Cemetery caches – owners opinion wanted

[RSplash40]

I like this idea, I’m not a huge cemetary cache fan…not at all really but they are starting to be the only thing close to home for me. A standard naming convention is a great idea to find them quickly and in my case put them on the bottom of the list to do.

I would like to see GC.com put in attribute for cemetary’s, that would be most helpful for me.

/.02

[Team Hemisphere Dancer]

I would be happy with this designation. I am not a big fan of cemetery caches and this would allow me to filter them out.

If they were hidden in a manner of a virtual type where I could learn something about a person of significance that is resting in the Cemetery I would be fine with them. But using them as a playground and having to climb around a shrine of a religious symbol or on a gravestone I find disrespectful.

[Jay Mills]

What it really boils down to is personal preferences. I personally enjoy cemeteries and find them to be very relaxing and peaceful as I stroll through looking at headstones and monuments and wondering about the lives of the common folks interred there, not just those persons of significance. I wonder what life was like for these individuals during the period of time that they lived. Some markers I have “discovered” are quite old with births dating back to the late 1700’s and I am fascinated by them. I am also saddened when I see the marker of a baby or a child who may have died of a disease that today would be cured in 7-10 days. I feel proud and grateful when I see a marker of a soldier that laid down his life so I may have the life and freedom I have today. Aren’t these markers in and of themselves a historical record of fact? Isn’t what I described more or less what a virtual cache was designed to accomplish by slowing us down just a bit to reflect on some tidbit of information? Cemeteries aren’t a place of death, they are a resting place of life if we just take the time to see it. I enjoy the quite moments that cemeteries provide to reflect on my own mortality (yep sorry to report we will all die some day) and to pay homage to those that have passed before me. I do all this with and without a GPSr. I don’t view a cemetery as a “playground”, contrary, I see it as a classroom and a place to learn about myself and the society I live in. If I found a cache that required me to “climb around a shrine of a religious symbol or on a gravestone” I would write the owner a well worded email suggesting a more respectful placement of the cache in the area.

[zuma]

Here is a little more info on SQ caches, for those interested.

The first Spirit Quest cache was Feb, 2004. Here is the link to the original: GCHRFJ. Since then, SQ caches have spread to Ohio, MI, Ontario, and Washington. I also see we got our first one in WI tonight.

Here is the profile of ISQ, which lists their SQ hiding format, which is quite detailed and kind of interesting:

http://www.geocaching.com/profile/Default.aspx?guid=137db00d-5d17-476f-83c7-748cd5351e75

Also, the Ohio group uses a standard paragraph on all of their SQ hides, which you can see here: http://www.nwogeo.org/SpiritQuest.html

Also, some folks might be interested to know that there are viritually no cemetary caches in MN. Cemetary hides are banned in SC.

Questions to discuss:

1. Is there a desire to number the SQ caches, and why?

2. Is there a desire to develop a paragraph similiar to the Ohio paragraph? (Personally, I would like to see this, but interested in comment.)

3. Is there a desire to make it as complex as the ISQ format? (personally, I dont think so, but interested in comment.)

[Team Deejay]

I’ve hunted several of the ISQ caches. Most of them were above average locations. On the other hand, I think the excessive “boiler plate” on the ISQ cache page description adds nothing and distracts from the point of the caches. If we want to have “rules” for SQ caches, we can post them on a web page and link to it from the cache page.

I can’t imagine that we would want to adopt the ISQ rule that SQ caches must be placed by a person and a dog. I find this very odd.

Also, I kind of chuckle at night caching restrictions on cemetery caches. In my mind, night is the best (perhaps the only) time to hunt caches in cemeteries, as it minimizes the chance of disturbing anyone who is mourning. Now obviously if a cemetery is right next to a home, that is a different case. In all the cemetery caches I have hunted which had night caching restrictions, the cemetery was in the middle of nowhere.

[Team Deejay]

Oh, and I am ambivalent about numbering (which is why I forgot to put it in the first post).

[marc_54140]

Working backwards thru Zuma’s three points:

3. Is there a desire to make it as complex as the ISQ format? (personally, I dont think so, but interested in comment.)

Absolutely not! Keep it simple. Something in the title is all I think is necessary.

2. Is there a desire to develop a paragraph similiar to the Ohio paragraph? (Personally, I would like to see this, but interested in comment.)

I’m open to this as well. We could develop a paragragh, and then let it up to the individual cache owners to use it or not.

1. Is there a desire to number the SQ caches, and why?

I do not think it is necessary to number the caches, but I prefer it. When I started my WCC series I numbered them to help keep track (especially where some had the same names). However, I have not seen any other cachers with cemetery caches shown up with the same names, so that is why it is not necssary.

But, if you are familiar with my WCC series, you will also realize when you are looking at your GPS, these caches should up as WCC317 or WCC046, etc, and so are readily identifiable as such.

I think if we were to prefix our Wisconsin cemetery caches with SQ or WSQ that should do the trick. (I will plan on changing my WCC to whatever the new initials are, but keep my numbering).

So, we would see something like:

WSQ Minckler Cemetery
WSQ Cousin Paul’s Cache
WSQ Hilltop View
WSQ 046 Potter

[marc_54140]

Sample paragraph:

The “SQ” in the cache name above signifies Spirit Quest, a project started in Indiana (GCHRFJ) to distinguish caches that are set in cemeteries. The idea has since spread throughout the Midwest and elsewhere.

Wisconsin cache owners are joining in as of 2007, with the designation WSQ prefixing their cache names. As elsewhere, this is a voluntary effort to help designate and highlight these special areas.

Please be respectful of the area, and observe their rules and posted hours which are typically sunrise to sunset.

[Team Deejay]

I like the paragraph, Mark. Good job on this.

I also think we should discourage caches named with just WSQ and the number. In my opinion, it is harder to remember caches which are named with only a series and a number.

[mapmakerj]

As the owners of the above mentioned Minckler Cemetery cache, ( plus a couple more cemetery caches that are almost ready to go ) we are not opposed to a prefix addition to cemetery cache names. We do think that keeping it simple is the way to go.

[marc_54140]

OK, cemetery caches owners – some comment please!

What designation would you like to see?

SQ?
WSQ?
other?

[Team Honeybunnies]

I like the WSQ. It follows the form, yet is also our own.

[mapmakerj]

We also like the WSQ.

[Team Deejay]

WSQ for me.

[marc_54140]

Any more comments?

[Author]

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