The Capture The Flag Mini-Hunt — June 2019 (XXI)

TCTreasure

CLUE #1

Please forgive us for the early morning wakeup call;
Our mini-hunt has started, though, so hear ye one and all:
Pay attention to the signs and search in a careful manner;
Start at the very beginning if you wish to seize the banner.

TCTreasure

CLUE #2

Be the one to bear the standard—the target of your vigil—
Emblazoned with a ten-year-old design that forms its sigil.
Research the community (as with all treasure hunts);
Make like Walt and find a way to go two ways at once.

TCTreasure

CLUE #3

Now, for all you history buffs, and fans of local beer:
Eighteen hundred ninety-one was surely a banner year;
Search for the prize near benches in a row of bushes and trees,
Within clear sight of letters and numbers blowing in the breeze.

TCTreasure

CLUE #4

Make your way to a lovely park in the home of a former Saint,
Proceed to a sign with letters carved in wood, with fading paint.
Listen closely, research well; your victory's in the cards:
Sven Ivan O'Myron Wisnewski sends his very best regards.

TCTreasure

CLUE #5

Meander through Twin City Sidewalks to a noteworthy parking lot,
And quickly amble northeast-bound to the treasure's hiding spot.
It could still be there waiting—that is, only if you're nimble—
Now hurry; go and grab the local flappable civic symbol!

TCTreasure

CLUE #6

Deposit yourself on the northeast side to make a small withdrawal,
In the shade of a bush at the base of a tree you’ll find the treasured haul.
Right by the park sign in an ironic can—don’t let it go to waste;
To the northeast bank of a northeast bank of a northeast bank make haste!

TCTreasure

SECRET CLUE

The treasure's hidden; the flag is furled; it's cozy in its nest;
Flagpoles could prove helpful on your vexillological quest.

TCTreasure

CLUE EXPLANATIONS

CLUE #1

The first letters in each line of the clue—"P," "O," "P," and "S"—are meant to suggest hunters search for P.O.P.S., or “privately owned public space,” such as Northeast Bank Parking Lot Park, which served as this hunt’s hiding place.
"Please forgive us" could be taken to suggest a modicum of contrition from the cluewriter for having hidden the prize on private land this time (with permission, of course!).
“Pay attention to the signs” is meant to suggest searching near one of Northeast Bank Parking Lot Park’s signs (specifically one near the Northeast corner of the park)—and to obey the rules as posted in the park, so as to “search in a careful manner”
"Start at the very beginning" is meant to suggest that hunters should “pay attention” to the first letter in each line of this hunt’s clues, which spell “POPS,” “BERM,” “NESW,” “MPLS,” “MAIN,” and “DIRT”—all meant to suggest the hunt’s hiding spot in some way.
"seize the banner" is meant to suggest the winner of this hunt will literally “capture the flag”—in this case that of Northeast Minneapolis. It was rolled up and hidden inside a Grain Belt Southwest Cerveza can in a MN United FC koozie.

CLUE #2

The first letters in each line of the clue—"B," "E," "R," and "M"—are meant to suggest hunters search for a small berm to find the prize—specifically that along the northeastern edge of Northeast Bank Parking Lot Park.
“Be the one to bear the standard—the target of your vigil—emblazoned with a … sigil” is meant to reinforce that the winner of this hunt will literally “capture the flag,” and informs hunters that a unique Twin Cities flag is hidden with this hunt’s MacGuffin.
“a ten-year-old design” is meant to suggest the flag hunters seek is the Northeast Minneapolis flag, which was designed by Northeast resident Tony DiGiovanni; he won Northeast Bank’s flag design contest in 1975, at the age of ten.
“Research the community” and “Make like Walt” are meant to suggest searching a well-known Twin Cities community: Northeast Minneapolis—the home of Walter Rasmussen, the late chairman of Northeast Bank, inventor of Northeast Bank Parking Lot Park, and noted flag enthusiast.
“find a way to go two ways at once” is meant to suggest both the treasure’s hiding place—within in a space that serves simultaneously as both a parking lot and a park—and “North”“east” Minneapolis in general.

CLUE #3

“for all you history buffs, and fans of local beer: / Eighteen hundred ninety-one was surely a banner year” and “letters and numbers blowing in the breeze” are meant to suggest a weather vane atop the old Minnesota Brewing Company plant, visible from the hiding spot. Shaped like a blowing banner (or flag, even), the vane commemorates the Grain Belt brewer’s 1891 founding and, like all good weather vanes, mechanically displays which direction the wind is blowing by pointing at and between the letters “N,” “E,” “S,” and “W”—the first letters in each line of the clue.
“N,” “E,” “S,” and “W” could also be taken to suggest looking in Northeast Minneapolis, within the southwest corner of the neighborhood—or at Northeast Bank in a Grain Belt Southwest Cerveza can.
“near benches in a row of bushes and trees” is meant to suggest the prize’s hiding spot, in line with trees, bushes, and benches along the northeast edge of Northeast Bank Parking Lot Park.

CLUE #4

The first letters in each line of the clue—"M," "P," "L," and "S"—are meant to suggest hunters search in Minneapolis.
“a lovely park in the home of a former Saint” is meant to suggest searching for a park (or at the very least an area designated one) in the area of Minneapolis formerly known as Saint Anthony—Minneapolis’ original twin!—northeast of the river from downtown Minneapolis.
“Proceed to a sign with letters carved in wood, with fading paint” is meant to suggest a Northeast Bank Parking Lot Park sign at the park’s northeast corner, a few steps from the hiding spot. The sign includes Northeast Bank’s logo, which depicts three flags billowing in the breeze—we even “borrowed” one of the three for the Capture The Flag Mini-Hunt insignia (visible throughout the hunt on our Facebook page)!
“Listen closely, research well” and “Sven Ivan O’Myron Wisnewski sends his very best regards” are meant to suggest searching for a song related to the search area in Northeast, titled “Sven Ivan O’Myron Wisnewski,” by Arne Fogel & The Cookhouse Players. The song was commissioned by Walter Rasmussen for the annual Northeast Tea and Arm Wrestling Championship (mentioned in the lyrics), and is “the official song of the Northeast Minneapolis flag,” according to Twin City Sidewalks’ Bill Lindeke—whose blog entries and Noteworthy Parking Lots of Minneapolis booklet formed much of the basis of this hunt. Lindeke sells Northeast Minneapolis flag replicas—one of which was hidden with this hunt’s MacGuffin—at his online store "Sidewalk Paraphernalia."

CLUE #5

The first letters in each line of the clue—"M," "A," "I," and "N"—are meant to suggest hunters search along Main Street, which forms the eastern boundary of Northeast Bank Parking Lot Park.
“Meander through Twin City Sidewalks to a noteworthy parking lot,” and “local flappable civic symbol” are references to Bill Lindeke’s website Twin City Sidewalks. There, visitors can read Lindeke’s ruminations on Twin Cities civic and transit culture, purchase a replica Northeast Minneapolis flag, or buy his booklet, titled “Noteworthy Parking Lots of Minneapolis” (the online sample pages of which happen to cover Northeast Bank Parking Lot Park). In preparation for this hunt, we did all three!
“quickly amble northeast-bound to the treasure’s hiding spot” is meant to suggest hunters search in the northeast corner of Northeast Bank Parking Lot Park, in Northeast Minneapolis.
“grab the local flappable civic symbol!” is meant to suggest that the hunt’s MacGuffin contains a locally relevant flag—specifically Northeast Minneapolis’.

CLUE #6

The first letters in each line of the clue—"D," "I," "R," and "T"—are meant to suggest hunters search in the dirt and mulch at the base of a tree, beneath a bush.
“Deposit” and “withdrawal” are meant to suggest Northeast Bank.
“Deposit yourself on the northeast side” is meant to suggest Northeast Minneapolis—as well as the northeast corner of Northeast Bank Parking Lot Park.
“In the shade of a bush at the base of a tree”, “Right by the park sign in a… can” pinpoints the MacGuffin.
The “ironic can” was this hunt’s MacGuffin: a Grain Belt Southwest Cerveza can in a Minnesota United FC can koozie, hidden in Northeast Minneapolis—near the site of the brewery that first brewed (but no longer brews) Grain Belt beer.
“To the northeast bank of a northeast bank of a northeast bank make haste!” is meant to suggest searching the northeast bank of a small berm at Northeast BankParking Lot Park, on the northeast bank of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis.

SECRET CLUE

"The treasure’s hidden; the flag is furled; it’s cozy in its nest" is meant to suggest the hunt’s MacGuffin: A Grain Belt Southwest Cerveza can in a Minnesota United FC can koozie, that contained a rolled up Northeast Minneapolis flag.
"Flagpoles could prove helpful on your vexillological quest” is meant to suggest both the hiding spot, in view of Northeast Bank’s flagpoles, and Northeast Minneapolis itself—notably home to a large contingent of the Twin Cities' Polish community.

Special thanks to Bill Lindeke and Northeast Bank—henceforth the official bank of TC Treasure.