I have a problem remembering dates. I had to come up with a
system in my head so I could remember our three daughters birth
dates. But yet every May 5th I remember a friend of mine from
church from back when we were teens. His name is Dwayne Sadler and
he was born on May 5th.
I lost all contact with Dwayne once we left High School in 1977.
I was in the process of moving to Biloxi, Miss by the U.S.A.F. in
1984 and was taking a bus back to my home town of Pensacola, FL and
Dwayne was on the same bus. We talked for hours catching up on
everything that had happened since we last saw each other. Dwayne
had joined the Army but had to take a medical discharge because of
complications with his diabetes. That was the last I every saw
Dwayne. Several years later a good friend of ours told me that
Dwayne had passed away due to diabetes complications.
Dwayne is gone but not forgotten. I think of him every May
5th.
While driving the back roads around Blewett three years ago I
came upon a lone grave. The head stone reads:
Pat King
killed
Sep. 23, 1892
Gone But Not Forgotten
On the white picket fence surrounding the grave is a small metal
plaque that reads:
Gone But Not Forgotten
Installed by
Gary Ronning
Robert Vargas
David Starr
Peter Christofferson
Seattle 6-7-59
I researched Pat King on the Internet and the only thing I can
find is on a genealogy site that lists this grave site as the
Scotty Creek Cemetery. It mentions that Pat died at the age of 18
or 19 due to a freight accident (
US GenWeb Archives).
This lone grave, out in the middle of nowhere, is the basis for
this series of "Gone But Not Forgotten" cemetery caches. I plan on
placing micro caches in several cemeteries. The idea is to help us
not forget our loved ones who have passed away.
I am making this a regular sized cache due to its location. This
is a LEAVE only cache. There are no items for trade. Please bring
an item, a picture, or anything you want to place in the cache that
reminds you of a loved one. The item needs to be small enough to
fit into a 4 inch circle. I plan on burying the cache container in
the area once it is full. This way it will be a lasting memorial to
our loved ones...who are Gone But Not Forgotten.
I placed a beautiful rock sliver that I retrieved from another
cache. It reminded me of my uncle Donnie who passed away in the
early 80's because of cancer. He was a rock hound and made jewelry
and belt buckles from rocks like this.
UPDATED 8/3/06 I found some information on this grave site on a
web site dealing with abandoned railroads and mining sites.
http://www.brian894x4.com/Washeastcascadestripday2.html
The grave of Pat King. This grave site is along an old mine
road. Pat King died in this very spot in 1892. He was hauling
supplies to the mines by wagon, when a wheel broke. When he jacked
up the wagon, and crawled underneath, the jack fell and he was
killed. He was buried on this very spot. However, the current grave
markings are a bit newer. A homemade metal plate indicates that the
grave site you see here was built in July, 1959. The site was in
remarkable shape for being more than 44 years old. On the wooden
tombstone is reads, Pat King, died September 11, 1892. Gone but not
forgotten. That's for sure. Few common people that have been dead
for more than 111 years have such a prominent grave site.
In His Service,
Red Bear
If you have the time and would like to take the scenic way back,
turn left at the pavement, yes, the brown sign is correct.