This geocache is located at Laurelwood Cemetery in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Laurelwood Cemetery was established in 1843 and used to be a Rhododendron nursery before it became a cemetery. There are multiple stages to this geocache that will take you on a tour of the cemetery and you will visit various monuments and grave sites of some prominent local citizens and famous people from our country's early history.
Please DO NOT attempt this geocache at night. The cemetery is open during daylight hours only.
To start off, enter the cemetery (there is only one entrance) and drive past the office and mausoleum. Be careful of the two speedbumps in this part of the roadway. You can park just past the mausoleum in a small parking area on the right and walk the entire tour, or you can drive to a parking location higher up the hill in the cemetery.
The majority of the gravesites in this cemetery are flat ground level burial markers, not tombstones. Only a few of the sections have tombstones marking gravesites. Dogs are allowed, on a leash. Many locals from the nearby houses walk their dogs in this cemetery, so some stealth is needed.
Stage 1 is located in the Gates of Heaven section. Head to the coordinates for this first stage (these are the coordinates at the top of the cache description page). You will see a large object here near a tree. Choose the correct answer below and head to the appropriate coordinates.
A. Large Gray Obelisk - Go to N40 58.578 W075 11.848
B. Large Cross with Circle and Spokes - Go to N40 58.511 W075 11.968
C. Cemetery Information Sign and Map - Go to N40 58.503 W075 11.794
D. Marble Altar - Go to N40 58.509 W075 11.800
Stage 2 - You can park very close to these coordinates. Look for a small metal sign on a post right by the side of the roadway that says "This path leads to the grave of " ... Go up the steps and follow the path to the gravesite of A. Mitchell Palmer. Alexander Mitchell Palmer was born in 1872 in White Haven, PA. He earned the nickname the "Fighting Quaker" while in college. He started off his career in Stroudsburg as a lawyer in 1893. From 1909 to 1915, he served in the US House of Representatives and he played a major role in getting the Democratic presidential nomination for Woodrow Wilson in 1912. From 1919 to 1921, he was the US Attorney General. If you are interested in learning more about A. Mitchell Palmer, you can do an internet search on his name. He died at a hospital in Washington, DC in 1936 at the age of 64, just two weeks after undergoing an appendectomy. Once you find the grave of A. Mitchell Palmer, stand facing his burial plaque and look at the object to the left. Choose the appropriate answer and head to those coordinates.
A. Bench - Go to N40 58.529 W075 11.962
B. Copper Cross - Go to N40 58.500 W075 11.797
C. Sundial - Go to N40 58.510 W075 11.801
D. Black Obelisk - Go to N40 58.575 W075 11.847
Stage 3 - Coordinates will take you to the Masonic section. Look at the writing on the largest monument and tell me what the 10th word is. Choose the appropriate answer below and head to those coordinates.
A. garden - Go to N40 58.572 W075 11.852
B. abide - Go to N40 58.509 W075 11.800
C. trust - Go to N40 58.498 W075 11.789
D. memory - Go to N40 58.541 W075 12.003
Stage 4 - Once you arrive at these coordinates, look for the burial plot of Clifford L. Cramer. Cliff was born in 1917 and was a prominent citizen of Monroe County. Throughout his life, Cliff served on the boards of many businesses and civic organizations in the Stroudsburg / East Stroudsburg areas. In 1953, Cliff, along with his four brothers, took over their father's business (R.C. Cramer Lumber Company). Cliff and his brothers all retired from the business at the same time in 1976 and the younger generations of Cramer's took control. Look at Clifford's burial marker. His wife is buried to his immediate left. Which of the following is on her grave marker? Choose the appropriate answer and head to those coordinates.
A. Joan B. Cramer (1918-2005) - Go to N40 58.492 W075 11.932
B. Joan B. Brimer Cramer (1918-2005) - Go to N40 58.581 W075 11.850
C. Joan Cramer (1918-2005) - Go to N40 58.600 W075 11.827
D. J.B. Cramer (1918-2005) - Go to N40 58.505 W075 11.798
Stage 5 - When you arrive at this next set of coordinates, you will see a large monument. This is the Zerbey monument. Bertha A. Zerbey is buried here. Bertha was born in Pottsville, PA in 1864. Both of her parents, Conrad and Dorothea Roerig Seltzer were from Germany. Bertha's husband Frederic Edger Zerbey Sr was a civil engineer employed by the Lehigh Valley Coal Company. Bertha died in 1938 at the age of 73. In front of the large cross are 3 concrete markers at ground level. Whose name is on the middle marker? Choose the appropriate answer below and head to those coordinates.
A. Dorothea S. Zerbey - Go to N40 58.499 W075 11.798
B. Bertha A. Zerbey - Go to N40 58.487 W075 11.913
C. Frederic E. Zerbey - Go to N40 58.629 W075 11.955
D. Frederic C. Zerbey - Go to N40 58.577 W075 11.849
Stage 6 - A short distance from the Zerbey monument is the gravesite of another prominent Monroe County businessman. Take the steps to the upper terraced area and find the grave marker of Norman and Jean (husband & wife). Norman was well known in the local area as being in the furniture business. He had a store in nearby Portland, PA and a store in Stroudsburg. He passed away in 2009 at the age of 85. To the left of Norman's grave is the grave of one of Norman's siblings. What is the name on that burial marker? Choose the appropriate answer and head to those coordinates.
A. Frederick Duckloe - Go to N40 58.505 W075 11.792
B. William J. Duckloe - Go to N40 58.570 W075 11.850
C. Howard W. Duckloe - Go to N40 58.626 W075 11.957
D. Ruth Heckman - Go to N40 58.602 W075 11.825
Stage 7 - You should now be at the burial site of another well known surname in the Stroudsburg area. There are two brothers buried very close to each other: Murray and Lester. Lester was in the US Air Force, and in 1943 he was named Chief Navigator of his squadron and flew 56 missions in a B-17 "Flying Fortress" bomber. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and Purple Heart medals for his service. Once he left the military and returned back to Pennsylvania and his wife, he began a career in the automobile business. His brother Murray also worked with him in the automobile business. What is the last name on Murray and Lester's grave markers? Choose the appropriate answer and head to those coordinates.
A. Price - Go to N40 58.509 W075 11.801
B. Abeloff - Go to N40 58.537 W075 11.867
C. Halterman - Go to N40 58.502 W075 11.795
D. Ertle - Go to N40 58.601 W075 11.826
Stage 8 - Once you arrive at the coordinates for this stage, you will be looking for the burial marker of Robert Lrod Dorough. Bob Dorough was a jazz musician / singer-songwriter. He was born in 1923 in Perry County, Arkansas. He had a long career as a musician and first performed in the Army, then with various jazz musicians such as Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, and others. In the 1960's he performed regularly at Mt. Airy Lodge. He liked the Poconos, so in 1967 he purchased a small farmhouse in Mt. Bethel. In the 1970's and 1980;s, he worked on a children's animated TV series called "Schoolhouse Rock". He passed away at home of natural causes in April 2018 at the age of 94. Once you find his grave marker, stand facing it. What is the first name on the burial marker to the immediate left of the Dorough marker? Choose the appropriate answer below and head to those coordinates.
A. Julia - Go to N40 58.601 W075 11.826
B. Amelia - Go to N40 58.629 W075 11.955
C. Gladys - Go to N40 58.599 W075 11.88
D. Helen - Go to N40 58.520 W075 11.835
Stage 9 - This next stage will take you to the grave of Walter Burke. Walter Burke (1908-1984) was an actor and appeared in more than 20 films including "The Naked City", "Support your Local Gunfighter", "My Fair Lady", and many others. He also appeared in many television shows including "The Twilight Zone", "Perry Mason", "Bonanza", "Lost in Space", and many others. I remember him most in one episode of the 1960's show "Hogan's Heroes" where Burke played the part of master safecracker Alfred Burke, nicknamed Alfie the Artist. He retired from acting in the early 1970's, then spent his remaining years living in both Hollywood, California and his horse ranch here in Monroe County. He died from emphysema in 1984 at the age of 75. To get the final coordinates, face Walter Burke's burial marker. His wife Kathryn Rooney Burke is buried to his right. What is the name of the person that is buried to his left? Choose the appropriate answer and head to the coordinates for the final geocache container.
A. Charles M. LeBar - Go to N40 58.630 W075 11.954
B. Warren C. Johnson - Go to N40 58.578 W075 11.848
C. Mary A. Bossard - Go to N40 58.599 W075 11.824
D. Sarah Jane Riley - Go to N40 58.478 W075 11.930
Before you head to the final coordinates, I want to tell you about one more person of historical significance. I spent hours searching the cemetery for these grave sites, but wasn't able to find the grave marker of George William Beatty. This was my third day visiting the cemetery and it had started to rain. I convinced my husband to help me on the first and last day of searching, but after an hour it started pouring rain and I was soaked, so I gave up. (I did ask in the office for information on the whereabouts of two of the graves, but they have a non-computerized system (index cards) and even though they were able to provide me with plot numbers, they didn't know which sections the graves were located in. Anyway, I have decided to just tell you about this last person and not make his burial marker one of the stages. George William Beatty was a pioneer aviator who set early altitude and distance records. Beatty was born in 1887 in Stephensburg, New Jersey. In 1911, he attended the Wright Flying School on Long Island, NY. He set various aviation records in 1911 and 1912. He moved to England for a few years, then moved back to the United States around the time of the Great Depression. In 1934, he was hired by the Hughes Printing Company in East Stroudsburg and he worked his way up to superintendent of the company. He died in February 1955 at the age of 62.
There is only one container to be found, at the final location. All other locations above do not have a physical cache container. The final geocaching container is NOT hidden near or on any graves. Please use stealth while taking the tour of the cemetery and please be respectful at all locations.