHICH WAS SET UP BY JACK

DON’T RUN IN CIRCLES ON AN ASPHALT TRACK

 

YOU WON’T DIE FROM A WEAK LEG; IT CAN BE CURED

LIKE TWO WATER TOWERS, THE PIN’S SPOT IS OBSCURED

 

BASKETBALL SHORTS IN THE SIXTIES WERE SMALL

FROM WHERE YOU’RE STANDING YOU WON’T CATCH A FLY BALL

 

IMITATE BUTCH FROM THIS FAMOUS SCENE

SINCE WE ALL STILL LIVE IN THE YELLOW SUBMARINE

 

IF YOU’RE WISE, YOU’LL LOOK WITHIN

YOU WILL BE KING IF YOU FIND THE PIN

 

REDEEM YOURSELF AND END YOUR SEARCH LIKE RED

1968 PAVED THE WAY FOR “THE WALKING DEAD”

 

DON’T GIVE A FOUR YEAR OLD FOURTH CLUE SHORT SHRIFT

LIBBY’S HEAVY PUMPKINS ARE HARD TO LIFT

 

BEND LIKE A BRANCH AFTER CURVING LEFT FROM MORTON

THROUGH SOME BIG ROCKS YOU’LL SOON BE SORTIN’