Cemetery caches

[+Userzero]

I once made love in a cemetery at night a long time ago, after a Halloween party, with a red haired Sorceress I met in front of the fridge. Took me some time to put back the cloth strips well enough to walk home, (I was a mummy) but we had a blast. We figured the locals wouldn't mind seeing a little action, since they had not got any for a long time.

 

Imagine getting caught by the police right during the show!

[+JacobBarlow]

I think cemetery caches are great, and I plan on having my headstone be a cache

[Keystone]

My daughter's already told me that my headstone will be in the shape of an orange traffic cone with the inscription: "ARCHIVED."

[+SgtSue]

My daughter's already told me that my headstone will be in the shape of an orange traffic cone with the inscription: "ARCHIVED."

 

That's the best "after I'm gone" idea I've heard yet.

[+Castle Mischief]

I've been to cemeteries with picnic tables in them, so it's not as unusual as you might think. In fact last year on mothers day I was looking for a cache in a cemetery and there was a group of about 15 people picnicking

next to what I guess was a mother's or grandmother's grave. Blanket on the ground, food, music playing softly, kids running around.

 

I understand that this was a common practice in the 19th and early 20th century.

 

My wife tells me that she has been to picnics in cemeteries when she was a child- early 80's. Her father is a retired Babtist preacher and at the time this was his congregation, on the grounds near his church.

[+Team Woodward]

I did one yesterday in a small rural cemetery that was established in 1848 (that is very, very old for here in KS). It was discreetly placed well away for any graves. I like these old rural cemeteries very much. I spend time looking at names & dates. I can get a feel for the type of people who settled the area. Lots of history in some of these and history & geology is much of why I do this.

[+Jayrod7]

GCJT1R

 

I found this geocache a while ago but it is still on the list of one of my "history lesson/ghost story while caching quests" and i still enjoy going back and reading the story. The cache location itself is wierd because this grave is in the corner all by itself, covered with chains and metal stakes. The cache itself is about 30 feet away from the "witche's grave". I think that caching in a cemetary is ok as long as you compose yourself well and be respectfull.

[+dwightb99]

I have placed many cache's in cemeteries, all respectfully of course. I have had 1500 finds of my cache's, and only one cacher did not enjoy being there. yet they continued on to find all 36 cache's in the series. Go figure! Anyways, some people do not think it is right to play a game in a cemetery. That is your choice, and I respect that. Geocaching is not a game though. Every game has a winner, and a loser. There are no winners, or losers in geocaching. It it simply an adventure, an outing for the family, and a learning exxperience. I have learned alot about history from visiting cemeteries. Like I said before, I am not trying to convince anyone to do them. If you don't want to, then don't. I am just stating my opinion.

[+CrippledBlindSquirrel]

But it made me wonder how many of us think even stop to consider all the things beyond our control that happen to burial plots other than just sitting there being "sacred space" --People working, worms and moles tunneling through, birds sitting on the headstones, tree limbs being blown onto the stones, weathering and erosion erasing the lettering etc.

 

Not to mention graves that are dug up for parking lots, road and building construction. Or sometimes just paved over.

 

After some research my father found out where my great grandfather was buried. My dad was speaking with the caretaker trying to find out exactly where the grave was so we could visit. After checking records, the caretaker informed us that the headstone had been taken down and buried on top of the grave. He said it's done to old graves to make mowing easier.

 

He informed us that the headstone could be dug up and replaced if we wanted them to do it - for $500.

Ouch, sorry about your great-grandfather.

 

There is a convenience store in the next town that is built over an old graveyard. There are still five or six stones in the corner of the parking lot, but county records list at least 100 burials there. In Indiana, it's easier to pave over a graveyard than to get the permits to remove and relocate the burials.

 

Both of these circumstances are just plain wrong. Here in Georgia we have cemeteries and burial plots on old plantation land that go back to the founding of the State. Here in my city I know of at least three burial sites that have found themselves in the way of development. In each case the developers were required to seperate them from the development by fencing and to maintain access to the sites for any potential visitors. In most cases people just start taking care of the site with acts of kindness like planting flowers and cleaning up around the headstone and monuments. These kind of sites hold great potential for history buffs and the Waymarking side of this sport. A nice little cache co-located is gravy. I love to think about the old family plots that are waiting out there in those woods to be re-discovered and preserved as what we call progress catches up to them. Anyone who deliberately desecrates a burial site in Georgia goes to jail.

[Neos2]

It seems that lots of people like to picnic and party in cemeteries. (I find this quite bizarre.)

 

I've been to cemeteries with picnic tables in them, so it's not as unusual as you might think. In fact last year on mothers day I was looking for a cache in a cemetery and there was a group of about 15 people picnicking

next to what I guess was a mother's or grandmother's grave. Blanket on the ground, food, music playing softly, kids running around.

 

I understand that this was a common practice in the 19th and early 20th century.

Yep, it was popular in earlier decades. I think people were less divorced from death then and viewed it as a more natural part of the cycle of life. Older family members tended to live with younger family members--maiden aunts, grandparents, and youngsters were all co-mingled in households. Grandpa died in his bed, with his family surrounding him, instead of tucked away in a sterile hospital room. Many people died too young. Since death was more intimate experience, it perhaps didn't seem so alien and frightening. They were closely connected in life, and wanted to preserve that closeness even after death.

 

No doubt folks saw the cemetery picnics as a way to join together to celebrate the lives of their loved ones and gravestones were placed to honor the memory of the missing friends and family members.

 

It's still pretty common today in some places. See my earlier post on the topic for some folks that choose to see cemeteries as places of light and life"

 

Of course, not everyone feels that way about death and cemeteries. The bottom line on any cache is you don't have to do it if it makes you uncomfortable. That goes for cemetery caches as much as for rock climbing caches, caches down *dark trails, or caches in the middle of town. Just please don't suggest that others are wrong for feeling differently than you. It really does take all kinds.

 

*I went with my son's class on a school field trip when he was in 4th grade. One mother refused to go down a very nice path into the woods because it was "dark and scary looking and probably had spiders" In reality, it was at least 5 feet wide the entire way, had thick mulch over it, and was traveled on a daily basis, so there were few if any spider webs. In other words, it was a city-kid friendly trail through the woods.

 

I didn't make fun of her for disliking the idea of "trail" she had in her mind. She was wearing designer jeans, had her nails professionally done, and was wearing sandals, jewelery, perfume, and makeup for a trip to a wooded area. Of course she wasn't going to like walking in the woods. She was, however, fantastic when it came time to to feed 200 kids in the Interpretive center. She organized the washing of hands, distributing of lunches, wiping of messy mouths, and clean up of the area in record time.

 

The teachers appreciated both of us being there. The ranger assumed I was the person in charge (I have no idea why) and the teachers (knowing I was a science person and a teacher in training myself at the time) happily allowed me to let him continue to think that. The teachers took charge of crowd control, I made decisions about what activity to do next with the ranger, and the fashion mom was in charge of keeping things tidy. A good time was had by all. Yep, it really does take all kinds.

[+4 Paws And Then Some]

Cemeteries are indeed interesting places, but I agree that if the cache is placed on the grounds that it would be in poor taste. All the cemetery caches I've found have been located outside of the gates, but even then I feel odd walking happily across a cemetery playing a game while others are sadly visiting a gravesite. I find myself slowing my walk so I don't attract attention to myself.

[+edscott]

But it made me wonder how many of us think even stop to consider all the things beyond our control that happen to burial plots other than just sitting there being "sacred space" --People working, worms and moles tunneling through, birds sitting on the headstones, tree limbs being blown onto the stones, weathering and erosion erasing the lettering etc.

 

Not to mention graves that are dug up for parking lots, road and building construction. Or sometimes just paved over.

 

After some research my father found out where my great grandfather was buried. My dad was speaking with the caretaker trying to find out exactly where the grave was so we could visit. After checking records, the caretaker informed us that the headstone had been taken down and buried on top of the grave. He said it's done to old graves to make mowing easier.

 

He informed us that the headstone could be dug up and replaced if we wanted them to do it - for $500.

Ouch, sorry about your great-grandfather.

 

There is a convenience store in the next town that is built over an old graveyard. There are still five or six stones in the corner of the parking lot, but county records list at least 100 burials there. In Indiana, it's easier to pave over a graveyard than to get the permits to remove and relocate the burials.

 

And near Reading PA there is a grave that is now under a paved street and the headstone serves as part of the curbing. And it is, or at least was, a virtual cache...

 

All in all I'd rather walk through a cemetery looking for a cache than lift skirts in a parking lot.

[+edscott]

Here is a cache I found a couple days ago.

 

Any comments ?

 

 

Yeah. It's too exposed. It'll go missing quickly. And is that stinging nettle? It's not nice to hide a cache in nettles.

 

Doesn't look like a nettle to me, but yes the box needs a bit more cover.

[+PT_Tex]

I like going to the old cemeteries. You can learn a lot about the history of the area. I take pictures of some of the old headstones and statues. I think the cache should be in a place that doesn’t disturb anything, never on or under a headstone. I have a cache at a cemetery where you find words on the headstone and it leads you to the cache. I get all positive response from catchers that have done it. There is a cache at the cemetery where my father is and the story is an alien from a crashed spaceship is buried there. How cool is that.

[+Clarkbowman]

Im a newbie who just today broke 10 finds. One of the ones I looked for today was in a cemetary. I didn't find it but I have to admit that I felt very uneasy while looking. I just felt like I was being disrespectful by playing a game in a place like that.

 

I probably wont go back to that one but I wont rule out all cemetary hunts just yet.

 

Anybody else think maybe these places should be sacred, or is it just me?

 

 

I myself love them, but go with your gut. If you don't like hunting a type of cache don't. I have felt the same way at a few other caches and have since disabled some of my own hides that where similar. As you cache more your approach to caching will evolve. Every cacher out there is a bit different. I think that is what makes us all a bit nuts in our own way

[+Ockette]

If I have any say in the matter, my headstone will hinge back to reveal an ammo can.

[+Ockette]

Ooh, my first doubled post.

Edited November 26, 2008 by Ockette

[+agap2]

Ooh, my first doubled post.

 

my first post. I like cemetry caches, full of history!!

[+joranda]

I once made love in a cemetery at night a long time ago, after a Halloween party, with a red haired Sorceress I met in front of the fridge. Took me some time to put back the cloth strips well enough to walk home, (I was a mummy) but we had a blast. We figured the locals wouldn't mind seeing a little action, since they had not got any for a long time.

 

Imagine getting caught by the police right during the show!

 

And I thought I was the first to do that as a teen. It was a fun night!

[The_Brownies]

Caching in a cemetary really should not be thought of as creepy. Actually if you think about it, the bodies are 6ft down in a cement crypt inside a metal coffin. By walking over the grave you are not being disrespectful. I sometimes go to cemetaries to cache, and there are times when I have come out of them with tears in my eyes.

 

Cemetary caches are a very sobering experince that we are mortal, and we all die. But to forget about people all together; that is the real tragity. Have you looked at some of the graves and wonder, who are these people and what were they like? I remember reading the grave log left by a mother for her 16 year old daughter. In 1994, this girl was killed at the age of 16 driving home from school. He mom started a log, and each year she leaves her daughter a note. The mother obviously still greaves the loss, but I think it would be a neat idea to do a documentary on this young woman.

 

When I begin my teaching career in a few short months, I have thought about starting a rememberance project where one assignment is for my students go to a cemetary and locate a grave. Then I want them to research that person to see if they can find out anything about their lives. Then I want them to do a Ipod video about the person. Don't you think it would be interesting to know, who they were and what they did? In my eyes, no body's life was meaningless and a cemetary cache is to me a rememberance of those who have gone before us.

[+Tahoein' Bunch]

There are a few that we have done mainly Old Cemeteries, they do not bother me at all but Fresgo Hates them. I was really suprised at that just another piece of land, We did one in Madera that is Chinese imagrints that probably worked on the Rairoad 5 or 6 head stones on the side of verry busy road with a Histoical Monument. I've lived in fresno for 30+ years and never had an Idea that there were theese small cemeteries.

[+Unkle Fester]

Gomez, Morticia and the whole family used to play wake the dead in the family cemetery. We would run around with shovels and dig up the coffins then pound on them and tell each to wake up.

 

No one ever did. But the fun and joy it brought us, together as a family.

 

I have a few in graveyards and try to be respectful. I like finding them too. The ones I look oddly at are the single headstones people hide by behind apartment complexes. Very wierd at times.

[+Bmxer11]

I kinda feel disrespectful too.I also get the feeling that im being watched and those"beings" dont want me to be there.actually the first one i found was in a cemetary.that was up in idaho where my grandma lives.i live in vegas and there is a cache like that by my house that i heard is super easy but im not going to do it.

[+Snoogans]

I have a few in graveyards and try to be respectful. I like finding them too. The ones I look oddly at are the single headstones people hide by behind apartment complexes. Very wierd at times.

 

Here is one of the coolest ones ever. A pet cemetary in the middle of freakin' nowhere. No cache there anymore, but such a cooool location.

[+Proud Soccer Mom]

I have a few in graveyards and try to be respectful. I like finding them too. The ones I look oddly at are the single headstones people hide by behind apartment complexes. Very wierd at times.

 

Here is one of the coolest ones ever. A pet cemetary in the middle of freakin' nowhere. No cache there anymore, but such a cooool location.

 

LOL @ the fake find log on that cache!

[AZcachemeister]

It's all about perception.

For some folks, a cemetery is about death, and dead people.

Death is a part of life, is it not?

For other folks, a cemetery is a place to celebrate the lives of those who have passed on.

Otherwise, why do we need them?

Cemeteries are MEANT to be visited...respectfully.

[+BAMBOOZLE]

Cemeteries are one of my very favorite places to cache.........lots of history and interesting reading.

I don't think they allow you to place them there anymore which is a shame......they could at least allow virtuals. When placing them it was important to be sure that nothing sensitive would be violated and give good clues and cache descriptions to ensure this.

I know cachers that still place them there but they state its private property with permission granted......it is because its their plot.

[+Proud Soccer Mom]

Cemeteries are one of my very favorite places to cache.........lots of history and interesting reading.

I don't think they allow you to place them there anymore which is a shame......they could at least allow virtuals. When placing them it was important to be sure that nothing sensitive would be violated and give good clues and cache descriptions to ensure this.

I know cachers that still place them there but they state its private property with permission granted......it is because its their plot.

 

In my area you can still place in cemeteries if you have permission from the powers that be.

More Than Three (GC1HVH7) is my latest hide of this nature. But you are correct that if you own the plat, you do not need permission to hide a cache within the plat's boundaries.

 

Although, since Virtuals are merely Waymarks without organisation, I do choose to Waymark quite a bit more. It allows me to bring people to the cemetery and write the history of the place, especially one that few know about and it'd be unthinkable to place a cache there, and may also provide an opportunity to biography a particular person, or spotlight an interesting type of monument (aka, headstone). It could even make known the unknown.

[marikun]

 

In my area you can still place in cemeteries if you have permission from the powers that be.

More Than Three (GC1HVH7) is my latest hide of this nature. But you are correct that if you own the plat, you do not need permission to hide a cache within the plat's boundaries.

 

How would you prove that? Would you need to present a title dead? Photograph of the dead?

[+Proud Soccer Mom]

 

In my area you can still place in cemeteries if you have permission from the powers that be.

More Than Three (GC1HVH7) is my latest hide of this nature. But you are correct that if you own the plat, you do not need permission to hide a cache within the plat's boundaries.

 

How would you prove that? Would you need to present a title dead? Photograph of the dead?

 

When I hid one on my dog's grave, I didn't have to prove it. My word was enough. Someone who's willing to lie to get a cache published is pretty low and disgusting.