1971 Clues
Over treasure area lie.
Winter scene of picturesque sights
In shapes of every size.
From age to newly born.
Wisdom and knowledge hope to reach
Before death and time to mourn.
One more wet than dry.
Only one catches the eye.
Guess the reason why.
Just a board of commissioners.
A mystery hunt should guarantee and secure,
With help of worthy parishioners.
Big and small size.
Pop in one, in another pop not.
Win a fine prize.
Corners on a plate.
A hard club to strike and tame.
Early play and late.
Parking board and beach.
Sings to pass, to stop and go
Bring treasure within reach.
With North and East in mind.
Look where parks and playgrounds stand.
Recreation places find.
In our Carnival City.
Sear in fields of snow for pay.
Clues are keen and witty.
Stage for prosperous seekers.
East and North wind join the fete
Making finders keepers.
Walk along side and north.
Home of east twins is clue to repeat.
Downhill to lake go forth.
Look at south end of lake.
Here a two-pipe culvert our treasure site frames.
Wheel out and a fortune take.
A Medallion attached to a wheel.
North 43 paces from culvert on Wakefield Lake.
A plot to conspire and reveal.
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!
