First, A Short History of the Area from the Independent Republic Quarterly, Volume 40, No. 1-4
World War II Creates a Need
Part of the explanation as to why this large block of undeveloped land persisted into this century was it's use during World War II as a bombing range. Government necessity created an uninhabited area of over 50,000 acres.
Weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor people in Horry County were told in The Horry Herald that large tracts of their county may be required for a bombing range necessitating that up to 300 families, mostly farmers, would have to move off of the proposed bombing range bounded by Highway 90, Highway 17, and the railroad from Red Hill to the Waterway at the Pine Island bridge.
The families were given 30 days to move with zero hour being March 28, 1942 at noon. Some of the families surnames appear on the 1825 Mills Atlas: Vaught, Vereen, Lewis, Green, Lee, Bellamy, and Cox.
The Conway Bombing and Gunnery Range consisted of five small arms ranges. Primary uses were: demolition bombing; practice bombing; moving machine gun firing; rifle marksmanship; pattern bombing; skip bombing; rocket firing; parafrag bombing; fixed, flexible and aerial gunnery; high medium and low altitude bombing; night bombing; and air to ground gunnery. The range was heavily used until 1946. Between 1946 and 1949 most of the land was returned to the former residents.
During the construction of the Skyway Golf Course, now known as Waterway Hills Golf Course, unexploded ordinance were uncovered requiring construction to stop until the bombs could be safely removed. The same thing occurred years later when the Barefoot Resort was being constructed. Several unexploded bombs were unearthed and had to be defused by the military's bomb experts.
Are there still bombs underfoot? I would say there most certainly are.
Now, on to the puzzle!
The Big Lie
After work one day I decided to go to a local bar, Harry's Pub and Grub, for a drink before heading home. The bar was within walking distance at the corner of N 33rd Av and Central St, but I decided to drive because it looked like it could start raining any minute.
There is no street-side parking downtown, so I had to park in the nearby parking garage. All of the spaces on the lower three floors were full. I finally found a space on the 4th floor and parked.
Within minutes of parking the car I was in Harry's. I grabbed a stool at the bar and ordered a beer. While sitting there munching on the complementary pretzels and watching Fox News on channel 55, I noticed someone sliding onto the stool next to me. I glanced over to see a well dressed woman, maybe in her mid-40s, drinking one of those fancy mixed drinks with fruit and an umbrella in the glass.
“That's a mighty pretty drink you have there,” I said, tying to start a conversation. “Yeah, it's my favorite. I get my daily serving of fruit and one ounce of alcohol, which is good for your heart, all at the same time,” she responds. We both smiled at her little joke. We continued chatting about the news for at least 45 minutes when I excused myself to make a bathroom break. Upon returning, I saw that she had left. “Dang! All that yapping and I didn't even get her name. What a jerk!!”
When I picked up my beer I found a business card under it. It said, “Carrie's Closet - Business Attire for Women, 456 W 78th St, Carsonville, VA. Hours 10 am to 8 pm, M-F. 704-334-6640.” I sat there looking at it for a minute then turned it over. On the back was a handwritten note. “Call me tomorrow 704-784-9828, Carrie.” I finished my beer and went home with plans to call Carrie the next day.
At work the next day, I couldn't wait for lunchtime to arrive so that I would have a chance to give Carrie a call. At noon I found myself dialing the number on the back of the card. I was surprised when I heard, “Do.. doo... dooooo..... The number you have dialed is no longer in service, or you may have dialed a wrong number. Please check the number and try again.” I did... twice... with the same result. I flipped the card over and tried the store number and got the same message. “What the heck is going on here?” I thought to myself.
The end of the work day couldn't come fast enough. I literally ran to the car and raced over to the address on the business card. I was there within minutes. The address, 456 W 78th St did not exist! The last address on that block was 454 W 78th St, then across the street the first address was 500 W 78th St.
Nothing made any sense. It seems everything was just a big lie.
A note from electra1315
So, I'm the adoptive parent of this cache now. The only poblem was that I adopted it and hadn't solved the puzzle. I own a cache and don't know where it is. How dumb is that? I worked the puzzle and of course that was a big Duhh-Huhh when I figured it out. Some things a person just has to make harder than it really is. I went out there today and the logs are right, it has been bulldozed (no logs, get it?). I put out a new LOG container 335 feet from the original on the other side of the road. It's just a plastic bottle with a log sheet in it. So, a good cacher could find it right now. Hint , if you see orange (1489), you are pretty close. Log under a log. I'll see if I can fix the puzzle to reflect the new coords. On second thought this is a puzzle cache. You should be able to find it with this info. electra1315
FTF: DrogoBoffin
STF: firey fairy
TTF: AndrewsClan29510