The big hunt
Elder’s 1991 Scavenger Hunt

The sand in the hourglass of my time remaining at Elder High School is running out.
This reality is leaving me with little to do except reflect on my time here and look at this history of Elder. Did the class of 2019 leave a mark here like many other classes before?
While looking back into the past of Elder, I remembered a bunch of stories from when my dad, grandpa and great grandparents attended Elder. One story that stands out is “The Big Hunt” of 1991. Collin Scheiner ’17 wrote about this scavenger hunt leading to 81 Elder students’ arrests. By adding Collin’s insight to the information I found, I think there’s even more to this story.
I was lucky enough to acquire the actual list of items for this famous hunt. There were a total of 60 items on this list, and over 1,000 possible points. This list contained all sort of random items. Some of my favorites were a live duck from Delhi Park, an elf and a goose statue.

We all discussed it at lunch all week. We were off around Christmas looking for something to do”
— Anonymous
The idea started at the lunch table and was debated all week. I’m was told, “We were off school around Christmas and looking for something to do.” The idea was not originally intended be as big as it eventually became.
“The Big Hunt” started off as a couple buddies just having fun over Christmas break. As the number of participants grew, the idea to collect money per car for a pot was brought up. As we know, things took off from there.
The consequences of this “Big Hunt” were harsh, and this story even received national attention. Although we can look back now and easily condemn these actions, the idea is pretty cool. To bring over 80 students together outside of school is impressive, and a great way for classmates to bond.
As people stop telling this story, more and more students are unaware of this legendary hunt. Despite the fading away of this story, it’s still awesome, and undoubtedly left a mark here. It’d be a shame if someone were to do it again.

"Do I need to be liked? Absolutely not. I like to be liked. I enjoy being liked. I have to be liked, but it's not like this compulsive need to be...
Amy Blevins Siebe • Jul 23, 2019 at 12:25 pm
I am a Seton ’93 graduate, I was a junior when this event happened. It made national news, and this was at a time of no social media or internet. I believe I may still have the news article in my high school memorabilia.
There were many girls whose boyfriends were involved in this, and it was a shocker. I heard that a duck actually died from this scavenger hunt, but that could have just been a rumor.