Credits
...in alphabetical order, by Cooler Crew screen name, where applicable
People and Organizations
| Allison Wonderland | Treasure Hunt Trainer, Maker of Mock Hunts |
| Mr. Med Hunter, Jesse Anibas, the Realm's Treasure Hunter | unsolicited clue-typing help (1970s in particular) |
| Ares | Coolercrew.com webmaster, and archives-keeper |
| Artemis the Huntress | HTML help, reporter, webmistress of King's Commons, bumper stickers and all around huntress! |
| Roger Barr | Author, The Treasure Hunt; early, important advice |
| BeeyoB | an early Crew mainstay |
| Brett Benson | an early keystone within Pioneer Planet |
| Marcia Brass | extra 1993-94 clue deciphering |
| Camo Crue | inspiration; not in name but in determination |
| Eags | the funkdoobiest |
| *Mom* and *Dad* | buttons, arrangement, and the in-betweens |
| Jackie Garry | Cooler film chronicler |
| Green | Taskmaster General and so much more |
| Elizabeth Hanninen | typin', programmin' |
| Ian | always on the right side |
| Jake Inge | Research and hunt addict |
| Ittiz Eye | Sioux City's finest; pages in the night |
| Karl Karlson | Pioneer Press writer |
| East Side Digger | Cooler Kid, logo artist |
| KCØGRN | Google Map Maker |
| Mike Madland | photos, images from his 1988 find |
| Marley King | webmaster of King's Commons, bumperstickers, "Coolerhead for life" |
| Me2 | supplying M&M's and being the life of the party in the cooler. |
| Mishaba | for all efforts otherwise unnoticed |
| MJ | Clue typing and getting together at the Great Minnesota State Fair |
| Sherri Osborn | a very early player in all that this is and a recent HTML fiend helping to get all the clues up |
| Pioneer Press | all the rich history and excellent heritage |
| Greg Sax | The original webspinner of this site, writer, editor, what have you... |
| Casey Selix | Pioneer Press writer |
| Joe Soucheray | Press columnist, hunt curmudgeon |
| The Internet Wayback Machine | For the archive that allowed the comprehensive collection of historical material from the site |
| Trent Tooley | Cooler film chronicler |
| Casey Trauer | former Planet nightman, early inside supporter |
| Treasure Chest | Cooler Crew Webmistress, Ares' partner in crime, critic, and inspiration, and chief Cooler Crew prankster. |
| Terry Valentine | coolest of the Coolerheads |
| Jim Walsh | Pioneer Press writer, 1998 diary entries |
| Whale Time | motivational outfit that prefers night digging and e-noodles |
| Steve Worthman | author of invaluable park guidebook; Cooler Crew supporter |
| Dave "DDY" Young | photos and longtime support, may he rest in peace. |
| Ron Young | carnival button king |
| Zephyrus, Protector of Freedom | poetry -- Maybe Next Year |
Software
| Drupal | The content management system in place that powers the cooler crew web site. |
| Gallery | The photo gallery software that drives the back-end photo gallery. |
| PHP Hypertext Processor | For the dynamic web page engine |
| The Apache Software Foundation | The Web Server software that powers the site |
Many people have helped get this thing off the ground, which means if you see that a name needs to be added to the list, contact the webmasters, and it will likely appear the next day. Credit will be given to both those who have inspired and those who continue to aspire to great things for Cooler Crew. Those who perspire heavily and for no good reason will likely be left off the list (unless they have an explanatory medical certificate).
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!
