2003 Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt

Most thought the “crueler crew” a reference to the Cooler Crew (and other disgruntled hunters), who voiced their disappointment after last year’s early end to the hunt, suggesting a harder hunt this year. More vague than the usual first clue, it suggests the puck is in a park, although some were unsure of that, thinking of the possibility of it merely being on public land. With the lack of St. Paul in the first clue many thought of the possibility of it being in Ramsey Co. Among something, in this case, was supposed to suggest the leaves it was buried in.

Most hunters took it to be the Capitol dome itself or a picture of the Capitol dome (such as on city signs). Once the majority of hunters were at Como after clue 11 most thought it was referring to the Capitol domes on the park signs, although the official explanation given is the mural of Capitol dome on wall near Como Park swimming pool. Either suggests hunters take a peek in nearby woods.

Although this explanation was brought up on the chat boards, Como was easily dismissed by most as being too soon to be there again, having been there only 2 years earlier. Others thought it was a reference to a shoe size, leading people to Scheffer Park with its tennis shoe mural ,or possibly hidden in a shoe, others looked for 3E’s in park names, street names, businesses or on buildings.

We don‘t know of anyone who got this one fully! A lot of people made the North Star connection, thinking of North Star Ice, North Star Steel, or just a park in the north part of town, but didn‘t take it to the French interpretation; no one in their right mind (and most in their left or wrong mind) would. The red white and blue had people thinking of the American flag and the space needle at the fairgrounds among others.

A great historical reference to the “seemingly” contradictory accounts of when the park was founded - the Web site says 1872, the park signs and other references say 1873. This is probably one of the better clues for this hunt.

While some thought “stick it where the sun ain’t shining” meant it would be stuck under something , such as a bridge, sticks, or leaves, or even the rear end of a certain frog we all love, it was meant to reveal that it’s in a wooded area.

Another great historical tidbit! Kudos to anyone who got this one! But geez, you'd think with the knowledge of L'Etoile du Nord, the clue writers would know enough French to know that Ann Bilansky could not possibly have been a carpenter's beau; his belle perhaps, but definitely not his beau.

There was a lot of talk about the “Me precious” reference to the ring-obsessed Gollum in the “Lord of the Rings” movie, “The Two Towers,” with some suggesting a fire ”ring” or possibly two towers in view. We don’t know if anyone made the connection to the sandstone walls that once supported the now spanless old streetcar bridge near the medallion site, nor do we think anyone caught the great word play in this clue, the first words from each line sounding out “Hedda Gabler”. This clue writer really knows his/her stuff!

So simple it's tricky! Add Horton to “here’s a who“, and you have the title of the famous Dr. Seuss book, “Horton Hears a Who”- and Horton Avenue, at Como Park. There was much debate to what the “greatest sport” meant, as it's pretty subjective, but as it turns out sport refers to nearby McMurray Field and the medallion hunt (which we all know IS the greatest sport).

Although many people were at Harriet Island at this point, and took this clue as meaning the Paddleboat there, “horse would get you nowhere” and round and round refer to the carousel at Como; and car not getting you far refers to the blocked off roads near the medallion site. Those of us who had been drawn to Como since clue 4 and let peer pressure pull us to Harriet Island were really starting to get frustrated at this point that too many things weren't matching up at Harriet Island. But we still couldn't leave our friends.

This clue finally brought the masses to Como park, with “Horton” hears a who, and the zoo. The right lane of westbound 94 was packed bumper to bumper from Downtown to Lexington after this clue came out. The line of headlights and tail lights was most impressive as convoys of vehicles made their way from Harriet Island and the Pioneer Press building over to Como that night. We remember calling our hunting partner that night after getting the clue and saying don't worry about the clue, just get to Como.

An unusually long clue, it spells out the location of the medallion to within a 40 pace circular area. This clue made for a very interesting final clue, as the Pioneer Press adapted to modern technology. Hunters in the park, after hearing the first verse from their friends in line on the phone, mostly went their way, without hearing the entire clue. So much so, that the guy who found it, was actually fifth guy in line to get his newspaper that night. He managed to read off the clue, drive out to the park, and find the puck.