Look for photos and more details in next week’s edition of The Citizen.

Thanks for participating!  And, a special thanks to this year's sponsors.

------------------------------------------------------

The Hunt for the Golden Spike is back! Hugo's own treasure hunt begins Thursday, June 5 at 8 a.m. Spike will be hidden somewhere in a Hugo park on public property just waiting to be found.

Our sponsors have made it possible for this family-friendly event to be held once again. Thanks goes to: The City of Hugo and its Parks Commission; Key Automotive, 14797 Forest Blvd. N., Hugo; Ideal Credit Union (formerly PCU), 14750 Victor Hugo Blvd. N., Hugo; Lake Area Mortgage, 14602 Everton Ave. N., Hugo; St. Croix Saddlery, 5525 141st St. N., Hugo; Wise Guys Pizza, 7095 20th Ave. S., Centerville; Hawaiian Tan, 14643 Mercantile Dr. N., Hugo; and Kelly's Korner Bar, 7098 Centerville Road, Centerville.

The Hunt for the Golden Spike is an annual event that has been brought to you by The Citizen since 2006, Hugo's Centennial Year. Hugo was a railroad town, and Spike commemorates the city's early history.

Before the hunt begins, we hope you'll visit sponsoring businesses and get your Golden Ticket stamped to qualify for more than $1,000 in cash and gift certificates.

Happy hunting!

Official Rules

(these rules were updated Tuesday, June 3)

• The first three treasure hunt clues are published in The Citizen’s May 29 edition and on our website, www.readthecitizen.com.

• A new clue will be posted on The Citizen’s website (www.readthecitizen.com) two times daily Thursday through Saturday, June 5-7 (at approximately 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.); the last clue will

be posted at approximately 8 a.m. Sunday, June 8. (If you’re parked on our website, don’t forget to hit the refresh button to update the page!)

• Clues may also be posted at participating sponsors’ places of business.

• The Citizen reserves the right to discontinue the hunt at any time if public property is destroyed. Spike will not be buried, so shovels are not needed.

• If you find the Golden Spike, immediately call the Spike Hotline (651-503-3522) to qualify for a $100 instant cash prize. No purchase is necessary to win.

• The Citizen will also award up to $400 in additional cash and $700 in gift certificates good at area businesses to the Spike finder if he/she has a completed “Golden Ticket” form (download one from this page), officially stamped by all of the individual sponsors of the 2014 “Hunt for the Golden Spike.” (There is no button this year.)

• The completed Golden Ticket must be provided no later than 5 p.m. Sunday, June 8 and at the same time the instant cash prize is awarded. Late Golden Tickets will not be accepted.

• If the Spike finder does not have a completed “Golden Ticket” the remaining prize money and gift certificates will be donated to the Hugo Good Neighbors Food Shelf building fund. The Citizen and Press Publications will be the sole arbiter of what constitutes a completed “Golden Ticket.”

• A portion of all sponsorships will be donated to the Hugo Good Neighbors Food Shelf building fund.

• If Spike is not found by noon on Sunday, June 8, all prize money and gift certificates will be donated to the Hugo Good Neighbors Food Shelf building fund.

• Park maps are available from official sponsors while supplies last. Hunters can also find park and open space maps posted on the Hugo Parks, Recreation and Open Space Commission’s Web page (www.ci.hugo.mn.us, click on “Resident Info” and select “Parks & Rec” from the drop-down menu). PLEASE NOTE: Although Oneka Golf Course, Wild Wings of Oneka Hunt Club and the Bald Eagle Sportsmen’s Association are shown on the city’s open space map, Spike is NOT hidden on private property.

• All contestants agree that The Citizen, Press Publications, the Hugo Lions Club and their respective affiliate companies, parents, subsidiaries, advertising representatives and agents will have no liability whatsoever, and will be held harmless by contestants of any injuries, losses or damages of any kind resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from acceptance, possession, misuse or use of the prizes or participation in this contest.

• Except where legally prohibited, by accepting the prize, the winner grants permission for The Citizen, Press Publications and those acting under its authority to use his or her name, photograph and/or likeness for advertising and/or publicity.

• All contest rules and decisions are final.

• Employees of Press Publications and their immediate family members are not eligible to win.

• For a list of winners, write to The Citizen, P. O. Box 393, Hugo, MN 55038 and enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

Official Clues

Clue #1

Winter's gone, and we're presumin'

In every yard the flowers are bloomin'.

The kids all shout, "School's almost out!"

— Good Neighbor Days is finally loomin'!

Clue #2

Listen closely, and you will hear

Of fun the Lions have planned this year.

Somewhere in Hugo, Spike's on the lam.

To find him, you must shake a gam.

Clue #3

It’s game time! So begins the quest.

You won't need shovels, you won’t need tools,

But you must surely read the rules.

(We’re serious, as you've likely guessed.)

Read them please. Don't miss the mark.

And if you do as you are bidden,

You’ll know that Spike is carefully hidden

On public land, in a city park.

Clue #4 (8:00 AM Thursday Morning)

Your Spike success long overdue?

Don’t miss a clue! Dreams do come true.

Check out each park on Hugo’s list.

No park’s too small to be dismissed

(Lions Park is not to be missed).

From park to park, go make the lap —

Be prepared. Take a map.²

²Maps are available on this Web page or at sponsors’ places of business. You can also visit www.ci.hugo.mn.us for additional city maps.

Clue #5 (5:00 PM Thursday Evening)

The sward of green is serpentine;

Landmarks are few and far between.

Sunwise or widdershins it will be:

You’ll choose one, as you will see.

(This park has limits you must not pass;

Respect them, please. Don’t be a donkey.)

Clue #6 (8:00 AM Friday Morning)

This playground of Nature’s creation

Calls for some imagination.

Free your minds, you’ll see more signs:

Ogres climb from the bog below,

A granite turtle on tiptoe.

Clue #7 (5:00 PM Friday Evening)

Spike’s legacy is long and storied;

And in this park, others have quarried.

Here, DEET is likely your best friend

(Liberal use brings dividends).

Avoid the tarn, the lower ground

To earn “Spike Finder” renown.

Clue #8 (8:00 AM Saturday Morning)

One sign for welcome, three more for warning;

The southern slopes get sun in morning.

Those who dress for exploration

Are less likely to incur frustration

An aerial view provides the clue

That luck accrues to those who “do”

(And get their Golden Ticket stamped).

Clue #9 (5:00 PM Saturday Evening)

To Irish Avenue Park, you should get:

Some years ago, a gravel pit.

A solitary “southern” pine

Shaped like a pine cone by design

Is the point from which you draw a line.

Where? Think Ulysses’ song! then take a sight

And swing an angle to the right.

Clue #10 (8:00 AM Sunday Morning)

An angle of 40 degrees (more or less).

No compass? Then give it your best guess.

Up the hill you’ll find the quarry

Mere paces from a berried tree.

Copyright 2014 Hugo Citizen/PressPubs.