Pocket Park Traditional Cache
outdoor freaks: Ok as much as I hate to do it I am going to go ahead and archive this cache. I just replaced it 12 days ago and someone who has previously found it emailed and said they took a newb out and it was missing again. I double checked with her on the location and it seems that it is indeed missing. After replacing 7 times I think enough is enough. Someone must be checking it or it is just constantly falling out of place even with the magnet. So thanks for caching someone else can give it a try if they want to bring people to this nice little park.
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If you live here in Springfield, you may have seen the sign at the A.B. Graham building that says Birthplace of 4-H. This means exactly that. 4-H, which is a national organization that encourages citizenship, leadership and life skills through mostly agricultural programs and activities for youth ages 5-19, began in the building next to the cache site. The first meeting was held by A.B. Graham on January 15th, 1902 in the basement of the building. The building was originally the county courthouse but now houses a number of county offices.
Mr. Graham was born in Champaign County and was a superintendent of the schools here in Clark County at the time. He organized the first meeting with some of the area students and the idea spread from there. The organization now has over 6.5 million members in more than 90,000 clubs in the United States alone.
The statue was sculpted by Mike Major and depicts Graham and Theodore Spears one of the children at the first meeting, as well as another girl. The 'Pocket Park' was dedicated in 2004 and, although I knew it was there this was the first time I had actually visited it. So, if you are like me and this is your first visit, take a moment to look around and discover what the 4-H's stand for while you are looking for the cache.
The coords are a bit elusive with the tall buildings on 3 sides (how do they do this in NYC?). I gave it a 2 rating because of accuracy. Beware the muggles.
Park anyplace on the street and I believe the park is lit at night but it's your call since it is next to a county building and across from juvenile detention it might be wiser to cache during daylight. No need to leave the paved area. Permission for the cache was granted by John Detrick, county commissioner. George Sodders, county auditor, was also contacted and had no concerns with the cache.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
V cebzvfr vg'f gurer
Treasures
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