S.W.A.K. Letterbox Hybrid
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Park Here: 42 04.169 / 071 23.185
Enjoy a pleasant walk in the woods. About 1/2mi roundtrip.
Keep to the paths until the very end - no bushwhacking
required.
If you’re feeling adventurous,swing by
Man, I Feel Like a Woman! while you’re here.
S.W.A.K. (Sealed With A
Kiss) - Where every day is Valentine’s Day!
The Mother of the American Valentine, Esther
Howland, was born on Summer Street (in Worcester). Visit this
Summer Street (in Franklin) cache and celebrate LOVE any ol’ time
of the year!
Here’s what’s happening at SWAK:
1. Letterbox
Stamp my log with yours, SWAK your log with mine.
2. Postcard
Bring pre-addressed, stamped postcard(s) for yourself, friends,
family. The next person to find the cache will leave their cards at
the cache site and mail your card(s) back to you and/or yours. This
is modeled after the fun cache:
Return to Sender. (I’ve left a few blank,
stamped postcards for folks who forget theirs.)
3. Cache
Love/Valentine trade items are available. Feeling sentimental?
Waxing poetic? Write something in the log.
Bit
o’ History:
Esther Howland (1828-1904)
Mother of the American Valentine
The Howland family owned the largest book and stationery store in
Worcester, MA. After graduating from Mount Holyoke at the age of
nineteen, Esther received an elaborate English Valentine from one
of her fathers' business associates, and was confident that she was
capable of making similar - even better ones. She convinced her
father to order lace paper and other supplies from England and New
York City and, with characteristic determination, made a dozen
samples, which her brother added to his inventory for his next
sales trip. Secretly hoping for as much as $200 in orders, they
were stunned when her brother returned with more than $5000 in
advance sales - more than she could hope to make herself.
She established the first all-female assembly line workshop, as
well as a "cottage-industry" where ladies would have materials and
samples delivered and picked up at their homes, thus mass-producing
Valentines in quantity. Her contribution to the popularization of
the tradition and the sending of decorative lace Valentines cannot
be over-emphasized.
Advertising and word-of-mouth, based on a beautiful product and a
wide range of prices, led to a $100,000 per year business, and
assured this ingenious woman a place in history.
source:
http://telebody.com/valentines/
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)