Love Bug-Spade Wood

This trackable has the goal to circulate more than five years and to be moved by at least 25 cachers. That is a rate of five drops per year for five years, or a drop every 73 days.  As of 3-Dec-20 it had survived for 4.5 years and had been moved by 11 cachers, for an average release every 148 days.

No permission is needed to leave the U.S.  While in the U.S., please drop it in a Premium Member only OR a rural cache near a busy trail or road. Do not place it in an urban cache or abandon it at a caching event where there is no security.  Transport the bug in the original plastic bag for as long as the bag lasts; the bag keeps the trackable clean, protects the number and prevents tangling with other items.  Otherwise, take the trackable anywhere you wish.

Trackable photos are appreciated, but do not show the tracking code. The photos will re-posted here.

This is one of a series of heart-shaped items obtained from different places and converted into travel bugs. They are named either for the places of their origin or for Texas Panhandle-South Plains towns with interesting names or histories.

Spade is in southeast Lamb County.  It was named for its location on the Spade Ranch.  J. Frank Norfleet, ranch foreman, married and brought his wife to headquarters near the present townsite in 1894. The townsite was developed in 1924 when farmers began settling on former ranchland. A store, built in 1931 by Roy Hicks, became the nucleus of the community. A gin was also built in 1931, and a post office was secured in 1935. In 1940 Spade had two churches, six businesses, and 200 people. Businesses in 1968 included stores, gas stations, four gins, two garages, two cafes, a hardware store, and a grain elevator.  In 1980 and 1990 the town had a population of 174 and several businesses. The population dropped to 100 in 2000. The former ranch headquarters is a historic attraction.