lost cemeteries, doylestown methodist
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this one might not be for everyone, it is a lot like a front yard cache. it is not at a cemetery, but rather a memorial, with a newer memorial stone as well as some original markers from the cemetery. at this location you will be looking for a small pill bottle, inside a flower vase, not much room for trades or a pen, so please bring your own writing implement.
it recently occurred to me that i live just outside of doylestown, and i only have two caches in town. it seems to me there should be more it town, and i should have more. so i put on my thinking cap to come up with a couple hides in the "home town" area. enjoy.
as a fan of cemeteries they are my first thought when trying to put out some new caches. unfortunately this one will be a little different, and not in a good way. in my research efforts on cemeteries that i know of in the area i kept seeing a doylestown lutheran and methodist cemetery show up. i have never seen either of these, in fact the only cemeteries i was aware of in doylestown were chestnut hill, and st. peter and paul catholic.
this one is gone. it exists only in memories, and not many of them. in researching this cemetery before placing the cache i was fortunate enough to talk with a 95 year old former member and secretary of the church. i was able to meet her through my mother, who is a nurse at the assisted living she resides in. she is alert and orientated, but was of little help, initially. she spoke of trouble getting someone to maintain the cemetery, it's unsightly appearance, and the fact that it was no longer making them (the church) any money. it seems that maybe the church was originally located here, as well as the cemetery, which she said was located here. other property was acquired, and the church was moved. she seemed to think it was disassembled and rebuilt at it's current location. once they moved the church they didn't need the extra ground. at some point the church tried to split the deed to sell some ground they didn't need. they (the church) wanted to split the cemetery off of the deed to keep it, but sell the remaining property. for some reason they could not do this. i'm not sure when or how this happened, it was at this point that the grounds where sold. i asked if the house which has the memorial marker and some original markers was perhaps a parsonage. that would explain how the originals ended up there, but she was not sure. she didn't really open up on this when we talked. she appeared to know more than she was willing to share with a stranger, actually she told my mother more when i wasn't there. all of my,,,uncomfortable to talk about information from her came to me this way. mom knew what i wanted to learn, and would ask about it a little at a time, then relayed that information to me.
the best case scenario i can come up with puts the church on the corner of clinton and black, the current location of a newer housing unit. the house with the memorial in the side yard on clinton as a parsonage, and the cemetery somewhere behind the parsonage. that would leave the cemetery unmarked and un-desecrated. i've also heard that the cemetery is under a parking lot, perhaps the one in between the two newer housing units. if that's the case it would have had to have been a small cemetery to go undisturbed with the recent construction.
i've been in some neglected cemeteries in the past to find caches. there un-kept appearance always gnaws at me, maybe it's because it's my job to care for the cemeteries where i work. most likely it's just respect, and they way i was raised. at least they where still there. researching this cemetery made me appreciate the un-kept ones a little more. at least they are still there, and could be cleaned up and maintained with dignity at some point.
the street is kinda narrow here, and has a bit of a bend, i would not park on the street. i have provided coords to a near by bank parking lot that is a very short walk to the cache. lets keep this one daylight hours only. even though it is not a cemetery, treat it as one, cache is not hidden in a disrespectful manner.
congratulations to JTracks FTF on 9-13-12
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
hc sebag, purpx fvatyr sybjre va infr