History

Back in 1885, a New York reporter noted that St Paul was “another Siberia, unfit for human habitation”. This gave birth to the novel idea for a celebration of our wintry clime. Families and communities came together to participate in the St Paul Winter Carnival; a tradition that continues today, over 120 years later as the coolest celebration on earth.

The Winter Carnival Medallion Hunt began in 1952, where “hidden in Boreas' rollicking realm, lay his treasure.” A small treasure chest made of wood, with the instructions on how to claim the prize inside. Arthur M. Jensen found this treasure in Highland Park on the 11^th clue, which told of two tree stumps to the west. With his big $1000 win, his wife splurged and bought herself a new hat!

There are a few things that you can do to ensure that you have a successful medallion hunt as well. Maybe you won't win the prize, but you can share in the magic of family and tradition that the St Paul Winter Carnival brings to us each year.

The Fun Part

“It is time again, to pick up a pen
and delve into the clues mysteries.
Grab yourself a chair, but you must beware
the clues are full of trickeries.

The time is near for you, my dear
to bundle up and bring your luck
the hunt has begun, now have some fun
and bring home the cherished puck!”

The clues are mesmerizing as clever little poems. Take the above “clue” as an example. At first glance, it is telling you that the clues are tricky and that the hunt has begun. But that's no fun, the cluewriter needs to make sure that only those who put forth a little effort can find this. What fun would it be if you were just given directions, and had to foot race 2,000 people to the location?

Digging deeper into the above clue, you have a few different possibilities. “Chair” could represent something that the medallion is near, or attached to. It could also be a reference point for another clue, if it means anything at all. “Trickeries” could be just that, the clues are hard to figure out due to deception, or it may point to the magic shop across the street from the medallions location. “The time is near” may refer to a large clock nearby, but for sure, “the cherished little puck” means the medallion. Right? Or is it referring to the park having a hockey rink?

It is easy to confuse yourself and get caught up in the clues thinking that every word has meaning. This happens every year when a newbie comes along and deciphers every word in the first clue to give the entire directions and location to the medallions location. There may be more to the first clue than some have realized, 15 times since 1952 there has been more information in the first clue than just general information or if it is in St Paul or not.

Bring the family together on this. Call up some of your friends, meet for dinner and discuss the clues. The most enjoyable part of the medallion hunt for many is the opportunity to spend a lot of time with their family and friends. There is a closeness that develops when you really get into the deciphering. Consider this, you are decoding the map to a treasure of $10,000, and you are trusting your family and friends to not leave you in the dust and find it for themselves. You are doing more than just spending time with your friends, you are building trust with them as well.

So you think you've figured out tonights clue. You run out the door because you know the exact location of the puck and you are going to just reach down and pick it up. Wrong. Don't be the guy who runs out in the middle of the woods when it is -17 degrees outside with just a windbreaker and tennis shoes. You can die or become seriously injured from the cold. Stop and bundle up. You will be out there longer than you think.

If there is any snow at all you are not going to move it with just your hands. You will need a tool of some sort. Hoes are very popular this time of year, as are garden rakes and shovels. Remember the saying, “search, don't destroy”, as it cannot be said enough. You just want to move the snow, weeds, or whatever. Do not dig into the ground; on that note, do not climb up trees either. The medallion will be within easy reach for the average individual. It has been that way for over 55 years. A 3 inch piece of Lucite hidden within 170 square miles doesn't need to be hidden too hard at all. Hunters will be spread out among many parks throughout the county. If you get close enough to find it, and you are a persistent digger with a keen eye, you will find it. Maybe.

Take your kids out with you and build a family tradition that they can carry over to their kids. This is a great opportunity to be an active part of their lives. My Grandpa, Larry Graber, found the Dispatch-Pioneer Press Treasure Chest in 1954 at Hidden Falls Park, the 4^th hunt ever. Imagine what goes through my mind as I think I am very close to finding the medallion! It is an amazing closeness to him that I can share even though he moved to Calvary Cemetery back in 2001.

Whatever it is that you do during the medallion hunt, do it safely, do it responsibly, and have fun doing it. So suit up, head out and enjoy the coolest celebration on earth!

• How to Find the Saint Paul Winter Carnival Medallion
• 2010 Treasure Hunt Rules - TwinCities.com
• Interactive Map: Treasure Hunt medallion locations by year
• Cooler Crew - You Dig?
• st paul winter carnival map -Treasure Hunters Guide
• Treasure Hunt Headquarters

January 16, 2010 -- Obb's Bar, St. Paul, MN

Tonight marked the 12th annual Cooler Crew Pre-Dig Gig. Over the course of the evening, we figure some 125 people or more came through the room. There were lots of old faces, and plenty of new ones joining in the fun!

As in the past several years, Clue Master ran the park pick pool. This year the pool was a little different. Everyone involved selected the order that they would be picking, but rather than have a single board, Cluey put together a pair of picks. One entry got you one pick on one of the boards. There was a lot of interest outside St. Paul proper this year.

Mom and Dad had the annual Cooler Crew button, which can be seen in the Pre-Dig gig announcement. Having a Cooler Crew button gets you 1/2 off appetizers and $1 off bar drinks at Yarusso's during the hunt. If you don't have one, find Ares at the PP, Yarusso's or contact him on Ableminds (or this site, or Facebook) to get one.

Lil'Man hooked us up with all the music we could stand, all night long, from the DJ booth, while lilslim brought in the karaoke laptop and enabled folks to hook us up with all the music we couldn't stand scattered throughout the evening. Not surprisingly, the karaoke booth grew more popular as the night progressed, as people "worked up the courage" to sing. Wicked Nick and Cereal Killer provided us with a rendition of Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler", and we were treated to a wonderful performance of the now viral "Pants on the Ground" from American Idol.

On a more personal note, we had a moment of silence honoring Zephy and all the other troops serving overseas, putting their lives on the line for us, as well as a moment of silence and a collection taken up for Mystical_muzik, after losing her husband Mark. We raised over $400 for the cause, and Jimmy from Obb's kicked in another $1,000!

All in all, a great way to kick off a great two-week tradition!

Coolerheads will prevail!!!

During the hunt, get together at Yarusso Bros. Italian Restaurant on Payne Avenue. Your Cooler Crew button gets you $1 off bar drinks and half-price appetizers!

The Cooler Crew would like to thank the following great local businesses for their generous donations for Mark's funeral:

	Yarusso's Italian Restaurant 635 Payne Avenue (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.

Congratulations to TMK on his find of AW's 2009 Mock Hunt treasure. According to AW, this is the fastest find for his hunt thus far! Way to go!

At about 9:30 this morning, the medallion was found in Swede Hollow Park. It was found by the father/daughter team of Joe and Jessica Horwath of Maplewood. The pair claimed the entire $10,000 prize, as well as the $1,200 in groceries from Cub Foods. They'd only been out looking for an hour or so when they stumbled across it. It was found several feet away from where it was originally hidden; someone probably tossed it away with their shovel. Ma Press has a great piece of poetry courtesy of the clue writer about it.

Before each night's clue comes out, many members of the Cooler Crew get together in downtown Saint Paul as a way to wind down at the end of a long day of digging, and to recover some strength for the night of digging that often follows the release of later clues. These get-togethers will either be at Wild Tymes or at the Bulldog in Lowertown. Stay tuned to the forums at ableminds for details of each night's gathering.

January 17, 2009
Obb's Sports Bar and Grill
Saint Paul

We've made it. Ten years ago, give or take a few days, we held the very first Cooler Crew Pre-Dig Gig at McGovern's. Tonight, we held the eleventh annual Pre-Dig Gig at Obb's. Over the course of the evening, somewhere between 150 and 200 people came through the doors.

Originally planned for Matty B's, the party was moved on the last minute to Obb's, who were more than accomodating. With the Pioneer Press publishing the first clue online and in the early Sunday edition of the newspaper, being downtown isn't really necessary anymore, since we all have the clue going in and don't need to go to the paper to get it.

As usual, Mom and Dad had the annual Cooler Crew buttons; there were plenty of them left over. If you didn't get one and still want one, contact me2. Lilman provided the evening's entertainment from his DJ booth, and there was even a little karaoke going on. For the last several years, Clue Master has orgainzed a park pick pool, and with a $155 total prize for the winner, this year was no exception.

One of the best parts of every pre-dig and every rehash bash, apart from catching up with old friends who we may not otherwise see during the year, is seeing all of the new faces in the crowd. Some of them are long-time lurkers on the boards coming for the first time to hang out. Others are folks who hear about the party and come on in. Despite where any of us comes from, or how we got here, we all share a passion for the hunt.

This year's pre-dig brought a special guest. Kat invited the Winter Carnival President and CEO, Beth Pinkney to the event. As it turns out, we've been relatively unknown to them, almost to the point of being a well-kept secret. Having been involved with getting access to the Carnival royal family in the past, and the difficulties associated with it, it was really good to see Carnival staff come out and mingle with the community that makes the Carnival the success that it is.