GEOCachers Help To Cleanup At Veterans’ Memorial
Despite a bout of morning showers, a hardy group of about 20 geocachers met at the Veterans National Memorial Shrine and Museum on O’Day Road on April 28. They came from as far as Indy and Wyoming, MI to work on the Purple Heart Memorial as part of their spring Cache In, Trash Out (CITO) project. The weather cleared up and welcomed them as they moved nearly 3 yards of crushed limestone around the new sidewalk pathways, picked up fallen twigs and debris on the property and cleaned benches and tables. Bonnie Davis, volunteer coordinator at the Museum, was thrilled to have them help, saying “The museum runs on volunteers! The help of groups like the geocachers makes so much more possible on the property.”
When the Purple Heart Memorial work was completed, the group had time to explore the grounds and museum and gather for refreshments, stories, and camaraderie. ‘Professor Zoom’ who caches out of Indy commented “Great CITO! We moved a lot of rocks with many hands pitching in. I was glad to assist and learn about this new-to-me place!” The group’s CITOs vary. Locally they’ve cleaned along the riverbank, picked up trash, hauled mulch, and moved rocks as they help local organizations. ‘jsonntag3’, also from Indy, noted they “helped move a lot of rock…my hardest working CITO so far.”
Geocaching is a worldwide, outdoor, high-tech treasure hunt of sorts, using GPS coordinates to identify the location of a geocache (usually a container). The cachers use GPS units or phone apps to hide, post, hunt, and find the caches, then record the finds at geocaching.com. Fort Wayne has an active community of cachers and thousands of caches in the area.
In addition to the monuments, museums, and serene property of the museum, it hosts multiple caching opportunities. The caches help bring people to the location who might otherwise be unaware, helping more citizens remember our veterans. The 40+ acre property is open 24/7 and the museum hours are M,TH,SA,SU 11AM – 4PM or by appointment. See honoringforever.org for more information.
In-kind support for the CITO came from Buffalo Wings and Ribs and Chops on Jefferson Blvd, and Sandpoint Living Interiors in Waynedale.
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