Last year I remember finding a micro in a graveyard and I really didn't like it. I don't like the idea of going into a graveyard for the purpose of an activity like geocaching and letterboxing. My feeling is if you are going into one and are looking at the headstones it is one thing, which I believe is a show of respect for the people who have passed away. However, entering one for the purpose of a game is wrong!
I am writing this as I have noticed a couple of new letterboxes in my region that are located in graveyards and one in fact uses a headstone as a clue. This is a sign of disrespect and that is why I will not look for letterboxes or geocaches that use a graveyard or a headstone as part of the hide or the hide itself.
I do not see much discussion on the web regarding this and I am curious to how others feel regarding this.
Comments on this post?
posted by Baker63
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I halfway agree with you, and halfway don’t. A lot of the time, when we are finding a Geocache in a graveyard, we will stop and look at the headstones and pay our respects. I do agree that going in there for the sole purpose of Geocaching is wrong, as it is a place that should be respected. There are a few reasons that would make for great graveyard caches, like placing one by the headstone of a geocacher that has died, as a memorial, or in the family plot of a family who geocaches, as a memorial, or anything as a memorial. If they place it just for the sake of another geocache, it is 100% totally wrong.
I recently visited a cache in a graveyard that I felt was well done: GCHXKA
[html]http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GCHXKA&Submit6.x=0&Submit6.y=0&Submit6=Find[/html] The emphasis was on the location and memorializing a historical event which tool place there. That is really what a graveyard is all about, remembering the history of people.
I have also found caches that are just boring micros or containers in a graveyard that served seemingly no purpose other then just a location. I have to agree, the more I geocache, the more I feel that the purpose for using the location is more important then just placing another cache box in your area. This is probably more true for sites like graveyards and such. Increasing the “casual” traffic in such places for nothing more then a game can’t be good PR for geocaching in general either.
Personally, I don’t really see anything wrong with graveyard caches. Just like any other cache, it’s ultimately up to the cache finder to decide if they want to look for the cache. If graveyards give you the spooks, just move on.
That being said, I do think that one should be very respectful while there and that the actual cache should be well away from any tombstone.
I agree with CoronaKid. If I put myself in the shoes of someone who’s loved one is buried in the cemetery, it gives me the right perspective. I wouldn’t mind seeing somebody geocaching at the cemetery, but I would definitely mind if they were close to my loved one’s gravestone. Other than walking by or paying respects, stay away!
On the other hand, geocaching has brought me to little, out-of-the-way cemeteries that I would never have seen, otherwise. Even though I’m looking for a cache, I still appreciate becoming acquainted and feel like I’m getting a chance to “meet” people I would otherwise never meet. It’s an honor, really, to become part of their circle, even if only briefly and superficially.
I love graveyard caches. Low muggle activity and it gives me some quite time to reflect. I see no disrespect in using a headstone in a geocache clue and have found a cache that was at a geocachers grandfathers grave that was great. GCNWHW http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=57611cc8-cd9c-4d20-af4d-b4b302d4f1f4 As long as you are not defacing a grave it is better to get people in there so as to keep the unwanted types out. How many times have you seen headstones broke or tipped over by some vandal? Just as with CITO in a park, the more respectful people that visit the better off the area is. Just my $0.02
Personally, I would opt for not allowing (at least physical) geocaches in cemetaries. I can see how some might be placed out of respect for some one who was buried there, but still think it is generally not a good idea. That said, I was just in a small cemetary last week for a virtual cache for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the Revolutionary War. I thought this was a nice way to be made aware of this site. Since new virtuals are no longer allowed, I don’t see a problem with allowing first stages of multi’s in some cases. If I was running things, I’d want those approving the cache to consider each case on it’s own merits. Cemetaries are open to the public, but not a place I think we shoud be hiding tupperware, ammo cans, and such. Even if the deceased was an avid geocacher, there would generally be other families to consider. Besides, I wouldn’t think that many managed cemetaries would give permission anyway.
I feel that it is important to be respectful of the location, but as an avid genealogist (family history researcher), I am not bothered by graveyards. Perhaps a British perspective would help (all my ancestors are British and Irish). In most towns and villages in Britain and Ireland, the church yard IS the graveyard, and it is not a place to be kept out of. In fact, in my favorite village in northern England, Kirkby Lonsdale, the church (like in most old villages) is the centre of town, and you must pass through the graveyard to visit a popular vista spot, named Ruskin’s View. The graveyard surrounding the church in most villages has an almost parklike feel to it. That is not to say that such places are not treated with reverence — quite the contrary.
On the other hand, when two friends and I were geocaching last month here in northern California, we thought our GPSrs were leading us to the back part of a cemetery. Turns out the cache is just the other side of the back fence, but there IS a solution to a puzzle cache in that cemetery. What we encountered was a guy talking on his cell phone, not too softly, just sitting on a bench near many graves. Fortunately, he could not wake the dead, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t try. Given how respectful MOST geocachers are of the environs in which they go hunting, I would trust geocachers in cemeteries before I would trust the local teens or random guys with cell phones.
But should someone place a cache in a cemetery simply because it’s the only place within 0.10 miles without a cache? No. I would think that a multi- or puzzle cache that would involve honoring some of the departed would make a nice purpose for a cache in such a location. But I would be cautious and respectful. Will I be placing a cache in a graveyard? Not likely, and if it were, it would be in England before it would be here! (California)