Cemetary Caching?

[freight_train]

That's my question.

Thanks.

[+New England n00b]

If you have permission from the cemetary caretaker, sure. If it is going to involve a specific, non-historical headstone (as in relatives may still be alive & visiting) I would think it would be a good idea to ask their permission as well...

[+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite]

I haven't ever seen a law written that forbids such caches. I've placed a couple myself.

[+Stem]

Permissions aside, I think you should be careful and respectful if you choose to place one in a cemetary. Please don't place one in an area that new graves could still be filled. I don't thoink many families would appreciate having people hunting around close to where they are trying to bury a loved one. If the cemetary is full, or at least that area is full, that may be different.

 

If it is going to involve a specific, non-historical headstone (as in relatives may still be alive & visiting) I would think it would be a good idea to ask their permission as well...

I think it may be tacky to ask a family if you could hide a cache on top of their relatives final resting place. Stick to an area away from the tombstones.

 

My .02

[+QuickKarl]

all the cemetary caches i have done are located in the fringe wooded areas. i feel this is the best area. i dont think id look for one by headstones.

Bronz

[+joefrog]

I think it may be tacky to ask a family if you could hide a cache on top of their relatives final resting place. Stick to an area away from the tombstones.

If I kick off anytime soon (hopefully not), ya'll have permission to hide one on my headstone!

 

I'll be buried buns-up, too -- that way you'll have a place to park your bicycle!

 

[+IndyMagicMan]

I'll be buried buns-up, too -- that way you'll have a place to park your bicycle!

OMG, I need some kind of warning before I read something like this. I was in the middle of a drink and just shot water out my nose. ROTFLMAO.

[+NCGrimbo]

I would suggest making your cemetary cache a puzzle cache that uses information from various headstones that lead to the final cache, which would be outside the cemetary.

[+Eric K]

The cemetary caches I've done are usually in cemetarys that are really old cemetarys that don't get many visitors.

 

Those cemetarys caches can be enjoyable as they are in out of the way, quiet, secluded places.

[WolfPack2099]

The cemetary caches I've visited have been not only really neat (seeing all that history), but also very respectful. I think as long as the placer keeps the respect issue in mind, I say go for it!

[+SixDogTeam]

Cemeteries and State Parks are probably the most popular places for rural caches, at least around here...

[+NightPilot]

Is there something about geocachers that make them unable to spell cemetery? There is no 'a' in cemetery, anywhere.

[+Alan2]

Back in the woods with Ranger Rick and Ranger Jim… Shhh, let’s listen in…

 

“Did yer hear what happened out at the old graveyard, Jim?”

 

“Ya mean the one we got when old Cyrus Longstreet kicked the bucket fifty years ago and left his land to the government? Ya know he stipulated the cemetery could not be touched and we would have to keep it open to family to be buried in”

 

“Yeah, that's it. Well, young Cyrus, Jr., his son, dies the other day. They were planning to bury him right next to his grand ole dad. While they were prepping the body, the gravediggers were diggin' away and unearthed a green ammo can they thought was a bomb. They thought fer sure it was one and called Sheriff Higgins who immediately called the bomb squad and the FBI and the Coast Guard."

 

"The Coast Guard? Well Higgins never really had it all together anyway. dadgum! I miss all the good stuff whenever I'm off. So what happened next?"

 

"Well, it turns out it wasn't a bomb but one of them geocachers who place it there. But it took so long to get the whole thing straightened out that the family got disgusted waiting and had Jr. cremated. The undertaker lost his burial fee and was so ticked off he threw the ashes in the ammo can and had the whole thing buried by the diggers. Ain't that sumthin' else?"

 

"Well, I suppose so. But isn't it against the rules?"

 

"To take someone's ashes?"

 

"No. To bury a cache."

[+New England n00b]

What, no love for Ranger Gordon?

[+Renegade Knight]

Hmmm... I pay tax to take care of them so I figure that makes them as public as anything else.

[+Doc-Dean]

Common sense and good taste should be leading factors on a placement such as this. It can be done, but it had better be well thought out.

 

Negative publicity on something like this can very damaging to the sport.

[+bons]

Common sense and good taste should be leading factors on a placement such as this.  It can be done, but it had better be well thought out. 

 

Negative publicity on something like this can very damaging to the sport.

Negative publicity on anything can very damaging to the sport.

 

Common sense should be leading factors on any placement.

 

As for good taste? We have a popular local virtual at the grave of an executed mass murderer. Even the local outdoors magazine looked on it favorable. Someone else has a multi starting at the same place Kevorkian got his start. Sure, there are people who are going to get offended but they're the kind of people who like to get offended. They're the ones that would rather complain about what's on the channel instead of turning off the TV.

[+Chuy!]

If a posted sign does not forbid it (or state it is private property) I would place one if I were so inclined. I wouldn't ask for permission; the caretaker may not like the sport based on his/her personal feelings which may not have any bearing on the legality of placing a hide in a cemetery.

[+Alan2]

You'll never convince a judge you didn't know the cemetery wasn't private property. Someone owns it? Just because you could hide a cache (illegally I might add) and the caretaker doesn't know about it doesn't mean you should. You wouldn't bring a bat and ball and play baseball with your friends would you?

 

How about respect for the dead and their families who consider that plot and cemetery holy ground. Would you hid a cache at Arlington or would your conscience say that's a no-no? Let's see, next to General Patton. Hmmm.

 

Don't civilians deserve the same respect?

 

Alan

[+LETaylor]

You wouldn't bring a bat and ball and play baseball with your friends would you?

 

How about respect for the dead and their families who consider that plot and cemetery holy ground.

Well said.

[+bons]

Would you hid a cache at Arlington or would your conscience say that's a no-no?

The Other Unknowns by TheKayakPack (GCG77Q)

Place of Honor by Bigcall (GC3E56)

Decades of Service by thehobos (GC741B)

Robert & Edward by flowerman (GCB86C)

Challenge to Pentagon by flowerman (GCA619)

Uncommon Valor by jandkl (GC4F35)

 

http://www.geocaching.com/map/getmap.aspx?...&lon=-77.069733

Edited April 29, 2004 by bons

[The Old Goat Patrol]

Perhaps you worriers should check out the different cemetery customs around America. You might well be surprised to find out all that happens in cemeteries. Not too many weddings though.

 

Would I put a cache in Arlington? Yes! How about starting a muti in Robert E. Lee's front yard, where Union forces decided to bury their fallen brothers? Think of all that we could learn about what America really means. Things like; fidelity, honor, bravery, sacrifice, duty and patriotism. Just because we walk around with a GPS in our hands does not mean that we are irreverent.

 

And the ground is no more hallowed at Arlington than it is in Forest Cemetery in Toledo, Ohio. Two Medal of Honor recipients rest there at their final post. Both are mentioned in Gumption Stumption. Who could stand at their graves and not be in awe?

 

If you choose to seek The Duke of Tralee you will learn a lot about Hall of Famer Roger Bresnahan. Just around the corner is Medal of Honor recipient John S. Kountz, Musician, Company G, 37th Ohio Infantry who put down his instrument and took up a musket at Missionary Ridge.

 

For you who, for one reason or another, are worried about caches in cemeteries, stay out. Cache somewhere else. [Kant spel.]

Edited April 29, 2004 by The Old Goat Patrol

[+Kealia]

It's all about respect.

 

I have yet to see a cache placed in a cemetery that wasn't:

1) Placed away from the actual graves if it was a traditional; OR

2) Placed by somebody who wanted to pay thier respects or share a very special marker/tombstone

 

I have yet to see a graveyard cache that was "guy who ate 50 hamburgers."

 

My last visit to Washington that included some caching took me to a graveyard and the markers for Brandon and Bruce Lee. I'm sure this was placed with the utmost respect and the logs indicate that those cachers who have found it have felt the same.

 

This goes along with everything else. There are right and wrong ways to do things....a little common sense and courtesy goes a long way.

[+EraSeek]

I also have seen nothing but respectful, tasteful, and HONORING cemetery caches. If I found it any different I would raise holy heck until it was pulled!

[+Red Clover]

I am planning on doing a series of cemetery caches for the small out of the way forgotten places. Nothing disrespectful. I personally like cemeteries. They are a lingering reminder of both the history of an area and our own mortality. If you are religious they may stir other thoughts, who knows. Many people do headstone rubbings, cemetery tours, or find the oldest marker quests with or without Geocaching. I hope to bring people to what are otherwise neglected areas. One cemetery I recently took my 7 yr old son to was, many years ago, the only place you could be buried if you were not caucasian in this city. (In the deep south most cities have a cemetery of this kind somewhere, though no one talks about it.) We talked about life and death and how stupid it was that people were judged by the color of their skin. It was educational in many many ways. Why should I not want to encourage others to go to that area, learn some of my local history and pay respects to what is a (more or less) bygone era in US history.

 

Edit: spelling and punctuation

Edited April 29, 2004 by Red Clover

[+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite]

One of my favorite caches ever is in a cemetery in Eugene Oregon. It is a virtual and it directs you to a certain headstone of a woman who was very popular for some certain skills. You had to let the cache owner know what was said on her tombstone. It was hysterical and I'll never forget this woman.

[+jcar]

I look for caches in cemeteries. Since even before getting into genealogy I would just stop and check out a cemetery. I enjoy wandering around in the quite setting and looking, thinking and reflecting on life and the lives of those present. My wife gets very tired of this.

 

My first exposure to geocaching (not what got me interested) was a friend who was looking for a cache in Seabeck Cemetery in Washington State. It is one of the most unusual cemeteries I have been to, in my limited travels. It contains two caches GCGC3D and GCC800. I probably would have found out about this cemetery eventually, but I’m glad I found it when I did.

 

The key is respect and common sense by both the hider and the seeker.

[+Bull Moose]

Is there something about geocachers that make them unable to spell cemetery?  There is no 'a' in cemetery, anywhere. 

It's not just geocachers.

 

From this cache.

(This is in the same series as one of the Seabeck Cemetery caches jcar mentions above.)

Edited April 29, 2004 by Bull Moose

[Pipanella]

There is a series of caches sort of near me that are specifically placed in Indiana cemeteries, by Lead Dog and Earth Dog (Six Dog Team):

 

“INDIANA SPIRIT QUEST”

 

The Indiana Spirit Quest series of geocaches will take you to a number of small, rural, historic cemeteries built by Hoosier Pioneers in central Indiana. You can map out a route and get a bunch of ‘em in one trip and at the same time learn a little about our history.

 

 

I believe they are up to 28 of these now. People love them.

[Pipanella]

It's not just geocachers.

 

OMG!

[+joefrog]

From this cache.

(This is in the same series as one of the Seabeck Cemetery caches jcar mentions above.)

 

Hmm, so THAT's where they got the idea! An AL cacher (hammerjane) has a Cemetery series as well!

 

And isn't that an alternate spelling? I thought both were correct!

[Pipanella]

And isn't that an alternate spelling? I thought both were correct!

Not according to Merriam-Webster!

 

The word you've entered isn't in the dictionary. Click on a spelling suggestion below or try again using the search box to the right.

 

Suggestions for cemetary:

 

  1. cemetery

  2. cometary

  3. symmetry

  4. cemeteries

  5. smatterer

  6. smattered

  7. smatters

  8. semierect

  9. San Martin

10. Sumatran

11. Sumatra

[uperdooper]

It's not just geocachers.

 

OMG!

a misspelled sign is a locationless cache.

[+Alan2]

I think as long as the placer keeps the respect issue in mind, I say go for it!

 

Respectful to whom? You? It's not your family buried there. It's not you who paid the burial fee. It's not you may be paying an annual fee for the upkeep of the property. You're a trespasser. Plain and simple. No different than going onto someone's rural property in the woods and planting a cache. And then inviting the world to follow you and trespass too. You cannot do that either. Or do you?

 

How would you like it if I went over to your property while your were out and clipped a bush here and sawed a branch off there because I thought your property would look better and I'm doing it out of complete respect for the property. Plus it would make the view better. Might even improve the neighborhood.

 

Right!

 

A cemetery is private property too. It's illegal and just plain wrong as me clipping your hedges even if everyone other than the owner agreed your bushes look better my way. After all, what does the owner know? What rights does he have?

 

Alan

[+res2100]

I enjoy cemetary caches, especially the ones with some sort of interesting history, but have any of you ever read the guidelines for a cemetary? I have and there sure are a lot of restrictions. The one around here specifically says that no personal possessions (which would clearly include caches) be placed. I guess that would explain why mine went missing...or perhaps I just didn't bury it deep enough.

[+Bull Moose]

A cemetery is private property too.

That's not necessarily true. A lot of older cemeteries fall into the public domain for one reason or another.

In the series I mention above a couple of the cemeteries are inactive historical cemeteries owned by various government entities and a couple of them are outright abandoned for 50 years or more.

 

Even the ones that are private property trespassing in a place like a cemetery can be a tricky issue. If you are there drinking and knocking over tombstones, yes, you'll be charged with trespassing. If you are strolling through a cemetery with it's gates open during the day, even if you know no one there, you'd never be charged with trespassing.

[+jeff35080]

Well, since I started all the cemetery talk last week with my post about the cast iron marker I found, I figured that I would at least comment in the thread.

 

First of all, I love old cemeteries. By old, I mean the ones that no longer have active burials.... the ones with graves that are 100+ years old.... the ones that you may accidentally stumble upon while deep in the woods or in very rural parts of the country.

 

Many of these old cemeteries have fallen into disrepair and are often the targets of vandals. I would like to think that a somewhat regular influx of geocachers into the area might make it seem as if the cemetery is still active and help ward off these vandals, whom I deem as 'sick' for vandalizing a grave site and marker.

 

Also, since many geocachers are often family units (myself included) I would like to think that the adults in the groups could share some of their local area's history with the children in the group.

 

I don't think I would ever hide a geocache in a cemetery like where my grandparents are buried. This cemetery has many burials a day and is quite active, but I see no problem with very old, rural cemeteries.

 

In my part of the country (USA) there are many segregated cemeteries and old slave cemeteries that have been all but forgotten. I would like to think that by respectfully visiting these old cemeteries that I have somehow managed to honor the lives of those that are buried there. I don't visit these places to knock over grave markers or to cause harm. I visit them because I'm interested in my history and that of the area where I live. I would like to think that the souls of those that are buried there are smiling down on me for taking the time to read their headstones and for pondering what their life was like 100 or even 200 years ago.

 

I hope that when I leave this planet that there will be someone like me that will occasionally visit where my earthly body lies and ponders what kind of life I lived. I hope they wonder why I have coordinates on my grave marker and I hope that there is a forum such as this where they can discuss the strange grave with ancient coordinates on it.

 

Anyways... that's just my $0.02 on the subject, YMMV.

[+Kealia]

How would you like it if I went over to your property while your were out and clipped a bush here and sawed a branch off there because I thought your property would look better and I'm doing it out of complete respect for the property. Plus it would make the view better. Might even improve the neighborhood.

 

Right!

With all do respect you're comparing apples to oranges here.

Nobody is talking about changing the landscaping, markers or anything else in the cemetery. We're talking about placing either a small item or no item (virtual cache) to bring attention to interesting locations/persons who may otherwise have been overlooked.

 

I too have stopped at many a cemetery just because it looked interesting and I wanted to look around and read the markers to learn a little about the people buried there and imagine what their life was like in their time.

 

I have yet to come across a groundskeeper or other personnel that was offended by my actions. Most are very willing to share stories and knowledge that they have about the people and area. This of course applies to cemeteries that are still used for current burials. Those that are not in use any longer (as Jeff35080 mentions) are even more fascinating.

 

These are places of great historical value and are meant to be shared. There's a reason that the gates are open and there isn't a guard at the gates asking who you're coming to see.....

 

This truly is an issue of respect. Handle these in a respectful way and I don't see the harm. Of course, the rouge few will always leave a bad impression and spoil it for the rest of us.

[+wildlife_magnet]

Hmm, so THAT's where they got the idea!  An AL cacher (hammerjane) has a Cemetery series as well!

 

Hey now, give credit where credit is due I helped with that thing too. I think most of our ideas came after researching the TSoBs.

[+Logscaler and Red]

We do cemetery caches. Lots of them so far.

 

I even have a few caches in cemeteries.

 

But we have been stopping by cemetries for a long time. We have even bought flowers and left them on the stones of people we have no idea who they are.

 

Respect is the key word.

And there is nothing wrong with stopping and walking and reading stones.

 

If people have a problem with other's - non family members - stopping and reading stones, they should ask themselves why said person(s) had those big elaborate stones in the first place. To brag. "Look at my stone." They show a persons status - percieved or real - in life.

 

And if you want to come trim my hedge or prune my trees, let me know when your coming over. I will leave the saw out for you while I go cache hunting.

 

But one thing people should be aware of. A lot of these places are closed from Dusk to Dawn.

 

logscaler.

[+joefrog]

But one thing people should be aware of. A lot of these places are closed from Dusk to Dawn.

Well, they SHOULD be, for reasons obvious to anyone who's ever seen a horror movie!

 

[GeoFD]

I think that is bad ju-ju

[+Planet]

TRAIN! You found the forums! Call me FreightTrain, I'll tell you where some really good ones are. By the way, are you coming to the Geojamboree ?

[+briansnat]

Would you place a cache in this cemetery?

 

 

An older photo of the same "cemetery". And its taking up 2 parking spots!

 

Edited April 30, 2004 by briansnat

[+bons]

That's just cool. Where is that?

 

And can someone tell me what the waypoint is for that cache in Eugene Oregon mentioned above?

[+briansnat]

That's just cool. Where is that?

 

Its in New Brunswick NJ and is actually a virtual.

Its the grave of a Mary Ellis and a story about it can be found here,

[+Wacka]

It's not a cache site, but there is a cemetery in the parking lot of Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, NY ( Home of the Buffalo Bills).

When the land was being cleared in the early 70s to build the stadium, workers found an abandoned cemetery. It contained the graves of the ancestors of the people who sold the land to the county. They stated that the cemetery couldn't be moved, so it is in the middle of the north parking lot. It is fenced in and not open to the public. As far as I know it is the only NFL stadium with a cemetery on the property!

Edited May 1, 2004 by Wacka

[+Kealia]

Its in New Brunswick NJ and is actually a virtual.

Its the grave of a Mary Ellis and a story about it can be found here,

Why oh Why didn't i know about caching 2 1/2 years ago when I was traveling out to New Brunswick quarterly .

 

Very cool.....thanks for posting Brian.

[+Logscaler and Red]

Bons:

 

Judy, Judy, Judy GC7B74

[+bons]

Added to my watchlist. Thanks!