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An unlikely name for a product, let alone a geocache!
This cache is dedicated to the nearby wood coatings factory and offices that have provided jobs to the Newburyport area since the mid- to late 1980s, when manufacturing operations were relocated from Chelsea and the offices were relocated from Faneuil Hall in Boston. The family name on the Chelsea factory was easily visible from the Tobin Bridge (I learned during a tour of the facility that the possessive apostrophe was 9’ high). The current facility is south from the cache, obvious on the satellite map, nearest the southern entry to the Little River Nature Trail off of Hale Street.
According to the old product label:
“PENETRATES – LUBRICATES – PROTECTS
…Lubri-Tasgon is the ideal lubricating oil for the home, the farm, the sportsman and for industry. Against competitive oils, Lubri-Tasgon shows 30% more lubricating power and flows freely even at 40° below ZERO.”
I have fond memories of my grandfather’s basement workshop and when he needed it, he’d reach for the Lubri-Tasgon to lubricate an electric saw of some sort. However, like eelgrass insulation quilt, beehive roofing pitch, creosote wood stains, collopakes and Sylpho-Nathol (huh?), Lubri-Tasgon eventually became a local product “dinosaur,” permanently leaving the marketplace as newer and safer chemical technologies were introduced.
The Little River Bike Path is alongside I-95, where there is an older, abandoned strip of the interstate highway. This roughly mile-long section of road is overgrown on either side, but light use by cyclists and dog-walkers keeps the main drag clear. Few people know this is here, and it makes an ideal place to let kids ride their bikes. This trail borders the Little River, a tributary of the Parker River, which covers approximately 82 square miles in Essex County, MA. On either side are hiking trails, but bring lots of bug spray in the summer. The Related Web Page link above takes you to the Essex National Heritage Area web site, they sometimes offer free guided nature walks of these trails. The pretty view from the Beaver Dam lookout is highly recommended.
All of the parking waypoints provide access to the trails. There are thorns in the overgrowth, but if you stick to the trails, you shouldn't encounter many of them. Dogs must be "under owner control," which to me means "on a leash." As some of this property is owned by the Newburyport Water Department, animal owners please be sure to pick up and remove waste.
A tip of the hat to the Cache Owners of nearby Ol’ 95 (GC1P1D2) and Logan’s Romp (GC1G32Y). The former for providing some of the history of the paved bike path here, and the latter for the waypoints. Because of the lousy camouflage of the cache container, a large peanut butter jar, this container is invisible from the trail. Depicted within the container are the old Chelsea works, and my great-great-grandfather’s signature.
First-To-Find prize is an American coin rarer than our usual leave, a .900 silver Liberty Standing quarter from 1925, to celebrate our 25th cache! When introduced in 1916, this coin design by Hermon McNeil caused some controversy as Lady Liberty’s right breast was exposed. Later versions were more modest. The model’s identity for the drawing of the design was kept secret for some time, as her husband did not approve of her posing for Mr. MacNeil. This cache has a sister trackable, a 1916 Liberty Standing Quarter Travel Bug, TB40KXR. Congrats to steve1503 for the FTF - well done!
Have young kids that are still antsy after this hike? Then check out nearby Woodman Park on the other side of I-95. There's a nice jungle gym and swings and "Joe's Walk," another chance to stretch your legs. It's at N 42° 48.536 W 070° 54.935, at the end of the western fragment of Crow Lane.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
4' bss gur tebhaq, 40' yvtug ohfujunpx.