Local teen writes and plans annual library scavenger hunt

As a girl whose first word was “book,” it comes as no surprise that West Linn teen Kasey Vestal loves the library. The self-described artsy type has continued her love of words and literature, reading what she estimates to be “about a book a day” in the summer.

Her love of reading and of the library have led her to participate in the West Linn Public Library’s annual scavenger hunt as its master designer.

Vestal has turned her love of reading into an annual summer installment at the library that young readers look forward to all year. She and her mother, Pam Vestal, established and continue to plan the library’s after-hours summer teen scavenger hunt.

This year’s hunt, set for July 19, will be the third hunt Vestal has organized. Though she has always been closely connected to the library, reading copious amounts before becoming officially involved as a volunteer, the original scavenger hunt was her mother’s idea. The hunt was originally aimed for her older brother, Brandon, to be involved in.

“I initially intended for my son to organize it, but he wasn’t interested, so Kasey picked it up,” her mom said.

Vestal, an incoming senior at Pacific Crest Community School in Portland’s Laurelhurst neighborhood, has lived in West Linn her entire life. The middle of three siblings, Vestal enjoys photography and performing arts. She has acted with the Northwest Academy Project Theater Group since her freshman year at Pacific Crest, all while indulging her love for graphic novels, specifically manga, at the West Linn library.

Though the Vestal family was on vacation during the first hunt, its success resonated with Vestal and encouraged her to continue. Smiling and laughing, she remembered coming home from vacation to a gigantic poster from the first year’s participants thanking her for her hard work, a poster that still hangs in her bedroom today.

Teen Librarian Elaine Spence was equally enthusiastic about continuing the scavenger hunt.

“I think it’s really empowering to them to be trusted to be in the library after hours, that they get to explore and it’s OK,” Spence said.

Though the first year’s hunt had no theme, both last year’s and this year’s hunts have adopted the theme of the library’s summer reading program. The theme, which was “Making Waves at Your Local Library” in 2011 and is “Own the Night” this year, affects the clues that Vestal creates and plants throughout the library.

The clues aim to be both interactive and experiential, including a mix of riddles and skits that participants must act out. Vestal herself is also a part of the hunt.

“I like to always have something special,” Vestal said, such as a clue the hunters can only get from her.

Though the event itself is a whirlwind, the planning process is quite lengthy.

Each hunt begins with the Vestal and her mother going around the library and finding interesting books and niches to inspire their clues, a process that in turn affects how long Vestal spends writing the clues.

“It kind of depends on how much stuff we can find,” Vestal said of the planning process.

When she gets down to writing, Vestal modestly estimates that writing the clues “takes about a week.” Her mother was quick to interject that, in addition to writing clues and devising hiding places for them within the library, Vestal makes a total of three lists: one of clues to be hidden, a master list of locations and finally a guide for the volunteers who play an integral role in the event’s success.

While she acknowledges that planning the hunt takes a good chunk of time out of her summer, Vestal said that at the end of the day, the kids who participate make it all worth it. She said her favorite part of the event is “probably the kids — how happy they are when they run around. They don’t have to think about anything else.”

Vestal’s mother also shared her favorite part of the planning process, which has become more her daughter’s than her own as the years have progressed. She said, “I enjoy watching the wheels turn. She comes up with really clever ideas and ways of wording them.”

Spence took yet another angle of looking at the benefits of the hunt, stretching her perspective to look at the lasting impact it has on participants.

“(The hunt) gets kids into all areas of the library. They don’t realize it but they’re actually learning about where things are located and how to find them,” she said. “For them, it’s a big treasure hunt and a chance to spend time with their friends.”

Though Vestal will be graduating and heading off to college next summer, she doesn’t anticipate her involvement with the library and scavenger hunt will stop.

“If I come back in time, I’ll absolutely do it again. I love the library,” Vestal said.

As she looks toward college, Vestal has her sights set on the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where she hopes to study photography. She was drawn to the university for its small size and focus on the industrial side of art rather than just concepts.

Wherever Vestal heads in life, Spence has faith that she will apply the same energy and tenacity that she has demonstrated so consistently through the scavenger hunt.

“Kasey is awesome; she’s just so cool. She’s just a really interesting young woman, so bright and articulate. She loves putting these things together and is wildly creative in putting together her clues.”

The scavenger hunt is July 19 from 6:30 to 8:15 p.m. The library is located at 1595 Burns St. For more information, call 503-656-7853 or visit westlinnoregon.gov/library.