2014 Oakdale Summerfest Hunt

The first part of the clue references the partnership between the OBPA (Oakdale Business & Professional Association) and the Summerfest Royalty. The Summerfest Royalty sweetens the prize money by an additional $500.00 if the medallion finder also purchased a Summerfest button. The second part of the clue very loosely references the paved walking path near the site of the hidden medallion, “… hit the pavement and go…”, Finally, as in years past, the second part of the clue reminds searchers of the rules and guidelines that to find the medallion there is no need to climb, swim or dig. 
 

Many people wondered who is this “Ms. Creason”. Ms. Creason, Kayla Creason, grew up in Oakdale and actually searched for the medallion as a young girl. All grown up now, she is a reporter for The Lillie Suburban Newspapers. She is the reporter who wrote the article about this year’s medallion hunt. Kayla’s source of information was a list of probing questions directed at the Summerfest Medallion Committee and this was a fun and friendly way for the committee to acknowledge her savvy reporting and incorporate her into one of the clues. The second part of the clue encompasses the very essence and goal of the Medallion hunt. Additionally, the lush greens referred to are a reference to the dense bush behind the Garden Boulevard Park entrance sign where the medallion was affixed. From this location, about 100 years to the northwest is a pond and this is the reference to seeing ice in December.

Clue #3 is nearly entirely aimed at thanking the past, present and future firefighters for the City of Oakdale. 2014, of course, marks the 50-year anniversary of the Oakdale Fire Department. The key phrase in this clue is, “Your success is a sign”. This speaks directly to the actual location of the medallion on the back of the Garden Boulevard Park sign.

Mayor Carmen Sarrack and City Administrator Craig Waldron will both be retiring from the City this year. Over their tenure, they have worked with a constant commitment to making the City of Oakdale a better place. The Summerfest celebration costs the City money and with tight budgets it could easily have been eliminated. However, both Mayor Sarrack and Administrator Waldron see/saw the value in this City celebration as an element to making the Oakdale a better place to live. Unfortunately, this year’s parade was canceled due to the high potential for severe weather. The second part of the clue simply makes reference to the fact the medallion was hidden inside a lunchbox. An old metal, Disney lunchbox to be exact. And, dually noted, the medallion is not actually spherical in shape.

A quick search online would reveal that it is the Oakdale Garden Club that has been in existence for over 55 years. This clue is much more direct in leading medallion searchers to Garden Boulevard Park.

The elliptical path is the approximate shape of the walking path around Garden Boulevard Park. Grenadier and Garden are obvious streets in the City. The curveball, of sorts, is Richard Nixon, who was the 37th President of the United States. Putting 37th Street, Garden Boulevard and Grenadier together would lead right to the entrance of Garden Boulevard Park.

The Summerfest Medallion Committee draws information and inspiration from numerous sources. This year, one of the committee members had a friend who is a biologist and she happened to be out searching for rattlesnakes in southern Minnesota about the time of Summerfest. The committee member thought it unusual to be studying rattlesnakes in Minnesota and this was the inspiration to the use of the word slithering. However, it was indeed slithering that was needed to access and attach the lunchbox to the back of the Garden Boulevard Park sign in order to place the medallion. Thanks for the inspiration Krista!