“We’re here to discover history,” said Rachel Wissinger as she and her family walked up to the Explorer’s Tent at the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles.
Building a Better Boyertown — a non-profit organization that seeks to preserve Boyertown’s artistic, historical, and agricultural heritage — hosted its second annual Boyertown Heritage Day — Illuminating the Past, a history mystery event that offers the opportunity for participants to become detectives.
This year participants solved the history mystery of “The Ore-Deal at Phoenix Mine.”
Despite the rain on Saturday, May 18, the Wissinger family and an estimated 80 mystery detectives grabbed their umbrellas and raincoats to travel through Boyertown gathering clues in hopes of discovering who murdered James Ellis.
Participants began the short walking journey at the Explorer’s Tent in the parking lot of the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles where they encountered Main Street Manager Ellen Martignetti and event planner Krista Gross, both dressed in period clothing.
Martignetti and Gross handed out case files and maps to the would-be detectives.
“Back in the 1800s, there was a murder and it was an unsolved mystery,” Adriane Zapien, one of the organizers, told participants. “But all fingers pointed in one direction. You have to figure out who the murderer was.”
The first clue-gathering spot took the participants to Iezzi’s On Third where Zapien played the wife of Dan, offering information and handing out greenback clues. Each greenback collected throughout the day offered a clue to help participants solve the mystery.
Dolly Adams portrayed Mrs. Potts, a murder suspect’s wife, at the Good Shepherd United Church of Christ location where event participants learned a bit more about the mystery.
“People keep asking me if what I told them is really true,” said Adams. “Yes! Everything is true.”
“The Ore-Deal at Phoenix Mine” is based on a true event that happened in Boyertown. In 1865, James Ellis was murdered in the engine house and all his money was stolen.
“We decided as a committee what direction we wanted this year’s event to go. And what part of our rich history we would like to highlight. This year’s true story helped us spotlight the deep mining industry here in Boyertown. Margaret Harner from the Historical Society came to us with the true story,” said Gross.
Along with Gross, assistant Main Street Manager and event co-chair Kim Evans, Theresa Heist, and Adrienne Zapien came up with the locations and clues.
While researching the mystery for the Boyertown Heritage Day event, Harner learned that she is the great-great-granddaughter of James Ellis. Her grandfather’s middle name was Ellis — named for his mother, Katie Ellis.
“Planning takes several months and many meetings to decide how the mystery will play out,” said Gross. “I think we will start even earlier for next year’s mystery.”
Last year’s mystery was a little more challenging to solve with about 60 percent returning with the correct answer.
“This year we added more interactive activities for the families to participate in, like obstacle courses, puzzles and a mini-mining dig,” said Gross.
The Bear’s Den Fitness obstacle course was located in The Other Farm parking lot. The course, only a few feet high, had visitors traveling through a winding path carrying medicine balls to experience what it was like for iron miners.
“We brought different weight medicine balls to be like iron ore,” said Jeff Shontz, owner of Bear’s Den Fitness, “to take them through the little mine.”
Once they completed the course, participants earned another greenback clue.
Another activity had competitors mine for bottle caps buried in sand using a magnet at the General Carl Spaatz National USAAF Museum.
To earn another clue, participants completed a puzzle depicting Popodickon Mansion, one of the oldest and most historic buildings in the Boyertown area named after the native chief.
After visiting seven locations — Iezzi’s On Third, Good Shepherd UCC, Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles, General Carl Spaatz National USAAF Museum, Boyertown Area Historical Society, Bear’s Den Fitness obstacle course in The Other Farm parking lot and the Colebrookdale Railroad — investigators had to review their clues and unscramble the name of the murderer.
All winning guesses were entered to win a $250 cash prize.
“It was fun finding clues,” said Isaac Cope, who completed the hunt on his own. “It was hard to figure out who he (the murderer) was, but I think I got it.”
“This is really a creative way for people to learn about where they’re from and to get to know some of the fun spots in the area,” said Sarah Pennington, International United Ms. Keystone State. “It’s also a great way to get people out and walking around.”
Source: Berkshire mont