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Welcome to CoolerCrew.com. While our "big show" has always been the annual Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt during the St. Paul Winter Carnival, we keep track of over 100 treasure hunts associated with various festivals throughout Minnesota and Western Wisconsin. We are your one stop shop for all things treasure hunt! Apart from this site as a reference for current and past hunt information, we have other resources available as well:

  • The Water Cooler, Our forums; our primary discussion site. A significant number of Coolerheads prefer this format for discussion rather than a place with hundreds of topics where you have to keep track of each one. With Ableminds crashing, we figure it's time to get it working here. 
  • Our Treasure Hunt discussion group on Facebook. 
  • Our Facebook group for discussing things not related to the treasure hunt.
  • St. Paul Car Tag, a fun little game that we play when we're not looking for medallions.

You'll find that there isn't a lot of discussion in the Facebook group. Mostly clues as they come out for various hunts, and events like our annual Pre-dig Gig and Rehash Bash. Most of that can be found right here within this site. There tends to be a lot more discussion, particularly during the Pioneer Press hunt on Ableminds, or out in the park du jour during other hunts. Have a look around and feel free to join us. Hunt kickoffs, pity parties, and rehashes are always open to anyone who wants to show up!

And if you run into someone in the park and you want to know if they're a Coolerhead, just holler "you dig?". 

Terry's picture

Eighth Annual Rehash Bash

One hundred folks, give or take a few, gathered at Crosby Lake Park for the eighth annual Rehash Bash to put another Winter Carnival Medallion Hunt to rest. There were the familiar faces and some new to the Cooler Crew as well.

This year’s finders were kind enough to show people where the prized medallion was found. Seems everyone was within feet of it at one time or another during the hunt. Does this mean the Crew is getting closer? Maybe next year, the Cooler Crew will prevail.

2005 Medallion Found....

The medallion was found by Judy Melville, her son Ryan Melville, and her son-in-law Hayward Estepp, under the bark of a large fallen tree branch in the Crosby Farm Nature Area. The clues and explanations have been posted in the 2005 medallion hunt section.

Terry's picture

2005 Pre-Dig Gig Recap

Cooler Crew at the 2005 Pre-Dig Gig

"No Time For Cold Feet" Screenings

Saturday, January 22, 2005 - 12:30 to Sunday, February 6, 2005 - 18:00

Bell Auditorium

Sat. Jan. 22nd 12:30pm, 3pm
Sun. Jan. 23rd 12:30pm, 3pm
Sat. Jan. 29th 12:30pm, 3pm
Fri. Feb. 4th, 5pm
Sat. Feb. 5th 12:30pm (at Oak Street Cinema)
Sun. Feb. 6th 12:30pm, 3pm

Tickets
$8 - adults
$5.50 - seniors, children under 12

Terry's picture

2004 Rehash Bash Re-Cap

February 8th, 2004

Phalen Park

This years picnic in the park where the medallion was found, again saw the gathering of friends both new and old. On this cloudy, blustery day with the sound of the races out on the lake behind us, there were approximately 50 folks that attended. Name tags were a super idea! Thanks to those that made sure we were appropriately tagged!

Terry's picture

2004 Pre-Dig Gig

The 6th Annual Pre-Dig Gig at Patrick McGovern’s on Saturday, January 24, 2004 saw the gathering of old hunting friends sprinkled liberally with first time attendees. Roughly 100 folks came and went during the evening. As always, the stories of previous hunts, predictions of where the medallion will be found sometime in the next 12 days, the greeting of old and new friends alike made this annual gathering one this writer wouldn’t miss. The evening, as always, was capped off with the reading of the first clue.

ThoseMedallingKids's picture

The Making of the TMK Mock Hunt

Okay, I'll write about my thoughts on the hunt, the process of making it, why I did some of the things I did.

No Time For Cold Feet

A documentary about the St. Paul Winter Carnival Medallion Hunt began production in 2001 and continued in 2002, you may have noticed the lights and cameras while trekking through our public parks during the last two hunts. Cinematographer Bud Gardner and Filmmaker Trent Tooley are returning to film again this year. "It was a painful decision to not show the film and shoot again this year, but the bottom line is that we want to get this thing right."

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Cooler Crew -- A History

During the 1990's, the St Paul Pioneer Press opened online discussion forums. These forums were called Water Coolers. The forums had discussion topics related to sports, politics, news, and current events. Each year, the Pioneer Planet — the online section of the Pioneer Press — opened a discussion forum as a media for hunters to discuss the clues for the Winter Carnival Medallion Hunt.

During the earlier years, one might find a few hundred posts during the hunt. As more hunters had computers, those numbers jumped. From 1997 to 1998, the number of posts increased from the hundreds to the 5-digit thousands. It was during the 1998 hunt the Cooler Crew was born.

The community spirit and teamwork displayed in the Pioneer Press Medallion Hunt thread was inspiring. The group of hunters found themselves at the end of a hunt not wanting to let go of new friendships and the camaraderie found on the Water Cooler board. The idea emerged to do what anyone would do in the middle of winter in Minnesota. A picnic in Cherokee was planned - the first Rehash Bash!

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