Cemetary Caretaker, Negative encounter WWYD?

[+justintim1999]

7 hours ago, noncentric said:

And if there have been instances where cachers have disrupted ceremonies or solemn visits, then that would be an even worse reflection on the geocaching hobby. I once went for a cemetery cache while a group of people were visiting a gravesite. I didn't want to be a distraction to them, so decided to go for a couple other caches and come back later. They weren't there when I came back, so I was able to grab the cache.  If they were still there, or another group was there, then I would've just skipped it.

Of the couple dozen cemetery caches I've done, it was only that one time that someone else (besides another cacher) was anywhere in the cemetery.

Your example outlines my views on how to handle every geocaching situation.  

I'm a big believer in the Golden Rule.   It only takes a minute to think about how your actions may effect others.    When given time It's always wise to stop and think before you act.    In your example it would have been easy to talk yourself into going for that cache.    You came to the conclusion that one smiles wasn't worth potentially disturbing something that was truly important.    

 

[+Manville Possum]

10 hours ago, noncentric said:

Of the couple dozen cemetery caches I've done, it was only that one time that someone else (besides another cacher) was anywhere in the cemetery.

 

My interests in exploring and Waymarking cemeteries is old historic ones, not those still in use. I think that could be part of the problem, hiding a geocache in an active cemetery and making it's write-up on the cache page sound spooky. I pass on those. Now the Spirit Quest caches I have searched for have been educational and taken me to those old forgotten burial sites of pioneers and civil war soldiers. I don't have to find a geocache to enjoy a visit to an old historic cemetery.

[+noncentric]

3 hours ago, Manville Possum said:

13 hours ago, noncentric said:

Of the couple dozen cemetery caches I've done, it was only that one time that someone else (besides another cacher) was anywhere in the cemetery.

My interests in exploring and Waymarking cemeteries is old historic ones, not those still in use. I think that could be part of the problem, hiding a geocache in an active cemetery and making it's write-up on the cache page sound spooky. I pass on those. Now the Spirit Quest caches I have searched for have been educational and taken me to those old forgotten burial sites of pioneers and civil war soldiers. I don't have to find a geocache to enjoy a visit to an old historic cemetery.

Of course, there are cemeteries that may no longer have new burials, but they are still visited by family/friends/etc. I have several family members that were buried in a cemetery that is on the National Registry of Historic Places and it could be a bit disruptive if someone was caching nearby while myself or others were visiting there. But actually, no physical caches are allowed there, so I guess I won't personally be bothered. There is a Virtual in that cemetery though.

 

But yeah, old cemeteries have less 'traffic' and so the probability of disrupting anyone by caching there is much lower.

[+niraD]

3 hours ago, Manville Possum said:

My interests in exploring and Waymarking cemeteries is old historic ones, not those still in use. I think that could be part of the problem, hiding a geocache in an active cemetery and making it's write-up on the cache page sound spooky.

FWIW, I've found a cache in an active cemetery. The cache itself was placed at the gravestone, as one of the memorial objects the family was allowed per cemetery policy. And the cache listing focused on the historical events that shaped the life of the deceased. I thought it was very well done.

[+AB&JB]

I personally love cemetery caches. Of course, if there are visitors or a service, we skip the cache and return later. In our area, there are many small, forgotten cemeteries with civil or revolutionary war graves. I sometimes think that when we visit and read the stones while caching, cachers may be the only visitors they get.  

[+RufusClupea]

On 7/24/2017 at 10:31 AM, Manville Possum said:

 

My interests in exploring and Waymarking cemeteries is old historic ones, not those still in use.

I think it's an excellent point re active vs. "inactive" (sorry--not familiar with the official term) cemeteries.  OTOH, one cemetery in my area that has an active cache is both active and historical (established 1838) with many historically relevant... "sites".

And as I noted earlier, there are many cemeteries (nationally) that are still active that offer tours, etc.

This is a tough question, and one that I don't think can--or necessarily should be--resolved by a hard & fast rule.  If there's one thing that's been shown in this thread, it's that many/most of us ARE sensitive about the issue, and will respect the rights/sensibilities of others.

[+niraD]

18 minutes ago, RufusClupea said:

This is a tough question, and one that I don't think can--or necessarily should be--resolved by a hard & fast rule.

If there are hard & fast rules, then I think they are the existing guidelines about local laws, permission, and restricted areas.

Of course, after listing cemeteries as locations that may be restricted, the guidelines state, "Note that some cemeteries permit cache placement." So ultimately, cemeteries (whether active, historic, or both) are explicitly an area where there are different rules in different situations.

[+Mn-treker]

The original post spoke of the perimeter of the property. In the woods. It is not clear as to ownership of that location

In my area a lot of the cemetaries are managed on an irregular bases.

So when I do one I make sure they are empty. That is always best.

[+barefootjeff]

On ‎25‎/‎07‎/‎2017 at 3:59 AM, noncentric said:

Of course, there are cemeteries that may no longer have new burials, but they are still visited by family/friends/etc. I have several family members that were buried in a cemetery that is on the National Registry of Historic Places and it could be a bit disruptive if someone was caching nearby while myself or others were visiting there. But actually, no physical caches are allowed there, so I guess I won't personally be bothered. There is a Virtual in that cemetery though.

 

But yeah, old cemeteries have less 'traffic' and so the probability of disrupting anyone by caching there is much lower.

Most of the cemetery caches I've done have been very old ones with gravestones dating from the 1800s or early 1900s, so there's little chance of running into grieving relatives. Usually the gravestones are virtual waypoints, using names and dates to solve a field puzzle, with the physical cache either outside the cemetery or in a tree stump on the perimeter. I've never encountered one with the cache actually on a grave.

[+LedDuck]

I had someone run up on me while I was looking for my very first cache. He asked if I "lost something." My kids were with and they started explaining what we were doing. He asked me to spell it for him so he could Google it. I drive past this place 4 to 5 times a day. Several days later I saw him looking for the Cache. I have since purchased the cards from geocacging.com to hand to people if they ask what I doing. I have gotten sneakier though so I haven't needed to use any.