In 1912 Mary Rydzgy emigrated from Poland to the United States. She arrived at Ellis Island then made her way to Derby to live with relatives. She married John Tetlak and together they bought a farm in Oxford, CT. They had 5 daughters before John and one of the children disappeared. Mary stayed in Oxford living on the farm and had three more daughters. She died March 27, 1970. The farm was held by the family until it was purchased by the Town of Oxford in 2006. The property was re-named Aggie Park in honor of Agnes Schiavi (Mary's youngest daughter) who lived on the land all her life and lead the effort to preserve it. As you arrive in the parking area you will see Mary’s house on your left. Some of the family still lives near the land on parcels that were sub-divided long ago. Mary’s house has been sold out of the family as have some of the houses around the property but don’t be surprised if you run into one of Mary’s family as you hunt the cache. The farm is roughly 80 acres and features beautiful rolling pasture land and dense woods adjacent to the Eight Mile Brook where Mary, her children and grand-children would cool off on hot summer days forming a tradition that continued for many years after Mary’s death. This land is truly a treasure and it’s great that everything worked out so that it could be preserved despite the price that the family paid.
Eventually the park will have base ball and soccer fields but for now the only sport to be played here is Geo-Caching. This cache starts at Mary’s grave. In the vicinity of the posted coordinates you will find Mary’s head stone. When you do look at the stone immediately to the right… this lady was born 1918 but what year did she die? Take that year and add it to these coordinates (N41 22.351; W73 7.347) to find the final cache. Use the parking coordinates for Aggie Park then walk straight back from the parking area being careful to avoid the private property on either side. As you approach the rock wall turn right then shortly later left. From there let the GPS be your guide but sick to the trails – there is no need to bushwack. When you reach 0.1 from the cache bear right – it’s easier. Please observe the park hours – the neighbors won’t appreciate night time visitors.
Good luck and enjoy Mary Tetlak’s Treasure