2018 Mesabi Daily News Medallion Hunt

While the first clue is generally rather ambiguous, there are hints hidden in Clue One. “Prosperous” refers to the gold prospectors who tread the Old Vermilion Trail. The marker up the “path”way (line three) from where the medallion was hidden reads, in part: “On this spot stood the gold prospectors on their way to Lake Vermilion in 1865…”

“Midas touch” is a reference to gold, as in gold prospectors. And “took time” — the trail is part of history, from a long time ago.

Biwabik was “the first of its kind — in more than one way.” It was the first Iron Range town to be incorporated as a village. It was also the first to be served by two railroads and it had the first large iron ore mine, which was the first to use a steam shovel. “One way” is also a reference to the “One Way” sign not far from where the medallion was hidden.

“Its neighbor’s identity” that was “not one to stay” refers to the once adjacent town of Merritt, which overlooked Embarrass Lake and was named after the pioneering Merritt brothers. Merritt’s inhabitants eventually moved to Biwabik.

The Ojibwe word, “Biwabik,” means “valuable” (line three). While originally a mining town, the value of the area has never disappeared. Giants Ridge was built nearby, etc., providing a recreational and tourist hub. There was a “shifting of gears,” which, as stated in the story, refers to the paved Mesabi Trail, used often by cyclists.

Santa enjoys Biwabik. After all, he stops by each year during Weihnachtsfest, where all around there is so much to do. Like skiing or boarding at the nearby Giants Ridge, which is almost due “north” of the medallion’s hiding spot.

“Diamond,” as in “black diamond,” is a skiing term designating a run’s difficulty. And, Giant’s Ridge began as a “diamond in the rough,” founded by a group of local families who wanted a place to ski other than the rugged and rocky mine dumps. In 1956 they “went to work with axes, ropes, and borrowed equipment to blaze a ski run out of the woods,” according to the Giants Ridge website.

And, as Mattson pointed out, the Black Diamond Sports Bar is located in Biwabik.

In the clue’s last line, “all arrows,” is a reference to the arrows on a compass. Every direction from the hiding spot points to fun — Giants Ridge and its golf courses, Embarrass Lake and its beach, the Vermilion Trail Campground and the city of Biwabik. “Arrows” is also a Native American reference; the Old Vermilion Trail marker talks about the history of the trail and the Native Americans who followed its path.

And “loads” is a mining or railroad reference.

While the medallion winners thought this clue was a reference to the Merritt brothers, who are mentioned on the marker (and that’s partially true, as in “famed explorer”), the clue is more about the town’s famous Honk the Moose, a real critter who explored Biwabik in 1915, leaving a set of “four” tracks as he tread in the snow.

Honk was one of many explorers in these parts, and his story became the inspiration for a children’s book, written by author Phil Stong, who was a Biwabik school teacher in the 1920s.

The book documented the real-life “names of townsfolk.”

Additionally, the historical marker talks of the “moccasins” (“footprints”) of the Native Americans who tread the trail.

As mentioned in the story, this clue points to Weihnachtsfest, held this year on Dec. 1. The winter festival is famous for its fireworks display (“ready to burst” and “through the sky”). And this year, there was the addition of a Kinderfest for children (“kiddies” in line two).

Santa is dressed in “scarlet,” another way to say the color, “vermilion,” as in Old Vermilion Trail. His “deer-drawn” sled is an additional reference to Honk, who, as a moose, was a member of the deer family. Not to mention, horse-“drawn” wagon rides are part of Weihnachtsfest.

There are references in this clue based on the Old Vermilion Trail historical marker, which talks about the expedition of those who used its path to “hunt” and to “trade.” The location of the medallion is also part-way along the trail.

The last two lines refer to Vi’s Pizza, Biwabik’s “family tradition.”

The historical marker implores visitors to “close your eyes” to imagine the pioneers who discovered the area. If you open them and look all around, you will come across the playground (which contains two “slides”) within view of the medallion’s location. There is also a basketball hoop (“shoot”) nearby.

They are all within a number of steps, or “strides,” from the hiding spot.

Also, there is “not as much sound” at the playground and beach area during the winter as during the summer.

“Getting warmer,” “bundle up” and “aglow” are references in this clue to the nearby Vermilion Trail Campground, which has more than 40 campsites and sells firewood for campfires.

Santa is an elf “for the ages” — he has endured for a very long time, as has the history of the trail.

The last two lines are references to “Embarrass.” If you are embarrassed, your cheeks may become rosy. Rosy (red) ties back to the color vermilion, as well.

“The thermometer dips low,” as the winners surmised, essentially alludes to Embarrass, which boasts itself as the state’s “Cold Spot.” While Tower officially holds the record at 60 degrees below zero in 1996, Embarrass’ thermometer had malfunctioned that day, and it unofficially reported a temperature of 64-below.

However, in this clue, Embarrass stands for Embarrass Lake in Biwabik.

This clue references both the Vermilion Trail and the Mesabi Trail. Both have been traveled “by foot and by wheel.” According to the historical marker, George Riley Stuntz (“stunted”) constructed the road along the Vermilion Trail from Duluth in 1869 (now County Highway 4).

The road, when looking at a map, has at least “four” names as it extends from Biwabik to Duluth: Vermilion Trail, Highway 4, Rudy Perpich Memorial Drive, and Rice Lake Road.

A small portion of its “counterpart” trail, the Mesabi Trail, runs from near the historical maker toward the medallion’s location.

The last line is an attempt to get medallion hunters who are standing on the path looking at the rock were it is hidden to notice that a bench (“take a load off”) is just off to the “right.”

The historical marker reads in part: “If you feel a sense of history as you stand on this spot, it is natural that you should.” It goes on to state: “The history of the Vermilion Trail, from Lake Vermilion (near the present day Tower) to Lake Superior (at Duluth) can be traced to the original peoples of the Laurel Culture of a thousand years ago.” Much of that culture “remains much a mystery.”

“Oui” (“yes” in French) it’s true that, as the maker says, “later would come the French Voyageurs trading with the Ojibwa for furs to ship to Europe.”

Their stories are a part of history, not “completely unknown.” And, if you recall, Iron Range native Bob Dylan sang the song, “Like a Rolling Stone.” Remember the line, “like a complete unknown?”

The medallion is located among the “stones.”

Did you “honk” (as in Honk the Moose, who is honored with a fiberglass statue in the city park), as you drove through town? You would have passed by him if going through Biwabik, a Bavarian-“themed” village.

The “marker” is the Old Vermilion Trail historical marker. Down the trail is the medallion, hidden inside one of the many “lined-up gray” rocks, which are similar to the two boulders you will first encounter “on each side” of the pathway.

The medallion is located tucked inside a “stone” not far (“stone’s throw”) from Embarrass Lake, where people fish and swim.

There are many rocks to “choose from,” but the correct one to explore is near a “pole,” and about the “25th” rock when facing the lake and counting from left to right. It is also part of a group of five boulders.