Rehash Bash 2002 at Merriam Park

Merriam Park

January 27th, 2002

Could there possibly be a better way to mourn the end of another hunt than rehashing the whole thing with others equally let down from a hunt—and a hunt that seemed way too short? I think not!

At least one hundred mourners gathered this afternoon at Merriam Park to share a fabulous potluck with other hunters of the St. Paul Winter Carnival Medallion Hunt. The meal included Rehash Goulash, Minnesota Wild Rice Casserole, Devil's Den Eggs, Medallion Candy, Ian's Sloppy Joe Medallions, and lots of chips—especially of the Pringle variety.

One of the finders from 1998, Maureen Hursey, attended the bash, as well as the three ladies that found the 1995 medallion in Battle Creek, Cookie Howard, Kay Anderson, and Rachel Olson. It was great to see the variety of folks that share this obsession!

We also found a few lurkers in attendance that felt comfortable coming to the bash even though they had never posted. That's so amazing! We must come across as friendly and welcoming for folks to feel that comfortable. It's happened at both the Predig Gig and the Rehash Bash this year! Let's hope that brings fewer lurkers and more folks sharing their thoughts and ideas about the hunt next year.

Merriam Park, being a park and recreation center, had a nice warming room with a ping pong table we could use to put food out on and a place to warm up a bit. It was much chillier and cloudier outdoors than it was forecast to be, so it was super to have a place to warm up a bit.

There was the usual trek to the site. The method of hiding it this year was questioned over and over again...leading to conspiracy theories and theories that the medallion had not been dropped until within a couple of hours of it being found. There was even an experiment done with a foil chip can top, scotch tape and something of about equal size and weight to the medallion and placed out under what little snow is left. The scotch tape became milky white after a couple of hours and did not stick well. Surely this will be a hunt discussed for years to come.

The good news is that there will be more hunts, more snow, better hiding (PLEASE!), and clever clue writing for us to noodle over. We only have 51 weeks to go!

Coolerheads WILL Prevail!