Up and out of the park Traditional Cache

Patsy Hillman Park (formerly the Brownsville-Luzerne) is located just west of Brownsville in the little town of Hiller. Being jointly owned by the borough of Brownsville and Luzerne township the park covering 450 acres provides hike/bike trails, a lake for fishing, pavillions for picnics, camping, athletic fields and much more. Several community events and activities are scheduled throughout the year.

The land for the park was donated to the borough and township in 1954 from The Hillman Company whose owner at the time stipulated that later the park was to be named after his daughter Patsy. In 1971 renovation of the park started and at which time a pavillion was built in her memory. On the side of this pavillion is a plaque. A quick search of this name brings up this. The Hillmans in the Brownsville area seemed to have been involved in several operations, land development, mining, coal and coke and own the Hillman Barge and Construction Company which operates on the nearby river.

Scattered through out the park you will see vast numbers of pine trees which were planted in the early years of development by the local Boy Scouts. The cleared out areas in the park are from past logging activity and for planned future developments. The U.S. Army has a Reserve Unit headquarters located in the park. Various Search and Resue Teams train here in the spring and fall. Organizations such as the PA CleanWays and the Isaac Walton League of America support and help with the conservation and enviromental issues within the park. Sure the park may have some areas that need some cleaning up but in a sense doesn't just about all the others as well. All in all this park has a lot of potential and room for development. So why not stop by and check it out. It was reported that nearly 2,000 people attended last year's fireworks festival on the Fourth of July. They must be doing something right over that way.

The cache is located 'up and out of the park' area a short ways. Looking at any of the maps you would think this would be a park and grab. But sometimes things seem to appear not as they really are. You might want to ride around the park a little looking for the best way for yourself to get to the cache. Atleast this way you will get to see the sites in the park. There is somewhat of a kid friendly way to the cache to be found if you look but for the more adventerous cacher I do recommend the road. Not too bad of a way to the cache is it. You don't want to make it too easy. For this reason I have not recommended a parking area. The choice will be yours.