Graveyard Caches

[addisonbr]

Question. How do you feel about graveyard / cemetery caches? I get the sense that some folks in geo-world love them, while others find them a bit on the disrespectful side. Does it make a difference if there is no physical container (i.e., a virtual waypoint or a question to answer for a puzzle cache)?

A cemetery cache on Long Island was retracted by NY Admin recently... That would make it the sixth cache in my general caching space to be retracted by NY Admin in the last year that I'm aware of - two being bridge caches, two with proximity issues, and the other being a cache submitted with a fraudulent ID. I don't know if this sixth one was retracted because it was a cemetery cache or if that's coincidental and it was actually retracted for a different reason. (For those unfamiliar, a retraction is like an archival except that it's as if the cache never existed - you can't pull up the cache page any more, you can't read the logs even if you know the log URL, etc. It seems to be used when the reviewer feels that the cache should never have been approved in the first place, and wants to quickly erase the evidence. I've only ever seen NY Admin use retractions - I see a lot of archivals from Pofe and OReviewer but have yet to see them retract a listing.)

[peeves79]

I personally think cemetery caches are cool. More fun at night. But I seem to be the odd man out in that feeling when I cache with others. Question though. Was this the cemetery cache in Nassau that was listed as a multi cache but was more a multiple virtual cache? You know kinda like cache a movie redux but without the photos.

[Child Of Atom]

Personally, I could care less. For me it is essentially parkland. But then... I'm an atheist with no particular attachment to the dead. I've hunted cemetery caches, most were on the outskirts, just at the edges, but I have seen a few that were smack in the middle of a grave plot. Neither really bothered me.

I can see the different perspectives. The state of SC finds cemetery caching disrespectful enough that they passed a law specifically banning it. I guess the idea of someone "playing a game" near the remains of a departed loved one could be construed as poor taste. However, most graveyards are open to the public and allowing of visitors, toursists, researchers and the like with little or no restriction placed on them. With that attitude I see no problem with caching nearby, as long as you aren't actively desecrating a grave or causing anything in the way of destructive behavior. A virtual waypoint is nothing. A random teenager is more likely to cause harm than a cacher looking for some info on a headstone.

The retractions... that's a whole different discussion.

[halijusapa]

[Bonick0]

I generally don't care. As long as property or headstones are not damaged, I'm essentially just visiting a park. And sometimes you get to see beautiful sculptures and gardens. I'm sure there are people of a completely opposite opinion.

[hallycat]

I love old cemeteries and having a cache near or in one as long as it's not on a grave site which would be disrespectful to the living relatives doesn't bother me one bit.

[Tatanka49]

I have always assumed cemeteries to be private property so I always wonder if the cache is a known entity or not. I did many cemetery caches in Nova Scotia--and just about everyone of them stated in the description that the cache was not on cemetery property proper or that they received permission to place it. That may be a quirk of the Nova Scotia reviewer.

I am doing more and more of them. I did one in NJ last week (MAM and Dog & Bear did too after the Irish event by Avroair) where the cache was missing when I got there. I found it, eventually, but it was thrown on the ground maybe 50 feet from where it belonged. It was in a tree directly next to a headstone. Perhaps the grave owner's family found it (it was hanging from a bright red hook) and assumed it was trash or just didn't want it and threw it away. By the time MAM and D&B found it, I had restored it to its missing location. At another cache nearby, I ran into a local cacher who said that most of the cemetery caches nearby are being muggled. Maybe he was referring to the one I found.

As a UU, I too am not worried about stepping on a grave except in respect to the occupant. Cemeteries are big parks. I was talking to the manager of St Micheal's over in Jackson Hts (by the Jackson Hole Diner) and he said he was thinking about an advertising campaign to get more living to use their facilities. But on the other hand, I spoke to the manager of Linden Hill cemetery in Ridgewood (next to my school...I had my AP Environmental Science class doing a project on longevity and needed to get real data from 400 tombstones) and he said that while he didn't mind the class being there, he would prefer to not open it to the general public because of vandalism. Then you get Greenwood in Brooklyn that gives out tourist maps when you visit...so I think it's a mixed bag even within the cemetery professional community.

When I cache cemeteries, I have a new tradition (I've been doing it about a year and a half now) My Mom always used to feed the squirrels and ducks in the park near her assisted living facility. The day after she died, my sister and I were cleaning out the room and found the 'special' bag where she kept the peanuts and popcorn and old bread. We went to the park, had a good family cry and fed the remaining food to the wildlife. When I went to her grave site in Pinelawn, I left some peanuts 'for the boys' on her grave. I started noticing and doing more cemetery caches and so I now carry a jar of peanuts in the car so that anytime I visit one (or any type of memorial) I "feed the boys" in her honor. I had it listed as a public bookmark but some clown complained that bookmarks are public and that did 'nothing for him' I decided not to take it down as it is a list of cemetery and monument caches that someone may find useful. (This same guy commented on all my bookmarks and said they were all stupid...even the DeLorme and County Challenges ones. I wish the comment wasn't anonymous--I would give him a piece of my mind)

Anyway, if cemetery caches are the new craze, I think I will place one in Pinelawn too. Mom would appreciate it, she never cached but she knew I did and found it fascinating. She was a hiker and backpacker until she was in her mid-70's and if GC came along 20 years earlier, I'm sure I would have been trying to keep up to her. And that too is my final resting place. So I can have a cache for 'forever.' and everyone can come out and 'feed the boys'.

J

[lekogm]

Cemeteries were originally designed as a place where people could go and celebrate the dead. Apparently, people would go and picnic with their dead relatives.

So yeah, I don't think going to a cemetery to cache is a bad thing

[halijusapa]

[Tatanka49]

No, I've done that one and it's easily a half mile away.

J

[EastVillageFamily]

I know a neighborhood graveyard that opens to the public for semi-annual parties, including food, music, and games. So I think it needs to be treated as private property open to the public, where the local folks will determine what activities they think are okay.

[Harry Dolphin]

As I've mentioned, I do not do cemetery caches. They go on my ignore list. IMHO, cemeteries are for paying respect to the deceased, not places for playing games. Your mileage may vary.