La Crosse Tribune,
September 25, 2005 . . . Oktoberfest Medallion
found in Copeland Park
By Kate Schott .
She held it close to her
chest, shielding it from
view, until at the
gentle urging of her
dad, she held it up for
all to see.
"Show them the
treasure," Tom Lawrynk
said, coaxing his
3-year-old daughter
AnnaMae to present the
2005 Wipfli Oktoberfest
Medallion to event
officials Saturday
afternoon.
The elusive medallion
was found late Saturday
morning in Copeland Park
by Lawrynk, a Central
High School English
teacher, and his
children.
Lawrynk found the
medallion sometime after
10 a.m. It was on the
East side of the park,
along the sidewalk
underneath leaves at the
base of a lilac bush, he
said.
His two oldest — Emma,
11, and Joey, 10 — were
so into the search that
they requested their own
copies of each clue.
Emma was searching with
her father when he found
the medallion; Joey and
AnnaMae were on the play
equipment at Copeland
and mom Jess had just
been dropped off at
work.
Copeland Park seemed the
obvious place to look
after clue No. 6 debuted
Saturday morning,
Lawrynk said. The
mention of the Hixon and
Copeland families,
combined with previous
clues about rivers,
pointed him to the park.
"(Finding it) was just a
blessing in disguise,"
he said. "I was just
happy to look somewhere
someone else hadn't
looked."
The family wins $500
cash, gift certificates
from local merchants,
two tickets to the
Festmaster's Ball and a
replica of the
medallion.
Lawrynk said he grew up
in the area and searched
for the medallion off
and on during his
formative years. His
family recently returned
to La Crosse after
living in Webster, Wis.,
for seven years.
While in Webster, the
family participated in a
similar hunt for a
"Golden Spike" as part
of the town's Gandy
Dancer Days and came up
with the prize twice.
"That was a little bit
easier," he said. "The
town was a bit smaller."
