Mah-Jongg 麻將 Mystery Cache
Massquerade: I am regretfully archiving this cache since there's been no response from nor action by the cache owner within the time frame requested in the last reviewer note. The cache owner should retrieve any remaining cache contents at their earliest convenience.
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THERE IS NOTHING HIDDEN at the posted coordinates, lest you feel like searching the bottom of Baker's Pond. This trail loops, so you have two options. Take the trail to the left of the pond (recommended route), or take the dirt road beyond the gate and pass the water tower on your right. Either way, you'll be circling Baker's Pond and the reservoir that empties into it. Don't forget a pen or pencil.
Welcome to the Rev. Daniel Boone Memorial Reservation! It is located on the top of Town Hill on the land surrounding Baker's Pond. The Reverend Daniel Boone, a direct descendant of famed frontiersman Daniel Boone, was the minister at Ascension Memorial Church from 1941 to 1954. He was both politically active, a part of the movement to establish the town manager form of government in town (1951) and the chairman of the newly created Planning Board (1954), and ecumenically minded in his service to all the people of Ipswich.
He loved the natural beauty of Ipswich and worked hard to protect it, just as he loved the feeling of the community working together. He used to walk from the rectory on High Street up the hill to Baker's Pond which was to him a special place. When he died in 1957, the Rotary Club of which he had been an active member, asked the town to make the town-owned land into a park to be named for the Reverend Boone. In 1959, members of the Rotary Club, placed a boulder and plaque honoring Boone and naming the park the C. Daniel Boone Memorial Reservation. The benches and fireplace that were installed then have been refurbished by the Rotarians.
NOTES ON THE ATTRIBUTES: The reserve is open dawn to dusk, so NO NIGHT CACHING. Dogs are allowed, but must be leashed. Mountain bikes are fine if the trails aren't too wet, and cross-country skiing is permitted. The trails are clear and safe, but wandering too far off could get you thorns, ticks, and poison ivy. We added only the poison plant attribute because poison ivy does occur trail side. In winter, the cache might be subject to freezing in place. A trail map link is here: (visit link)
THE PUZZLE is easy, but impossible if you're viewing this web page from a device that doesn't show the background art around the edges. If you like the style of this puzzle, check out our more difficult variant "Whose Side Are You On?" at Dexter Pond in Manchester-by-the-Sea (visit link) . Geocheck your answer here (visit link) .
The Chinese game Mah-Jongg was imported to the USA in the 1920s. The first sets sold in the U.S. were sold by Abercrombie & Fitch starting in 1920, which were made of ivory and bamboo. It became a success in Washington DC, so the co-owner of the company, Ezra Fitch, sent emissaries to Chinese villages to buy every mah-jongg set they could find. Abercrombie & Fitch sold a total of 12,000 mah-jongg sets. The game remained quite popular in the USA through the 1930s. It plays like "rummy," requiring 4 players to represent the four directions of the compass. More about the game and its history can be found at the Related Web Page above. As Ipswich and some of its neighboring towns are collectively known as an "antiquing destination," we thought Ipswich was an apt host for our antique-game puzzle cache.
To this day, Western or American-style mah-jongg tournaments are held in virtually every state—the largest is in Las Vegas, Nevada twice a year, and in Atlantic City, New Jersey, by Mah Jongg Madness; and the annual cruise hosted by the National Mah Jongg League and Mah Jongg Madness (MJM). MJM tournaments host between 150 and 500 participants at these larger events! Nowadays mah-jongg sets are plastic, in part to respect the rightful scarcity of ivory.
The First-To-Find prize is an old coin rarer than our usual leave, a 1920 Lincoln Wheat cent from San Francisco. 1920 was the year the USA was introduced to Mah-Jongg, and San Francisco is likely to have provided the access to China. You are seeking a camouflaged Rx bottle, with room for only cute swag. Geo-Knot was on this FTF faster than fireworks on Chinese New Year - congratulations!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ngbc fbzrguvat yvxr onzobb. Lbhe jevgvat pubcfgvpx zvtug freir n qhny checbfr...