2016 Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt

We remind hunters that last year’s medallion was found in a county park outside the city that had never been used in the hunt before – just like this year! “Fore” hints that golf courses – White Bear Yacht Club and Dellwood Country Club – are in the area where the medallion is hidden, but we are reminded they are off-limits according to the Treasure Hunt rules.

“Horizon, sketch and artifacts” all refer to the downtown St. Paul skyline that is etched on this year’s medallion. Life becoming “but a breeze” hints at the resorts and vacation homes that once populated the Bald Eagle Lake area, where the medallion is hidden; also, the local newspaper used to be called The Lake Breeze.

Old Ma Press — the St. Paul Pioneer Press — moved its headquarters across the Mississippi late last year. One of the earliest settlers on and promoters of Bald Eagle Lake worked at the Minnesota Pioneer, one of the forerunners of the Pioneer Press, according to a recent presentation on the area’s history. “Nest” and “perch” suggest a bird – in this case, the bald eagle. Another famous “old ma” also had a home that overlooked water – Ma Barker of the notorious Barker Boys gang, who lived in a summer cottage on Bald Eagle Lake; her perch or nest was across the water from the playground where the medallion is hidden.

In 1933, Ma Barker and her gang rented a cottage on Bald Eagle Lake and kidnapped William Hamm Jr., the president of Hamm’s Brewery, for a $100,000 ransom. Also, the first road to the area, petitioned in 1857, extended from the Hamm’s Brewery to Bald Eagle Lake — which has a secluded island in the middle.

Camping and fishing suggest a resort area, which Bald Eagle used to be – and still is a good area for camping and fishing. Huck Finn’s creator, Mark Twain, mentioned a resort in nearby White Bear Lake in his “Life on the Mississippi.” “Boy” invokes Bald Eagle Island in Bald Eagle Lake, which used to be called Boy Island when it was the site of a boys’ summer camp.

Any reader of Mark Twain knows the story of White Bear Lake and Manitou – or “Great Spirit” – Island and the brave who killed a white bear there to save his maiden love. We ask the hunters to “listen close” to hear the name of the island in the line before: “man or two.” White Bear Lake and Manitou are near Bald Eagle, where the medallion is hidden.

“Summer to spring” is a reference to Four Seasons Park on the south side of Bald Eagle Lake, just off the rail line summer vacationers took to White Bear and Bald Eagle lakes. Adjacent Eagle Street leads north to the lake and nearby Idyllwild Cottage.

“Clear” refers to the clear newspaper sleeve the medallion is hidden in. Rapt suggests raptor, which suggests eagle or Bald Eagle, the name of the park where it is hidden.

The Bald Eagle-Otter Lake Regional Park has a popular dog park with marshland and ponds nearby, teeming with frogs in the spring and summer; also, Bald Eagle Lake is shaped like a pollywog. Go beyond this park, though, and you might find the medallion, wrapped in a moist towelette.

We commiserate with hunters about the long election season, while giving them an anagram in the last line that spells out the name of the prize location: “ballot greed tea” spells “Bald Eagle Otter.”

“Hairless” suggests “bald,” while “flying straight” and “trust” suggests America’s bird, the bald eagle.

Idyllwild Cottage, once used by Ma Barker, sits on the southeast corner of Bald Eagle Lake. The gang got tired of sticking up banks and decided to get into kidnapping, first businessman Hamm and then Bremer. “The fuzz” refers to the police – specifically, corrupt police Chief Tom Brown, who gave gangsters a safe haven in St. Paul. Idle is close to “idyll,” and “sack” gives a nod to the bag the medallion is hidden in.

The clue refers to the Solheim House just east of the dog park, on Bald Eagle Lake. It overlooks Cigar Island and was built by the Norwegian immigrant and newspaperman Engelbrecht H. Hobe.

Benson Airport, Benson Point (the first words/letters of first three lines spell BENSON) and Highway 61 (a Dylan reference) are landmarks near the medallion.

With the final clue, we reveal the site of the 2016 Treasure Hunt medallion: Bald Eagle-Otter Lake Regional Park at the northern edge of Ramsey County. Once connected by trolley and rail lines to St. Paul and Minneapolis — and now by airport — the lake has long been a place for city dwellers to escape the noise of the cities.

In order, the stanzas direct hunters to park at the boat ramp on Bald Eagle, then go on a little hike north to a restored prairie. By following the main path west, hunters head toward the woods on Benson Point — namesake to the family that used to farm the peninsula. When the trail ends at a T-intersection just inside the woods, hunters need to go left for 170 paces. At that point, the trail splits. Follow either path — they both meet up again at the top of a hill. Continue on another 40 paces and look for a small path down to the right. Keep on going until a large, uprooted tree is visible to the right. The medallion, with the St. Paul city skyline etched into it, is hidden to the left of the roots in a Pioneer Press newspaper sleeve, along with a moist towelette.