2019 Mesabi Daily News Medallion Hunt

Being the first clue, too much information can not be given away. However, the idea during this 12-clue Medallion Hunt is to retrace previous clues, looking for hints in each.

This first clue alludes to baseball a few times. “Don your hats and mittens,” as Heisel noted, is a reference to baseball caps and mitts (or gloves).

“Jack” is another term for a home run. And you could go as far as saying that Cracker Jack is known for its connection to baseball — as a treat sold at games or meaning a player who has a lot of skill.

“Step up your gait,” is loosely a reference to step up your game or step up to the plate. However, we like Heisel’s guess that it referred to “running the bases.”

“Rain” in the first line, combined with “white forests that made this area grow” in the second line, is a reference to the Virginia and Rainy Lake Lumber Co., which had mills and lumber yards along the shore of Silver Lake and was the world’s largest white pine processing plant during its operation from 1910 to 1929.

The footprint of the lumber company operations have been replaced with homes, Olcott Park, Parkview Learning Center, and Mesabi Range College; so, literally, where the medallion was located.

The “namesake” location that remains was meant to allude to Tommy’s Rainy Lake Saloon on Chestnut Street, which was Marty’s favorite cleanup grounds — main street.

In the fourth line, “links” is a reference to a chain link fence, and “a beautiful space” is loosely tied to the Virginia Community and Lakes Committee, which takes care of Virginia’s lakes, including Silver Lake, where the lumber company was located.

There are some baseball terms in this clue. “Corn on the side” refers to “can of corn,” which, of course, would be more in season this time of year. “Can of corn” is a high, easy-to-catch fly ball into the outfield. We like that Heisel guessed this meant popcorn sold at ballparks — that, too!

“Plate” means home plate, and “loaded” is also a baseball term, as in, the bases are loaded. You could also say, a load of logs (lumber company).

“Belly” in the third line is a logging term meaning “a sag in any line.” “Caught napping” is baseball lingo meaning a base runner who is tagged out because he wasn’t paying attention to what the defensive players were doing.

“Drift off” in the fourth line is, again, a logging reference, as in the logs were “drifting off” down the river. And, “keep on top” could conger up images of the log rolling of lumberjacks years ago or the log rolling classes and a lumberjack show, all held in recent times at Silver Lake.

“Words are sometimes overlapping” — yes, they are, some are logging terms, some baseball terms, some have double meanings.

As Heisel surmised, “game” was yet another reference to the game of baseball. And “picking up speed … already in the fourth” could mean already in the fourth inning, or the speed of the ball.

In the second line, “counting” is a derivative of “count,” which in baseball is the current number of balls and strikes on the batter.

“Pretty petals of red” in the third line, combined with “north” in the second line, is a reference to the Olcott Park Greenhouse, where there are often displays of poinsettias this time of year. The park is just north of the ball field. Heisel believed

“red petals” meant the red mums in the planters at the park, and that works, also. Additionally, Marty always wore a red jacket.

“Lovely colors of lights to see” was, indeed, (for all those who searched there) a reference to the restored Olcott Park Fountain, which, again, is north of the field. At certain times of year, the fountain displays several colors of light.

Additionally, the park is a place of “cheer,” as was the nature of good ol’ Marty.

It seems, as evidenced from activity in Olcott Park, that this clue was correctly read by many, including Heisel and his crew, as a reference to the park’s famed “Monkey Island,” where monkeys were housed years ago in a castle-like structure (“a place of royalty … for protection”).

“What remain is much the same, minus those who ruled the site,” means, as Heisel figured out, that the structure remains but the monkey’s no longer rule the location.

And did you notice that “minus” and “ruled” (ruler), combined with “adds up” in the fourth line are elementary school (Parkview) math terms?

Going back to line one — “have fun, be silly” — is something you can surely do at a park, or something kiddos tend to do (school and park). And monkeys.

Also, “take note of this direction,” in the first line, combined with “point” in the second line, and “right” in the fourth line alludes to a compass pointing east. Monkey Island is east of the ball field.

There are also “trails” (last line) in the park. And the word “limelight” — well, Marty was a well-known Virginia citizen; and the “lime,” the color green,” is associated with the park grounds and the ball field. Additionally, if you find the medallion, you will be in the lime limelight — in a story in the newspaper.

Line one: “Swing” means the swing of a baseball bat, and “season” — baseball is seasonal.

This clue refers to Virginia’s Small Business Saturday celebration, which centers around the downtown area and Chestnut Street, where Marty could often be found sweeping the sidewalks in the summer and shoveling snow in the winter. Additionally, a mural on Chestnut Street honors Marty.

In the second line, “bring home,” is a baseball reference.

The fourth line, referring to “merchants smiling … all down the line” means the merchants on Chestnut Street and also the vendors that line the “street” running thought Olcott Park during the annual Land of the Loon celebration.

And, Marty always made the downtown merchants smile.

The last line contains the words “pocketbooks” and “sweet.” Marty always had candy, particularly butterscotch candies, in his pocket, which he delighted in handing out to people. And merchants often gave him a buck or two for keeping the downtown clean.

Of course, Marty was also always filling the air with “cheer.”

This clue requires a little knowledge of the history of the Marty Biondich Little League Field, which was dedicated on July 25, 2001.

“Seventh” combined with the calendar “turning another page,” is a reference to the seventh month of the year (July). Christmas Day is a reference to the number 25.

There awe some other hints in this clue, like “20-some more to go” means that many days until the 25th. Also, there is the “20-second clock rule” in baseball. And baseball, once again, is “seasonal” and “a special time of year.”

“Kiddies,” in Line Four, refers to Little League and to the vicinity of the park and school. “Dream of” is loosely tied to “Field of Dreams.”

As Heisel surmised, “lace up your … sneakers” is a reference to baseball cleats. The nearby park is also a place where people often exercise, wearing sneakers.

The second and fourth lines are a tribute to Marty, who was big believer in Christmas and Santa. Of course, children are believers, as well (Little League, school, park). And we really enjoy how Bob Thomas, eh, believed, that “believer” in this clue was a reference to The Monkees song, “I’m a believer.”

“Piles” of snow could refer to piles of logs. But, mostly, “take but a shovel to clear” is paying tribute to Marty, who loved to shovel the main drag.

“Ninth” clue — ninth inning, of course. And “heading into the ninth” inning is “nearing the conclusion” of a ball game.

Marty always wore “a big grin on his face,” as depicted on the downtown mural and in every photograph of the gentle soul.

“Out,” in the second line, is a baseball term. And “rosy red” combined with “coated” is a reference to Marty’s red coat (jacket). The field is also, currently, “coated in white” snow.

“Ovation” in the last line is a hint. An “ovation” is a homage to something. The field is a homage to Marty. But there is another ovation to Marty — the mural, so you must pick the “correct” one.

Also, fans at ball game may cheer with a standing ovation.

As Heisel noted, this clue starts out with “one way,” which is “the first sign you see” when entering Olcott Park, he said. But there is also “one way OR another” to get to the Marty Biondich Little League Field — either through the park or the Parkview lot.

“Abounding” is a play on the baseball jargon, “bounds,” as in, out of bounds. The field “touches all … with life and spirt.” It is adjacent to the park (life) and the cemetery (spirit).

Also, Marty had a baseball glove imprinted with the words, “Touch Them All.”

In the third line, “snowman” is a hint. When the medallion was hidden, and when it was found, a snowman build by someone stood in the park. Combine “snowman” with the word “hang” in the last line and you get, “hang a snowman,” which, in baseball, means to score eight runs in one inning.

The park and ball park are also places to “hang out with pals.” And there’s the word, “out,” again.

The word “two” at the end of Line 3 refers to the two adjacent ball fields.

And in the last line, “a couple hundred thousand square yards, almost, with much to see and do” means, when you do the math, Olcott Park’s 40 acres. It almost amounts to 40 acres, and the ball field is “almost” in the park.

In this clue, “if you understand” the opening phrase, you would know that “no room at the inn” is what announcers say this when the bases are loaded and the pitcher is throwing balls, not strikes.

“A swing and a miss” and “go, go, go” — well, you guessed it, more baseball talk.

The last two lines are all about Marty. The community dubbed him “Mr. Clean,” and he was “highly thought of … so kind, never mean.”

“Highly” is also a hint that the medallion is not on the ground, but placed up high.

The medallion was found the day of the Eleventh clue, but this clue was still printed, along with a brief story noting that the medallion had been found.

Clue Twelve aimed to get you directly to the medallion’s hiding place — at “one of two fields” — the Marty field — near the scoreboard (“keeping score”), hidden up (“chin high”) inside the green chain link fence topper (“have been green” ... “you’ve linked”).