I would be willing to pay the $5 for someone who has the time and act as a spy. Would love to know what they say and which websites they talk about. Anyone game??


Have fun and just get out there & box!!!

Mark Pepe
http://markandsuepepe.blogspot.com/



-------------- Original message --------------
I tried to post this yesterday from work, but I don't see it
anywhere, so if it eventually shows up, I apologize in advance for
the double post.

I could hardly believe my ears when I heard on the radio (94.7) a
ph# to call to sign up for an Introduction to Letterboxing and
Geocaching being held at Northfield Mountain in Massachusetts! It
just seemed so, so... "out there"! I called the # when I got to
work, but reached a voicemail, so I looked on line, and there it
was! For a $5.00 fee, ages 8 and up could sign up for this
Introduction which included visits to websites for clues! Not sure
what to make of this. Any thoughts? Hmmmmmm, MayEve


Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT






Yahoo! Groups Links

To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/letterbox-usa/

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
letterbox-usa-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

So some schmuck has found a way to make a buck on something that
anyone who isn't a totally lazy slug could find on their own. Just
what we need a bunch of lazy careless boxers taught by a greedy schmo.
This was all much more fun when it was an underground thing but "inro
to letterboxing" classes? Way too white bread middle-America for me!
You folks in MA really should find out who's doing this and what their
motives are before we have Disney hiding Cinderella stamps in the
Magic Kingdom and selling package trips to letterbox with Mickey.
Makes my skin crawl thinking about it.

I felt the exact same way! Who the hell has the right
to charge for intro to letterboxing! I did a volunteer
thing on saturday for a local park I have been wooing
for a couple of months. And I know Tim Rainear does
something similar at Greene Lane, where he has lot's
of boxes planted. But to hold a class? For a fee?
Someone at the park on Saturday told me Bucks County
Community College offered a "family" course on it over
the summer! I went to the website to try to locate the
class info but it's not there. I'm hoping it was an
orienteering class instead...


--- Lady Hydrangea Prisspott nee Hedge
wrote:

> So some schmuck has found a way to make a buck on
> something that
> anyone who isn't a totally lazy slug could find on
> their own. Just
> what we need a bunch of lazy careless boxers taught
> by a greedy schmo.
> This was all much more fun when it was an
> underground thing but "inro
> to letterboxing" classes? Way too white bread
> middle-America for me!
> You folks in MA really should find out who's doing
> this and what their
> motives are before we have Disney hiding Cinderella
> stamps in the
> Magic Kingdom and selling package trips to letterbox
> with Mickey.
> Makes my skin crawl thinking about it.
>
>


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

I offered an Intro. To Letterboxing Class at the Nature Center I used to
work at...but we only advertised it in the newsletter...it ended up being
cancelled due to only one person signing up.

-Kim (Rustypuff)

-----Original Message-----
From: MayEve [mailto:mayeve511@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2004 4:16 PM
To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [LbNA] Letterboxing on the Radio

I tried to post this yesterday from work, but I don't see it
anywhere, so if it eventually shows up, I apologize in advance for
the double post.

I could hardly believe my ears when I heard on the radio (94.7) a
ph# to call to sign up for an Introduction to Letterboxing and
Geocaching being held at Northfield Mountain in Massachusetts! It
just seemed so, so... "out there"! I called the # when I got to
work, but reached a voicemail, so I looked on line, and there it
was! For a $5.00 fee, ages 8 and up could sign up for this
Introduction which included visits to websites for clues! Not sure
what to make of this. Any thoughts? Hmmmmmm, MayEve




Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT
click here
oups/S=1705065786:HM/EXP=1095365755/A=2128215/R=0/SIG=10se96mf6/*http://comp
anion.yahoo.com>


_____

Yahoo! Groups Links
* To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/letterbox-usa/

* To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
letterbox-usa-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com


* Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
Service .


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I'm not sure what the big deal is charging $5 for an intro to
letterboxing class. I'd hardly think that at $5/person, there's a
big profit motive driving it. (Woo-who! I made $20 bucks today!
Time to retire!)

*shrug* It might cover the cost of renting a classroom somewhere. I
might help cover the cost of printing handouts or carving materials.

I'd certainly hope they will do more than just point users to a bunch
of websites and say, "Go for it!" but we really don't have enough
information to make judgement.

Just my two cents. =)

-- Ryan

In the words of Bogart, "I have nothing against a chiseler, its a two bit one
I can't stand." The fact that the person isn't going to make much money
doesn't make it any less crass. This slug is probably thinking he will start small
and end big. In any event he is looking to profit from those who offer
something of goodwill for free.

SCS&LP
Stewart


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I agree. It's not about the money, it's just the thought of a class
so widely advertised. I live in Massachusetts but am not sure where
this is taking place. If that class was not too far from me (less
than 2 hours drive) I'd be willing to go and be the "spy". I'll
even pay my own $5...... (:

So, MayEve...let me know where you are and where that class is!!!

Kerri
P8 F115 X10 HH9

Okay...Google and MapQuest are beautiful things. Northfield is
about 2 and a half hours from where I live in Swansea. If anyone
that lived local to me wanted to go with me, I'd be willing to
drive. (I'm pretty curious about this....can you tell??) If not,
though, I'm not going alone!

That's my two cents on that!

Let me know what you think!

Kerri P8 F115 X10 HH9

My opinion of the class would depend on what's being taught. If someone is
teaching things like map reading, how to use a compass properly, safety and
first aid in forest preserves, what poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac look
like, what to do if you're hiking with your dog and your dog gets skunked,
or is threatened with a nasty run-in with a coyote, why it's not such a smart
idea to forget to fill your water bottle and decide to fill it from the nearest
clear-looking stream, how to properly remove and save a tick in case it's
needed for testing, the symptoms of Lyme disease, West Nile Virus, etc. etc.
etc., I can think of more than a few people who could make good use of such a
class. It might also include stamp carving, proper and safe use of carving
instruments, etc. and I'd be just fine with it.

On the other hand, it's a class to say, just pass out hand-outs of various
websites offering clues, that'd be a horse of a different colour. I'd consider
that a bit of a rip-off. Tho I can't imagine anyone getting rich off a $5
class.

PippiL


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I don't look at it that way. Some people like to learn from others in a
class like situation. Others are independent & find things out on their own.
I'm sure no one will make a bundle changing $5per peson for a class on
letterboxing.

STAR:W+S=DRR


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Chances are that the $5.00 covers supplies - I do training for a
non-profit organization, and it's surprising how much it costs per
person to supply the attendees with printouts & the necessary
arts/crafts stuff to try their hand at making something ;-)!
And if you drive a big ol' gas guzzler like the van I cart my stuff
around in, it might be nice to top off the tank, too!

Ruby Tuesday
CelticLions

Okay PippiL. I'll pay $5 and sign up for your class
below. Sounds like a lot of bang for my buck!

--- CountdownTo55@aol.com wrote:

> My opinion of the class would depend on what's being
> taught. If someone is
> teaching things like map reading, how to use a
> compass properly, safety and
> first aid in forest preserves, what poison ivy,
> poison oak, and poison sumac look
> like, what to do if you're hiking with your dog and
> your dog gets skunked,
> or is threatened with a nasty run-in with a coyote,
> why it's not such a smart
> idea to forget to fill your water bottle and decide
> to fill it from the nearest
> clear-looking stream, how to properly remove and
> save a tick in case it's
> needed for testing, the symptoms of Lyme disease,
> West Nile Virus, etc. etc.
> etc., I can think of more than a few people who
> could make good use of such a
> class. It might also include stamp carving, proper
> and safe use of carving
> instruments, etc. and I'd be just fine with it.
>
> On the other hand, it's a class to say, just pass
> out hand-outs of various
> websites offering clues, that'd be a horse of a
> different colour. I'd consider
> that a bit of a rip-off. Tho I can't imagine anyone
> getting rich off a $5
> class.
>
> PippiL
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been
> removed]
>
>




__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - Send 10MB messages!
http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

My thing with this is that as tight as the LB
community is, if the promoter were someone competent
and experienced, then they would probably either 1) be
on this list and might have said "what do y'all think
about....", or 2) someone on this list would know
who's doing it and would speak up and say "Ol' Joe's
alright - he's trying to get newbies playing the game
properly."

If I had to guess, I would say it is someone who has
heard about it recently and thought it was cool, saw
an opportunity to promote a little known hobby (ride
the upswing), and make some money at it. I'm betting
this person is thinking they will have people flocking
to their door to learn about "letterboxing-the newest
craze in outdoor activities".

If I were near enough, I couldn't stand but to go and
find out what the deal is - and possibly heckle
someone a little if they were being shady - but then,
I can be kind of an agitator if someone is trying to
screw me over! On the other hand, if they were
educating responsibly, I would also be glad to be
there to lend credibility, even if I had to pay $5 to
do it.

The things people think of...

Lucy




__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers!
http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

I say! Sign up for "Buford T. Hornswagler's School of High Impact
Letterboxing"! In this here class we show you how to leave boxes on
the trails, stomp through delicate ecosystems and exchange geocache
trinkets for those purdy stamps!

Let's hope it is not that,

Lightnin' Bug

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, Barefoot Lucy
wrote:
> My thing with this is that as tight as the LB
> community is, if the promoter were someone competent
> and experienced, then they would probably either 1) be
> on this list and might have said "what do y'all think
> about....", or 2) someone on this list would know
> who's doing it and would speak up and say "Ol' Joe's
> alright - he's trying to get newbies playing the game
> properly."
>
> If I had to guess, I would say it is someone who has
> heard about it recently and thought it was cool, saw
> an opportunity to promote a little known hobby (ride
> the upswing), and make some money at it. I'm betting
> this person is thinking they will have people flocking
> to their door to learn about "letterboxing-the newest
> craze in outdoor activities".
>
> If I were near enough, I couldn't stand but to go and
> find out what the deal is - and possibly heckle
> someone a little if they were being shady - but then,
> I can be kind of an agitator if someone is trying to
> screw me over! On the other hand, if they were
> educating responsibly, I would also be glad to be
> there to lend credibility, even if I had to pay $5 to
> do it.
>
> The things people think of...
>
> Lucy
>
>
>
>
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers!
> http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

Hey Kerri, I'll go. Maybe we can find a Northfield
box too!

JoAnne


--- playschoolteach wrote:

> Okay...Google and MapQuest are beautiful things.
> Northfield is
> about 2 and a half hours from where I live in
> Swansea. If anyone
> that lived local to me wanted to go with me, I'd be
> willing to
> drive. (I'm pretty curious about this....can you
> tell??) If not,
> though, I'm not going alone!
>
> That's my two cents on that!
>
> Let me know what you think!
>
> Kerri P8 F115 X10 HH9
>
>


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

I live less than an hour from Northfield Mountain. If someone who
knows the phone number or some other way that I can find out when
this is, please let me know. I may be able to attend. This type of
class could put some of my boxes at risk.

Dennis of
Dennis & Donna

Has anyone who has a box in the Northfield Mountain
area considered contacting the park and asking which
boxes will be found and suggesting that they ask
permission to use specific boxes as a demonstrations,
since it puts any boxes used as examples at greater
risk?

Just wondering.
Lucy



__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail is new and improved - Check it out!
http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

I don't understand why they need permission to find the boxes. Are these boxes are on the public web site? Why could a complete stranger find them off the website but not people in the park? Shouldn't we be glad that people actually in the park think there is so much value in the "hobby" that they want others to learn? The letterboxers in the area must be excellent in their treatment of the land there.

Just wondering?



Barefoot Lucy wrote:
Has anyone who has a box in the Northfield Mountain
area considered contacting the park and asking which
boxes will be found and suggesting that they ask
permission to use specific boxes as a demonstrations,
since it puts any boxes used as examples at greater
risk?

Just wondering.
Lucy



__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail is new and improved - Check it out!
http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

Yahoo! Groups SponsorADVERTISEMENT


---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links

To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/letterbox-usa/

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
letterbox-usa-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.



the Letterboxing Richters
P 9 F 70




---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers!

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I don't think the question is so much that people find
them, but that people are being led to them through
the class and there is no way of knowing how diligent
they would be in caring for the boxes.

As an example, we are planning an introduction
to/demonstration of letterboxing for a boy scout
troop, but we won't use "live" boxes because we don't
have a way of measuring the degree of care or concern
they might have with a real box, even though we know
they are scouts and have been thoroughly trained in
Leave No Trace and resource management, and "should"
know how to respect the property of others. We don't
know most of those boys personally, so we don't know
how well all that training has taken. If we were to do
a couple of those types of demos and they went well,
we might do another and go for a real box, but before
we did it, we would contact the placer and ask
permission, just as a matter of courtesy, especially
since we might be exposing someone else's boxes to
greater risk by bringing/sending a group to the box.

Lucy



--- Kim Richter wrote:

> I don't understand why they need permission to find
> the boxes. Are these boxes are on the public web
> site? Why could a complete stranger find them off
> the website but not people in the park? Shouldn't
> we be glad that people actually in the park think
> there is so much value in the "hobby" that they want
> others to learn? The letterboxers in the area must
> be excellent in their treatment of the land there.
>
> Just wondering?
>
>
>
> Barefoot Lucy wrote:
> Has anyone who has a box in the Northfield Mountain
> area considered contacting the park and asking which
> boxes will be found and suggesting that they ask
> permission to use specific boxes as a
> demonstrations,
> since it puts any boxes used as examples at greater
> risk?
>
> Just wondering.
> Lucy
>
>
>
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Mail is new and improved - Check it out!
> http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail
>
> Yahoo! Groups SponsorADVERTISEMENT
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/letterbox-usa/
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> letterbox-usa-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the
> Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
>
>
> the Letterboxing Richters
> P 9 F 70
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers!
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been
> removed]
>
>





_______________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Declare Yourself - Register online to vote today!
http://vote.yahoo.com

Still seems to me that people "led" to boxes through a class will have every bit as much chance of being diligent in caring for boxes as those who stumble upon a website and are "led" to go out on their own or with a gang of friends for the first time. A class will offer chances to ask questions, and might even be more likely to spend more time with the FAQs than an individual anxious to just get out there. You're right, there's no way of knowing how careful these people will be. But say the class has 20 people --they are interested enough to pay a fee, and most will probably be older than boy scouts. It's likely the LbNA site could have even more new visitors than that every single day of all ages, and there is also no way of knowing how careful those visitors are with the boxes, day after day. Judging by the number of ruined boxes, the odds don't seem great. They spent nothing to get the clues, and they can easily go out without bothering to read FAQs. So I can't see how that is so much worse than a group of people waiting to take a class. From what I've heard, plenty of people here on this list went out for their first time with a large family group or group of friends, armed only with what they could learn from the LbNA site. That's the way we have it set up to work right now, folks. --lunaryakketyact

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I think this is just one of those things that people are going to
have very different opinions about. I agree with both sides of the
argument. My only issue is that it was advertised on the radio. I
know that the Smithsonian and Time are national magazines that reach
millions of people and that articles are published in newspapers
almost every day it seems. It just gives me the creeps when I think
about it being on the radio. A class is a great idea when, just as
with the website, one must seek it out to find it. As mentioned
earlier, there might be more interpersonal time to describe the
hobby, the importance of Leave No Trace and re-hiding carefully. It
makes me cringe to think of a troop of 20 people tromping through
the woods (I was in the army and there is NO way for a group of this
size to go unnoticed in the woods) headed to find some unsuspecting
placer's letterbox. However, we may all be jumping to conclusions.
This may not be the case at all. Like I said, the only thing that
really gets to me is using the radio to drum up people for the
class. I am also not going to just sit here and complain. I intend
to make the 5 hour round trip from my house to go see what its all
about. Hopefully, it will be a pleasant surprise.

Happy trails,
Kerri

I tried using the earlier mentioned link to get to the info about
the Northfield Mt. class on Sunday but it wouldn't work for me. I
found the info at www.nu.com/northfield/updates.asp

This is what the website says (and I quote):
Introduction to Letterboxing and Geocaching

Sunday, September 19; 1 4 pm
For ages 8 and older
Fee: $5 person
Pre-registration required

Learn how to find small treasure boxes hidden in beautiful natural
areas. Both these activities involve visiting websites to get clues
to specific sites and using maps, written directions, or a global
positioning system (GPS) unit to navigate to boxes or caches. These
activities appeal to the treasure hunter instinct in everyone from
young families to adults. We'll spend time indoors learning how to
use the websites and the specific tools of each trade notebooks
and handmade stamps for letterboxing, and the GPS for geocaching.
The group will then head out to find an example of each type of box.
Bring a notebook and water and wear sturdy shoes and woods clothes.
Program will involve some off-trail travel and a maximum distance of
a couple of miles on rolling terrain. No GPS unit required. Heavy
rain cancels. Program begins at Northfield Mountain.

The jury is still out in my mind as to whether this is a good thing
or not. As mentioned in my last post, I'm planning to go. Ms
Dragonfli offered to go with me earlier and I hope she is stil up
for it!

Happy trails,
Kerri

P.S. It also said that heavy rain cancels. So, this may all be for
naught any way. (:

Would it be to much to ask everyone to let this conversation come to an end.
Lets not beat this to death with all of our wisdom. The class is the
class for whatever it is, let it be. Our own Theory of what it may be is
worthless. Let those that attend tell us the facts and lets give this one
a rest!!
Chris

On 9/16/04 7:35 PM, "playschoolteach" wrote:



> I think this is just one of those things that people are going to
> have very different opinions about. I agree with both sides of the
> argument. My only issue is that it was advertised on the radio. I
> know that the Smithsonian and Time are national magazines that reach
> millions of people and that articles are published in newspapers
> almost every day it seems. It just gives me the creeps when I think
> about it being on the radio. A class is a great idea when, just as
> with the website, one must seek it out to find it. As mentioned
> earlier, there might be more interpersonal time to describe the
> hobby, the importance of Leave No Trace and re-hiding carefully. It
> makes me cringe to think of a troop of 20 people tromping through
> the woods (I was in the army and there is NO way for a group of this
> size to go unnoticed in the woods) headed to find some unsuspecting
> placer's letterbox. However, we may all be jumping to conclusions.
> This may not be the case at all. Like I said, the only thing that
> really gets to me is using the radio to drum up people for the
> class. I am also not going to just sit here and complain. I intend
> to make the 5 hour round trip from my house to go see what its all
> about. Hopefully, it will be a pleasant surprise.
>
> Happy trails,
> Kerri
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
>
> ADVERTISEMENT
>
> > ps/S=1705065786:HM/EXP=1095474970/A=2352667/R=0/SIG=11t4iivpf/*http://www.netf
> lix.com/Default?mqso=60185359&partid=5285298>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
> * To visit your group on the web, go to:
> * http://groups.yahoo.com/group/letterbox-usa/
> *
> * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> * letterbox-usa-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> *
> * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service
> .
>




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]