The 2016 Brrr Winter caching series is focused around historical locations in the greater Holland area. In addition to giving you a chance to add another smiley to your stats and have a little Geowinterfun we've added a touch of learning. We hope you have fun caching and learning. Don't forget to grab the code for the bonus cache.
This year Niekerk celebrated its sesquicentennial, 150 years of service to God and the community.
The congregation of Niekerk was organized on September 25, 1866. Graafschap Christian Reformed Church may well be called its Mother Church since those who at first affiliated with Niekerk belonged largely to the congregation of Graafschap. Thinking the distance of approximately five miles was too far to go to and from their place of worship with their mode of transportation, the desire arose to organize their own congregation.
Naturally, the first congregation of Niekerk was small. In the autumn of 1868, a small parsonage was built and the congregation was now ready to call a pastor of its own. Reverend S. Baron was called in December, 1868 from Bergum, Netherlands. The first years were the hardest years for Niekerk. In 1871, the great fire of Holland took place, leaving members suffering and struggling for existence; some were even poverty-stricken.
In the year 1957 Niekerk encountered its most challenging struggle since the founding of the church. A fire was started inside the church and completely burnt the church to the ground. Although there were no deaths in the fire, the destruction that was caused was devastating to both the congregation as well as the community. With the help from other Holland congregations, Niekerk soon established a new place of worship. The next few years were spent rebuilding what had been lost in the fire. Since that reconstruction the church has continued to grow and expand. Two additions have been made to the church structure along with construction of a new youth building to replace one that was lost in yet another fire.
The posted coords place you in the church parking lot. Each time the church did a construction project they placed a "cornerstone" type marker in the brick. To find the geocache you must locate each of these markers and collect some information from each.
The final cache is located at N42 46.ABC W86 03.XYZ
A=West side marker: Last digit of the first year listed on the marker.
B=West side marker: Number that falls between the 3rd and 4th digit of the last year on the marker.
C= South side marker: Verse minus 2
X= South side marker: Third digit of the year minus 5
Y= East side marker: Sum of the "2"s on the marker
Z= Youth building marker: First digit.
PLEASE PUT EVERYTHING IN THE CACHE BACK THE WAY YOU FOUND IT!
Check sum ABCXYZ = 25