2018 Hugo Search for the Golden Spike

Error message

  • Deprecated function: session_set_save_handler(): Providing individual callbacks instead of an object implementing SessionHandlerInterface is deprecated in drupal_session_initialize() (line 245 of /net/athena/athena_btrfs/WebSites/backups/coolercrew.com/includes/session.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property date_sql_handler::$granularity is deprecated in date_views_filter_handler_simple->init() (line 40 of /net/athena/athena_btrfs/WebSites/backups/coolercrew.com/sites/all/modules/date/date_views/includes/date_views_filter_handler_simple.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property date_sql_handler::$granularity is deprecated in date_views_filter_handler_simple->init() (line 40 of /net/athena/athena_btrfs/WebSites/backups/coolercrew.com/sites/all/modules/date/date_views/includes/date_views_filter_handler_simple.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property date_sql_handler::$granularity is deprecated in date_views_filter_handler_simple->init() (line 40 of /net/athena/athena_btrfs/WebSites/backups/coolercrew.com/sites/all/modules/date/date_views/includes/date_views_filter_handler_simple.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property date_sql_handler::$granularity is deprecated in date_views_filter_handler_simple->init() (line 40 of /net/athena/athena_btrfs/WebSites/backups/coolercrew.com/sites/all/modules/date/date_views/includes/date_views_filter_handler_simple.inc).

The Golden Spike is back in a Hugo city park, just in time for summer! Please note: the hunt officially begins at 8 a.m. Thursday, June 7, with the online posting of Clue #4. Hope your family joins in on the fun!

OFFICIAL RULES: 

  • The first three treasure hunt clues are published in The Citizen’s May 24 edition, on our website (www.readthecitizen.com) and in the 2018 Good Neighbor Days tab, inserted in thousands of area newspapers. These clues are informational in nature only. The hunt officially begins at 8 a.m. Thursday, June 7, with the posting of Clue #4, and not before.

  • A new clue will be posted on The Citizen’s website (www.readthecitizen.com) during Good Neighbor Days, two times daily Thursday through Saturday, June 7-9, one at approximately 8 a.m. and one at approximately 5 p.m. each day. The final clue will be posted at approximately 8 a.m. Sunday, June 10. (If you’re parked on our website, don’t forget to hit the refresh button to update the page!) 

  • The Citizen reserves the right to discontinue the hunt at any time if public property is destroyed. Shovels are not needed to find Spike.

  • If you find the Golden Spike, immediately call the Spike Hotline (651-407-1209) to report where it was found and to qualify for a $100 instant cash prize. The Citizen will also award an additional $500 in cash to the Spike finder. No purchase is necessary to win, nor is it necessary to complete a “Golden Ticket” to win the cash prizes.

  • The Citizen will also award $125 in gift cards or certificates good at area businesses and a pair of Ordway tickets to the Spike finder if he/she has a completed “Golden Ticket” form officially stamped by all of the individual sponsors of the 2018 Hunt for the Golden Spike. Copies of the Golden Ticket forms may be clipped from the May 24 edition of The Citizen, from the Good Neighbor Days tab, or downloaded from The Citizen’s website (www.readthecitizen.com).

Official sponsors are: City of Hugo, 14669 Fitzgerald Ave. N, Hugo; Hawaiian Tan (Hugo or Forest Lake) 14643 Mercantile Dr. N, Suite 107, Hugo, or 1500 Lake St. S., Forest Lake; Hugo American Legion, 5383 140th St. N., Hugo; Hugo Equipment Company,13997 Forest Blvd. N., Hugo; Key Automotive, 14797 Forest Blvd. N, Hugo; and Wiseguys Pizza & Pub, 7095 20th Ave., Centerville.

  • If Spike is not found by noon on Sunday, June 10, all prize money and gift certificates will be donated to the Hugo Good Neighbors Food Shelf.

  • The completed Golden Ticket must be submitted to hunt organizers no later than 5 p.m. Sunday, June 10 and at the same time the instant cash prize is awarded. Late Golden Tickets will not be accepted.

  • If the Spike finder does not have a completed Golden Ticket, the gift certificates and Ordway tickets will be donated to the Hugo Good Neighbors Food Shelf.

  • 2018 Spike hunt maps are available from official sponsors while supplies last, and a digital copy may be found on The Citizen’s website. PLEASE NOTE: Spike is NOT hidden on private property.

  • All contestants agree that The Citizen, Press Publications, the Hugo Lions Club and their respective affiliate companies, parents, subsidiaries, advertising representatives and agents will have no liability whatsoever, and will be held harmless by contestants of any injuries, losses or damages of any kind resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from acceptance, possession, misuse or use of the prizes or participation in this contest.

  • Except where legally prohibited, by accepting the prize the winner grants permission for The Citizen, Press Publications and those acting under its authority to use his or her name, photograph and/or likeness for advertising and/or publicity.

  • All contest rules and decisions are final.

  • Employees of Press Publications and their immediate family members are not eligible to win.

  • For a list of winners, write to The Citizen, 4779 Bloom Ave., White Bear Lake, MN 55110 and enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope

File attachments: 
Hunt information
Dates:
First Clue:Thursday, May 24, 2018
Found on:Saturday, June 9, 2018
Finders:
NameHometown
Sean Noren Hugo
Mason Noren Hugo
Prize:
Maximum Prize:$500 + $150 in gift cards + Wild Mountain Tickets
Awarded Prize:$500 + $150 in gift cards + Wild Mountain Tickets
Location:
General Location:McCollar Park
Exact Location:Fable Hill in a lone sumac bush
Concealer:Wrapped in Green Floral Tape
Clues
Published on Thursday, May 24, 2018
Spring has sprung, snowstorms in doubt,
Been less than a month since the ice came out!
June 7 through 10, the dates are set
For Good Neighbor Days, the Lions’ fête.
Consider this your invitation
To head to Hugo, Spike crusadin’!!
 
Clue Rating: 
0
No votes yet

Published on Thursday, May 24, 2018
June skies are dawning blue and fair!
Meanwhile, Spike hunters must take care.
Treasure hunts all have their rules;
This one bans all shovels and tools.
Before you venture out to look,
Decide to play it by the book.1
1 The complete rules for the 2018 Hunt for the Golden Spike are posted online at www.readthecitizen.com.
 
Clue Rating: 
0
No votes yet

Published on Thursday, May 24, 2018
In this treasure marathon,
One thing you may depend upon.
Spike on public land is hidden.
No need to trespass. It’s forbidden.
Before you set upon this feat,
A Golden Ticket you can complete2
To maximize your revenue —
But that choice is up to you.
2 Complete the Golden Ticket to get great gift certificates from participating area businesses in addition to the cash prize if you find Spike (see rules for details). The Golden Ticket is printed in the Good Neighbor Days insert and may also be downloaded from www.readthecitizen.com.
 
Clue Rating: 
0
No votes yet

Published on Thursday, June 7, 2018
Of Hugo’s parks, there are eighteen:
Four hundred acres, it would seem,
And miles of trails weave in between.
Be sure you set aside a spell
For Lions’ Park, for the bright Midway,
For cotton candy (love the smell)
For all the bubbles on display!
Explanation:
Clue No. 4 first hints at the proximity of a trail to Spike’s hiding place.
 
Clue Rating: 
0
No votes yet

Published on Thursday, June 7, 2018
Lucky things can come in threes:
Wishes, charms, and cloverleaves.
On a Spike hunt, luck is good —
And three is lucky, knock on wood.
Explanation:
Clues No. 5 and 6 refers to “groups of three,” inviting the Spike hunter to explore Hugo’s parks and spot things that occur in threes. McCollar Park contains a large pond where multiple (four or five) clumps of standing dead tree trunks are scattered about, easily visible from the street and trail. Also, Spike was eventually hidden in the vicinity of a clump of three Sumac stems lined in a perfect row. The reference “knock on wood” refers to the idea that the things in threes are trees or shrubs.
 
Clue Rating: 
0
No votes yet

Published on Friday, June 8, 2018
Groups of three; that hint is key.
Go explore the wetland sedges,
Hike along the wayside edges:
(You won’t find Spike by absentee!)
Though it’s not yet time to spill the beans,
It’s all about the ways and means.
Explanation:
Clue No. 6 introduces the idea that the “things of three” lie near wetlands, trails and streets (ways and means).
 
Clue Rating: 
0
No votes yet

Published on Friday, June 8, 2018
This treasure hunt advice is brief:
You must suspend your disbelief
(We may edit; Coleridge gets the credit).
At Spike’s hideaway you’ll find relief.
Explanation:
Clue No. 7 contains two pointed references to McCollar Park in Fable Hill. It first refers to the poet Samuel Coleridge, who said that to enjoy stories and fables, you must “suspend your disbelief.” It also states that the park is hilly (“relief,” as in relief map). Few of Hugo’s parks are hilly, but McCollar is one of them.
 
Clue Rating: 
0
No votes yet

Published on Saturday, June 9, 2018
West of Dylan’s route you’ll find
A winding way. Just keep in mind
You’ll cross a span: you can’t refuse.
Sunwise or widdershins, you then must choose.
The skyline, yonder, seems to say
“Go hug” all those who pass this way
(And lather up with good bug spray).
Explanation:
Clue No. 8 isolates the park to west of Highway 61 “(Bob) Dylan’s route” and refers to Fable Hill Way, which is a winding road. It also mentions two specific bridges (spans) in the neighborhood; to reach Fable Hill directly from the north or east, you have to cross a bridge (either the Fable Hill Way bridge or Victor Hugo Blvd. bridge, both over over Clearwater Creek). “Sunwise or widdershins” (clockwise or counterclockwise) describes the direction you must choose when getting to the park; it’s in the middle of a circular drive (Clearwater Creek Park Preserve, also in Fable Hill, is on a dead end). “Go hug” refers to the lettering you see on Water Tower No. 2 just above the eastern skyline when you are standing along the park trail where Spike is hidden (the end of “HuGO” and the beginning of “HUGo” painted on the tower).
 
Clue Rating: 
0
No votes yet

Tired of the search and the old bushwhack?
It may be Sumac that you lack.
The steady hunter will prevail,
Like the turtle over the cottontail.
Now take a stroll and climb the knoll.
Explanation:
Clue No. 9 specifically refers to the Sumac along the trail bank in the vicinity where Spike is hidden. It also refers to a famous fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare,” which is also a big hint that Spike is hidden in Fable Hill.

Clue No. 10 mentions that Spike is camouflaged (he was wrapped in green floral tape to ensure he wouldn’t be found by a trail user by accident) in McCollar Park. This clue was never posted, as he was found around 5 p.m. Saturday night after Clue No. 9 went live.
 
Clue Rating: 
0
No votes yet