Community Center- Clue #1
Find
the center of our hometown
Many markers may be found
Be persistent, Time will tell
Or you could end up in jail
Also, there’s a goat with a pail
Visit him by the well.
Answer: The Community Center
Walking towards Matthew’s house with fast, light steps on the gray
pavement of the street sidewalk, Peter spots a golden coin engraved with a
worn-out symbol. Picking up the coin out of the grassy ditch, he flips the coin
in his hand while examining the icon, deeply carved into the sturdy metal. So many new discoveries, notices Peter.
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Not being able to identify the carved symbol, he continues onward
to Matthew’s. “Good Morning,” Peter greets as Matthew opens his front door. In
reply, Matthew does alike. “What do you believe this is?” asks Peter as he
hands the coin over cautiously to Matthew. “A coin of course,” Matthew reacts.
“Look closer; see the object in
the coin?” informs Peter. He directs Matthew’s attention to the image on the
coin by pointing. “I think it’s a goat,” concludes Matthew. I see it now! A goat by a well! Observes
Peter thoughtfully. “After you left my house yesterday, I continued to read in
the journal and it said something about a goat coming to Montgomery one day,
but then, abruptly vanished!” Matthew recalled.
“So where was the goat?” questions Peter, “If this coin is related
to the journal, maybe it is important.” “The author of the journal; umm,
Sebastian, wrote that he was at the town center,” answered Matthew, “Maybe he
was referring to the Community Center in Montgomery.” “Let’s go see if anyone
there knows anything about this coin; or even better, the journal!” shouted
Peter confidently. With their parent’s permission and Matthew’s mother’s help
with driving, the duo journeyed eagerly to the Community Center.
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Tumbling onto the silver ground of the Community Center while
exiting the adults’ car, Matthew & Peter, both holding a piece of history
in their palms, journal & coin, smile cheerfully. Stepping up to a giant
stone wall stuffed with words, Peter starts reading immediately. “Hey Matthew,
Check this out. According to this marker, Montgomery was founded in July, 1837
while Montgomery County was started in December 14th of the same
year,” read Peter. “Well, the journal says that Sebastian’s grandfather had
told him that the town was created by W. W. Shepherd, who was a land agent. He
bought a new part of town from John Corner to establish Montgomery. However,
Montgomery had been a trading post by Owen and Margaret Shannon, located North
of Town Creek,” Informed Matthew, “While the town was an important trade hub
before the American Civil War, following the war; in 1889, the county seat was
moved to Conroe.”
Noticing a metal structure on the side of the clearing, Peter
informs Matthew. Peter darts over to the building with Matthew on his trail. “A
jail?” questions Peter with surprise, “And with only two cells!” Matthew opens the journal and flips swiftly to a
page in the middle of the book, subsequently starts reading, “As I rode up to
the jail, I encountered 3 drunken men locked inside. I was riding on my horse
to the town center.” “That would explain why there are only two cells!”
exclaimed Peter.
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Peter and Matthew persist in strolling around the perimeter of the
large, tan, building in the middle of the clearing. Flipping over his feet and
feeling embarrassed, Peter struggles to lift himself up to a sitting position
on the green, lush, grass surrounding the structure. “Are you hurt?” concerned
Matthew, “What did you fall over?” “I don’t feel too bad, but I think I fell
over that rock over there,” Peter answers, while signaling towards a flat, gray
rock in the middle of the sod. Leaving Peter’s side to inspect the stone,
Matthew distinguishes a silver plaque sitting atop the four-sided stone object,
mostly in the soil, as if it was buried.
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Hastily, Matthew marched back to where Peter was still seated on
the ground. “I think it’s a time capsule!” concluded Matthew, “My Mom told me
last night as I showed her the journal that there is a time capsule from April
25th, 1987 which they had buried to commemorate the 150th
anniversary of the founding of Montgomery!” Standing himself, Peter stumbles
over to where the time capsule is. “Yea, this is probably what I tripped over,”
understood Peter, “Hopefully I didn’t damage something.” I wonder when this will be opened. Will I be alive? Thought Peter.
As if they shared one mind, Matthew started to read, “To be opened on April 25th,
2037.” “We can attend when they open the time capsule!” Peter blurted, “We will
be 35 years old then!” Matthew replies and makes a face, “Yikes, I could never
envision myself so old!”
Once the twosome completed gazing at the time capsule, Peter
suggested they persist on looking for a clue to where the goat would have been.
“What about over there?” Peter started as he gestured towards the opposite
fraction of the clearing, paved with cement and bordering an aged street.
“There’s a well over there; just like the coin!” exclaimed Peter; holding the
coin up towards Matthew. However, as the duo scurried up to the well, a
tan/white goat sculpture appears into view. “That’s defiantly the place; the
well and the goat!” Matthew assumed.
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“There’s a plaque here; let’s take a look,” recommended Peter.
Beside the goat statue, which stands adjacent to the disused well, which was
dug to replace the Water Tower, is a sign titled “The Montgomery Town Goat”.
Peter begins to read the plaque about the goat and discovers several
interesting facts. “Matthew, check this out!” hollers Peter while Matthew is
observing the contraption that lifts and lowers the bucket for the well.
“Okay, so in 1906 this goat appeared in town to get a drink
because it was an arid and hot day; fascinating!”Matthew summarized, “It also
says here that the goat would take handouts from local businesses and salon,
while allowing his lengthy beard to be pulled for exchange.”
Peter includes, “The goat would wait at the well until a passing
individual would haul a bucket of water for him. However, the little creature
was not given a name and no one knows how long he stayed in Montgomery.”
Peter takes a pace backwards and places his hands on his hips as
he pans his view across the well and the goat to take in an idea of what the
whole clearing appears as. Grasses on the reverse side, a sandstone-walled
building in the center, the jail cells placed off to the side in the left,
distant corner from the well, while the time capsule is block out of view by
the building that stands ahead of the grassland half of the clearing.
Turning to Matthew, who stands on his right side, Peter asks, “So
what do you think the coin is for? It’s obviously not currency; it doesn’t have
an amount engraved!” “Did you look at the back of the coin?” Matthew advised, “This
may have been a decoration instead of cash.” Peter tosses the coin into the air
and catches it, causing to flip.
On the opposite face, Peter perceives two photos: one is of a
cemetery, while the other is of a brick building supporting a plaque with
blurred words. “Look!” Matthew alerts, “There is a row of text surrounding the
brick structure!” Sure enough, Peter
perceives, a half circle wrapping around
the building as if to provide a title! Rotating his head left ninety
degrees to read the title, Matthew commences reading, “The State Bank of
Montgomery Texas.”
