Revelstoke elementary school finds 40-year-old treasure map written by kid

What started as a Tweet has made rounds through social media in Revelstoke forcing residents to ask: Who is Jimmy Greer?

Earlier this summer, Columbia Park Elementary underwent some renovations when a carpenter found an odd piece of paper stuck behind a mirror in one of the bathrooms, said principal Andy Pfeiffer.

It was a treasure map, written by student Jimmy Greer 40 years ago. The school put out a Tweet of the map, complete with a note from Greer, but has not been able to find the author, Pfeiffer said.

So our school is getting a huge renovation this summer and a worker finds this in the wall: a time capsule treasure map from a grade 4 student from 1980 named Jimmy Greer. Grab a shovel and follow his direction to $100 !!! There’s buried treasure at CPE!!! pic.twitter.com/uZc0Y83qpW

— CPE (@ColumbiaParkSch) August 31, 2020

“His name has been out there for the last week or two, and no, he hasn’t come forward,” he said.

However, the treasure map has sparked something else for young students, some of whom with brought shovels to the playground to look for treasure, but the challenge in finding the treasure is that many of the map's playground landmarks like the big metal slide are no longer there, he said.

“School startup is always difficult and a little nerve-wracking for people and it’s a little worse for others this year as a result of other things going on in the world so this has helped to take some of the worries away and make us a little happier with a magical moment,” Pfeiffer said.

There’s a rumour going around now that one of the holes in the playground was actually Greer who snuck in one night and dug up his $100, Pfeiffer said.

The map has brought an opportunity to see the younger kids having fun in the playground before school starts, but Pfeiffer noted he’s hiding his shovels.

“We’re grateful for Jimmy Greer and if I could I’d buy him a nice latte… to thank him,” he said.

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