Medallion hunt winner reveals her winning ways

Woodbury resident Jennifer Wenshau, joined by sons (from left) Dylan, Niklas, Tyler and Jacob, discovered the 2013 Woodbury Days medallion on Friday, Aug. 16 in Chippewa Park. Staff photo by Mike Longaecker

Three clues was all it took for Jennifer Wenshau and her band of boys to turn up the 2013 Woodbury Days medallion.

Wenshau, joined by sons Tyler, Jacob, Dylan and Niklas, found the medallion on Friday, Aug. 16, hidden inside an arbor vitae tree at Chippewa Park.

The Woodbury resident said she didn’t go out hunting until Friday, when she began dissecting the three clues that had been released. The first referenced a spot where public places collide.

The second clue told hunters to concentrate on the area that Rep. JoAnn Ward represents.

“So we narrowed it down to the west side,” Wenshau said.

She figured the medallion had to be in one of three parks – Evergreen West, Shawnee or Chippewa.

The third clue, however, “gave us a lot of information.”

It reads as follows:

Our winner will be crowned
When the treasure is found
Coming up short?
Here’s where we hold court:
Scour the ground
If you want it to be found

“I thought, ‘Royals, kings, queens being crowned,’” Wenshau said.

(Editor's note: A full run-down on the clues and their meaning is posted here.)

Indeed, the clue hinted at Queens Drive – the street that runs along Chippewa Park – and neighboring Royals Oaks Elementary.

That the clue also made mention of a court led the family to an area near the park’s tennis courts. Wenshau said she and her sons did as the clue suggested – to scour the ground – but nearly headed home after a cursory search.

Suddenly, it occurred to Wenshau that “it has to be in a tree.”

She went to an arbor vitae tree near the tennis courts, where the medallion was covered lightly with leaves.

“And there it was,” Wenshau said.

She figured the 2013 Woodbury Days medallion hunt was the fifth she had attempted. And after coming maddeningly close to the 2011 medallion stashed in Carver Lake Park, it represented the first time Wenshau claimed victory in the hunt.

She called the hunt “a fun activity” that encourages families to get out and explore the city and its parks.

“My kids love trying to look for something,” Wenshau said. “It’s fun to go to different parks and see what’s there.”

Since Wenshau had purchased a Woodbury Days button, she was able to claim the full prize: $500 in gift cards from local businesses.

Copyright 2013 Forum Communications.