A Holiday Mystery Hunt (SOLVED)

[forgottenhistoryhunt]

Instructions and rules for A Holiday Mystery:

1. This is a fully armchair hunt. No travel is required.

2. Use the site Chronicling America to answer all questions.

3. Although the story appears in many newspapers, this hunt is designed to use the newspaper shown, so please work within that newspaper.

4. There is one prize for this hunt. The first person to submit all seven correct answers will win the prize.

5. Please submit your solution only when you feel you have all seven answers.

6. Winner must have a US address and a Mysterious Writings username. If someone outside of the US wants to play and submits a correct answer, I will have an alternative prize for them.

7. Do not post any answers publicly. Submit all answers to me via private messaging here on Mysterious Writings.

8. When you submit your solution, please include for each answer:
-The question as stated
-Your answer (if the answer is a name, it must be the person's full name)
-The date of the newspaper
-The page of the newspaper where you found your answer

This way I can verify your answers, especially in the event there is conflicting information. If I don't have the date and page, I will not accept the answer.

9. Feel free to contact me with questions or comments.

10. Enjoy the story, have fun and good luck!

-FHH

[forgottenhistoryhunt]

Link to the hunt: ibb.co/1vH6q2n

[susb8383]

Nothing says Christmas like a murder!

[forgottenhistoryhunt]

This one was solved quickly!

I received two correct submissions at the same time, so will award two prizes. I will post the answers, the winners' names and the prizes later today. 

If you are close to having all the answers, feel free to continue to work on this. I might have a few consolation prizes if I get more answers today! (hint hint)

Thanks for playing - I hope you're having fun scanning through these old newspapers. Don't forget to stop and read a few news articles along the way. Some are really interesting, funny, tragic.

Congratulations to the two winners!

-FHH

[forgottenhistoryhunt]

The winners of The Holiday Mystery are sub8383 and pugdaisy920, who submitted their answers at the same time!

Today I had one more correct submission from jon.

Congratulations to these three newspaper sleuths who solved the Holiday Mystery!

These are the prizes I will send out. Pictured are 4 turquoise blocks and a Zia sun symbol pendant (because the story is set in New Mexico) and two pewter snowflake zipper pulls (because the characters in the story are trapped by a snowstorm).

[forgottenhistoryhunt]

Solution to Holiday Hunt:

The story, The Holiday Mystery, was announced on Dec. 18th 1936 (as shown in the puzzle), to begin on Dec. 21st. It had 24 installments over 29 days. There were no newspaper editions on Dec 25 (Christmas), or on Sundays. The first installment ran on Dec 21st, 1936; the final installment ran on Jan 18th, 1937.

This story appeared in many newspapers, but the hunt was designed to use The Waterbury Democrat.
There are three Waterbury Democrats listed on Chronicling America, but only one with THE in the title.

The ad for dishes was altered from 37 pieces to 24 to show The Holiday Mystery was a "24-piece" story.
The ad for the ladies dresses shows styles for 1937, indicating the story spanned 1936 - 1937.

Here are the questions, along with the date and page where each can be found. Some of these answers may be found in more than one place, but these are where I found them:

1. Who was found under the Christmas tree?
Answer: Pearl John De Forest was found dead under the Christmas tree, Dec 24, page 9

2. What was found with Pearl Pierre's body?
Answer: An obsidian knife was found in Pearl Pierre's neck, Jan 6, page 16

3. What killed Tante Josephine?
Answer: Tante Josephine died of apoplexy, Jan 24, page 18

4. Who killed Ramon?
Answer: "The Indian" killed Ramon, Jan 24, page 14. His full name, Broken Shield, was first mentioned on Dec 23, page 8

5. Who was found unconscious in the cellar?
Answer: Professor Shaw was found unconscious in the basement, Jan 11, page 14

6. Who was the murderer?
Answer: Ramon Vasquez murdered Pearl John and Pearl Pierre De Forest, Jan 16, page 12

7. To whom did Josephine say, "Promise me!"?
Answer: Broken Shield, Dec 30, page 16

[forgottenhistoryhunt]

Thanks again to everyone who has tried their hand on my hunts. I will post my next hunt in January, and will announce it ahead of time so you know when it is coming.

I hope you are all having a fun, stress-free holiday season. Stay safe and enjoy the season!

-FHH

[susb8383]

The sun symbol reminds me of the episode of Star Trek TNG when the Enterprise was turned into a big Mayan world (yes, I know it wasn't actually Mayan in the 24th century).

Masks:
www.dailymotion.com/video/x6wt9af

[Jenny]

Congrats to the winners!

[stercox]

Congrats to the winners! Happy Holidays everyone!!

[forgottenhistoryhunt]

I moved the Chronicling America Q&A here because it is not its own hunt, just a preparation for the Holiday Mystery. Most of these articles can be found using a variety of search terms & combinations. The methods and terms listed are just the ways I was able to find them.

1. The Native American, May 12, 1838. What the packages of wheat were marked with.
Ans: Pub. Doc.!

I Searched by newspaper name, date, and search word "wheat." Found article at the bottom of the 4th column.

chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86053569/1838-05-12/ed-1/seq-1/


2. MOST SHOCKING MURDER, Philadelphia Oct 1. Name of witness.
Ans: Servant, Joseph Seymour

I tried searching all newspapers, all dates for the phrase MOST SHOCKING MURDER, but the article did not come up. I changed my search to the words "Murder" and "Philadelphia" in the "5 words apart" section. I found the article in the Native American Oct 5, 1839, page 2, bottom of the 3rd column.

chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86053569/1839-10-05/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=10%2F05%2F1839&index=1&date2=10%2F05%2F1839&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&lccn=sn86053569&words=&proxdistance=5&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&page=1


3. Surname of the Superintendents of Interments and Undertaker of Greenwood Cemetery of New York, in 1842.

Ans: Burrill

I searched using the date range of 1842-1842, New York state newspapers, and using the phrase “Greenwood Cemetery”. 5 results came up. I searched each newspaper and found the article in the New York daily tribune, October 14, 1842, page 3, under G, near the bottom of the 4th column.

chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030213/1842-10-14/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=10%2F14%2F1842&index=2&date2=10%2F14%2F1842&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&lccn=sn83030213&words=&proxdistance=5&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&page=1


4. In 1922, a full-page article about what NYC will be like in 2022. What will prevent airplanes from falling out of the sky?
Ans: Anti-gravity screens

I searched using the date range of 1922-1922, and using "New York City" & "100 years" 5 words apart. Found article in the Washington times, July 16, 1922, SUNDAY MORNING, Page 2.

chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1922-07-16/ed-1/seq-41/#date1=1922&index=0&date2=1922&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=100+City+New+years+Years+York&proxdistance=5&state=District+of+Columbia&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=100+years&phrasetext=New+York+City&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

5. The first grocery item listed for sale at the newly opened store, as written. The Newport gazette, Jan. 16, 1777.

Ans: Sallad Oyl

I searched with the date and the newspaper, then read through the pages. I found the article on page 4, bottom of 4th column.

chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83021183/1777-01-16/ed-1/seq-4/#date1=01%2F16%2F1777&index=3&date2=01%2F16%2F1777&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&lccn=sn83021183&words=&proxdistance=5&state=&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&page=1


6. A mystery to be solved by Sherlock's assistant in 1922. What the note said. Indianapolis times.
Ans: "White caps. Whisky house. Move out," along with some salt and pepper.

I found this article by using the date 1922, the Indianapolis times newspaper, and the search words "Watson" and "mystery" 5 words apart.

chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015313/1922-07-28/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1922&index=0&date2=1922&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&lccn=sn82015313&words=MYSTERY+WATSON&proxdistance=5&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=watson+mystery&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1


7. How much the murderer weighed, according to a psychic in 1910. Daily Capital Journal.
Ans: 160 lbs.

I searched in the Daily capital journal (there are two listed; I searched both) using the date 1910, with the words "murderer" and "psychic" 50 words apart. (I tried 5 and 10 words apart, but the article did not show up.). The article starts on page one, but the murderers weight is found on page 12.

chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn99063957/1910-02-19/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=02%2F19%2F1910&index=0&date2=02%2F19%2F1910&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&lccn=sn99063957&words=&proxdistance=5&state=&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&page=1

8. The titles of three of the tales in this new book, published by Bell & Entwisle. Alexandria Gazette, June 1839.
Ans: Heading NEW ROMANCE. Imogine, Pirate's Treasure, and Devil's Cave are all titles in the new book of tales by George Ann Humphrey.

(correction: we discovered these are actually just two stories, "Imogine and the Pirate's Treasure", and "The Devil's Cave").

I searched using the Alexandria Gazette (DC), with dates of 6/1/1839 - 6/30/1839 and the search words "Bell," "Entwisle," and "Tales" 50 words apart. This brings up a number of newspapers in June of 1939; this link is to the page of matches. The article was found in the third image, June 25th, where all three search words appear together in one entry. Fourth column, about 2/3 of the way down; Heading, NEW ROMANCE, paragraph begins with a large I for Imogene.

chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/search/pages/results/?state=District+of+Columbia&lccn=sn85025007&dateFilterType=range&date1=06%2F01%2F1839&date2=06%2F30%2F1839&language=&ortext=&andtext=&phrasetext=&proxtext=bell+entwisle+tales&proxdistance=50&rows=20&searchType=advanced#tab=tab_advanced_search

9. In January 1911, a strange prediction for 109 years in the future.
Ans: Professor Wilcox predicted there will be no children under the age 5 in 2020, and that we will have to import children from France.

I found the article using the year 1911, and the search words "prediction" and "2020" 50 words apart (5 and 10 words apart did not bring up any articles). I found three newspapers with the story. Using different search words, I found more versions of the same story.

chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn89066651/1911-01-12/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=01%2F12%2F1911&index=1&date2=01%2F12%2F1911&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&lccn=sn89066651&words=&proxdistance=5&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&page=1


10. Last statement made in this murder mystery, announced on the cover showing a chickadee with an otter. The Evening star, 1936.
Ans: The story is Triangle at Rhodes, a murder mystery by Agatha Christie. The last statement made by Inspector Poirot is, "It seems I am never to get a real holiday."

I searched using the year 1936, the newspaper the Evening star, and the search words "Murder Mystery". Then I scanned the images. The cover of THIS WEEK with the chickadee and otter is image 81 of the Sunday edition of the Evening Star, Feb 2, 1936. This is page 1 of THIS WEEK magazine. The story begins on page 3 of THIS WEEK (image 83), continues on page 4 (image 84), then goes to page 13 (image 93) and then to the final part of the story on page 15 (image 95), where you can read the final words.

chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1936-02-02/ed-1/seq-81/