Spikehorn: Rest In Peace Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

-allenite-: As there has been no response from owner regarding my previous note, I'm archiving this cache. Please note that if geocaches are archived by a reviewer or Geocaching HQ for lack of maintenance, they are not eligible for unarchival.

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Hidden : 4/13/2009
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:




This cache is part of the Spikehorn series that acknowledges one of the most colorful characters in our state's history, John 'Spikehorn' Meyer. Best known for his Bear Den and Wildlife Park, John E. Meyer was born in Ohio on July 15, 1870 and traveled to Michigan in 1876 with his family.

~ Cache is located in the Salt River Cemetery ~



Spikehorn around 1900

John Meyer was born July 15, 1870 in Winesburg, Ohio and moved to Coe Township in Isabella County with his parents in 1876. His father, Alexander Meyer, purchased 160 acres two miles south of Salt River, now known as Shepherd, Michigan; the town was renamed after pioneer resident Isaac N. Shepherd in 1886 when the Ann Arbor Railroad arrived. He wore buckskin clothing to protect himself from the bears' claws and claimed he was in his eighties for years.


Pillars of his Souvenir Shop

On Wednesday, November 27, 1951 Spike fell on the ice at his Bear Den and fractured his right hip. Red Eagle and Starr cared for him but he ignored medical advice for x-rays. The following Monday he still hadn't improved, so he finally gave in and went to the 'new' hospital in Clare; he left wearing a cast. After months of recouperation he could finally walk again but he had to have the aid of a cane - sometimes two of them.


On January 16, 1957 the wood stove ignited a fire that destroyed his souvenir shop. He claimed a woman offered him $60,000 to rebuild but he joked that he wouldn't take it because she was hooking him into marriage - "I'm only 86 now, you know, and I don't plan to be married until I am 100 years old. Then I'd like to marry a rich woman and be the richest man in the cemetery."


He managed to rebuild and reopen on October 10, 1957 but suffered a stroke six months later. Spikehorn Meyer was paralyzed from the waist-down and was no longer able to care for his animals. He was admitted to a nursing home in Gladwin where he passed away from a brain hemorrhage on September 19, 1959 at the age of 89. He never married or had any children.

FTF ~ hightechman/gal

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Oevat lbhe bja crapvy!

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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