Chester Thordarson, an Icelandic immigrant who made a mark as a pioneer in the field of high voltage electrical equipment, once owned most of Rock Island and is buried in this, the least remotely located of the three cemeteries on the island. Of the other two cemeteries, one has the graves of several of the lighthouse keepers who manned the first lighthouse in Wisconsin at the north end of the island. In the other, two young daughters of one of the lighthouse keepers are buried in a special spot high above Lake Michigan along the east shore.
Thordarson was a fascinating personality with creative and diverse interests. Much of his life’s energy was devoted to his holdings on Rock Island, where you can learn more about him and his vision for the island in the exhibits at the Viking Hall Boat House.
To get the coordinates for this cache, find Chester Thordarson’s grave. Subtract 1550 from his year of death to get N 45 24.XXX, and subtract 1441 to get W 086 49.YYY. The cache container is a geocaching.com bullet micro with a roll log and pencil.
This cache was placed after consulting with the park’s naturalist and park ranger Randy Holm. The Cache Placement Form 2500-118 was submitted to the park manager, Kirby Foss.
PLEASE PUT THE THE CACHE CONTAINER BACK EXACTLY AS YOU FOUND IT OR THERE IS A RISK THE PINE SQUIRRELS OR OTHER CRITTERS WILL RUN OFF WITH IT.
Congratulations to active2gether for the FTF on September 2, 2007!