Cemetary Hides?

December 2, 2003

Hi, all,

Do you think that cemetery hides are a good idea? The guidelines don't explicitly list them as a no-no, but I have some qualms.

Thanks,

- Team Og.

4.8k · December 2, 2003

I can think of a couple of cemetary hides in our area, and both are offset caches. One is in a pioneer cemetary (maybe six or seven tombstones), and the other is in a small community cemetary that takes you to the resting place of an interesting historical figure.

I don't see anything wrong with cemetary caches per se, but I think they have to be thoughtfully put together.

December 2, 2003

We went to a cemetary hide a few weeks ago - I don't think there is a problem with them, as stated prior, if they are thoughtfully done. The one we went looking for had the final location near a freshly dug grave for a sixteen year old. The grave had several momentoes, etc. We didn't feel right continuing in our search. I'm sure this particular grave was not there when the geocache was placed, but it kinda "took the wind out of our sails" so to speak. So although I see nothing wrong with them, we left from that search feeling so bummed, I doubt I'll go to any more hides in a cemetary.

1.1k · December 2, 2003

The cemetary caches I have found have been filled with lots of interesting history and so far I have enjoyed them all. One thing to note though is that a lot of cemetaries do not allow personal items to be left behind, which would include a geocache. I would recommend to make it a multi taking the seeker to various graves of historic significance, or of famous people, and then put the final cache just on the outside of the cemetary, or near a fence line.

December 2, 2003

You would think that people would be dying to place a cache in a cemetary

But seriously: There are a few around here in historic cemetaries which seem to be large enough to accept them without them being obtrusive. Many of the tombs in the cemetaries are very old and only few people that visit them are actually family members in mourning (although some are, and there is an area adjacent to them with more recent "residents").

I think I would share your reservations about one in a cemetary and have avoided seeking the ones I mentioned above. While some, even most people would be respectful you can never really tell how people will behave. While the permanent residents would not care very much, the serenity and peace that vistors other than geocachers would expect of the place might be upset by someone zig-zagging around following the device in thier outstretched hand.

But I suppose that the cache would be placed in a pretty remote location. I guess that it would come down to good judgement. A cemetary cache should be placed with good reason, and with assurance by the owner that it and visitors maintain respect and discretion.

December 2, 2003

I would only place a cache at a cemetary if it was an old one (ie, spooky) or has historical signifigance. I think it would be disrespectful if a cache was placed at a local cemetary that is visited often or if there are services done there often.

It's sort of odd to have muggles watching over you when you are poking around a local park, I couldn't imagine having to try to be descreet if a service was going on!

24.7k · December 2, 2003

Sooner or later one of us cachers is going to kick off and leave instructions that our headstone have a secrete compartment to be made into a cache.

It's how you go about a hide in a cemetary that shows respect, or a lack.

2.3k · December 2, 2003

Sooner or later one of us cachers is going to kick off and leave instructions that our headstone have a secrete compartment to be made into a cache.

It's how you go about a hide in a cemetary that shows respect, or a lack.

That's the best idea I've heard all day! Cool!

December 2, 2003

I would get creeped out way to easy. I have had a hard time with caches that are open and exposed to geomuggles. I can't imagine doing a cache in a cemetary. We have a very cool local puzzle cache that I am avoiding because it skirts private property.

December 2, 2003

There's one that was just placed in our area by one of the best hiders around -- somewhat larger than a micro. A bunch of people had DNFs on it because the coords were off. for the first day. Even with the right coords, it is not an easy find (I DNFed it this morning.)

My concern is the same as the old black lady in the movie Sunshine State, when she visited her church's cemetary that had been encroached by a golf course. As she pitched a golf ball off a plot:

This should be a place of rest, not a playground!

Edited December 2, 2003 by Team Og Rof A Klaw

2.1k · December 2, 2003

I have to mention something here which is that some cemetaries were built to have people (living people) come visit them for the day. There is a large garden cemetary in Boston/Cambridge that has the beginnings of a multicache (based on someone famous buried there) and a virtual that is the best view of downtown Boston I have ever seen in my years here.

I agree that I would not want a cache hidden in a cemetary simply because it's green, there was a tree, and I could put a ring of 0.1 miles without hitting another cache in it. Some cemetaries, like the one that my grandparents are buried in, are more active, more open, and less reasonable for a hide. One other cemetary in Boston (right on the Commons/Gardens) had a cache in a tree in a *very* public corner of the cemetary. While I found it very interesting to read the tombstones and the history (I found a group re-burial of a number of people reburied after the excavation for the recent subway digging), it also felt a little disrespectful to pull an ammo can from a hollow in a tree and root through Falun Gong pamphlets and lobster magnets in someone else's resting place and historical site (the cache has since disappeared...it was a little *too* public I guess).

So, I think some cemetaries may be appropriate for things like looking at famous graves (Penn and Teller already have their gravestone in Southern CA with the 3 of clubs on it as part of a magic trick in one of their books....I just don't have any reason to start a cache there...) and certainly starting an offset/multi in a cemetary is truly respectful as it highlights our history and such...virtuals are also good when there's something unique (like the tremendous view of Boston from the west atop the Washington Tower)...but putting a geocache in a graveyard as if it were a park does not seem as good a plan.

9.2k · December 2, 2003

If it's an active cemetery, I prefer to use a virtual there (some interesting or historic headstone, perhaps). Then use that to direct them to the actual cache, located elsewhere.

"Don't mess with a geocacher. We know all the best places to hide a body."

December 2, 2003

I think it's ok in good taste but we did a cache in one cemetery placed by a young person and when we got to the cache there it was on top of a above ground grave, even the hint give the name to the person in the grave. Now I had a problem with this. What would happen say if your logging the cache and the relatives show up to pay there respect and see you and the cache on the grave. What would you say? I posted a note on that cache saying the Idea for the cache was good but we disagree with thee area that he placed the container, and his reply was, "Happy you found it ok! but please...the man died over 65 years ago. I doubt it really matters". This was in a active cemetery. Now that kind I have to disagree with.

tdjvolks...

3.5k · December 2, 2003

Cemetery hides seem to be pretty popular around here. It seems there's almost always some woods on the edges of cemeteries in our area and they are practically perfect for some caches. I've done 2 or 3 cemetery caches of my own. I did have to archive one because of vandalism in the cemetery--at the request of a cemetery board member. Personally, I can't imagine anyone I'd want watching over a cemetery more than most of the cachers I've met.

Once local cacher used tombstones in cemeteries on each end of the county as hints in his multi-cache. Others use them as hints to offset caches. All of them I've seen are tastefully done, though. In one cemetery I've actually had people with family members buried there write cachers and thank them for the kind comments they've made about the tombstones.

Bret

3k · December 2, 2003

This has come up before. Try a search for more replies to the question. You may have to search cemetery and cemetary and cematary, since not everyone spells it right. I personally think a cache in and old and interesting cemetery is fine. I wouldn't want to run into someone's funeral going on, and if I did I'd leave and come back later. But the ones I've done have been very cool, even historic. I ain't afraid of no ghosts!

4.8k · December 2, 2003

Sooner or later one of us cachers is going to kick off and leave instructions that our headstone have a secrete compartment to be made into a cache.

That is funny. Just yesterday, I told my boyfriend that when I die, I want a big metal pikachu grave marker and that it should include a compartment for a cache!

December 2, 2003

Cemeteries must be a sub-specialization of mine... I've found or placed 40 to 50 cemetery caches. Rural caches are often tupers hidden along the inside perimeter of the fence, or film micros placed up in a tree. Urban caches ditto, but safe from landscapers, more often protected as an offset multi based on a tombstone math calculation. Actual family plots, of course, are a private space. Remember to state the hours for cemeteries that lock the gates at night.

Besides use for the departed, cemeteries are made for the living to visit. They are often placed atop a hill with a contemplative view, are groomed with landscaping and stately trees, and are decorated with carved ornamentation and architecture. They are rich in history and geneological information. Some stones even have poetry for visitors to read.

Cemeteries have administrators, a board of directors or owners, and grounds rules. It is readily observed that the placement of mementos and tributes is common practice.

PS: Yes, there are topic threads on cemeteries available for searching.

December 2, 2003

When I head into a cemetary, I instinctively head to the densest fenceline. Imagine my suprise last week when it was in the very center. A tree had been cut down and in the hollow of the stump, there was the cache. It's probably been 60 years since a burial there so it probably doesn't get many other visitors.

2.1k · December 2, 2003

We've found several from cemetaries. I've always wondered about the 'respect" issue as I can see how we look wandering around a cemetary. Back home (Georgia) most of the cemetaries I had been to, the graves were usually marked off with marble edging around and have gravel on top. You know where not to walk! But I've noticed up here in New England where the oldest cemetaries in the US are, that there is no defining each grave. So when we walk around, we feel like we are walking on a grave. Which I guess we are. The caches we found at cemetaries are usually in the stonewalls around them. Some require the use of a headstone in the cemetary while others haven't. On had us do a puzzle using headstones and it lead us to a pathway into the woods in the cemetary. That was kind of creepy to do because it was around dusk when we found it...

1.1k · December 2, 2003

I've placed 2 cemetery caches and they've been well-received (well one has, the other I just got approved today). In both cases they take you to interesting local history or interesting/unique gravestones.

I include the following verbiage as the first paragraph of these cache descriptions:

- - - begin paste-in - - -

Given this cache's venue and the need to show proper respect for it, there will be NO DIGGING REQUIRED to locate the final cache container. Please DO NOT engage in any behavior that might even POSSIBLY be construed by the locals as improper, disrespectful, or sacrilegious toward the grave sites.

- - - end paste-in - - -

Seems obvious, but it puts searchers on notice before they even get there that extra care will be needed. Seems to be working.

FWIW...

-Dave R. in Biloxi

December 3, 2003

My wife and I maintain a cemetary where her mother is buried out of respect for her mom and family.

Kids from the adjoining property were using the cemetary for rollerblade practice. I don't think that shows respect

I personally would want to know that the board had approved the cache unless it was virtual or was on the grounds, not in the graveyard area.

We take alot of care to make sure that te cemetary is presentable for the families paying respect to their loved ones.

That said, I believe that if respect is shown and permission is granted, you could find some pretty good history out about some cemetarys.

38.2k · December 3, 2003

Sorry if I'm repeating what was said here, but I think if its tastfully done, its OK. Place an ammo box behind Janie Jone's headstone, who died in 1992? That's not a great idea. But a cache in an historic cemetery is fine in my eyes.

1.4k · December 3, 2003

I have done a few verts. in a cemetery, a few micros, and even a micro in a pet cemetery but I haven't seen an ammo can in a cemetery yet. I would balk at that as it is a little awkward to handle an ammo can while respecting your surroundings and other people, as needed when in a cemetery.

4k · December 3, 2003

Personally, I think even poking around in the trees or fencelines surrounding a cemetary is a bit too conspicuous, and therefore a tad disrespectful. However, verts are great for cemetaries, as they can be done and still look as though you are trying to find a departed friend or loved one. In fact, this thread has given me some great ideas for verts. I have a collection of photos I took when I was in college of unusual headstones, ranging from a carving that looks just like a fallen log to an actual V-Twin motorcycle engine. Many of these are interesting to me, simply because the people who placed them seemed to be celebrating the life of the deceased, rather than mourning the death of the living.

Sparky

Some days you're the bug, other days you're the windshield.

Edited December 3, 2003 by Sparky-Watts

1.3k · December 3, 2003

Personally, I think even poking around in the trees or fencelines surrounding a cemetary is a bit too conspicuous, and therefore a tad disrespectful.

This is another case where circumstances differ. I grew up visiting old gravesites. and many of them are well of the road, surrounded by forest, and the total number of visitors every year are probably me and the caretaker. In Connecticut many of the sites I would visit had almost no graves added since 1800. At Indian Cave State park, there are some of the oldest gravestones in Nebraska, including one for a "fisherman" and a completely seperate one in a seperate site for the arm that he blew off while fishing and another one made out of "white brass" instead of stone. In west Omaha there are some old gravestones carved into the shape of tree trunks.

These sites are all but forgotten. If caching gets people to remember these monuments to history, I, for one, have no complaint as long as they respect the site.

4k · December 3, 2003

Good point, bons. I'm used to cemetaries that are still used for burials, and though the one here is a mile out in the country on a dirt road, I still encounter someone about every three visits there. Out here in the sticks, I guess people don't have much else to do besides visiting old friends.....

4.5k · December 3, 2003

Hi, all,

Do you think that cemetery hides are a good idea? The guidelines don't explicitly list them as a no-no, but I have some qualms.

Thanks,

- Team Og.

If you have qualms now, how do you think you're going to feel after you hide it?

Personally I think it's tacky and disrespectful. It's also probably illegal and against the rules of this site if the cemetary is private property. Even if it' not, you're suppose to have "tacit" allowance to place a cache someplace - and I doubt if any cemetary management willgive you permission.

Even virtuals aren't too hot. In my dumb days, I went after a virtual that was Babe Ruth's grave site. There's was 6" of snow on the ground and I probably stepped on about 15 graves looking for the right headstone. I felt pretty bad later when I thought about it and decided cemetaries weren't for me just yet.

4.8k · December 3, 2003

I think Bons has a good point. I visited a cache in a grave site in North Carolina last year. Apparently it had gotten grown up and forgotten for many, many years. But then an accidental fire uncovered it. I was facinated by the history and enjoyed visiting the grave sites, reading the headstones, and paying respects more than finding the cache. I was so curious about the history of it all. I figure that if I had been dead and buried for hundreds of years and people suddenly saw my grave because they found a cache there... well... OK!

Yes, a graveyard cache should be tasteful. Also, most areas are private property and so permission would be good.

Of course, like I said, I'll give permission (and request) that a cache be made at my grave with a distasteful metal pikachu (I really wasn't kidding, but I fear my family and boyfriend thinks I am)! I have always been a fairly tacky person when it comes to myself. But I am respectful of others.

Edited December 3, 2003 by carleenp

1.3k · December 3, 2003

I would limit myself to virtuals when placing caches in a cemetary. Unless, of course you place the container on a plot your family owns.

December 3, 2003

Hi, all,

Do you think that cemetery hides are a good idea? The guidelines don't explicitly list them as a no-no, but I have some qualms.

Thanks,

- Team Og.

One of the first caches (probably within the first 10) I did was in a cemetary. Great spot! One of my caches (a puzzle type) is hidden on the border of a cemetary. Nothing wrong with it, but that's my opinion (as long as the cachers show some respect and don't disturb things). Makes for great night caching too. ;-)

1.1k · December 3, 2003

I have 4 caches at cemeteries. All are outside the cemetery, none are are inside.

2 of these are remote, one very remote and all are pioneer historical cemeteries. At least one cemetery is still active. A history of each location is included with the cache and so far, one is over 18 mo. old, all of these RIP caches have been very well recieved.

Would I place one in a cemetery? No! Do I have a problem with atracting people to a historial site? No.

Happy Geocaching!

December 3, 2003

In the winter up north it really doesn't matter. In some places they tombstones are buried under snow. I couldn't visit my father's grave two Christmases ago, because they had 7 feet of snow in a week! You couldn't even find the gate into the grounds.

4k · December 3, 2003

I've always been a bit squeamish about walking on graves, but there are times when I just don't know exactly where they are. Most cemetaries lay the bodies east of the stone, but not all.

I think 7 feet of snow would change the terrain difficulty of a cache just a tad, wouldn't it?

December 3, 2003

I have seen a couple of neat virtual caches in cemtaries. Usually has you finding the grave of an interesting historic figure. In Colorado there is one that leads you to the grave of Alfred Packer. The only american convicted of cannibalism. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...65-ff0873741e2e

4k · December 3, 2003

I have seen a couple of neat virtual caches in cemtaries. Usually has you finding the grave of an interesting historic figure. In Colorado there is one that leads you to the grave of Alfred Packer. The only american convicted of cannibalism.

Poor Alfred....if he'd only had a GPS!

1.7k · December 3, 2003

Having done one cache which is in the grounds of a active crematorium-Graveyard, even though the cache is located away from the main buildings and the Graves, I personally would not do another cache in a Graveyard which was active. After looking at a map, I thought this one was located in a urban forest, which has boundaries with the Crematorium-Graveyard site on two sides. After spending 3/4hr bushwhacking with my son, getting soaked to the skin, we reached the boundary fence only for the Etrex indicating the cache was 10m the other side of the fence. We nipped thru a nearby gap, and quickly located the cache. I did not feel right filling out the log book in such a place, and was glad to leave. To make matters worse you can actually drive thru the grounds to within 10m of the cache. As for inactive Graveyards, I have no objection to caching in them as long as you do not have to disturb any area near to the graves to find the cache. Dave

2.3k · December 3, 2003

including one for a "fisherman" and a completely seperate one in a seperate site for the arm that he blew off while fishing

These sites are all but forgotten. If caching gets people to remember these monuments to history, I, for one, have no complaint as long as they respect the site.

Um, "shotgun fishing", perhaps?

I think a well-placed Virtual would be okay, even a tastefully done micro would be good (no digging necessary, please) but placing a full-sized traditional cache in a cemetary would be disrespectful, IMO.

December 3, 2003

I hunted (and found) a cache in a cemetary in Orlando around Halloween time. It was early evening, getting dark, and was kind of creepy. The cache was well-hidden behind a huge 1800's era monument, in some shrubs, so it was not disrespectful to anyone's grave. I really enjoyed the experience.

4.5k · December 3, 2003

... In Colorado there is one that leads you to the grave of Alfred Packer. The only american convicted of cannibalism.

Did he die of food poisoning?

4k · December 3, 2003

Ok, this is close to the topic, but don't want to start another thread:

Has anyone used tombstone info such as date of death and birth as part of the actual coords for another cache? I've been thinking about it, say the date death is 3-28-03, and find a cache spot that matches, like W097.32.803. Just an example....or at least add or subtract the dates from the actual coords.....I've had way too much coffee and spare time today......it was just to cold and wet and windy to go caching, which is what I had planned to do today.....stop me before I post again.....aaaaaaAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggggggggggGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

errr, ummmmm....... geoCaching

December 30, 2003

Well, personally, I like most of the people in here don't mind a cemetary cache. I've always been fascinated by old cemetaries myself.

One thing that I find quite interesting is the problem that geocachers have wandering around in the cemetary. I don't think that geneaology people have that problem. They walk all over looking for headstones that they want to do "rubbings" of. Does a person think it's disrespectful to take a piece of paper and take some lead and do a rubbing? But yet, some feel it's wrong just because a geocacher has a different objective for being in the cemetary and walking around with a GPS in their hand instead of a book of names.........hmmmmmmmm.......

1.2k · December 30, 2003

I just say: GCGZZ5

1.2k · December 30, 2003

Has anyone used tombstone info such as date of death and birth as part of the actual coords for another cache?

That's very common here in Sweden....

1.2k · December 30, 2003

The one we went looking for had the final location near a freshly dug grave for a sixteen year old. The grave had several momentoes, etc. We didn't feel right continuing in our search. I'm sure this particular grave was not there when the geocache was placed, but it kinda "took the wind out of our sails" so to speak. So although I see nothing wrong with them, we left from that search feeling so bummed, I doubt I'll go to any more hides in a cemetary.

Well, that can be found anywhere - even outside cemetary.

I was caching yesterday (monday) and was at a cache located underneath a ski jump facility. I heard today that a geocaching friend of mine was there a while ago, and at that time was it a lot of candles around the cache. A young man jumped from the top of the ski jump construction down to the ground and landed next to the cache. It was a suicide...

In England (this I saw in the UK forum), they found a gun next to a cache in London. Just the other day, they found a dead body next to an another cache in the forest...

1.2k · December 30, 2003

Also, geocaching can upset people at other places then cemetary.

Like, people working in a botanic garden can be upset by geocachers walking

around searching for a cache or clue.

What about all those locationless caches, where people suddenly spots a yellow Jeep and starts talking photos of the car with their GPS in one hand and the camera in the other... Perhaps the owner of the car doesn't want his car on photo?

December 31, 2003

I really like cemetery caches around my house. One is offset and the other ones are far away from graves in the woods, to the point it seems like a normal park. I'm thinking of hiding a cache at a little known, small cemetery, but I'm not sure about land issues just yet.

December 31, 2003

All cemetery caches should be archived, period. A definite NoNo. However, there's at least one vicar (not CofE) who doesn't have a problem...

http://www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid=ad...e2-694f09551cf6

http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?ID=48781

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...54-31b48ec85ba8

December 31, 2003

Recendly did a new cemetary multi-cache in our neighborhood. Two 35 mm cannisters hidden in the cemetary around the headstones and a regular size in the woods at the edge. We did it at night because that's the best time to be hunting around cemetarys but I don't see a problem with them during the day either. As long as you're respectful when others are around.

December 31, 2003

I live near a very old cemetary and have thought about hiding a cache there. Some of the graves date back to the late 18th century. It's inactive now because of the low water table.

After reading some of the posts I think I will do a cache there. I will, of course, be respectful of the graves and not actually hide one near a grave but in some woods close to the cemetary.

1.1k · December 31, 2003

I live near a very old cemetary and have thought about hiding a cache there. Some of the graves date back to the late 18th century. It's inactive now because of the low water table.

After reading some of the posts I think I will do a cache there. I will, of course, be respectful of the graves and not actually hide one near a grave but in some woods close to the cemetary.

Skeletons scare me. Soggy and moldy skeletons from the 18th century scare me BAD. Remind me not to try this one out. :blink:

Edited December 31, 2003 by Johnnie Stalkers

Cemetary Hides?

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