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Wear a Poppy on Memorial Day LbNA #8449

Owner:Sojourner
Plant date:May 30, 2004
Location:
City:Chester
County:Hampden
State:Massachusetts
Boxes:1
Found by: Rubaduc
Last found:Nov 7, 2010
Status:FFFFFaFOFFFFaa
Last edited:May 30, 2004
For some of you, this may be your first experience with Letterboxing, so before you begin your search today, I’d like to convey to you some aspects of Letterboxing that I personally feel are important.
#1 – STEALTH:
Be discreet while searching for a letterbox if other people are around. You may need to postpone retrieving a box if you can’t do it without being seen. Remember - not everyone is “letterbox-friendly” and you should not jeopardize someone else’s letterbox for the sake of getting a stamp! When you have successfully retrieved it, carry the box away from its hiding place to stamp-in so as not to reveal the hiding place to passers-by or to draw attention to what you are doing. Make sure you are discreet when unpacking the contents of the box and stamping-in. Discretion and stealth are also required when you return the letterbox to its hiding place.
#2 – LETTERBOXING WITH CHILDREN:
Children are often enthusiastic to “do it themselves”, but adults should always oversee their activities and that they close up the box properly and re-hide it well.
#3 – RESPECT THE ENVIRONMENT:
Care must be taken in both finding and planting letterboxes. When looking for a letterbox, remember to leave the area just as, or better than you found it. If you look under a rock, replace the rock back where you found it. Don't pull out plants or rip up the ground looking for a letterbox. Avoid trampling vegetation while searching for the letterbox – if the box is off-trail, try not to create a “social trail” by following where previous boxers walked, it’s damaging plus it’s a dead giveaway to the location! Don’t tear apart that stone wall that has withstood hundreds of years of time to find the box.
#4 – RE-HIDE WELL:
After stamping-in and carefully closing up a letterbox, re-hide it as well or better than when you originally found it. Again, discretion at this time is very important. It is a good idea to cover the box with a handful of dead leaves, anchor the box with a flat rock so that an inquisitive animal can’t run off with it, and then sprinkle a few more leaves or twigs on top so it looks natural to passers-by. Look at it from different angles before you leave to make sure no plastic is showing. Never leave a letterbox out in plain sight! A well hidden letterbox helps ensure its longevity!
#5 – HAVE FUN!:
Letterboxing will take you to many new places – places that you may have never known about had it not been for letterboxing! It could be a short walk or a long, strenuous hike – there’s something for everyone’s preference and ability. Be sure to read the clues before you set off to ensure that it’s a suitable one for you.
Some clues are written simply and straightforward, some are more vague and require some thought and interpretation. Others are written in the form of puzzles and ciphers to challenge those who enjoy that sort of approach. Again, there’s something for everyone.
Whichever path letterboxing may take you, please respect it, enjoy it and have fun!
(taken from AQ and Letterboxing.info)

Thank you and now on with the clues! :-)



In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Written by a Canadian, John McCrae in 1915 during WWI, this poem became well known throughout the allied world by 1918. It inspired an American woman, Moina Michael to write this reply:

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies

She then adopted the custom of wearing a red poppy on Memorial Day in memory and honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She sold poppies to her friends and co-workers, and gave the money to needy servicemen. A French woman, Madame Guerin, visiting the United States, learned of the custom and took it one step further. When she returned to France she decided to hand make red poppies and sell them to raise money for the benefit of war orphaned children and widowed women. This tradition spread to other countries, and shortly before Memorial Day in 1922, the American VFW became the first veterans' organization to nationally sell poppies.

We planted this Letterbox while camping for the weekend in this lovely part of Massachusetts. Happy Memorial Day!


CLUES:

Location: Sanderson Brook Falls Trail.
Difficulty: Fairly easy walk on a wide packed dirt trail.
Time: Walking time is about an hour round-trip. Add extra time for stamping and admiring the Falls.

This trail is on Route 20, just west of Chester State Forest; and 2.6 miles east of the center of Chester Village. The turn-in for the trail is across from Bannish Lumber, (on the right if you're coming from Chester Village.)

After parking, set off on the wide trail heading southwards. You'll have to climb over a metal rail that's across the trail to block vehicles. The trail goes steadily uphill alongside the brook. You will cross two metal grid bridges over the brook. (If you have a dog with you, it will probably be afraid to cross them. Our dog, Molly was, and didn't enjoy being carried over either, so from then on, found her own way down the bank, across the brook, and up the other side!)

Soon after the 2nd metal bridge, the trail gets slightly steeper, the brook is still on your right. Keep a lookout for a marker on a tree on the right of the trail that points to the right showing the small downhill side trail that leads to the base of the Falls. The marker is not very conspicuous, it is a blue arrow/pointer with a picture of an acorn on it. (You'll know you've missed the side-trail if you get up to where the main trail turns left and away from the brook.)

Spend some time enjoying the Falls before you begin your return trip to find the Letterbox.

Return to the main wide trail heading back downhill to where you parked. Your destination is the stretch of trail between the two metal grid bridges......Step carefully as you look alongside one of the "bolder" hiding places on the west side of the trail......

Enjoy the walk, please stamp-in discreetly and re-hide carefully! Since I live in CT, I'd really appreciate an e-mail letting me know how you found my Box....and please log your find into LbNA and Atlasquest.