1962 Clues
The medallion is hidden as everyone knows
Come search for King Boreas' annual treasure
Our city's boundaries should be your measure.
The treasure hunt is part of the fun.
A distant landmark in the sky
Blinks its message from on high.
If you hope for this year's dough.
Close by, two structures both with green
Appear on the landscape near the scene.
Get an early start and do your best.
Solve "The Case of the Double Arrow"
And your treasure pursuit will surely narrow.
Respect for property is our creed
If facing west or east we stand
A bridge appears on either hand.
Are clues to help and not much more
A tower standing straight and tall
Is on the horizon familiar to all
Now and then a horn will sound
And from a school quite old in age
Take a cue for our mystery stage.
The direction being in a good hard freeze
Yard long clues to sort and choose
Should suggest another you can't refuse.
Or a type that's hard to find today
And one that's made of paper and tar
Won't let your thoughts go wandering far.
Another of a spiritual kind
Close a hand, a building of steel
At this time, that's all we'll reveal.
Guard the spot where the treasure lies.
Think of a river when a street you see,
A three-sided figure will yield a key.
Girls' names like Edna, surnames like Cook
Stand on a spot, see an old fashioned railing
Smoke from a shanty will set your hopes sailing.
A highway some day on this spot will be found
In a line with Lawson and two bay-windows stand
To loosen trampled snow have a tool in hand.
Forty yards from the road is a pipe in the snow
About forty-five feet from the pipe is the prize - Bravo!
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!
