Monks Clue Cache Mystery Cache
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THE CACHE PAGE COORDINATES ARE MADE UP NUMBERS. This is NOT the city/town you will be travelling to. The cache is NOT there.
This is a clue cache. After this posts I will update the cache page twice more with clues that lead to the cache location .
One thing not related to clue cache--Jonathan and I found these woods this winter. Something about them really struck us. I am not sure if they will have the same impact during other seasons. We hope that you get to appreciate and enjoy these woods as much as we did.
ON TO THE CLUE CACHE--
Our family has a tradition that stems back over 200 years. It started when one of my great- grandfathers was a child. His family didn't have much. He spent most of his time playing in the trees near home. The other children teased him . They called him "Monk" . Short for monkey. He was very sad.
One day while playing in the trees Monk saw a little boy crying. He climbed down from his spot to speak with the boy. He learned that the boy had a story similar to his own. Though Monk had very little he felt sorry for this boy.
That night after their small dinner Monk went around gathering whatever scraps of food he could find. He also included one of his favorite small toys to make his new friend smile. He placed his bucket of goods under his bed. When it got dark Monk returned to his playing spot and left the bucket for his friend to find.
Over that summer the two boys became great friends. Monk often left a bucket of goodies for his friend to find. This brought great joy to both boys. Something else happened with that act of giving. Monk learned that the more he gave the more his life began to improve .
His life and luck began to change for the better. His family's small business began to prosper. They could finally afford all the better things in life. Soon they began to out grow their home. They moved at the end of that year.
Though his life had improved Monk never forgot his friend. He would often make stops by their spot to drop off a fully stocked bucket . Each time leaving with a sense of joy and added good luck. This tradition continued for many years.
As he grew older he found that the bucket was no longer being emptied. He often thought of his friend and wondered if he should stop bringing the buckets .
Then one day he noticed the bucket was empty. All that remained was a note that said "Thank you. We needed that." . Monk was overfilled with joy to learn that he had helped someone else. He rushed home to tell his family only to learn that their luck had once again improved three fold. He decided then and there to always keep up with his tradition. That the filling of the bucket was his way of receiving good luck and joy.
Every year Monk would enter the trails with his bucket of goodies and leave with a feeling of new joy and good luck.
After his passing my family has continued his tradition thus improving our joy and luck year by year .
Over the last forty years my aunt was the one to continue this family tradition. Last year she became ill and was not able to fill the bucket . As a result my family has experienced a terrible year.
I need to find this bucket to return the joy and luck my family has lost.
No one else in my family has filled this bucket in years. It's exact location has not yet been determined. I'm relying on the help of my fellow cachers to solve the mystery of where this spot is. If you find this bucket please sign the " note " . Also exchange a small treasure of luck . When you log the find add why you find that piece lucky . Maybe your joy and luck will increase too !!
I was told that the last time the bucket was filled it included a ticket redeamable for a set of Dunlop golf clubs.
Other treasures included horse shoe and elephant charms, four leaf clover pins, strawberry incense, pyrite stone, tonka beans and two candles for the scents of joy.
Here is what I know so far.......
My grandma told me- Monks home city/town was once a tract of land owned by a king in the colonial days. She thought the year it was incorporated as a city/town might be 1655 .
My grandpa said - Monks city/town bears the name of the sister city/town located in Great Britian.
From checking my family tree I discovered that my family has always lived in Massachusetts. No one has ever lived further west than Worchester. I will be contacting other members of my family for more information. I will post what I find out as soon as possible.
DAY TWO CLUE-
I was able to track down some family members for more information. Here is what I found out .
I spoke with a great uncle of mine. He told me that one of the last times Monk had filled the bucket was the day before he left for a battle. Early the next morning (April 19th. ,1775 I believe he said.) the alarm had sounded throughout the town. Minuteman and militia mustered on the town common and at a local tavern. Over 100 men had marched to Concord on that day.
My great aunt was to the spot as a child. She remembers that it was a large forest owned by the town. She couldn't recall the name. However , she believes it's a very common last name .
My Uncle is a jokster. He never gives me straight answers. He speaks in riddles. He said that there are different roads you can take to get there. He often picked the ones with castles, churches then palaces .
I have a few more relatives that might have information on this spot. I will post what I find out as soon as possible .
DAY THREE CLUE
I have now spoken with all of my relatives. This is what I now know .
Last night I spoke with an aunt. She was there as a child also. She remembered running straight into the woods to play in the brook. She was always upset when her mom said that it was time to go and find the tree. She had always wanted to cross the brook but was never allowed to. She would put her shoes back on and they would continue North on the trail.
My mom remembers that the tree wasn't too far from the brook. She told me that a country club now borders the property. The tree Monk used to play in is still inside the forest. However, it is not very far from the wall.
My cousin laughed when I told her what I was up to. She let me know that her mom really enjoyed going into the woods to make that trip. She told me that the bucket had rotted so she had been using a tupperwere container to keep things dry. She let me know that Monks tree is very tall and that my aunt did not place it as high as Monk would have.However , she did still leave it INSIDE of the same tree.
I have not been to this tree since I was little. I remember that while my aunt was visiting Monks tree my cousins and I would sit and play on a big, old tree that had fallen about twenty feet west of Monks tree.
Thanks everyone for your help in solving this mystery. We wish the most of joy and luck to all of you.
All of the clues have been given. Congratulations to Waldenrun for the FTF .
Happy Caching : )
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