Naperville family wins yule log hunt — again
The Todd family of Naperville knows a little something about dynasties and they demonstrated it again Monday at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle.
For the third time in the past four years the Todds defeated all comers in the annual hunt for the yule log.
Participants followed a set of rhyming clues in pursuit of the 6-foot log hidden on the arboretum's 1,700 acres.
The last riddle — “Wind around a grassy edge so sunny, an imprisoned tree, whose ‘size' name is funny,” led hunters near a young version of the sequoia gigantea with nothing gigantic about it. A protective wire fence guarded what looked like “A Charlie Brown Christmas” replica.
That juxtaposing clue didn't stump Ryan Todd, 15, who was the first to find the log — his second such victory — after about a 30-minute search. The Naperville teen credited his conquest to his speed and knack for deciphering clues.
“It was pretty easy,” Todd said.
His team of siblings, parents and family friends hauled the log with ropes to a ceremony at the arboretum's Visitors Center where a crowd shouted, “Wassail!” and toasted them with the warm, spiced drink around a fire kindled by a chunk of the log.
It's part of a tradition for the Todd family. Every Christmas, a mini yule log spruces their home's mantle to remind them of the hunt and inspire their competitive spirit.
“They'll be looking for us,” Todd's dad, Mike, said of fellow hunters. “We're going to come in disguise next year.”
Organizers said about 500 people attended the event. And with unseasonably balmy temperatures, volunteers didn't need to prepare a red antique toboggan, used in previous hunts for winners to help maneuver the log through the snow.
The hunt and burning of the log draws on pre-Christian traditions during the winter solstice. Organizers added modern spins with caroling by The Frozen Robins.
Trumpet blasts signaled the start of the hunt. Moments into the search, some clues fooled trail leaders looking to punch holes in clue sheets. Hunters had to enter eight punches to guarantee they didn't skip ahead.
“We a got a little lost in our yule humor,” said Marilyn Baysek, the arboretum's special events manager.
Ultimately, some clues sent hunters to endangered species of trees to highlight the arboretum's “Vanishing Acts: Trees Under Threat” exhibit.
“There's always a conservation message woven in there,” she said.