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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: General » Old News & Rumors
[Trailhead] Snow Town, USA
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enaxor
I Have No Life

Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Posts: 2395
amandel wrote:
Two posters on Peg's blog cracked the Picpen cipher awhile ago. Mega props go to Denny Jacobs and Guest User17:

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
ENTER THE PATH NORTH OF SNOW TOWN MEETING HALL. YOU WILL FIND ME NEAR THE EDGE OF THE LAKE SIX DAYS AFTER THE FULL MOON


Bloody hell! Thank god someone solved it and so glad you saw the post from Jacob. I've spent hours on that silly thing, switching out like words and trying the different pigpen ciphers and was getting absolutely no where. Evil or Very Mad

It'd also like to take this opportunity to ask all the new and old members to please keep the double posting to a minimum. As long as you are logged in, you can edit your posts. It keeps the clutter down, and makes it easier to catch up. It's understandable to have a double post occasionally, especially if new information is found. I've also noticed a few emails that have been spoilered, typically, we only use the "spoiler" button for puzzle solves. There's no need to spoiler emails. Most importantly, please read through the thread, before posting, there is quite a bit of duplicate "troutable" information being posted.

Just a reminder, there's a chat room set up for #snowtown
_________________
10/05/2007, 04/23/2009, 07/02/2015
The world is a much dimmer place.

PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 3:38 pm
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somniate
Veteran

Joined: 22 Jan 2011
Posts: 78
luci wrote:
somniate wrote:
I looked up the book in question, and there was one thing I noticed, a line about one of the plots of the book being "a war between the lowland Scots (led by James V) and the highland clans (led by Roderick Dhu of Clan Alpine)". I might be sleep deprived, but maybe this has to do with the people originally from the town and the newcomers?


You may well be right on a metaphorical /thematic level.

Here's an earlier post about Lady of the Lake http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=809707#809707
The full poem is very long, and I don't get poetry, so the story isn't the easiest to follow.

Only related name I can see is that King James went undercover pretending to be "Knight of Snowdoun."

Founding families of Snow Town are Harmon and Hoskins

Thanks for joining us Smile



I'll check out the poem, my AP English class did a unit on poetry. And yeah, that's what I meant, on a metaphorical/symbolic level.

I might ask about the Harmons and the Hoskins, then. Something that'll give us information.

PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 4:09 pm
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whitellama
Boot

Joined: 18 Feb 2011
Posts: 21
enaxor wrote:
Two posters on Peg's blog cracked the
Just a reminder, there's a chat room set up for #snowtown


Haha, I've never understood how to work an IRC client or how IRC channels work or anything but maybe I'll try to figure this out then.

And I'm still sort of interested how the message was actually deciphered... So if anyone knows more about that I'm interested in hearing.

PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 4:13 pm
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lighter
Boot

Joined: 03 Oct 2007
Posts: 47

 		email to peg
Good Morning Peg,
I woke this morning to see quite a bit of snow here in my city...even
though it was 68 degrees only 3 days ago!
I have been keeping up with your blog, and I am quite curious about
Ruthies night-jogs past your house. I see on the Library website that they
have a late night planned for this evening, I wonder if perhaps Ruthie
will scurry past again tonight?
One last thing Peg, does your Fred happen to be related to Edward Harmon of Snow Town?
Sincerely,
tommy
Hi there, Tommy!

Lots going on around the house this morning so I only have a minute.
Fred is definitely related to Edward Harmon. We're both related to him.
Edward is our nephew. He's okay. Kinda odd. Guess it runs in that family.
Between you and me, Edward has always made me nervous. His cousin,
Lawrence, on the other hand is an absolute doll. He and I are very close.
Edward is heavy into the library crowd. And I promise you, if Ruthie swings
by again tonight, I'm ready for her. We are expecting a wicked storm!

That's all for today, Tommy!

Peg

PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 4:15 pm
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enaxor
I Have No Life

Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Posts: 2395
whitellama wrote:
enaxor wrote:
Two posters on Peg's blog cracked the
Just a reminder, there's a chat room set up for #snowtown


Haha, I've never understood how to work an IRC client or how IRC channels work or anything but maybe I'll try to figure this out then.

And I'm still sort of interested how the message was actually deciphered... So if anyone knows more about that I'm interested in hearing.


The cipher was solved by putting the song words in the correct order, then reading the pigpen cipher in the same order. My problem was, there were multiples of the same words, for example "have" appeared 4 times on the slips of paper, and each had a different pigpen symbol. So it was really just a straight forward substitution cipher. I applaud Jacob, whoever he is.

As for chat, you can use the java applet from unFiction @ www.unfiction.com/chat once signed in type "/join #snowtown", without the quotes. Or you can use mibbit click on "launch chat", then click on "server", type "irc.chat-solutions.org" (without the quotes) into the server address field, and type "#snowtown" into the channel field. click Go. Or you can download mIRC.
_________________
10/05/2007, 04/23/2009, 07/02/2015
The world is a much dimmer place.

PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 4:38 pm
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GuestUser17
Entrenched


Joined: 22 Feb 2011
Posts: 812
whitellama wrote:
And I'm still sort of interested how the message was actually deciphered... So if anyone knows more about that I'm interested in hearing.

I put together a spreadsheet with all the words and the corresponding pigpen cipher character(s) next to them. There were enough words that only had one possible position that it was fairly easy to figure out which words went where to give a meaningful translation.

PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 4:49 pm
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malevolentNeon
Boot


Joined: 02 Feb 2011
Posts: 21
Location: Australia

 		That mound is definitely concerning. But the decoded message is even more concerning. Something tells me that if Peg goes to that meeting, she'll land herself in hot water. Really hot water. Something is clearly wrong with Fred.

On the other hand, we can't just leave such a vital clue uninvestigated! Perhaps we should encourage her to get Lawrence to go along with her for this mysterious meeting?

No news back from Ruthie so far. I'm going to send a quick email to Private to update her on the new stuff we've learnt.

PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:06 pm
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somniate
Veteran

Joined: 22 Jan 2011
Posts: 78

 		Okay, so, this is the e-mail I'm sending to Ruthie.

Quote:
Your library and town seem fascinating, especially the story about your aunt. Towns rely on libraries and librarians, and your aunt seemed to be the backbone of it for quite some time.

How do I join the book club and what books are on the reading list? I just finished reading a book, so I'm looking for something to read next.

-Melinda.


I'm going to start simple first, just small talk, then I'll ask more important questions. Here's to the response.

PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:22 pm
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whitellama
Boot

Joined: 18 Feb 2011
Posts: 21
enaxor wrote:


The cipher was solved by putting the song words in the correct order, then reading the pigpen cipher in the same order. My problem was, there were multiples of the same words, for example "have" appeared 4 times on the slips of paper, and each had a different pigpen symbol. So it was really just a straight forward substitution cipher. I applaud Jacob, whoever he is.

As for chat, you can use the java applet from unFiction @ www.unfiction.com/chat once signed in type "/join #snowtown", without the quotes. Or you can use mibbit click on "launch chat", then click on "server", type "irc.chat-solutions.org" (without the quotes) into the server address field, and type "#snowtown" into the channel field. click Go. Or you can download mIRC.


Thank you very much for explaining this to me, both the IRC and the cipher.

And could someone else join the #snowtown? I want to see if I did it right.


And also, about the message, it says 6 days after the full moon. That could mean Thursday this week, the 24th, 6 days after the recently full moon, or it could mean after the full moon in March which is the 25th.

PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:38 pm
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enaxor
I Have No Life

Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Posts: 2395
whitellama wrote:
And could someone else join the #snowtown? I want to see if I did it right.


There are a couple of us in chat.
_________________
10/05/2007, 04/23/2009, 07/02/2015
The world is a much dimmer place.

PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 6:14 pm
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luci
Veteran

Joined: 07 Mar 2010
Posts: 103

 		Locations & Williwaw
I'm interested to note that up until now Peg and others have been pretty vague with location names, until today's post http://www.snowtown.me/?p=267 where the word "Williwaw" comes up twice.

Locations:
    Williwaw Pond
    Williwaw Stream
    The Lake
    The Footbridge
    Snow Town General Store
    Snow Town Library
    Snow Town Meeting Hall
    Snow Town Church
    Post Office
    Flurry Street
    Drift Drive
    Chattering Blvd
    Bluster Lane
    Shiver Road
    Tempest Trail
    Snow Town Bone Orchard (Most likely the cemetery)
    Lake Williwaw


So the use of the name "williwaw" as opposed to just "the pond" "the stream" stood out to me.

"Williwaw" is an extreme weather condition in cold regions, where a sudden violent wind blasts down from a mountain accelerated by gravity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williwaw.

From that point of view, it could be connected to the snow mounds?

It's not a word I'd heard of before, but via google search I can see several books and various businesses and locations that use the word, so perhaps not uncommon. It's mostly that it stood out compared to the other locations that haven't got names.

Your thoughts?

EDIT - now a map http://snowtownlibrary.org/Historical_Society.html have added more names to the list above. Interestingly, the term that comes up the top when you open this page is "Memory Lane" rather than "Historical Society".

PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 7:00 pm
Last edited by luci on Thu Feb 24, 2011 1:11 am; edited 2 times in total
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operator0013
Boot


Joined: 03 Feb 2011
Posts: 62

 		Harmons and Hoskins both are founding families. Peg was apparently a Hoskins and not "from away" so her confusion about the strange events in Snow Town probably means we need to dig up more information on the Harmons who have obviously had a more suspicious demeanor.

PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 7:33 pm
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whitellama
Boot

Joined: 18 Feb 2011
Posts: 21

 		Timeline Update
I updated the timeline I posted earlier on the 3rd page.
I was requested over a PM to update the timeline of information I posted a while back on the third page, so here it is.


  • February, 1811 | The Snow Town Library was started
  • 1889 - 1911 | The duration of Louise Hoskins being head librarian
  • January 30, 1911 | The day Louise Hoskins heard bells and wrote Howl
  • August, 2010 | Privatesnowtown finds spiral in The Lady of the Lake
  • February 1, 2011 | Peg makes a reference to Howl and the new moon
  • February 2, 2011 | Privatesnowtown heard bells at night in the cellar, had quite a fright, and went back to bed. The Lady of the Lake was gone.
  • February 3, 2011 | New moon
  • February 9, 2011 | Fred, Peg's husband, runs off to the lake following the sounds of bells.
  • February 13, 2011 | Privatesnowtown Saw dots on their windshield corresponding to the dots on the paper.
  • February 14, 2011 | Valentines day marked with red x on Upcoming Events
  • February 18, 2011 | Ruthie is seen running around at night. Book club night. Marked with red x.
  • February 19, 2011 | Peg reports her husband acting very weird and secretive, writing on white slips of paper at his desk.
  • February 21, 2011 | Fred gives Peg the basket of white slips. Peg uploads the contents.
  • February 22, 2011 | Peg records a video of a suspicious mound of snow in the neighbors yard. Fred wants her to stay away. More mounds were found at Williwaw Pond, the lake, and Williwaw stream.


I think this is everything. Let me know if I left anything out.

PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 8:00 pm
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Lightning257
Veteran

Joined: 05 Oct 2009
Posts: 70
amandel wrote:
Two posters on Peg's blog cracked the Picpen cipher awhile ago. Mega props go to Denny Jacobs and Guest User17:

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
ENTER THE PATH NORTH OF SNOW TOWN MEETING HALL. YOU WILL FIND ME NEAR THE EDGE OF THE LAKE SIX DAYS AFTER THE FULL MOON


Assuming the message means this month, that would be this Thursday the 24th, which is the 6th day after the full moon.

For March, it's Friday the 25th.

PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:15 pm
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Laguz
Boot

Joined: 21 Jun 2009
Posts: 27

 		reply
Got a reply from Ruthie. I am including my original email. any suggestions for answering? I am considering trying to play the role of an orphan with a possible relative in snowtown... that i just felt drawn to snowtown.

Quote:
Dear Allen,


What is your definition of "proper people"? You refer to your Snow Town family? Do you have relatives in Snow Town? Are you related to the Harmon, Hoskins or Haynes families?


Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.


Ruthie Randolph
Head Librarian
Snow Town Library



-------- Original Message --------
Subject: New resident
To: RuthieSPLATsnowtownlibrary.org


Ruthie,

I am so excited to see the library's new website. What a wonderful way to communicate with like minded people. I have recently found myself drawn to Snow Town from Illinois. It is too easy to lose who you really are in a big city, coming to Snow Town is like coming Home. I was wondering if you had any advice or guidance for new residents, or could help me get in touch with the Proper people. I very much would like to meet more of my Snow Town Family.

Allen B.


"The moon and Pleaides are set.
Midnight, and time spins away.
I lie in bed, alone."
(Sappho)


PostPosted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:52 pm
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