The 1970's
Mixing it Up
The medallion was never hidden in the same place twice in the 1970s, and size didn't matter (get your mind out of the gutter and back in the snowbank). Tiny Mears and Irvine stood proud with Battle Creek and Lake Phalen. West St. Paul and Maplewood were brought into the fun, pushing the medallion into deeper reaches of Ramsey County.
| Year | General Location | Pinpointed location | How it was concealed |
| 1980s | |||
| 1979 | Marthaler Park | Near the tennis courts. | Attached to a piece of tree bark |
| 1978 | Harriet Island Park | Midway between the road and the pavillion building | Frozen in a ball of milk and ice |
| 1977 | Irvine Park | On the ground amid eight trees | Inside a cigar box |
| 1976 | Keller Park | Underneath the roots of the first tree south of the bridge to the island | In a "Y" shaped tree branch |
| 1975 | Mears Park | Near the intersection of Sibley and 5th Sts. | In a Bull Durham tobacco sack wedged in a picnic bench |
| 1974 | Cherokee Park | Between a large oak tree, and a grove of pine trees and large rock directly in line with winona St. | Inside a Coca Cola can concealed within a White paper bag |
| 1973 | Phalen Park | Near Light Pols # 13 on the Pavillion Parking Lot | Cemented into a closet rod bracket |
| 1972 | Marydale Park | South of the westenmost manhole cover | Attached to a gold-painted gooseneck water trap |
| 1971 | Wakefield Park | Near the lake | Inside the wheel of a baby buggy |
| 1970 | Battle Creek Park | On the 50-yard line of the football field on Upper Afton Rd. | A cast iron vise |
| 1960s | |||
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!
