John Kalinowski, the owner
of the BadBirds Art Gallery, has a backstory
intriguing enough to provide some Cocoa Village
entertainment.
“The idea of a possible buried treasure of rare
gold coins and other valuables started a few
months ago with the discovery of an old bank
teller’s desk drawer from the Brevard County
State Bank which failed back in 1928. The drawer
had a false bottom and deposit slips inside
dated 1911,” said Kalinowski, adding some
cryptic poems were written on the slips by
unknown writers.
Skeptics dispute the claims involving the lost
loot, such as authenticity of the poems.
Still, the BadBirds Treasure Hunting Society has
sprung up, meeting every Friday evening at the
gallery to hear new clues, then fan out around
the village tracking the hidden stash using maps
and a metal detector.
According to one member, Carolyn Seiler, a
locally popular artist who shares the gallery
with Kalinowski and is an avid club advocate,
“Everyone loves a treasure hunt, it’s the
challenge that brings out the ‘kid’ in us all.
And half the fun with this particular one is
finding out what parts of the puzzle itself is
fact and what part fiction. It is also a test of
intelligence and a real life chance to solve
puzzles — and get rewarded for doing so.”
After a meeting two weeks ago, members found
bits of the treasure during their hunt and this
seems to be the recurring pattern with just an
item or two being found at each location, along
with more clues hinting at where still more is
to be found.
That find included a 1859 gold coin, some bits
of what appears to be gold dust and/or gold
flakes and four more old bank notes containing
more clues as to the rest of the treasure’s
whereabouts.
The cache was sealed in an old cork-top bottle
and was wrapped in a sailcloth sack buried near
the entrance to Taylor Park across from the old
bank’s location.
Enthusiastic treasure club member Tony Powell,
(in real life the karaoke host at the 401
Lounge) said, “I found a few of the first coins
uncovered in an earlier hunt and later left them
out on my dresser draw at home. It was a good
thing they were only pennies because a family
member of mine came by and took them to use
towards buying a pack of cigarettes.”
“But then again they were real old pennies, and
I don’t really know how much there really worth
today,” said Powell philosophically, but
nonetheless undaunted as he again was
instrumental in finding the new sack of booty at
the park entrance.
Kalinowski admits that his tongue seems to wind
up in his cheek when he tells of the all
mysteries surrounding the treasure. But, he does
swear by the reality of the treasure’s
existence. With that in mind, it should be noted
that he is retired from a 30-year career as a
high ranking U.S. military intelligence officer,
who dealt with all kinds of top-level secrets.
As for the hunt, he explains that all a newcomer
needs is the right mixture of curiosity and
greed.
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