Veteran hunters find Manitou Days medallion
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Jana Armstead holds the medallion and BradTeGantvoort holds a piece of fake rock it was hidden in. — Submitted
WHITE BEAR LAKE — “Team Brana,” a couple who met hunting many years ago, found the Manitou Days medallion.
Brad TeGantvoort of Inver Grove Heights and Jana Armstead of St. Paul found the prize near the White Bear Lake Area Historical Society office after the sixth clue on June 21.
The medallion was inside a fake rock underneath rose bushes just north of the historic depot on Highway 61. All 10 clues and explanations are posted on manitoudays.com.
The annual hunt is sponsored by Coldwell Banker Burnet and organized by real estate agent Jan Holtz Kraemer with help from clue writer Chad O’Leary. According to Holtz Kraemer, discovery after clue No. 6 is a bit earlier than usual, but she and O’Leary expected that since they decided to hide it downtown “right under everybody’s noses” this year.
TeGantvoort and Armstead are serial hunters. It was the first find for TeGantvoort, who’s been hunting since 1980. Armstead, who has been hunting for 25 years, found the Cottage Grove Strawberry Fest medallion just a few days before helping uncover the Manitou Days medallion.
The pair met while hunting. They’re both members of the Cooler Crew, an informal group of hunting enthusiasts who hold gatherings and online forums during the St. Paul Winter Carnival hunt and organize their own hunts.
TeGantvoort’s license plate reads “CLUEMAN” and his email address is “cluemaster. “He keeps champagne and fireworks in his trunk to celebrate the find — although they decided fireworks in crowded downtown White Bear Lake wouldn’t be a good idea and headed to Washington Square Bar and Grill for cold refreshments, he said.
He lauded the clue writing and hiding spot; they were on-par with the big St. Paul hunt, he said.
The duo initially spent many hours over three days searching in and around Railroad Park, along with many other hunters. During his first visit to the depot area, TeGantvoort found a geocache he thought was the medallion for a few moments. He and Armstead returned later and after enduring a few scratches from the rose bushes, TeGantvoort found the treasure.
The pair won $500. TeGantvoort said they have a policy to spend a majority of their winnings in the community they found the prize. That was achieved that very night with celebratory food and drink, and shopping at Marketfest.
TeGantvoort added they have another way of giving back to the communities in which they hunt: They pick up any trash they find during their pursuits.
Copyright 2012 White Bear Press.
