Jewels by the Nith Traditional Cache
THE GO GETTERS: Time to archive this one thanks to all that visited.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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About 330 m hike from the parking lot at approx. N 43 11.950 W 080
23.446. Across the bridge and follow the trail. The cache is
remembering Bobby West a jewel of a man if even half of the stories
I heard as a child are true.He lived in a shack across the river
fron the cache.
BOBBY’S STORY Bobby followed in his father’s footsteps, believing
that riches were free for the asking in Canada (family originally
from Scotland). He often retreated into a mythical world created in
his mind’s eye. He was a handsome fellow with thick dark hair and a
likable manner. He always spoke with an old-fashioned turn of
phrase and exaggerated politeness, especially to the ladies. He’d
tried to enter mainstream life working for a short time in the
Penman’s Mill. But the Nith beckoned to him and he spent much of
his life tinkering with boats, taking people on river cruises and
rescuing young adventurers who had fallen into the river. It’s been
said that he saved at least 50 people from drowning. He even tried
to save the life of the town’s founder Hiram Capron’s grandson
Harold Jones, to no avail. By 1905 Bobby became an entertainer. He
assembled a wardrobe of bizarre costumes and bought a magic lantern
and a phonograph. He announced that he was ready to give
performances at birthday parties, garden parties, and Sunday School
picnics. His repertoire, in addition to slides and records,
included recitations, songs and dances. He became an uninvited
participant in many local events. With parasol in hand he performed
whimsical capers, waltzes and marches. One of Bobby’s last
appearances was in 1932. As the years passed Bobby became crippled
with rheumatism. He shuffled along, bent forward at the waist, in
his layered unkempt clothing and wearing a bowler hat. He always
sported a pure white scarf of cheesecloth, supplied new almost
daily by John M. Hall at his linen store downtown. Bobby would call
at local merchants where food and the necessities of life were
provided to him. When the winter weather turned bitter he slept at
the fire hall. When Bobby’s house burned down in the winter of
1924, the community worked together to build him another one. About
1939, when Bobby was nearing his 80s and becoming very feeble, his
friends persuaded him to enter the county nursing home. He died in
1941. The community rallied to provide a well-attended funeral. He
made his last appearance resplendent in a fine dress suit bought
for the occasion by a member of the community.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Whfg n srj zrgref bss gur genvy naq nobhg gjb zrgref
bss gur tebhaq.