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THE HUNGRY TREE LbNA #21934

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Apr 11, 2006
Location:
City:Phoenixville
County:Chester
State:Pennsylvania
Boxes:1
Planted by:Kodi's 1766 Friends
Found by: Riversol
Last found:Mar 6, 2010
Status:FFFFFFFFFFOF
Last edited:Apr 11, 2006
This letterbox is one of 5 placed by Girl Scouts of Freedom VAlley Junior Troop 1766 of Phoenixville PA as part of their Junior Girl Scout Bronze awards projects.
Box replaced 5/10/09
This box does not contain an inkpad.
Created by “Ocypete”


He left his office in the Phoenix Iron Co. Superintendent’s Building and went outside to where he had left his horse carriage. Climbing in, he headed out onto the street. Passing the Mansion House, he waved to a group of P.I.C. workers who were sitting out on the porch playing checkers.

Driving under the Reading RR Bridge he thought of his upcoming meeting with the representatives from the Schuylkill Navigation Company. He knew that they wouldn’t be happy with his decision to use the railroads instead of the river to transport his columns.

After crossing the river he turned his carriage left onto the towpath and headed towards the Locktender’s house, 7/10 mi. away. A train rumbled over the PARR Bridge as he passed under it. Several kids were fishing at the dock near Lock #60. He slowed his carriage and came to a stop. He tied his horse to a post and walked across the lock.

The Locktender’s wife was hanging out laundry, and said that her husband was showing his guests the other end of the lock. Pointing towards a path, she said, “Just follow the trail and you’ll see them.”

Following the path, he could hear the water rushing over Black Rock Dam. It had rained heavily earlier in the week, and the water was still up. He did indeed see the men, but they were intently inspecting the gates of the upper lock. He suspected that they were looking for damage from the storm. Deciding not to bother them at the moment, he continued on up the path.

The bluffs rose beside him. He saw a small boy poking into a cave high up in the rocks. “What are you doing way up there?” he called. The boy answered, “I haven’t seen my cat in days. She’s been missing since the storm. Her kittens are crying.” “I’ll keep and eye out for her. You be careful up there,” he said, and continued on his way.

He saw a large rock in a cleared area, and decided to sit a spell and watch the boats on the river. Having rested, he rose and followed the path to a creek. He was just about to head up the valley to his right when he heard the boy calling out behind him. “Hey Mister, this tree ate my cat!”

Turning, he walked back the way he had just come. 16 paces from the trail fork at the creek, he saw the boy looking into an oddly shaped hole in a tree near the river. He joined the boy at the tree. If you looked sideways, the hole indeed looked like a mouth. He could now hear the cat’s weak “meow.” Reaching in, he felt a cat and pulled it out. It wasn’t happy to see him. He handed the muddy, scrawny cat to the boy, who took it and headed off towards home, shouting a “Thanks, Mister!” over his shoulder as he went.

Standing up and brushing off his clothes, he decided that it was time he headed back to his meeting. If he hurried, he could make it in time for lunch.