It is no “secret” that Milwaukee parks and public property have suffered from the unauthorized digging of over zealous Secret investigators, emotionally convicted concerning proposed “solutions” that in most cases both fail to authentically reflect the source material at the most basic of levels, and distinguish themselves from a garden variety coincidence. Clever ideas numbering in the thousands have no power whatsoever to magically manifest a singular “casque”, wrongly perceived and asserted as viable through the hypnotic allure of marginal notoriety and community bragging rights fueled by imagination and emotion. That being said, there is a casque in Milwaukee, which is found through the objective discernment of trained communication while recognizing the subjective nature of personal preferences and individual perspective that inevitably shape an independently produced puzzle.
Visiting the Milwaukee casque site just south of St. Stephen’s Church in the Walker’s Point neighborhood, I discovered seemingly disturbed patches of ground potentially indicative of recent digging. The suspiciously brown and vaguely circular blemishes were noticeably absent from all previous visits. The ground in these areas was distinctly soft compared to the firm ground surrounding it. It appears that someone is taking the St. Stephen’s solution seriously, but not the desired parties with the desired response.
County officials in recent years have seemingly adopted the premise that ignoring these conditions is the only reasonable course of action. The perception of bad behavior and untethered claims has dissolved a previous condition of marginal openness, conversely incubating the extremely common misconception that these puzzles are unsolvable, and the debilitating generalization that all participants and their corresponding “evidence” are exactly the same without apparent consideration for individual character and content. At one point in time, the Milwaukee County Parks commissioner was open to receiving proposals and authorizing an isolated permit with several colossal caveats, including a significant price tag and County retainment of recovered items. In more recent times, I have personally attempted email communication on multiple occasions which resulted in deafening silence.
While touring Lake Park I found similar evidence of clandestine destruction. Several areas around or near the lion statues were baren and dusty, possibly the result of unauthorized activity.
On the north end of the park just beyond the recently renovated foot bridge was a gaping hole immediately beside the paved pathway that has no obvious application on an official capacity. On so many different levels, there is no reason for this, including but not limited to the simple fact that Lake Park has quite obviously never hosted a Secret casque.
Such unsolicited activity, including the countless points of correspondence between investigators and park officials, would be fairly simple to extinguish if someone were willing to LISTEN. Common confusion and irrational manifestations fail to prove the absence of a professionally communicated, knowable answer applied for determining the (relatively) precise location of a 6in box up to three and a half feet into the ground…found here. You will find that the precise dig spot is noticeably absent which is by design.
If anyone has connections to applicable county officials, I am willing to offer information and consultation with NO strings attached. I simply want to see this matter put to rest once and for all. Would I like to have a casque…sure, but that is the least important part of the equation of which I am freely willing to concede. While I have no professional credentials to tout, these puzzles are designed with the general public in mind, not the intellectually superior. However, the collective failure of the general public over more than four agonizing decades is a separate topic entirely.
Ignoring the problem doesn’t fix the problem. User error doesn’t prove bad puzzles. Removing the casque in a controlled dig with an intellectually discernable answer will protect city and county land from future damage and vandalism, while dogmatically adhering to and hiding behind pre-existing regulation has up to this point served no constructive purpose. Does spending five years attempting contact through official channels and refusing to participate in any activity deviating from established regulation or law afford me any degree of trust or openness to conversation? Is anyone willing to listen, or do we insist on blindly hoping for different results adhering to the same failed strategies?
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