Should cache by a temporary memorial be archived?

[Ageleni]

Interested in opinions on this.

https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC7WBY2_lullaby-on-stop

 

On one hand, I can see how people would be reluctant to find it.  And it may be thought of as disrespectful.  On the other hand, the toys are more moldy and torn every time I go there, so I can't imagine that the memorial will be there for very long.

 

(The person who wrote about safety is referring to the fact that you have to cross half of a 2-way street to get to it.  It's in the median.  It's a pretty slow traffic area and there is rarely more than one car in sight at any given time, so I don't really consider it a problem.)

[+niraD]

How long do such temporary memorials last in your area? Perhaps you could temporarily disable it, rather than archiving it. Once the memorial is gone, you could re-enable it.

[+Max and 99]

It seems disrespectful to me. 

Edited June 30, 2020 by Max and 99

[Ageleni]

1 minute ago, niraD said:

How long do such temporary memorials last in your area? Perhaps you could temporarily disable it, rather than archiving it. Once the memorial is gone, you could re-enable it.

 

This is a good idea.

[+MNTA]

How is this any different than cemetery caches? Besides the cache predates the memorial. 

 

I like how you give the option for specific instructions now to help. 

 

We forget that if someone does not want to find a specific cache they can simply walk away and add it to their ignore list. Funny that the person complaining still searched for and logged the logged it.

 

Maybe you can add a little more info if it is available. 

 

 

[+Goldenwattle]

The cache was there first. I would leave it. I find that presumptuous of the person to make a NA. No different to a cemetery cache, or a cache beside other memorials; a number of which I have found. In many of those cases the cache is actually respecting the memorial, as otherwise no-one would visit it. If the memorial is deteriorating, it appears those who placed it there are no longer visiting it now either. You say it's possible and give instructions how to reach the cache without disturbing the memorial. That is the right thing to do. Leave it.

[+Bear and Ragged]

Leave as is. As the fact is mentioned in the description.

Or Temp Disable until the items are removed.

(Wonder if the family have been unable to get there? What has the Coronovirus situation been like in the area?)

Edited June 29, 2020 by Bear and Ragged
spellin

[+cerberus1]

I'd ask the person who gave you permission to place there, what they think.    

They might have completely forgotten about your cache, after this terrible incident.

 

Remember seeing pics of a Christmas tree cache in a median once.  I thought that was a rarity.

[+dprovan]

I'm not seeing the issue. If it bothers you, I'd understand why you'd do something about it. If I were the CO I might consider possible side effects in the same way I'd worry about a new flower garden going in next to my existing cache because, even though it's unrelated, it might get torn up by geocachers looking for my cache. But in this case, if anything I'd probably continue the cache precisely because it can enhance the memorial and preserve the memory after the memorial is gone. I mean, come up: "Lullaby on...STOP?" is a really appropriate name for a memorial to this child's death.

 

But I think it's just rude for someone to call you disrespectful because someone happened to die at your cache's location.

[+Max and 99]

16 hours ago, Ageleni said:

Interested in opinions on this.

https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC7WBY2_lullaby-on-stop

 

On one hand, I can see how people would be reluctant to find it.  And it may be thought of as disrespectful.  On the other hand, the toys are more moldy and torn every time I go there, so I can't imagine that the memorial will be there for very long.

 

(The person who wrote about safety is referring to the fact that you have to cross half of a 2-way street to get to it.  It's in the median.  It's a pretty slow traffic area and there is rarely more than one car in sight at any given time, so I don't really consider it a problem.)

Did you change the name of the geocache after the memorial went up? 

[+RocTheCacheBox]

17 hours ago, niraD said:

How long do such temporary memorials last in your area? Perhaps you could temporarily disable it, rather than archiving it. Once the memorial is gone, you could re-enable it.

 

Since the cache was there first I would go this route also. I would also rename the cache to something like "On Broadway". I cant help but think of what the little girls parents would think of the name. Without knowing, I would change it.

 A LARGE percentage of caches I've done have been in cemeterys. The difference I see (in the several hundred I have done) is cemetery hides (with a few thoughtless exceptions) tend to be many feet or yards away from a headstone. Many, even around the perimeter of the grounds. 

[+Harry Dolphin]

14 minutes ago, RocTheCacheBox said:

 A LARGE percentage of caches I've done have been in cemeterys. The difference I see (in the several hundred I have done) is cemetery hides (with a few thoughtless exceptions) tend to be many feet or yards away from a headstone. Many, even around the perimeter of the grounds. 

 

Yes.  I found one in a cemetery recently.  There was a headstone leaning against a tree.  The cache was behind the headstone.  I called it 'irreverent'.

[+TriciaG]

I like the TD idea.

I don't know how the cache is hidden, but you'll want to keep an eye on it in case the town removes the cache container along with the memorial stuff. Or maybe remove the container yourself for now.

[+niraD]

2 hours ago, Harry Dolphin said:

Yes.  I found one in a cemetery recently.  There was a headstone leaning against a tree.  The cache was behind the headstone.  I called it 'irreverent'.

I found one in an active cemetery, sitting right next to the headstone. It was placed by the family of the deceased as a memorial item, according to the cemetery's policies for memorial items left at the grave sites.

[+MNTA]

4 hours ago, RocTheCacheBox said:

 

Since the cache was there first I would go this route also. I would also rename the cache to something like "On Broadway". I cant help but think of what the little girls parents would think of the name. Without knowing, I would change it.

 A LARGE percentage of caches I've done have been in cemeterys. The difference I see (in the several hundred I have done) is cemetery hides (with a few thoughtless exceptions) tend to be many feet or yards away from a headstone. Many, even around the perimeter of the grounds. 

 

The best hide I've seen in a cemetery  was in the little flower holder. The family placed it there to honor their fathers love for geocaching. That was the exception though most are off to the side or close by.

[+Joe_L]

Per a couple other posts, consider changing the cache name.  Although unintentional, the name and the accident are a bit jarring.

 

There is a similar situation near me, although the events were in the opposite order.  In 1993, there was a fatal accident on Route 19 that was the result of school bus breakdown.  In 2014, a CO who had not lived in the area very long placed a cache few hundred feet away with a Rolling Stones tribute name of 19th Nervous Breakdown.  Since I'm a long-time resident, I was initially disturbed by the name until I determined that the name was just an unfortunate coincidence. Only one other finder noticed the name, but then, there were 20 years.

 

The roadside memorial, well up the road from the cache, is still there an maintained after all these years.

[Ageleni]

On 6/29/2020 at 1:54 PM, Max and 99 said:

Did you change the name of the geocache after the memorial went up? 

 

No, I was referring to the song "Lullaby on Broadway," and the street name is Broadway.  But as someone noted, it does seem apt, since a little girl is "sleeping" there now.  Lullabies lull children to sleep peacefully.

[Ageleni]

On 6/29/2020 at 4:40 PM, TriciaG said:

I don't know how the cache is hidden, but you'll want to keep an eye on it in case the town removes the cache container along with the memorial stuff. Or maybe remove the container yourself for now.

 

It is unlikely to be spotted unless you are a geocacher, and even then only if you are looking for it.

[Ageleni]

On 6/29/2020 at 3:33 PM, RocTheCacheBox said:

I cant help but think of what the little girls parents would think of the name.

 

It is unlikely that they are geocachers.  If they are, and they know the site, and the name bothers them, they are welcome to contact me to change the name or remove it.

[Ageleni]

Thanks everyone for the replies.  My initial thought was a TD, but after reading through everything, I have decided to let it stay as it is.  People are welcome to pass it by if they feel uncomfortable reaching through the stuffed animals to grab it.

[+lee737]

The description suggests it is just a quick park and grab at nowhere particularly special, if it were mine I'd quietly archive it and put it elsewhere.....

 

[+Sagefox]

I agree with lee737.  A person lost their life here earlier this year and it seems to me that the cache should yield to the memorial.  There are plenty of other places for a p&g micro. 

The callous comments here are making me think that people are not taking a moment to understand the seriousness of what took place and how it has affected so many people in that girl's former life.  There is no correlation here to a cemetery cache.  This is active grieving.

 

I have been to three or four memorial caches at crash sites over the past 18 years but they were by close friends and meant to be a memorial.  This is not that and nor should it be if you don't know the family and especially if it were simply to justify a cache at this location.

 

Why not archive it and place a new cache, or two, somewhere away from here?

Edited July 9, 2020 by Team Sagefox
typo

[+MNTA]

6 minutes ago, Team Sagefox said:

I agree with lee737.  A person lost their life here earlier this year and it seems to me that the cache should yield to the memorial.  There are plenty of other places for a p&g micro. 

The callous comments here are making me think that people are not taking a moment to understand the seriousness of what took place and how it has affected so many people in that girl's former life.  There is no correlation here to a cemetery cache.  This is active grieving.

 

I have been to three or four memorial caches at crash sites over the past 18 years but they were by close friends and meant to be a memorial.  This is not that and nor should it be if you don't know the family and especially if it were simply to justify a cache at this location.

 

Why not archive it and place a new cache, or two, somewhere away from here?

 

You assume that people that visit this cache don't take a moment in reflection. That is what I do in cemetery hides.

 

Again no one forces anyone to find all caches. Put it on your ignore list if you can not stand seeing an unfound cache on your map.

 

[+Sagefox]

5 minutes ago, MNTA said:

 

You assume that people that visit this cache don't take a moment in reflection.

 

 

Sorry for not being more clear.  I was referring to posters in this topic, not cache site visitors.

[+dprovan]

15 hours ago, Team Sagefox said:

The callous comments here are making me think that people are not taking a moment to understand the seriousness of what took place and how it has affected so many people in that girl's former life.

Where do you get that? What callous comments are you talking about? How would you have any idea whether anyone took a moment or in any way questioned the serious of what took place?