I was very reluctant to place any caches, as an owner, in a cemetery. I personally own one now but waited a long, long time before placing one. And the one I placed was a replacement for one marc archived. I probably won’t place anymore. The reasons I waited are many. The reasons I probably won’t place anymore are many.

Turns out I enjoy visiting rural cemetery caches. Cemeteries out in the country that don’t see many visitors otherwise. They are very interesting places to visit. I am a local history nut and this probably has something to do with why it’s interesting for me. Also, you see things you would never see anywhere else.

I am not as much of a fan of urban cemetery caches. Cemeteries like Highland Memorial in Appleton that have many many visitors each day. I feel out of place hunting caches in these locations when others are there grieving and I am not. So much so that when I have done caches here, I have also visited my loved one’s to sort of “legitimize” my presence.

The other thing I’ve always wondered about is, how many cemetery caches actually are placed with land manager/owner permission? It sounds like a gray area and I’ve talked with marc on the subject before but it’s always intrigued me. I would think it would be an up-hill battle to convince cemetery land managers to play “games” there.

The other thing I think is that like anything else in this game, quantity is not always a good thing. Quality is what we should strive for with these types of placements. i.e. just because a cemetery is there doesn’t necessarily mean it “needs” a geocache. Is this particular cemetery a place that others would enjoy visiting? Is there something intriguing? Something unique?

I visited a virtual cache that brought me to Al Capone’s grave site as the final destination. It’s in the Chicago area and on the WGA recommended bookmark list if you’re interested. This cemetery is an absolutely amazing place. My visit was the highlight of the business trip. There was so much history. Ten’s of thousands of headstones. There were crypts larger than my house. 25 ft tall cross headstones. Without geocaching I would have never even thought to visit this type of place. With geocaching I actually learned quite a bit about the area and it’s history through researching some of the names resting there and some of the names featured in the virtual cache itself (it’s a multi). Now that’s a place for a geocache.

Yes there are plenty of parks to put caches in. But some life experiences aren’t possible in a park.

Just my thoughts on the subject.

@CodeJunkie wrote:

I generally explain that there’s an internet site that lists interesting places to see and that this cemetery was on the list.

And now thanks to the GPS I’m mapping the gravesites of family members for historical purposes.

2 excellent suggestions. Thanks.

Some people, for whatever reason, do not like cemeteries. That’s personality.

If you are not sure, thing about these things:

1. Cemeteries are the final resting places our ancestors, friends, etc. But we place stone there, telling their names, dates, other odds and ends about them. Why?

Well, for anyone who visits, so they know something about the person before whose grave they stand. Might be a relative, or just a passerby.

2. Cemeteries are meant to be visited! Ask a caretaker, or manager of the site, whatever. You are sure to be told to come back, and often!

Cemeteries celebrate life, and death.

I know of cemeteries that hold art fairs on site. Car rallies, cemetery walks (where you get to met a ‘stand in’ for the person lying there), plays, art tours, etc.

Still not certain? Next you go for a geocache in a cemetery, do not hunt the cache. Instead, walk up and down the aisles. Look at ten different stones. Read the names, the dates. Who was this person? What did he or she do? Cause of death? Family? Relatives nearby? Children?

Cemeteries are living history books, carved in stone. Only, these books do not last. Many stones in older locations are so faded you can no longer read them.

For everything under the sun, there is a time………..

Great points. When I first started caching, you wouldn’t get me near a cemetery. Too morbid. Bad flashbacks of funerals. Etc. Now they honestly are one of my favorite “take-a-break” caches. You just never know what you’ll find (literally!). Today was another great example.

Stopped at WSQ Bluffton Cemetery. On the way in I was all about finding the cache. On the way out, I let my eyes wander. Here I had walked right past one of the most unique markers I’d ever seen.

I wasn’t looking for it, but I spent quite some time by it appreciating it and wondering about the person who was laid to rest there. The person who crafted it obviously wanted people to notice and appreciate it or else why spend the time on it. Sure, it’s a nice memorial for the person who was buried there, but there has to be more to it. I’ve now come to appreciate markers as works of art dedicated to the fallen. And like works of art, it is the impression the viewer gets back from it that makes it important to the viewer.

Without WSQ caches, I would miss out on treasures like this. I’ve said in another forum that I’m probably not going to bother posting the ALR pics on Marc’s 9XX caches, but I really appreciate the placement of them and completely respect the time and intent behind them. It is only because I want to make my OWN discoveries and not be on the hunt for anything else while there. When I’m focused on hunting something, I miss discoveries that make an impression on me…like today…and that is why I do this… to find things I didn’t know were there, not just a container with a piece of paper in it.

I’ve had a cemetery worker point me in the right direction

There is a cemetery above Cazenovia that has a life sized monument for a guy in the shape of a Harley.

The guy is not dead yet. He can go visit his spot and enjoy it now. I think we used it for Marc’s something different 900 cache.

@marc_54140 wrote:

I saw that pipe monument, and was tempted to post another 900 cache.

That is an amazing marker. My father has been a machinist for about 40 years…and my brother for almost 25 years. That marker would be a very fitting tribute to their life’s work.

I enjoy cemetery hides; they are some of my favorites. I love to see the history and art. The more rural the better. Not much beats an old hilltop cemetery out in the country.