Cleaning, Cleaning and Caching 7/28-31/2008

Monday was spent cleaning the coach as I started taking the mildew off the awning both front and back. That was really about it for Monday and Tuesday wasn't really anymore exciting as I finished what I started on Monday and Mom shampooed the carpets and mopped the floor inside the coach. After I got done I shampooed the carpet in the car and cleaned the rest of it out. As you can see it wasn't a very exciting 2 days.
Wednesday is a different story though as Mom and I went caching around Colchester, Hebron,and Yantic. We started out with a cache at a movie theater we had looked for before but couldn't find as it was a nano hidden in a rock and this time we found it. Next was a multi-cache in a small cemetery in Colchester that we found after awhile as you had to use a compass to find the second stage and believe me I'm no whiz at using a compass.
Then we drove to Hebron for a 4 stage multi-cache called Schoolhouse Ramble that took us to 4 old schoolhouses in the area. The first stop was at the Gilead Hill Schoolhouse. The local story about the school is that it was built in 1792. After it was built, though, there was some disagreement among the local farmers about exactly where it should stand, and opposing groups hitched teams of oxen to either end of the building and dragged it around until somehow it arrived where it is today. The school had a single pot-bellied stove in the center of the room near the front. The wood was stacked outside to the left of the building in the photo above, and it was the job of the male students to carry wood in periodically. There was no running water. In the cloakroom immediately inside the one door, there was a pail of water and a tin dipper. Every morning two boys crossed the road to Mr. Varney’s house. When I went to get water, my partner was always Mickey Greenwood. Mr. Varney had a well on his front lawn – complete with a stone enclosure, a roof, a rope and wooden pail. If the weather was warm, we just lowered the wooden pail and brought up water to pour into the metal pail we had brought with us. If it was cold, we first unwound the rope for the wooden pail from its wooden roller, and then threw the wooden pail down to break the ice. That was a lot of fun, since it might take five or six throws to break the ice. Eventually we would carry the metal pail of water back and leave it in the cloakroom. There were 28 students in the school, which included grades 1, 2, and 3. Mrs. Montigny was the only teacher, although occasionally a music teacher, Mrs. Surprenant, would arrive to give us a brief music lesson. Mostly I remember the sound of her pitchpipe; we didn’t learn much music. Books and other supplies were limited. I remember having a hard time finding any crayons except dark purple ones. Mrs. Montigny was a good teacher, despite the primitive conditions. She maintained a bird feeder, and we wrote diaries. She was a stickler for good penmanship, something I found hard. I remember the day she introduced a new subject called "Social Studies;" The one-room school went out of service in June,1949.
Next stop was at the Gull Schoolhouse which was built in 1790. I couldn't find any information on this schoolhouse other than it closed sometime in the 1940's.
Next stop was at the Center School in Hebron which is now an American legion Post and was built in 1828.
The last stop was at Burrows Hill school built in 1725 and again we couldn't find out any information on it. This gave us all the numbers we needed for the final coords so off we went and located the final stage in a hollow tree near a fishing pond in a park. It really is a shame that we couldn't find any more historical information or background on the other 3 school houses but we guessed that the record keeping back in the 1700 and 1800's wasn't that spectacular.
Then we did a cache at what is called Phrophet's Rock where he had to walk a trail into the woods about .2 of a mile uphill to 2 huge rocks where the cache was located. This is Hebron's oldest historic monument and the story behind it is as follow:According to legend, in 1704, men living in Windsor purchased some of the Legatee land, and set off to explore it and identify an area for settlement. After a few months, their wives grew weary of waiting, and decided to make the 25 mile journey themselves, but ultimately got off course in the wilderness. The women found themselves at Prophet’s Rock, scaled the top of the massive boulder, and called out for help. Hearing them, the husbands set off in that direction and soon the families were reunited. Although the rock and legends associated with it remained a vital part of Hebron history through the centuries, its actual location was a mystery to many. That changed when members of the Smith family decided to develop a portion of their farmland off Burrows Hill Road. Prophet’s Rock happened to be located on that particular parcel, and ultimately both the rock and an easement to it were deeded to the Town of Hebron on March 5, 2003. The name Phrophet's Rock refers to the Bible passage when Moses strikes a rock with his staff, and water flows out, saving the Israelites in the desert.
Next 2 caches were at Dunkin Donuts and we found all of them quickly. Then we were off to Yantic and a cache hidden along the banks of the Yantic River near an old stone bridge built in 1908. We also saw the old Yantic Woolen Mill Circa 1885 and the Grace Episcopal Church which was a lovely old stone church in Yantic.
Then we were off to Bozrah Rural Johnson Cemetery for a cache located in the base of a hollow tree. We walked around the cemetery after finding the cache and saw many many old grave sites dating back to the early to mid 1700's and we saw one that dated back to 1667. There was even a very sensational murder/suicide story to come out of the history of this cemetery.
Jane Maria was the beautiful, well-educated daughter of one of Bozrah's leading citizens, Dr. Samuel Johnson. Still unmarried and living at home at the age of twenty-six, she was the apple of her father's eye, but, according to some not-so-admiring acquaintances, a bit soft at the core. William Irving was a very handsome Irishman, whose Celtic charm and exceptionally good physique made the hearts of many young Bozrah maidens jump when they saw him. He was employed as a gardener and handyman on the Johnson estate. There are still those who claim that William and Jane Maria had a mutually passionate attachment which ended tragically when the Irishman, recognizing their love could never be consummated in marriage because of their vastly different stations in life, took Jane's life and then ended his own. Those who hold this view point to the fact that at twenty-six, Jane was considered an "old-maid," a fate almost worse than death in an age when early marriage was regarded as a woman's only goal in life and a major badge of distinction. Jane was getting desperate, so this line of reasoning goes, and encouraged the hot-blooded handyman's advances. He killed her, they claim, when he realized their love was an impossible dream. On the other hand, some see William Irving as simply another violent Irishman who murdered an innocent young woman when she firmly rejected his repeated, unwanted advances. Whatever the motivation, the actual events involved in the murder and suicide were brutal and bloody. According to reliable reports, Jane was seated in the living room of her home when Irving entered with a muzzle-loading shotgun, walked up to her with the gun at the ready and fired point-blank. For some unexplained reason, however, the shot only injured her slightly. So, as a maid who had been attracted by the blast ran about the room shouting, "Murder. Murder," Irving knocked Jane to the floor and beat her to death with the barrel of the shotgun. Immediately after the bludgeoning, Irving dashed to his quarters, where he grabbed a straight-razor. Then he went directly to Jane's bedroom, locked the door behind him, lay down across her bed and slit his throat from ear to ear. They say that the frantic Dr. Johnson had to scale a ladder and climb through the bedroom window in order to recover the body of his daughter's killer. Jane Maria was laid to rest with impressive ceremony in the Johnson family plot near the center of Bozrah Rural Cemetery. Over her grave the family erected a fine, marble marker, inscribed with her name -- and nothing else. It can be seen there today, slightly in the shade of the huge stone marking the grave of Dr. Samuel Johnson, who outlived his daughter by many years. In the same graveyard there is another monument, much pitted with age and tilted at a crazy angle, marking the last resting spot of William Irving. This modest stone, however, lies in a very remote part of the cemetery, isolated by apparent design from all the other gravesites in the burial ground. The inscription reads: WILLIAM IRVING COMMITTED SUICIDE FEB. 5, 1872 HE WAS THE MURDERER OF JANE M., ONLY DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR SAMUEL JOHNSON Even after more than a century, much controversy and speculation center on the Irving gravesite. Some say that the remote grave and the bitterly-inscribed stone are the products of Dr. Johnson's desire for permanent revenge on his daughter's killer. There are others who say that the Johnson family compounded the insult to Irving by seeing to it that his body was buried standing on its head, so that he would never know eternal rest. Still others concur in the insult by the victim's family, but insist the corpse was buried standing on its feet rather than upside-down. There is also a current body of opinion that holds to a belief that the corpse of William Irving was never buried in Bozrah Rural Cemetery, either under the marker or anywhere else. This last group claims that a medical school was so anxious to get a body as perfectly formed as William Irving's for carving in class that it made the authorities an offer they could not refuse. And the marker? A spite-stone, they say, put up by the Johnsons, knowing full well that the body had gone to a hands-on anatomy lab. In fact, to this very day no one really knows what happened to the slightly damaged but still impressive remains of murderer William Irving. Quite a story for such a small town, isn't it.
After caching we went back to the coach and went swimming, Mom did our logs and we had a great dinner of steak, sweet corn and potatoes. Then it was off to bed and Mom watch TV.
Thursday was another day of just kind of chilling out, doing the blog and packing to leave for New Jersey and Kim and Sean's on Friday. We took Tyler to Wendy's for lunch seeing as Alexis had gone with one of her friends to the beach and we felt he was kind of lost around the house all alone. We had pizza for dinner and then to my surprise we had a birthday ice cream cake to celebrate my birthday which really isn't until Sunday. Don't ask how old as I'm done counting. Well it's time for bed and we will see you next time from New Jersey and we love you all.


Picture List:1,2,3-Burrows Hill School Circa 1725, 4-Gull House School Circa 1790, 5-Center School Circa 1828, 6,7-Gilead Hill School Circa 1748, 8,9,10,11-Phrophet's Rock, 12,13-The area around Prophet's Rock with it's stone fences, 14,15-Hebron Historic markers, 16-Hebron Town Hall Circa 1838, 17-One of the many old churches in Hebron, 18,19,20,21-Yantic Woolen Mill Circa 1885, 22,23,24-The old stone bridge in Yantic Circa 1908, 25,26,27-Grace Episcopal Church in Yantic, 28-Grave marker of Elitha Waterman 1771, 29-Grave marker of Mrs Experience Waterman, 30-Grave marker of Nehemiah Huntington, Esq. 1780, 31-Samuel Gay 1772, 32-Eunicc Hough 1752 3 years of age, 33-View of a lot of the old graves in the cemetery, 34-Revolutionary War Ozias Backus Captain Waterman's Company 1810.

Caching on Sunday with Chris, Corinna, Tyler & Alexis

Sunday started out with a huge thunder and lightening storm from about 5:45 till almost 7:00 and the rain was unbelievable. We didn't think we would be able to do to much but a little later in the morning it cleared off a little bit so Chris and the family went for a bike ride on the Airline Trail and we stayed around and watched the house. After they got back there was nothing to do so we all decided to go caching. We took 10 caches and way we went. Our first 3 caches were in cemeteries and old ones they were. The first cache in Westchester Cemetery Tyler found in the woods and after replacing it we looked around the cemetery for awhile and found several headstones dating back to the late 1700's and many more in the mid 1800's. We also found a very unique grave site and if you check the pictures you will see what we mean. We left there and drove to Linwood Cemetery right near Chris's house and Chris found this cache in a stone wall and after replacing it we walk around but this cemetery wasn't quite as old as the last one. Next cache was located at the old Bacon Academy School building in a cemetery behind the school and the oldest cemetery we have been in on our travels to date. Some of the headstones dated back to the early 1700's as the cemetery had a marker outside which said Colchester Burying Grounds Circa 1713.
In 1800 a prominent Colchester farmer, Pierpont Bacon, died and left an endowment of thirty-five thousand dollars (equivalent to about four-hundred thousand today). The endowment was to the "inhabitants of the First Society of Colchester for the purpose of supporting and maintaining a school…for the instruction of Youth in Reading and writing English, in Artithmetic, Mathimaticks, and the Languages, or such other branches of Learning". This established the academy that bears his name. Bacon Academy’s doors opened to the children of Colchester on the first of November 1803 and from that point forward, prepared many young men and women for the life that lay ahead. In its early days, Bacon Academy had a reputation of quality preparation for colleges around the country. Local children attended the school at no cost. Bacon’s status was recognized by many prominent fathers of the nineteenth century. The trustees established that there were to be three terms in a typical school year. The first started in September and ended in December; the second from January to April; and the third from May to August. Early class rolls show that the number of local students would be less in planting and harvesting season, many of them skipping semesters and/or returning either late in the first term or leaving early in the second and zero attendance in the third. Early Bacon students did not earn a diploma or graduate after four years like today. Instead, the school had a system divided into three branches. In the first branch, a young student learned such subjects as languages, grammar and mathematics. During the second branch, he or she would be taught writing, geometry, and rhetoric. The last branch would be similar to the common or grammar school. Age never factored into a student’s ability. Some students would leave Bacon at fifteen or sixteen if they completed the branches. In 1886, the branch structure was abandoned for the current four-year system and by 1890, the first modern-day commencement occurred with each graduate receiving a diploma. The school bell would toll at five-thirty in the morning during the first and third term and at seven in the winter for those in branches one and two. During which two scholars would be chosen each day to practice public speaking in front of instructors and other students. Following the speech, the day would begin with the scholars from the common branch joining the others for the Morning Prayer. Afterward, the preceptor (principal) would talk about morals and the studies of his students. This routine was eliminated after 1846 when the bells tolled only for the start of the school day. Life as a Bacon student was strict. The attitude of the scholar had to be forthright and that of a lady or gentleman. In or out of school, they would have behaved properly and dressed neatly or otherwise punished by means of “reproof, correction, admonition, or expulsion.” While in class, all pupils would sit diligently at their desk and learn the Greek or Latin classics. At home, the student usually studied when not working on their father’s farm or doing chores for their boarding master. After the centennial celebration the national reputation of the school declined and the Academy was primarily for those in surrounding towns. Eventually Bacon became the public high school for the town. In 1962, the student population in the then 160 year old building on Main Street had exceeded its use and they moved to the new facility adjacent to the grammar school. Stephen F. Austin the "Father of Texas" was one of the famous at the school.
After seeing the school we walked around the cemetery and Alexis found the cache behind a rock along the edge of the cemetery. We signed and replaced it and then walked around the cemetery reading all the old headstones and one site in particular caught our eye. It was the tomb of Gershom Bulkeley. The tomb of Gershom Bulkeley was discovered and after consultation with Bulkeley family members, the Colchester Historical Society called in Dr. Nicholas Bellantoni, the State Archeologist. He and his team of volunteers which included genealogists, archeologists and forensic specialists spent a total of 12 days in the exhumation of the tomb. The most interesting part of the exhumation was the discovery of the parts of some 28 coffin lids which enabled the researchers to specifically identify the family members. Forensic studies of the remains were completed in early 2003. In October 2003, the remains were reinterred and the tomb was sealed permanently. A granite marker over the stairwell lists the names of the interred Bulkeley family members. Gershom Bulkeley was born in Colchester in 1708 and died here in 1788. He was the fifth child of John Bulkeley who arrived here in 1703 as a minister of First Church of Christ. John and his wife Patience Prentice had 14 children, three of whom are buried in the tomb. Another of their children, also named John, is buried beneath a table top grave marker next to his father's marker at the upper end of the Ancient Burial Ground. Gershom's tomb was built around the time of his death in 1788 (or perhaps as early as 1775) and this type of tomb has been found in a few other Connecticut cemeteries and date between 1780 and 1840. George Washington is buried in a similar tomb. The first mention of the tomb was by a Colchester historian, who wrote in the 1920's that he had been in the tomb, and he described it perfectly. The tomb was apparently sealed in 1933 when the minister's son broke into it, extracted a skull and on Halloween paraded around town with the skull on a pole. The next day, four students at Bacon Academy were pressed into service and ordered to seal the tomb by the school's principal. For the next 70 years the tomb was just a mound of earth that was completely overlooked in the cemetery restoration which began in 1991. In the spring 2002, while clearing the tree line to put in period fencing, town workmen discovered three pieces of a large marble tablet which, when put together, suggested that this mound with some exposed brick work was in fact "the tomb of Gershom Bulkeley and his descendants" and then the exhumation was begun.
Next was 4 caches loacted in one of the town parks in Colchester. The first one was located up a hill near some rocks in a tree, the next was under a bridge, next was also in a tree and the last one was located on a fence. Then we did 2 caches loacted near RT 2 and they were travel bug hotels. Both were in the woods near off ramps. It seemed like everyone had a good time and we know Tyler and Alexis enjoyed it because they got some goodies out of some of the caches. We drove back to the house and I showered and Mom did our logs and Corinna made a great dinner of shrimp wrapped in prosciuitto and then baked in the oven with heavy cream sauce and mozzarella cheese over it and it was delicious. Then I had hoped to watch the Yankee-Red Sox game but it was in a rain delay so I went to bed and Mom watched tv for awhile. Well that's all the news that's fit to print from CT so we will say until next time we love you and miss you all.


Picture List:1,2-Entrance and marker for the Colchester Burying Ground Circa 1813, 3-Gershom Bulkeley burial tomb as written about above, 4-Many of the grave sites in the cemetery, 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16-Grave markers from many of the sites in the cemetery some dating back to the mid 1700's, 17,18-Westchester Cemetery grave markers, 19,20-Also Westchester Cemetery but note this one particular grave site which has solar powered lights and has a table set with Budweiser beer bottles, cupcakes and many other assorted knick knacks and next to the grave is a metal post with a scarf with the emblem of Gryffindor which is one of the houses at Hogwarts Academy in the Harry Potter book series, 21,22,23,24,25-Linwood Cemetery with many of the early grave sites dating back to the mid 1800's along with many Civil War graves with men who volunteered and fought in the war from, MA, CT and PA, 26,27,28-Bacon Academy School which is written about above.