This cache takes you to the birthplace of the local poet (and World War I hero) known as Joyce Kilmer--he was born up on the second floor of this heavily modified 18th century dutch farmhouse. Kilmer died in 1918 while on a high risk scouting mission in France. He attended Rutgers Prep, Rutgers College, then Columbia before going to Europe. His most famous legacy is his poem "Trees", but you may have also heard of Camp Kilmer over on the Livingston Campus, or the rest stop on the TPK, or even the very street on which you are now standing. This is one of several caches to bring attention to New Brunswick notables and the city's rich history. The Joyce Kilmer 'shrine' is a unique kind of war memorial, and you can learn more about it at: https://www.thinkeryandverse.org/kilmer_house.html. To hear the original cache owner (NBHA1736) place the site in historical context, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46S3C6xQGSA&t=24s.
I think that I shall never see / A poem lovely as a tree. / A tree whose hungry mouth is prest / Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast; / A tree that looks at God all day, / And lifts her leafy arms to pray; / A tree that may in Summer wear / A nest of robins in her hair; / Upon whose bosom snow has lain; / Who intimately lives with rain. / Poems are made by fools like me, / But only God can make a tree.
NEW CACHE: Distance from original: 70.3 feet or 21.4 meters southeast.
The original cache went missing, and we have put the replacement in an area with fewer muggles. Go up. Go all the way up. You now have a bird's eye view of the Joyce Kilmer house. And the cache is within arms reach. Before logging the cache, we encourage you scan the enclosed QR code (or click this link) and listen to an audio drama that brings to life the tragic memories of Joyce Kilmer's mother, Annie Murray Kilmer.