2002

Merriam Park

January 27th, 2002

Could there possibly be a better way to mourn the end of another hunt than rehashing the whole thing with others equally let down from a hunt—and a hunt that seemed way too short? I think not!

At least one hundred mourners gathered this afternoon at Merriam Park to share a fabulous potluck with other hunters of the St. Paul Winter Carnival Medallion Hunt. The meal included Rehash Goulash, Minnesota Wild Rice Casserole, Devil's Den Eggs, Medallion Candy, Ian's Sloppy Joe Medallions, and lots of chips—especially of the Pringle variety.

One of the finders from 1998, Maureen Hursey, attended the bash, as well as the three ladies that found the 1995 medallion in Battle Creek, Cookie Howard, Kay Anderson, and Rachel Olson. It was great to see the variety of folks that share this obsession!

We also found a few lurkers in attendance that felt comfortable coming to the bash even though they had never posted. That's so amazing! We must come across as friendly and welcoming for folks to feel that comfortable. It's happened at both the Predig Gig and the Rehash Bash this year! Let's hope that brings fewer lurkers and more folks sharing their thoughts and ideas about the hunt next year.

Merriam Park, being a park and recreation center, had a nice warming room with a ping pong table we could use to put food out on and a place to warm up a bit. It was much chillier and cloudier outdoors than it was forecast to be, so it was super to have a place to warm up a bit.

There was the usual trek to the site. The method of hiding it this year was questioned over and over again...leading to conspiracy theories and theories that the medallion had not been dropped until within a couple of hours of it being found. There was even an experiment done with a foil chip can top, scotch tape and something of about equal size and weight to the medallion and placed out under what little snow is left. The scotch tape became milky white after a couple of hours and did not stick well. Surely this will be a hunt discussed for years to come.

The good news is that there will be more hunts, more snow, better hiding (PLEASE!), and clever clue writing for us to noodle over. We only have 51 weeks to go!

Coolerheads WILL Prevail!

The medallion was found between two baseball fields by Mary Kay Hamilton of Woodbury and her son, Sean, 16. The fast find was tied for the second-quickest in hunt history. It may have been a lucky kick in the leaves this year, but it sounds like mom has paid her dues...even if she forgot to pay for a button this year. Read the clue explanations and some commentary on these explanations in our 2002 area.

Patrick McGovern's

January 19th, 2002

Amazement is the word that comes to mind about this year's predig party at McGovern's. There had to be by evening's end at least 100 people that had come and gone.

We took over an upstairs room at McGovern's. The room probably holds 50 people or so comfortably, but as usual, some folks came early and left, others came later, and some of us were there from beginning to end. We had the room packed.

There were several lurkers who have never posted but felt comfortable enough to come and introduce themselves. Additionally, Cathi Hogan, last year's finder came for awhile. She said she was going to be the first hunter to find it twice in a row. She has some challengers to that notion! Cookie Howard, Kay Anderson, and Rachel Olson, the finders from 1995 (Battle Creek) were in attendance. They've been hunting together since 1952 and continue to this day. Amazing! The 1969 finder (Victoria and 35E), Bill the RV guy, was also there for the duration of the evening.

Many of the Cooler regulars were present, some new faces appeared that I'm sure will turn up again during the hunt, and the evening was filled with fellow hunting enthusiasts.

Marley King and his Queen Kal had created bumper stickers that were ready for sale. They did a nice job with those! Thanks to the team work of E&H's Mom and Dad and Terry Valentine, this year's Cooler Crew commemorative buttons were ready! Steve Worthman had his Treasure Hunter's Guide, 2nd Edition, books for sale. Those have become quite popular with hunters. The medallion hunt seems to bring out the unique talent and creativity of medallion seekers.

The documentary crew was in attendance, complete with some interns hired locally to help with filming this year. Here's hoping those locals get the fever and join the hunt after the filming is completed this year!

Toward the end of the evening, a couple of folks headed to the Pioneer Press Building to get the first clue and brought it back to McGovern's. The early noodling included the concensus that we have a new clue writer this year. Possibly important key phrases discussed were "light a spark," "far and wide," and "have no fear."

An interesting aside to share here....just as the folks were leaving the Pioneer Press, there was a Press employee who mentioned that the Wisconsin edition contained the wrong clue. After some quick thinking, a store in Hudson, WI was called. Turns out it was the first clue from last year!

The hunt has begun!