ALWAYS WALK LIGHTLY UPON CEMETERY GROUNDS
SHOWING RESPECT FOR THOSE RESTING HERE
WELLSBORO CEMETERY
EARTHCACHE REQUIREMENTS
Each cacher must send his/her own answers BEFORE logging a find. ... "Geocachers must complete the tasks before they log the EarthCache as found." (4.3. EarthCache logging tasks)
Enjoy the journey (learning adventure) as well as the destination (smiley earned). Remember to take only pictures and leave only footprints. To get credit for this Earthcache, complete the following tasks:
1. MESSAGE …. a. What is the shape of the gravestone at Waypoint 1? / b. Identify the type of rock. / c. Give one unusual feature you observe about this gravestone.
2. MESSAGE …. a. What is the shape of the gravestone at Waypoint 2? / b. Identify the type of rock. / c. Give one unusual feature you observe about this gravestone.
3. MESSAGE …. a. What is the shape of the gravestone at Waypoint 3? / b. Identify the type of rock. / c. Give one unusual feature you observe about this gravestone.
4. LOG …. Post a picture of you or your signature item at any gravesite with a flag. This picture is your log signature.
OPTIONAL - Please respect the time and effort involved in finding and creating this earthcache by adding A B C to your log.
A. Visit a memorial honoring our fallen heroes. Post a picture at the memorial. Label picture with name and location of memorial.
B. JOURNEY OF THE MIND ... Science explains what we observe. Relate (in your own words) something you found interesting in the reading. This adds to your learning adventure and your log.
C. JOURNEY OF THE HEART ... Art shares our personal experience of what we see. Share something special you found on site, and why it is special to you ... prose / story / poem / picture. This is a memorable addition to your log and will make other hearts smile.
Journeys of Heart and Mind ...
Stories to Touch the Heart and Puzzles to Challenge the Mind / Rainbow Tree Story
THANK YOU Daryl for permission to share this learning adventure.
ROCK TYPES IN TIOGA COUNTY
The predominant rocks in Tioga County are red sedimentary rocks, shale or siltstone, sandstone, conglomerate. The map shows the distribution of each type of rock. The link gives the key and additional information.
Wellsboro is a borough in the eastern part of Delmar Township.
Rock Types in Tioga County
SHALE (Compacted mud)
What Does It Look Like? Shale may be black, gray, red, brown, dark green, or blue. It is fine grained, so particles usually can not be seen. When moistened, shale usually smells like wet mud.
BLACK - lots of organics / GRAY - low organics / RED - fully oxidized iron / GREEN - partially reduced iron / MCCREADY - salt and gypsum
What Minerals Make Up the Rock? Clay minerals; Sometimes with some quartz sand, pyrite, gypsum
How Was It Formed? Clay sediments settle in quiet lakes, lagoons, bays, or off-shore areas. When buried and compacted the clays become shale. Iron oxides often help to cement the particles together.
SANDSTONE (Cemented sand)
What Does It Look Like? Sandstone is often red to brown, light gray to nearly white. Sometimes it is yellow or green. It usually is composed of rounded grains that are all of the same size; and it is usually medium grained. Some sandstones show slight color variations in layering.
What Minerals Make Up the Rock? Quartz; Sometimes contains: feldspars, mica, glauconite (in green colored sandstone), magnetite, garnet, rutile, ilmenite. FEELS GRITTY.
How Was It Formed? Quartz sand that is produced by the weathering of other rocks (such as granite, gneiss, and other sandstones) is deposited by rivers, waves, or wind. The sediment may have been a sand bar, an ocean beach, or desert sand dunes. The sand is buried under other sediments, compacted by the weight of those sediments, and cemented by material dissolved in water that seeps through it.
CONGLOMERATE (Pieces of other rocks)
What Does It Look Like? Conglomerate looks like a mixture of sand and different sizes of rounded pebbles. The pebbles are the important observation.
SHALE-PEBBLE - rounded / FLAT PEBBLE - relatively flat
What Minerals Make Up the Rock? mostly quartz
How Was It Formed? Sand and pebbles collect along sea shores, lake shores, or river banks. They are compacted by the weight of sediments that collect above them and cemented by material dissolved in the water that seeps through them.
GRAVESTONE GEOLOGY
The three gravestones you will be observing are all naturally occurring rocks in the area. They vary depending if modified or untouched (except for name). Weathering effects include tafoni (pitting), staining, biological agents.
RESOURCES ... Wilson's Home ... Wellsboro ... County Rock Maps ... Gardners Rocks
This series is dedicated to my dad who served in World War II.
GOD’S PROMISE …. A MOTHER’S LOVE
Told by my uncle (Joseph) ... And my father (Anthony)
Family was seated around the table on Thanksgiving Day when my uncle related why he and his brother returned home safely from the war.
Unbeknownst to my uncle aboard the carrier transporting him across the Atlantic, his ship was targeted by an underwater submarine. There were flashes in the distance that he later learned was the submarine being destroyed.
While stationed in Europe, his base was targeted by enemy fire. He awoke to the sound of the thundering of bombs exploding and saw the dark sky turn bright as the noonday sun. Men were scrambling for safety, but he remained seated with a peace that passeth all understanding. When the carnage was over, he looked down. There was a piece of shrapnel lodged just above his heart, but had not penetrated through his clothing.
Similarly, unbeknownst to my father aboard the carrier transporting him across the Pacific, his ship was targeted by an underwater submarine. There were flashes in the distance that he later learned was the submarine being destroyed.
My father loved to be amongst nature whenever and wherever. One day he was comfortably seated below a tree in the jungles of Australia. He laid his helmet beside him and was enjoying the peace of the moment. When it was time to leave, he reached for his helmet but was guided to look within before placing it upon his head. There sat a poisonous spider which would have surely been his demise. He dislodged the spider and returned to camp.
One day while on her knees communing with the Creator, my grandmother prayed for her sons to return home safely. She arose from prayer knowing God’s hand was upon her sons and they would return unharmed.
And so it was, many close encounters, but my uncle and my father each made it safely home. It was there the two brothers learned of God’s Promise and their Mother’s Love.