Rob;Thank you for your commments about some of the less happy aspects of
letterboxing (missing stamps). Altho i don't know yet if any that I have
placed have been stolen, there have been 3 or 4 that I know of that are
missing.
Unlike Dartmoor, a casual finder here won't necessarily know what he's
found, so we encourage the inclusion of a satememt to explain the
concept. Over there, where the numbers are obviously much higher, I
guess it is to be expected.
Also, VERY nice to hear of the fund raising results for charities.
Hopefully, we can grow the sport enough here to try something similar.
Stay in touch
Erik Davis
Monkton, VT
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Missing boxes
6 messages in this thread |
Started on 1999-06-02
[L-USA] Missing boxes
From: robert Boon (rob-bev.Boon@ukgateway.net) |
Date: 1999-06-02 22:29:38 UTC+01:00
I have been watching your discussions for a
while, but there never seems to be anything I can get involved in. I live
in Plymouth and I'm a Dartmoor letterboxer and have been for some years.
I'd just thought I'd share a common problem that I encounter with
walks.
I will be taking in a 20 box walk which has been
on the Moor since last November. It's been quite popular and raised about
£300 for charity. The last person to do the walk informed me that 7
out of the 20 are missing, presumably stolen. This is irritating not only
for the letterboxers, but also for the person who put the walk out. But it
happens all of the time. I think there are some misguided people out there who
think that letterboxing means collecting the stamp itself and not the
image. So, when you can't find a stamp, you never know whether it is well
hidden or missing.
My new walk, out since March, has raised over £500
already. So it's a great way to make money for charities.
Best wishes
Rob
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[L-USA] Re: Missing boxes
From: erik/susan davis (davisarc@wcvt.com) |
Date: 1999-06-02 21:11:55 UTC-07:00
[LbNA] Missing boxes
From: Steven Stary (kurrwic@yahoo.com) |
Date: 1999-11-22 07:44:36 UTC-08:00
This weekend I went to check on my Sherwood Point
letterbox in Door Co. Wisconsin because I suspected I
had accidentally placed it on private property. It
was not posted as such at the time, and there was no
indication of any ownership, or even human habitation
in that particular spot. However, when I went back up
there this weekend, there were no less than five new
vacation homes which had sprung up in the vicinity
since I had last visited, and the "Private Property"
sign was stuck right on the spot the letterbox had
been. Needless to say, it was not still there. I'd
have gladly moved it had anyone contacted me, but
appartently the new owners of my letterbox would
rather use it for keeping leftovers fresh.
I don't know where I can place that letterbox again
when I recarve the stamp, it may prove difficult to
find an area that won't be sold out from under it.
Nevertheless, I will give it a try. I think this is
also a decent lesson in choosing the right spot.
Parks and designated nature areas would seem to be the
safest bet, far away from anywhere anyone might ever
venture unless they are following a clue.
Speaking of dangerously urban areas for letterboxes,
I'll be replacing the Madison "Rocky Horror Letterbox"
this weekend when I'm down there for Thanksgiving. I
may also get a chance to find Deborah's new letterbox.
Steven Stary
Green Bay, WI
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com
letterbox in Door Co. Wisconsin because I suspected I
had accidentally placed it on private property. It
was not posted as such at the time, and there was no
indication of any ownership, or even human habitation
in that particular spot. However, when I went back up
there this weekend, there were no less than five new
vacation homes which had sprung up in the vicinity
since I had last visited, and the "Private Property"
sign was stuck right on the spot the letterbox had
been. Needless to say, it was not still there. I'd
have gladly moved it had anyone contacted me, but
appartently the new owners of my letterbox would
rather use it for keeping leftovers fresh.
I don't know where I can place that letterbox again
when I recarve the stamp, it may prove difficult to
find an area that won't be sold out from under it.
Nevertheless, I will give it a try. I think this is
also a decent lesson in choosing the right spot.
Parks and designated nature areas would seem to be the
safest bet, far away from anywhere anyone might ever
venture unless they are following a clue.
Speaking of dangerously urban areas for letterboxes,
I'll be replacing the Madison "Rocky Horror Letterbox"
this weekend when I'm down there for Thanksgiving. I
may also get a chance to find Deborah's new letterbox.
Steven Stary
Green Bay, WI
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com
Missing boxes
From: (twograysquirrels@aol.com) |
Date: 2000-08-14 09:38:13 UTC-04:00
Hi,
Great idea to make a list of the missing boxes. Perhaps it can be a part of the "What's New" page. sort of a "what new" and "what gone". I also lost my very first box. It is box number one in York River. I put a note to that effect on my web page. I had hid two boxes in York River Park so the trip is still good for a stamp. I plan on replaceing the first one when I get back down there in the fall. I also recommend placing more then one box at a location or park. That way if one is lost all is not lost. I would also like to recommend hiding a box when you find one. Most of these parks are very large and can accommodate lots of boxes. That way when I come back to check on a box I can also look for one in another part of the park that I had not visited previously.
Squirrel
Great idea to make a list of the missing boxes. Perhaps it can be a part of the "What's New" page. sort of a "what new" and "what gone". I also lost my very first box. It is box number one in York River. I put a note to that effect on my web page. I had hid two boxes in York River Park so the trip is still good for a stamp. I plan on replaceing the first one when I get back down there in the fall. I also recommend placing more then one box at a location or park. That way if one is lost all is not lost. I would also like to recommend hiding a box when you find one. Most of these parks are very large and can accommodate lots of boxes. That way when I come back to check on a box I can also look for one in another part of the park that I had not visited previously.
Squirrel
Missing boxes
From: Doug Gerlach (silentdoug@douglasgerlach.com) |
Date: 2003-02-10 12:19:19 UTC-05:00
Yesterday I found a box that was "reported missing" but not confirmed. It
was an orphan, so the owner couldn't check the box to confirm that it was
missing or not, but he did put a note on the clue that it had been reported
as possibly being missing.
That wasn't enough to deter me from trying, and, sure enough, I found it.
What's more, it was in the right place according to my interpretation of
the clues. The trails in the area had changed quite a bit since the box had
been placed, though, so I could see how some might have had trouble finding it.
In other cases, I've tried to find "reported missing" boxes and came up
empty-handed. I do like knowing whether a box might be missing before I
head out to seek it, and probably give clues for "reported missing" boxes a
bit more scrutiny before concluding for myself that the box is indeed
missing. The informal nature of the LBNA site, group and individual clue
pages makes it a bit harder to know the status of a particular box -- the
LBNA webmasters won't annotate a clue without instruction from the person
who planted the box, box planters may not update their clues on a timely
basis (or may not even be subscribed to the talk list to hear about reports
posted there that their box may be MIA), etc.
Some people may not want to know that a box is or may be missing before
they head out on the trails. I think most boxers would rather have some
indication about the status of a box beforehand, though. While there's no
organized way to check (unless you email the box owner directly), you can
search the talk list archives for any updates or reports on a particular
box. (Incidentally, this is why folks post reports on their letterboxing
travels to the list -- that way, the status is recorded for posterity in
the list archives and searchable by other users.) It's too bad that the
Yahoo! Groups archives are so slow and kludgy to search, but you create
your own archive instead. Just store the email messages on your own
computer and create your own archive. Now when I want to check the status
of a box before I try to find it, I just need to search my letterboxing
folders in Eudora, and don't have to bother with Yahoo!
|-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-|
Silent Doug, P21 F109 X04
silentdoug@douglasgerlach.com
http://www.letterboxing.info
was an orphan, so the owner couldn't check the box to confirm that it was
missing or not, but he did put a note on the clue that it had been reported
as possibly being missing.
That wasn't enough to deter me from trying, and, sure enough, I found it.
What's more, it was in the right place according to my interpretation of
the clues. The trails in the area had changed quite a bit since the box had
been placed, though, so I could see how some might have had trouble finding it.
In other cases, I've tried to find "reported missing" boxes and came up
empty-handed. I do like knowing whether a box might be missing before I
head out to seek it, and probably give clues for "reported missing" boxes a
bit more scrutiny before concluding for myself that the box is indeed
missing. The informal nature of the LBNA site, group and individual clue
pages makes it a bit harder to know the status of a particular box -- the
LBNA webmasters won't annotate a clue without instruction from the person
who planted the box, box planters may not update their clues on a timely
basis (or may not even be subscribed to the talk list to hear about reports
posted there that their box may be MIA), etc.
Some people may not want to know that a box is or may be missing before
they head out on the trails. I think most boxers would rather have some
indication about the status of a box beforehand, though. While there's no
organized way to check (unless you email the box owner directly), you can
search the talk list archives for any updates or reports on a particular
box. (Incidentally, this is why folks post reports on their letterboxing
travels to the list -- that way, the status is recorded for posterity in
the list archives and searchable by other users.) It's too bad that the
Yahoo! Groups archives are so slow and kludgy to search, but you create
your own archive instead. Just store the email messages on your own
computer and create your own archive. Now when I want to check the status
of a box before I try to find it, I just need to search my letterboxing
folders in Eudora, and don't have to bother with Yahoo!
|-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-#-|
Silent Doug, P21 F109 X04
silentdoug@douglasgerlach.com
http://www.letterboxing.info
Missing boxes
From: Linda Reedy (lreedy@gracebc.org) |
Date: 2004-05-04 07:22:32 UTC-04:00
Just to let everyone know, the two boxes in Chattanooga, TN, are
missing. I took the day off yesterday to search for them. The hiding
places were easy to find, but no boxes. The drive was a pretty one
though, so I'm not too disappointed.
Woody's Mama
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