The Cooler Crew Would Like To Thank....
The Cooler Crew would like to thank the following great local businesses for their generous donations for Mark's funeral:
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Yarusso's Italian Restaurant 635 Payne Avenye (Across from Swede Hollow) for catering the food |
| Lakeside Floral, Inc. for providing husband and father bouquets | |
| Koehler & Dramm's Institute of Floristry for making a class project out of funeral arrangements and donating the results for the funeral |
We'd also like to thank Obb's Bar for the location of the Pre-Dig Gig this year, and the setup they put together, as well as their generous donation to Mark's Memorial Fund. In addition we'd like to thank the many people who have individually contributed to the fund.
When you're out and about during this year's hunt and afterwards, please patronize these businesses as you are able to in gratitude for their contributions.
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!
