A Digger's Glossary
The St. Paul Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt has inspired people to dig endlessly into snow and ice in the heart of a Minnesota winter for more than 50 years. This rare breed of human being has designed its own language in order to communicate with like-minded souls. It is here that we attempt to decipher this strange lingo for the first time ever.
| "You Dig?" | question asked of strangers in the field to ascertain that they are Cooler Crew friendly; something of a Cooler Crew slogan. |
| Camo Crue | a group of experienced medallion hunters that dress in camouflage hunting gear, hunt like a wolfpack, and guard their clue-decoding secrets warily |
| Cooler Crew | the name of this Web site, the moniker for supporters of this Web site, regular readers and writers of the CoolerCrew message board, and/or participants in activities put on by the Cooler Crew, particularly the Predig-Gig and Rehash Bash, which bookend the medallion hunt |
| Coolerhead | a CoolerCrew regular, which is all it takes to be a member of the Cooler Crew |
| digger | a medallion hunter (in snowy years, the medallion tends to be buried in the snow) |
| frog pond | an obvious reference point in Como Park near the Conservatory; used in context to mean lost, way off, confused, as in: "Yeah, right, I'll see you in the frog pond!" |
| Joe | as in: "Hey, I got a Joe."; short for "Joe Medallion," a troublesome Water Cooler Message Board poster that would type several one- or two-character messages in a row to reach a numbered message like 3,000 or 4,500 |
| locusts | the sound of hundreds of shovels digging together at night |
| LOL | "Laugh Out Loud;" more of a chat/newsgroup acronym, but used frequently in CoolerCrew Message Boards |
| lurk | what one does when they're hesitant to post in messages to the Water Cooler; lurking, lurker |
| McGovern's | Patrick McGovern's Pub and Restaurant, a St. Paul institution located at 225 W. 7th Street that serves as the annual gathering place for the Cooler Crew's "Predig-Gig;" a charming establishment for good foods and drinks in one of the city's most historic neighborhoods |
| MCL | "Much Cooler Love" - similar to SCDs |
| Medallionis venator | medallion hunters; coined by Kermit Pattison of the Pioneer Press to describe those seen roaming local parks with heavy parkas, shovels and lanterns; members of species either gather in boisterous flocks or hunt alone with a wary eye on potential competitors. |
| midnight | the witching hour; go to the St. Paul Pioneer Press Building at 345 Cedar Street after about the 6th clue, and you'll see |
| noodle | an attempt to decipher the clues. Comes from "...using your noodle." noodling, noodled, noodles |
| Predig Gig | Annual CoolerCrew party celebrating the start of the hunt. It occurs the Saturday evening before the first clue is released usually at McGovern's. A Cooler institution since 1999. |
| Rehash Bash | Annual CoolerCrew party celebrating the finding of the medallion. Typically occurs the Sunday following the finding of the Medallion at the part in which the Medallion is found. It is a giant potluck picnic, and family event. |
| SCDs | "Sweet Cooler Dreams;" used as a sign-off on the Pioneer Planet message board |
| slog | digging through posts on the Water Cooler Message Boards in order to catch up with a conversation (a near impossibility during peak medallion hunting season). Comes from "slog" - as in difficult and slow movement/ambulation through a material such as snow; slogging, slogged, slogs |
| to and fro | 1. a reference to clue 8 from 1998; defined by diggers as wandering aimlessly in search of the medallion, as in, "How's your diggin' goin'?" — "Not bad, but I'm kinda just to and fro, y'know?" — "Sure, you betcha. To and fro."
2. Back in the early days of the Water Cooler, we were allowed our own representative symbols, including animated gifs; a Cooler participant named BeeyoB had a little man that went "to and fro." |
| weekender | medallion hunter that can't get away from work (usually) and family (sometimes) responsibilities until the weekend |
During the 1990’s, the St Paul Pioneer Press opened online discussion forums. These forums were called Water Coolers. The forums had discussion topics related to sports, politics, news, and current events. Each year, the Pioneer Planet – the online section of the Pioneer Press – opened a discussion forum as a media for hunters to discuss the clues for the Winter Carnival Medallion Hunt.
During the earlier years, one might find a few hundred posts during the hunt. As more hunters had computers, those numbers jumped. From 1997 to 1998, the number of posts increased from the hundreds to the 5-digit thousands. It was during the 1998 hunt the Cooler Crew was born.
The community spirit and teamwork displayed in the Pioneer Press Medallion Hunt thread was inspiring. The group of hunters found themselves at the end of a hunt not wanting to let go of new friendships and the camaraderie found on the Water Cooler board. The idea emerged to do what anyone would do in the middle of winter in Minnesota. A picnic in Cherokee was planned - the first Rehash Bash!
