Medallion Hunt

THE MEDALLION HAS BEEN FOUND – Peggy Manson found it with her daughter on September 21 near Forest Hills in La Crosse.

The Oktoberfest USA Medallion Hunt is sponsored by Emerj360. One clue per day will be issued starting Monday, September 18, 2023. Clues are posted on the Oktoberfest USA Facebook and Instagram at approximately 6:30 a.m. each day. Ten clues have been prepared and will be shared in order until the medallion is found or all ten are used (whichever comes first). Prizes awaiting the person finding the medallion include: $500 cash, and a souvenir medallion provided by Satori Arts.

Medallion Hunt rules are similar to previous years. The 2023 Oktoberfest Medallion:

• Is always located within the La Crosse city limits
• Is never buried in the ground
• Is always on public property
• Is accessible 24 hours, but posted hours should be observed
• Fits in the palm of a hand
• May be camouflaged

Medallion hunters are encouraged to work in teams, as some hiding spots will have limited accessibility.

Oktoberfest USA requests that all medallion hunters respect public and private property (as well as their fellow hunters) while trying to locate the medallion. In addition to not damaging foliage while searching for the medallion.

Clue 1

As the season has changed, the weather has cooled;
It’s time again to decipher the clues and not be fooled;
Another guaranteed family fest under the moniker “2023: Come Fest With Me”;
Closely follow each hint before it ends and they post the key.

Key: This year’s hunt is officially underway. Participants are encouraged, again, to spend time thoroughly reading the clues for hints.

Clue 2

Rippling rivers, pristine prairies and bountiful bluffs;
One’s a more important clue, while the others are rebuffs;
Pretty parks, pleasuring playgrounds and many a trampling trail;
Pick the right ones and they’ll help you prevail.

Key: This refers to the importance these landforms will have in the hunt, along with a prairie-like trail playing an important part in the eventual hiding spot.

Clue 3

The land with animal-shaped mounds was purchased a century and a half ago,
It’s become the place for runners, kids, picnickers and medallion hunters to go;
The original name was soon changed to honor this founding fur trader,
Can easily be seen from favorite spots much higher.

Key: This refers to Myrick Park, which was acquired by the city 150 years ago and later named for Nathan Myrick, credited as the first white settler in the city. The park is a key landform attached to the trail where the medallion is hidden.

Clue 4

While the aquatic body to the west has dominated local terrain;
Calls to maintain water and wetlands nearly went down the drain;
A constant, natural sponge filtering and absorbing seasonal snow and rains,
Look for waterfowl and wildlife along the swampy lanes.

Key: Like Myrick Park, the La Crosse River Marsh is important the immediate area where the medallion is hidden. The waterfowl mention refers to the Wood Duck trail, one of the many in the lower Hixon trails.

Clue 5

In the mid-1800s the route was hewn along the mighty bluff,
Shown among early state highway maps even though the surface was rough;
Originally little more than a path cut by early wagons carrying goods,
Became a proven route above rails and flooding along the woods.

Key: State highway 16 was one of Wisconsin’s first state highways, playing an important part to early commerce as it does today. The road runs over the trail that will leads to the medallion.

Clue 6

Giving it the ol’ college try could propel you on your way,
A game-day prank in ’35 that more than outlived its day;
Clark and Bernie started the climb for all to see,
No longer a glowing act of spontaneity.

Key: UW-La Crosse students F. Clark Carnes and Bernie Brown headed to Miller Bluff during the university’s first evening football game. They lit brush in the shape of and “L” for fans to see, starting the tradition of the Lighting of the “L.” Today, the tradition glows from Grandad Bluff during welcome week. Miller Bluff is prominent from the area where the medallion is hidden. Also, the campus is adjacent to the trail leading to the site.

Clue 7

Standing firmly at almost 600 feet above the land,
Helped shape roads and foundations, eventually becoming grand;
Originally private until being public for more than 100 years,
The annual popular back drop for New Year’s cheers.

Key: Grandad Bluff is also prominent to the hiding spot, which is actually between the two bluff landmarks.

Clue 8

Plowing through the pathways of early La Crosse City Hall,
Helped the area’s river bridge, Lang Drive and other public utilities stand tall;
Part of Joseph and Irene’s great, vast reserve to the municipality,
A defining and welcoming entrance to the city since 1940.

Key: William P. Roellig, who started La Crosse Plow in 1890, served on the City Council from April 1910 until his death in August 1950. The triangular park at the intersection of state highway 16 and La Crosse Street, originally part of the land gifted from the Hixons in 1912, was planted with trees, shrubs and more in 1940 to welcome city visitors. The park was named for Roellig in 1951. The area is very near where the medallion is hidden, with Wood Duck Trail adjacent.

Clue 9

Established in the late 1800s for both men and women duffers,
Became the place to play and have fancy suppers;
In the 1990s turned back totally to the public’s delight,
Two decades later new holes and some additional paths took flight.

Key: This refers to Forest Hills Golf course, which was the name given to the course following years of being the La Crosse Country Club, when it included a robust dining facility. Wood Duck Trail was extended into the area and now meanders through a small portion of the course.

Clue 10

A similar mission to the men of the Depression,
Today, working for outdoor recreation and preservation;
All these clues bridge to what you’re looking for,
Find the right spot, you’re now part of Oktoberfest folklore.

Key: This clue refers to WisCorps, a youth and young adult group that has built many trails, including bridges on the Hixon Forest Trails. The medallion is located along a WisCorp bridge built on the Wood Duck Trail in the area that crosses into the northwest corner of Forest Hills Golf Course.