Published on Friday, July 15, 2022
7pm
It is said that absence makes the heart grow fonder.
And now is the time for families to wander.
Inside Stillwater city limits you may find,
A Medallion, but only after using your mind.
How well do you know the history of the place in which we reside?
It will do you some good to learn more in order to seek and perhaps find.
We're eating ice cream and having fun, now the hunt has officially begun!
Explanation:
It is said, absence makes the heart grow fonder; (The person who named Stillwater was John McKusick who missed his hometown - or left his heart - in Stillwater, Maine)
And now is the time for families to wander. (Families hunting together as a tradition, old or new, is such fun to hear about and see)
Inside Stillwater city limits you may find (the Medallion is hidden within Stillwater city limits to help people know where to hunt)
a medallion, but only after using your mind. (The clues this year were studied from Washington County Historical Society website and the City of Stillwater website)
How well do you know the history of the place in which we reside? (It’s fun to know why Stillwater was named Stillwater, or why certain streets and neighborhoods came to be – so learn more if you need to)
It will do you some good to learn more in order to seek and perhaps find.
We’re eating ice cream and having fun, now the hunt has officially begun! (This was said at the time of the ice cream social as my rogue children were running about with all the other children and families enjoying the Thursday night Ice Cream Social at the Washington County Historic Courthouse)
Published on Friday, July 15, 2022
1:00pm
It is important to know that no two bodies are identical, or the exact same.
Be it human, land, or waters of a different name.
Eagles fly off Ridges with superior grace,
Which proves there is more than one way to get to this well-used space.
On the way you could pick up Twigs of brown and some Green,
Or visit a friend born in 1917.
Explanation:
It is important to know that no two bodies are identical, or the exact same. (This is something I teach my children about when observing people different than ourselves)
Be it human, land, or waters of a different name. (Human Bodies, Bodies of Land and Water – the medallion was hidden by a body of water)
Eagles fly off Ridges with superior grace, (Eagle Ridge Trail is one of the roadways to get towards Lake McKusick)
Which proves there is more than one way to get to this well-used space. (The hiding spot can be accessed from the wooden walkway bridge or the paved trail on the southwest corner of Lake McKusick)
On the way you could pick up Twigs of brown and some Green, (Green Twig Way is the way I took to get to the hiding spot)
Or visit a friend born in 1917. (A bench next to the hiding spot is dedicated to David B. Vesall, born 1917)
If you think I created this hunt on my own,
I must make an admission before my cover is blown.
I had help from people we may know from years’ past,
Like Stillwater’s first mayor, Mary Wolff and a legacy that’s vast.
For lifelong Stillwater resident David once knew
That the importance of wetlands was long overdue.
Explanation:
If you think I created this hunt on my own,
I must make an admission before my cover is blown. (Actually, I do make the hunt on my own, mostly so no one else must keep the secret)
I had help from people we may know from years’ past, (There are several memorial markers around Stillwater, and I utilized three of them for this clue)
Like Stillwater’s first mayor, Mary Wolff and a legacy that’s vast. (John McKusick was Stillwater’s first mayor, Mary Wolff has a bench donated to her at the entrance/end of the wooden walkway bridge)
For lifelong Stillwater resident David once knew
That the importance of wetlands was long overdue. (The bench which was a few inches from the hiding place was placed in honor of David B. Vesall, a lifelong Stillwater resident, former Minnesota Director of Fish and Wildlife who spent most of this life promoting Save the Wetlands. He passed in 2004)
You really can’t find it? How can this bee?
I only hid it in something made from a tree.
By the lake, near a bench, the treasure doth wait,
Just get way down low and feel between boards for your fate.
Not in Dutchtown, nor Lily Lake, nor Pioneer,
You could see ducks, swans, and red-winged blackbirds ever near.
But none of them hold the medallion you see,
Where the pavement meets bridge awaits your trophy!
Explanation:
You really can’t find it? How can this bee? (The east side of Lake McKusick is near the Stillwater Bee Pollinator Garden on the corner of Laurel and Owens)
I only hid it in something made from a tree. (The end of the walkway near the bench rests upon a wooden beam with a small space in which I hid the medallion and left about 1/4 inch exposed to grab)
By the lake, near a bench, the treasure doth wait, (This means just what it says)
Just get way down low and feel between boards for your fate. (It was necessary to get near the ground to access the medallion in its hiding place)
Not in Dutchtown, nor Lily Lake, nor Pioneer, (Not in any of the Stillwater places of Dutchtown in northern Stillwater, Nor Lily Lake, both a park and a lake, nor Pioneer Park)
You could see ducks, swans, and red-winged blackbirds ever near. (Lake McKusick is well-known for the abundance of birds, turtles, frogs and the like)
But none of them hold the medallion you see, (I did not hide it in or on any wood duck houses or anything similar, so this was to ensure no one disturbed any nesting families)
Where the pavement meets bridge awaits your trophy! (The southwest corner of Lake McKusick has a wooden walkway that meets pavement and at that intersection is the David B. Sevall bench, and inches away under the greenery and wooden beam was the medallion waiting to be found!)
