2016 DPHS Horseshoe Hunt
The Horseshoe has been found in Glendale Park!!!
Elizabeth Munsterman and a group of 7 searchers found the Horseshoe on Sunday evening. Jane Kappes and Jane Broberg who found the horseshoe in 2012 were part of the group. The other members of the group were Emily, Katie & Patti Musterman and Megan Broberg. The team has members who are long time searchers, found the shoe after the 4th clue was posted to our site on Friday night, and was found late Sunday.
Elizabeth Munsterman and a group of 7 searchers found the Horseshoe on Sunday evening. Jane Kappes and Jane Broberg who found the horseshoe in 2012 were part of the group. The other members of the group were Emily, Katie & Patti Musterman and Megan Broberg. The team has members who are long time searchers, found the shoe after the 4th clue was posted to our site on Friday night, and was found late Sunday.
For the love of the hunt: Dedicated team finds the Dan Patch Horseshoe
As the saying goes, “two heads are better than one,” and it definitely rings true for the latest winners of the Dan Patch Horseshoe Hunt, who worked as a team of seven to find the prize. For a few of the team members, this wasn’t the first time they brought home the coveted horseshoe.
The annual event is sponsored by the Dan Patch Historical Society in the weeks leading up to Dan Patch Days. Weekly, clues are given out leading to the location of where it is hidden.
Until Sunday, June 19, Jane Kappes of Prior lake and Jane Broberg and her daughter Megan of Savage had worked together, puzzling through the clues and traversing the city’s public land. Patti Munsterman and her daughters Elizabeth, Katie and Emily of Savage had done some searching on their own, but last minute Patti asked if they could join the Brobergs and Kappes and the group went over to Glendale Park, 5901 135th St., and started rummaging through a pine tree near the entrance. Lo and behold, Elizabeth saw the horseshoe hanging from the tree surrounded by dead pine needles.
“I was literally standing there and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if it was up in a tree?” Kappes said. “And then she [Elizabeth] goes, ‘What is this?”
“I’ve looked at this tree before, how did I not see it?” Broberg added.
They called Dan Patch Historical Society clue master Jim Ross to report the find, and were quizzed about the details of where it was found and what was engraved in the shoe.
It wasn’t until last weekend that Kappes and Broberg had narrowed their search to Glendale Park.
“I woke up and I started searching through the clues a little differently,” Kappes said. “We were doing single words and then I did a whole bunch and Zarthan Avenue came up and I have a map and I’m like, “Zarthan runs right into Glendale Park, and it hasn’t been found here [before].”
Prior to that the clues had led them to Boiling Springs and Community Park, but to no avail. They had searched high and low and were particularly thrown off by some lines in clues one and two, such as “your find we all shall applaud,” and “it’s early this stage — but you’ll have to gauge,” thinking that it had to do with music and therefore Community Park, where the summer Music in the Park series is held.
“We still don’t know what stage and applaud is,” Kappes said. “It was really just that one clue that got me to Zarthan that put us at this park.”
Taking part in the annual hunt is something Kappes, Broberg and Munsterman have been doing for years. The three women know each other through working at Twin Oaks Middle School together and have been friends since. Since 2006, Kappes and Broberg have teamed up, and in 2012 they took home their first horseshoe, which coincidentally was also located in a pine tree.
“It took us four more years to find this and we have looked,” Kappes said. “We put a lot of time into looking.”
Kappes estimated that she and Broberg easily had 20 hours of research and searching into the event this year, and Munsterman figured she had about 15 hours of searching in as well.
The horseshoe will go to Elizabeth, who spotted it and plucked it from the tree. The winner also received the $100 cash prize and the teammates get the opportunity to ride in the Dan Patch Days Parade on Sunday, June 26.
For Kappes and Broberg, the only downside of winning is that they can’t win next year, which they said will be torturous for them. However, they still have every intention of following the clues and searching for it even if they can’t win.
“It’s going to drive us insane,” Broberg said. “We’re going to have to take up knitting or something.”
Kappes added: “But we’ll definitely do all the research and figure out where we think it is. We can’t not do it.”
So what keeps them searching year after year? Well, according to Kappes, it’s truly the love of the hunt.
“Our favorite thing about the hunt is finding it,” she said. “We all like figuring out what the clues mean, visiting all the parks and learning the history of Dan Patch and Savage.”
The annual event is sponsored by the Dan Patch Historical Society in the weeks leading up to Dan Patch Days. Weekly, clues are given out leading to the location of where it is hidden.
Until Sunday, June 19, Jane Kappes of Prior lake and Jane Broberg and her daughter Megan of Savage had worked together, puzzling through the clues and traversing the city’s public land. Patti Munsterman and her daughters Elizabeth, Katie and Emily of Savage had done some searching on their own, but last minute Patti asked if they could join the Brobergs and Kappes and the group went over to Glendale Park, 5901 135th St., and started rummaging through a pine tree near the entrance. Lo and behold, Elizabeth saw the horseshoe hanging from the tree surrounded by dead pine needles.
“I was literally standing there and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if it was up in a tree?” Kappes said. “And then she [Elizabeth] goes, ‘What is this?”
“I’ve looked at this tree before, how did I not see it?” Broberg added.
They called Dan Patch Historical Society clue master Jim Ross to report the find, and were quizzed about the details of where it was found and what was engraved in the shoe.
It wasn’t until last weekend that Kappes and Broberg had narrowed their search to Glendale Park.
“I woke up and I started searching through the clues a little differently,” Kappes said. “We were doing single words and then I did a whole bunch and Zarthan Avenue came up and I have a map and I’m like, “Zarthan runs right into Glendale Park, and it hasn’t been found here [before].”
Prior to that the clues had led them to Boiling Springs and Community Park, but to no avail. They had searched high and low and were particularly thrown off by some lines in clues one and two, such as “your find we all shall applaud,” and “it’s early this stage — but you’ll have to gauge,” thinking that it had to do with music and therefore Community Park, where the summer Music in the Park series is held.
“We still don’t know what stage and applaud is,” Kappes said. “It was really just that one clue that got me to Zarthan that put us at this park.”
Taking part in the annual hunt is something Kappes, Broberg and Munsterman have been doing for years. The three women know each other through working at Twin Oaks Middle School together and have been friends since. Since 2006, Kappes and Broberg have teamed up, and in 2012 they took home their first horseshoe, which coincidentally was also located in a pine tree.
“It took us four more years to find this and we have looked,” Kappes said. “We put a lot of time into looking.”
Kappes estimated that she and Broberg easily had 20 hours of research and searching into the event this year, and Munsterman figured she had about 15 hours of searching in as well.
The horseshoe will go to Elizabeth, who spotted it and plucked it from the tree. The winner also received the $100 cash prize and the teammates get the opportunity to ride in the Dan Patch Days Parade on Sunday, June 26.
For Kappes and Broberg, the only downside of winning is that they can’t win next year, which they said will be torturous for them. However, they still have every intention of following the clues and searching for it even if they can’t win.
“It’s going to drive us insane,” Broberg said. “We’re going to have to take up knitting or something.”
Kappes added: “But we’ll definitely do all the research and figure out where we think it is. We can’t not do it.”
So what keeps them searching year after year? Well, according to Kappes, it’s truly the love of the hunt.
“Our favorite thing about the hunt is finding it,” she said. “We all like figuring out what the clues mean, visiting all the parks and learning the history of Dan Patch and Savage.”
2016 Clues
Clue #1
Dan’s shoe has been shod, upon public sod,
Discern the path you trod.
A button I laud or alas ‘tis fraud;
Your find we all shall applaud.
Clue #2
Whence lay sons of battle chief lineage,
'tween searches of both high & low,
It's early this stage-but you'll have to gauge
Just where on the plateau it is stow'd.
Clue #3
On a bridge it is not, nor the woods of a glen.
You may find the right spot near Columbus' men.
Clue #4
It's not a record but off by a score.
Utensils were cast for Solomon's clast,
Near a place in the circle of Jordan.
Clue #5
Tween a national park - above some bark,
You'll find the mark - that holds the arc.
Dan’s shoe has been shod, upon public sod,
Discern the path you trod.
A button I laud or alas ‘tis fraud;
Your find we all shall applaud.
Clue #2
Whence lay sons of battle chief lineage,
'tween searches of both high & low,
It's early this stage-but you'll have to gauge
Just where on the plateau it is stow'd.
Clue #3
On a bridge it is not, nor the woods of a glen.
You may find the right spot near Columbus' men.
Clue #4
It's not a record but off by a score.
Utensils were cast for Solomon's clast,
Near a place in the circle of Jordan.
Clue #5
Tween a national park - above some bark,
You'll find the mark - that holds the arc.
Explanations of the Clues
Clue #1
The shoe is always hidden on public property. "Upon" implies the shoe is hidden up, off the
ground. You need to have purchased a button to win the cash prize.
Clue #2
The name McColl derives from the Gaelic surname of Scottish origin which means "son of the
battle chief". The McColl's are interred in the Glendale Cemetery. "Twixt high and low" is another
indication the shoe is off the ground. "Plateau" refers to both aglen & a dale (Glendale).
Clue #3
Combine "bridge" and "wood" to get the site of the Church of that name which used to be the
Knights of Columbus Hall just west of Glendale Park.
Clue #4
Dan Patch's record was 1:55, a score is 20=135th St. (the entrance to the park). 1Kings 7:46 refers
to a place where bronze utensils were cast for King Solomon's Temple "near a place in the circle of
Jordan". This place was Zarethan also known as Zarthan (Avenue) which skirts Glendale Park.
Clue #5
Glendale Park is between Yosemite Avenue at 135-137 St. The shoe was hidden in a bush in the
landscaping above the mulch.
Thanks for participating in the Dan Patch Historical Society Horseshoe Hunt. I hope you had fun
exploring Savage's many parks and rich history.
The ClueMaster
The shoe is always hidden on public property. "Upon" implies the shoe is hidden up, off the
ground. You need to have purchased a button to win the cash prize.
Clue #2
The name McColl derives from the Gaelic surname of Scottish origin which means "son of the
battle chief". The McColl's are interred in the Glendale Cemetery. "Twixt high and low" is another
indication the shoe is off the ground. "Plateau" refers to both aglen & a dale (Glendale).
Clue #3
Combine "bridge" and "wood" to get the site of the Church of that name which used to be the
Knights of Columbus Hall just west of Glendale Park.
Clue #4
Dan Patch's record was 1:55, a score is 20=135th St. (the entrance to the park). 1Kings 7:46 refers
to a place where bronze utensils were cast for King Solomon's Temple "near a place in the circle of
Jordan". This place was Zarethan also known as Zarthan (Avenue) which skirts Glendale Park.
Clue #5
Glendale Park is between Yosemite Avenue at 135-137 St. The shoe was hidden in a bush in the
landscaping above the mulch.
Thanks for participating in the Dan Patch Historical Society Horseshoe Hunt. I hope you had fun
exploring Savage's many parks and rich history.
The ClueMaster