More than 200 people took over downtown Littleton Sept. 29, trying to decipher clues like “Hot cocoa on a winter's day” and “Before Home Depot, Littleton had this hardware store.”

Organized by Historic Littleton Inc., the inaugural Littleton Scavenger Hunt urged folks to “Treasure the present and hunt for the past.” Everyone picked up a ballot at the light-rail station, then set out to visit merchants who were hiding clues in their stores. Along the way, participants got to “meet” the city's founder, Richard Little, and infamous cannibal Alfred Packer, who is buried in Littleton Cemetery.

Some who played along enjoyed looking at familiar buildings with fresh eyes, perhaps noticing for the first time interesting architectural details that have been there all along.

All correct ballots were entered into a drawing for prizes — first place won $500. Oddly, none of the top three winners lingered at Delizios to hear their names announced. Plenty of others did, enjoying Littleton's own Rootin' Tootin' Dixie Band on the patio. HLI gave free membership to everyone there.

“We're trying to get a younger generation of people involved,” said HLI member Karen Arras. “We think as years go by, younger people need to get involved if Littleton's history is going to be preserved for future generations.”

Liz Eaton, who thought up the idea of the scavenger hunt, added they also want to get people excited about the city.

“What better way than to just let them discover it on their own?” she asked.

Historic Littleton Inc. is a nonprofit membership organization, not to be confused with the Historic Preservation Board, which is an advisory board to Littleton's city council.

“Our focus is on preserving Littleton's special spirit through preserving our historic buildings,” reads their brochure.

The Rootin' Tootin' Dixie Band will be in full swing again next weekend, leading the infestation of downtown known as the Zombie Crawl on Oct. 6.

Sadly, after making a triumphant return last year, Historic Downtown Littleton Merchants president Greg Reinke reports the Pumpkin Follies and Goat Show has been canceled for this year — which also means no pumpkin poles. It was to be the following weekend, but Reinke expects it to resume in all its glory next year.

For more information about Historic Littleton Inc., visit www.hlinc.org. For more information on HDLM and its events, visit www.downtownlittleton.com.