The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • A4

A4 Orlando Sentinel DONATE YOUR CAR Wheels For Wishes Central and Northern Florida We Accept Most Vehicles Running or Not We Also Accept Boats, Motorcycle RVs Free Vehicle Pickup ANYWHERE Tax Deductible WheelsForWishes.org 536-8988 Car Donation Foundation Wheels For Wishes. To learn more about our programs or information, call (213) 948-2000 or visit www.wheelsforwishes.org. that information to his grave. The treasures worth much, either. The keys unearthed can be returned to a newer pub- lishing company in exchange for a gemstoneworth about $1,000.

in this to get rich, to make a lot of money. more of the thrill of the Scott said. St. Augustine-based treasure hunter George Ward, who also hosts Secret said he thinks the puzzles can be tricky, but not for the reasons peo- plemight suspect. reason difficult is because trying to solve a puzzle that deals with trees, tall grass and fences nearly 40 years after it was Ward said.

fall down, grass gets Is it really inDeLeon Springs StatePark? Ward is part of a growing group of Florida treasure hunters who think the casque is buried in the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park in St. Augustine. probably the person at the Fountain of Youth most Ward said. of the verse isword-for-word taken from plaques inside the Fountain of He said the two lines of poem regarding the Florida treas- ure first in refers to a popular phrase seen inside the park. first chapter is literally the tagline for the Fountain of Ward said.

The Fountain of Youth Archae- ological Park is most commonly thought tobethe locationofoneof casques, but the Taylor brothers disagree. only been on this hunt for a matter of months compared with years of experience, but their line of thinking has led them to De Leon Springs State Park. Scott thinks the reflection of the rock in the lower right-hand corner of the painting resembles a mapofnearbyOcalaNationalFor- est. the painting), Astor flowers, and this is very close to Astor, Scott said. the poem or the verse, it says that the treasure is buried at the base of a tall If the thinking is true, the casque would have been bur- ied while the land was privately held, shortly before it became a state park in1982.

A 500-year-old bald cypress tree named Old Methuselah calls De Leon Springs State Park its home. This is where the brothers believe the treasure is buried. Agrowing phenomenon Before theDiscovery devoted anepisode the hunt was known to few. After all, book came out in 1982 and only themost per- sistent treasure hunters would have continued searching for more than 30 years. the Un- episode came out and then a bunch of newspaper arti- cles andwrite-upson the internet, there were maybe maybe 1,000 of us Ward said.

when we release a podcast, we get 700 downloads in the first A Facebook group dedicated to has about 1,800 members, but Ward said other groups exist for individual treas- ure hunts, eachwith at least a few hundred participants. community has shifted to be more open. They came to- gether to say, guys have had almost 40 years to figure this out on your Ward said. open it up to a Fountain of YouthArchaeologi- cal Park co-owner John Fraser, who also serves as managing di- rector of the park, first heard about treasure hunt in 2004 when a few women from Ohio visited and asked about it. Since then, he has witnessed the impact of the Un- episode firsthand.

2004 and the airing of the epi- four or five inquiries over 10 Fraser said. episode came out and had over 100 people inter- Though easy to assume the treasure should have been found by now, Fraser said many trees that could have pointed toward the treasure have been lost in hur- ricanes. poem indicated at the base of a tall tree. We lost a tremendous amount of trees in 2003-2004 toHurricane Fraser said. lost 81 tons of trees during Hurricane Matthew.

We lost 39 tons to Hurricane Fraser said that, at times, been intrigued by the hunt and even helped the Discovery Chan- nel crew as they dug several holes during their visit. But the park containssensitivehistory fromthe 1500s, and he like to put a shovel in the ground. have Native American burials. We also have the foot- prints of the first colony back in 1565.Wehave tobevery, verycare- ful about where we Fraser said. really do believe that the the treasure is here, somewhere in this park.

I see a lot of clues in there that recognized. been here a very long time. worked here in some capacity Achallenging road ahead When the Taylor brothers first visited De Leon Springs State Park, they reached out to a park manager to find out how they could dig at the base of Old Me- thuselah. very ecologically- minded people and we would not want to do anything that would harmour state Scott said. They learned that if they wished to dig in a Florida state park, they would need to file a permit with the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research (BAR).

After emailing with a BAR state official, it seemed unlikely the agency would grant the brothers permission to dig. need more information, but we doubt that your permit would be Scott said, recalling an email response froma BAR official. In addition, they would need an archeologist to lead the survey and do a wetlands impact study. A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection explained that permits are granted for archaeological re- search on state lands, but that each projectmustmeet specific criteria. regulations do not permit digging except for permitted re- search or resource management tymedia relationsmanager for the FloridaDEP, said.

those twocondi- tions, searching for these buried items within a state park is not consistent with our responsibili- tiesdue to the limitedbenefits and potential harm to natural and cul- tural The BAR also told the Taylor brothers via email that, applications without a research question will not be considered. Object recoverydoesnot constitu- te a research Wardsaidamuch larger agency has also taken a stand against dis- turbing land for the sake of this hunt. know theheads of a bunch of National Parks recently had a meeting about Ward said. absolutely banning people from digging as a result of He said important that his fellow treasure hunters are re- spectful of parks andpublic lands. puzzle has brought joy and adventure into countless peo- ples lives, but it has also caused irreparable damage to many said.

do not dig holes with- out permission. Our public parks are far more valuable than any treasure youmay Despite the obstacles, Scott and Dean Taylor are still sifting through their options. During a recent trip to Washington, D.C., they tried to schedule a meeting with U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, the congressman for the area sur- roundingDeLeon Springs.

want to go forward in a legally appropriate Scott said. absolutely believe that the treasure is inDeLeonSprings. And this is part of our culture. If it can bring young people out into the park, a win-win for the The brothers see giving up as an option, at least not right now. The treasure has already provided the Taylor family with a chance to bond and get outdoors, even as the casque remains in the ground.

has been a great opportu- nity to get together with my son and my brother on a common project with a common Scott said. still passionate about it. like asking theWright brothers after their first flight, which go so well, you going to give And the answer is Want to get in can find me onTwitter Instagram or send me an email: orlandosentinel.com. TREASURE Continued from Page A1 Dean Taylor shows a painting from Byron on his phone at De Leon Springs State Park. PATRICK SENTINEL family ownerMark Fekany.

really are an old- which opened in 1971. people come in Now, smoking is still per- mitted at even as other Central Florida wa- tering holes, such as the re- cently reopened Mills Avenue Liquors, have kicked the habit. The Americans for Non- smokers Rights reports bars in 33 states and com- monwealths are smoke- free. Beyond the legality of it, whether a bar allows smok- ing comes down to what its customers want, explained Robb Seltzer, director of food and beverage opera- tions and instructor at Uni- versity of Central Rosen College of Hospital- ityManagement. decisions come downto said.

anoperator is going tomakemoremoney by be- ing nonsmoking and draw more customers, then what going to Going smoke-free is a growing trend from the perspective of John Michael Gonzales, a state- wide tobacco policy man- ager for Tobacco Free Flor- ida. are fewer and fewer people who smoke these he said. He also made the point that there is a much larger market of nonsmokers and former smokers. He cited data from a 2017 Florida Department of Health re- port that showed the adult smoking rate in Florida at At the decision to ban smoking stemmed from the nonsmoking crowd as well as nicotine stains on the famed naked women wallpaper, said Jordan Eichenblatt, of Orange Plane Creative, the companyhandling the marketing. should not subject the nonsmokers to be around the smokers in a place he said.

He added plans to build a covered area for people to be able to smoke outside. At Sportstown Billiards in Milk District, about half the customers smoke inside thebar, owner LeeWortman said. just part of the he said. halls and smoking and beer always kind ofwent One of cus- tomers, 48-year-old Kissimmee resident Jason Gliszczynski, looks for bars with the Golden Tee Golf arcade game that also allow smoking. I go on the web- sites, look up where at and look at their photos and see if ashtrays laying he said.

an ashtray, then I know all right, the kind of bar going to go He added on the verge of quitting the habit himself. think it would still bo- ther me even after I quit smoking to not have a smoking bar to go Gliszczynski said. enjoy the company of Another Sportstown pa- tron, 43-year-old Orlando resident David Cooley, a smoker. not crazy smoky in here, why I he said. too smoky, I get The bar uses filtration devices that remove smoke from the air, owner Wort- man said.

also hasworked to clear the air. That bar which parents opened in 1971 in a three- bedroom, two-bathroom house underwent expan- sions in the 1970s and One brought higher ceil- ings and a fan system to helpwith the smoke. Still, Fekany thinks state law should ban smoking in any public building. still come in here if they go any- where else and he said. not good for you.

Look at the ciga- rette packs. Secondhand not good for you, As for what one of regulars thinks, 62-year-old Apopka resi- dent Randy Gallimore said he stop coming there if smoking was banned. been to bars where they allow smoking, and you go out on the front he said. want themtokeep still be a regular Contact the reporter at or 407-420-5664; SMOKING Continued from Page A1 Jason Gliszczynski looks for bars with the Golden Tee Golf arcade game where he can also smoke inside, like Sportstown Billiards in the Milk District. STEPHEN M.

SENTINEL Randy Gallimore, 62, of Apopka, smokes a cigarette as he sits at the bar at Bar Grill. AUSTIN SENTINEL.