This cache is part of my Irishon series, where every cache has something to do with Irish music :)
The Bricklayer's Song, also known as "The Irish Sick Note" or "Why Paddy's Not At Work Today", is a humoristic song written by Irish singer Pat Cooksey.
It tells the story of how the bricklayer tried to lower a bucket full of bricks from the 14th floor to the ground in a creative (yet silly) way, getting hit by the bricks on their way down (while being launched upwards as the bucket was heavier than him), and then falling all the way back, on the half-broken bricks... the song ends as following:
"It broke three ribs, and my left arm, and I can only say
That I hope you'll understand why Paddy's not at work today."
you can read all the words on Cooksey's website, or listen to the Dubliners' verison, with animation of the lyrics on youtube. (you will find many other bands play this song as well!)
The Cache
The cache is located next a statue of David Ben Gurion, the primary national founder of the State of Israel and its first prime minister.
However, the next building (on 124 Rothschild street) has an historical meaning that is not known even to locals who lived here for decades. When Rishon Lezion was a small settlement, the corner of today's Ben Gurion avenue and Rotschild street was the very end of town, bordering sands that went west towards the beach. The center of town was on the eastern end of today's Rotschild street, where you can find GC2T7HQ and GC2T7J4. In the very place where building number 124 stands today, there used to be a brick factory.
The Silicate Brick Factory was Founded in 1934 by Berthold Gottesman, on the edge of the sand dunes. Gottesman contacted the Rishon Lezion Council in 1934 to allow him to set up a factory on the border of the sands. He asked for a sand-mining concession for 15 years and offered to participate in the paving of Rothschild Street all the way to the factory. This proposal allowed the council to end the road whose construction was halted due to lack of funds. Gottesman received permission to cut sand for 30 years.
The Silicate factory employed 35 workers and operated 7 trucks to transport its produce.
Silicate bricks were the most common building material in the 1930s and 1940s. The blocks were easily distinguished by their weight and were convenient for building.
The silicate factory, picture taken from the Rishon Lezion city hall website (click to read more - Hebrew only)
Happy caching!