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Read Thread: How did you first hear of letterboxing?

How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Aug 2, 2012 11:07am
Thread (disabled) Board
We were just getting out of our car to take a Sunday afternoon hike. A mom with lots of kids, heading back to her car was obviously so delirious with joy that she was almost incoherant, telling us about clues in the woods, a treasure hunt, and finding the directions online. Obviously, we kept our eyes PEELED during our hike. What were we looking for? Plaques nailed onto trees? What could make a person that giddy? Needless to say, we noticed nothing unusual. Before going to bed that night, my buddy google helped me out, and I had a pile of boxing clues & big plans for Monday! Still don't know if the mom & kids were boxers or cachers, but she gave me the clue I needed.
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719544 by Geedyup
Aug 2, 2012 11:28am
Thread (disabled) Board
Girl Scouts. My daughter's Daisy Troop did it as an activity one day and I happened to be the helper parent along for the ride. We found one right on our town common, and I thought it was pretty cool.

I didn't start letterboxing in earnest until I had February school vacation, 2 years later, and it was unseasonably warm. My kids and I set out to find all the ones in our town and we were hooked!

I still have 2 more to go in my town, however. ;)

Amy
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719544 by Geedyup
Aug 2, 2012 11:30am
Thread (disabled) Board
I was trying out Geocaching, and saw a comment mention the nearby letterbox. Liking the treasure hunting concept of Geocaching but not the execution as much, I checked it out.

Like marrtians, I didn't start "in earnest" until later. I'd found a few around town when I happened to be in the areas where they were located. Then I went on a trip with my family to Utah, nabbed a couple there, and got my Mom interested. Many things are more fun with company, and I include boxing in that category. We've both been much more interested since and I've gotten plants under my belt since then as well.
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719544 by Geedyup
Aug 2, 2012 11:32am
Thread (disabled) Board
An article in Family Fum Magazine in 2004. It sounded like something my then Girl Scouts would enjoy. 8 years later a few are still planting & finding!
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719544 by Geedyup
Aug 2, 2012 11:34am
Thread (disabled) Board
There was an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution on Saturday August 7, 2004 about the first GA letterboxing event at Stone Mountain Park. It said more than 50 letterboxers from 9 states were expected to attend that day and they would be scouring the park for the 10 boxes hidden there. There were photos of boxers, boxes, log books, and stamps, and a link to letterboxing.org. I still have the newspaper article.
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719544 by Geedyup
Aug 2, 2012 11:44am
Thread (disabled) Board
I was hooded and thrown into a van. I could tell that there were other people in the van, but we were told not to talk to one another. After what seemed like a long drive, we were finally loaded out of the van and into a dark, damp room. We were then asked to pledge to maintain utter and absolute secrecy about what would be discussed. One by one, we were required to pledge the oath of secrecy. Those that refused were quickly dispatched. Only after the pledging were the hoods taken off and we were allowed to look around and talk. Then we were given a copy of the FAQ, some cookies, and some punch.

Oops, I've probably said too much.

[._.]
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719562 by Aiphid
Aug 2, 2012 11:46am
Thread (disabled) Board
Awww... man! How come I couldn't have been hooded, thrown in a van and then given cookies and punch?!!! I totally missed that initiation!!!

Now it's just gonna seem reallllly boring to say I learned about it from an article in the Charlotte Observer newspaper in 2003. *sigh*
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719544 by Geedyup
Aug 2, 2012 11:50am
Thread (disabled) Board
this lovely friend told me there was something else we could do in the woods beside just hike along and look at the view. She told me i would need a stamp, a trailname (i had one of those) and some sort of logbook; she would provide the stamp and logbook. We met at a rendevous point, and we stopped at a local park and she handed me a clue. She let me read it, and follow it.

i looked down at the log, and she said, "go ahead, look under it." And by golly, there was this tupperware container. In it, was this stamp and a logbook! Whoa!

And to this day, there's that little prize in yer cracker jacks! gets me every time.

~tigs(currently working on mystery clues for the state of Maine)
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719566 by The Wolf Family
Aug 2, 2012 11:51am
Thread (disabled) Board
I totally missed that initiation!!!

Be careful, Wolfie. i read this - and i am moving way closer to you!

~tigs(who forgets very little)
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719570 by tiggermama
Aug 2, 2012 12:01pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Be careful, Wolfie. i read this - and i am moving way closer to you!

I've been around LONGER than you!! YOU can't initiate ME!!!

But maybe you need a little "initiation" for moving to NC...
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719562 by Aiphid
Aug 2, 2012 12:02pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Then we were given a copy of the FAQ, some cookies, and some punch.

"I was told there'd be punch and pie."
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719544 by Geedyup
Aug 2, 2012 12:10pm
Thread (disabled) Board
I was doing an off trail hike up Stone Mtn. and saw a rock that looked out of place....moved it and BAM...there was a box under it. took it out and read it all....put it back just exactly as I found it....went home and hit the internet. I have been boxing ever since...I hope to be able to keep boxing til I drop!
Then I am gonna have my stamp on my head stone so folks can exchange with me from the other side! Y'all come visit ya hear! :)

T -who hopes that is a long time from now! :)
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719562 by Aiphid
Aug 2, 2012 12:12pm
Thread (disabled) Board
You know the first rule of letterbox club!

Such talk is Verboten!
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719544 by Geedyup
Aug 2, 2012 12:47pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Well, I have an old memory of some such treasure hunting game, from back in the 70's. But then I never heard about it again until I started geocaching in Oct. 2010, after seeing an article...I think Family Fun magazine. I saw mention of it on that site, and found a hybrid box in Mar. 2011. Got bored of geocaching and started letterboxing in June 2011. I like it 100x better.
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719544 by Geedyup
Aug 2, 2012 1:16pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Right after my husband bought his first boat, I was looking for some way to get outdoors to exercise. I had known about geocaching and started to explore that when I pulled up a website which explained letterboxing. It sounded like a perfect match for my love of rubber stamping, puzzles and journaling. And it got me outside for really long walks! I started in July of 2010 by myself and then the Hubs joined me one day when his boat was getting serviced. He fell in love with it from the first box we found together!

Mini Mouse and The Fish Master
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719544 by Geedyup
Aug 2, 2012 1:28pm
Thread (disabled) Board
I went to a Girl Scout event where they gave a presentation about Letterboxing. They had also hidden 10-15 boxes at the location of the event, mostly traditional boxes but some hidden in plain sight. They made little log books for everyone and let the girls make stamps from foam shapes. I fell in love instantly :)
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719601 by christmas6
Aug 2, 2012 1:36pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Then I am gonna have my stamp on my head stone so folks can exchange with me from the other side! Y'all come visit ya hear! :)

What an awesome idea - I wouldn't have thought of that, but I'm gonna remember it, for sure!!!
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719544 by Geedyup
Aug 2, 2012 1:44pm
Thread (disabled) Board
My good friend and neighbor mentioned it when I wondered why she kept disappearing like she was on a covert op's mission or something. :) I almost quit on the first stamp (*gasp* I know!) But heres the story. I took my mom and sister with me. It was at a farm that has few if any visitors and it was on a Sunday afternoon. I had to bring my whole computer for the series clues because the printer wasn't working and my phone is less than smart. Anyway, here I am with a laptop on the ground and half of my body engulfed by a bush chattering away to my mom and sister and all of the sudden I realize it silent. Uh oh. I extracted myself from the bush only to realize that my mother and sister, bless their hearts, had seen people coming and had moved on like they didn't know me! So there I was with leaves in my hair and dirt on my knees staring at no less that 10 people who decided today was a nice time to take a walk right past this random bush! I was so embarrassed and pretty sure they were going to recommend a good psychiatrist. Luckily I didn't give it up and now I have lots of reasons for being in a bush/fountain/tree etc. If I get caught un-aware!
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719544 by Geedyup
Aug 2, 2012 2:00pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Many, many, years ago I was watching "Good Morning America" or some show like that and they were interviewing a letterboxer. I told a friend about it and we both thought it sounded cool but we were both aprehensive about carving a signature stamp and how to get started and hiking.. and whatnot so we really didn't mention it again. Years later I got married and mentioned it to my husband. I can't remember what got me talking about it. I didn't think much about it or that he'd like it but he got right on line, printed out some clues near us and within the week we were out on our first adventure. We had gone to JoAnn Fabrics and bought a stamp that we all agreed on. I'm not even sure we knew what we were doing at first. Lucky for us it was a pretty easy one which made it really fun and exciting - leaving us wanting to find more. I remember opening the box and looking up at my husband and saying, " ok, now we need to sign this." " What's our name going to be?" and he came up with it right then.

Weeks later we were working on about 7th or so box and were having the WORST luck. I'm so glad that one wasn't our first because if it had been we probably would have never gone again. lol
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719544 by Geedyup
Aug 2, 2012 2:39pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Myself and a few others had created several miles of official hiking trails and we would be overly excited to see someone, anyone, hiking on them. We were so worried no one would hike the trails. When I read about letterboxing it honestly didn't sound that interesting, but I was curious if any boxes were hidden in my town. I checked lbna and discovered there were boxes hidden right along our trails. This was amazing because not only were people hiking our trails, they were hiding things along our trails. Cool! The first few boxes were actually pretty crappy and I didn't think much of the sport, but then I found an amazing hand carved stamp and all the sudden I "got it."
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719593 by FloridaFour
Aug 2, 2012 3:02pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Well, I have an old memory of some such treasure hunting game, from back in the 70's

Could you be thinking of "armchair treasure hunts" ??? A term for treasure hunts that stem from clues left in books? Like letterboxing, it's history started in the 1800's in England. The 1970s saw a rise in their popularity, and there have even been a few treasure hunts in the past ten years. The difficulty in them is that unlike what we do, their is a buried treasure to be found... BURIED! i.e. digging to do. and... it's for keeps, so first finder gets the spoils... You are a lot more apt to get questions and/or police attention if you are digging a hole in a public park. The one I find interesting is "The Secret" which has sat for nearly 30 years. "The Secret" had 12 treasures hidden, only two have been found... and there is something sooo magical in the way that the author wrote the clues that one of these days I am planting a mystery box in honor of the author of that hunt. It will be in the style of it, although... I hope I don't make it so hard it goes unfound. I have a starting point, and a few lines of verse... but I have not found a final spot for the box, and until I do I am not 100% sure what the stamp image will be. I keep have a recurring about the first half of the trek to plant this box. There is a certain intersection that will literally be the half way point, and it is soooo vivid in my head. arrggghh.. Need more creative energy to finish this one... *sigh*

But that's not what anyone asked about... (and it's not the first time you've all heard that little ranmbling, and it won't be the last... I'm sorry)

I heard about letterboxing back around 10 years ago... A friend wanted to try. Neither of us felt like carving a stamp. We read some clues. Drooled over the thought of joining in the fun. But were too afraid of not being good enough of an artist, and without even trying let it go by the way side...

Fast forward... I started geocaching.... It was fun. It was a distraction. {i still do it, just not often} I pick up a geocaching book. It has a chapter on letterboxing. I asked an artist friend to draw my first stamp for me. I said I would carve. She refused, said I could do it. I grumbled, then tried it. I'm in love of that first stamp now. I'm addicted, and kicking myself over and over at having waited so long to jump into this, when I used to travel all the time around New England, and would have been in a position to letterbox all over during those years... *sigh* live and learn.
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719604 by Wise Wanderer
Aug 2, 2012 3:12pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Then I am gonna have my stamp on my head stone so folks can exchange with me from the other side! Y'all come visit ya hear! :)

Guess we'll have to bring our own ink... ;)
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719544 by Geedyup
Aug 2, 2012 5:24pm
Thread (disabled) Board
I work for Sam's Club and 1 day I was on our company website and came across a post someone had done on their first experience Letterboxing. I was intrigued by the article and started checking out the website they mentioned. Then I was hooked! I wanted to try it (pretty bad) but didn't want to go by myself. I'm a little bit of a chicken...or scaredy cat...which ever you prefer! ;0) So one day I started talking to my oldest daughter about it and she felt the bite just like I did. So we combined together to form a team and have been completely addicted ever since! Just wish we could find more time to get together and go! We have invited a couple other people to join us for a day here and there and have added my best friend to our group. Couldn't imagine not being a part of letterboxing now!
Bobbie
Moms_Play
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719609 by Team Mac
Aug 2, 2012 6:57pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Many, many, years ago I was watching "Good Morning America" or some show like that and they were interviewing a letterboxer.

Headline News possibly?

Mark, one of the first boxers in Atlanta, did a short segment for them in about 2005. I still have a copy somewhere...
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719713 by Eidolon
Aug 2, 2012 9:21pm
Thread (disabled) Board
A friend of mine had tried geocaching and was then told about letterboxing. She mentioned it to me, thinking it would be something I would enjoy because we were always taking random adventures (like stopping at historical markers that no one else ever seemed to stop at, etc.). I told my mom, we were planning a road trip to AZ at the time. Our first box was one of AZRoadies and we were also first finders! We were hooked.
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719728 by Scoutingbear
Aug 3, 2012 4:59am
Thread (disabled) Board
like stopping at historical markers that no one else ever seemed to stop at,

ya know, i think letterboxers as a group are the only people reading these signs. . .

~tigs(also does this)
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719544 by Geedyup
Aug 3, 2012 10:16am
Thread (disabled) Board
I read an article about Letterboxing in Family Fun magazine (love that magazine) in the fall of 2006. It sounded like a fun and interesting activity to do with my grandchildren, a reason to get out and do something. However, the weather was changing and I thought I would check into it in the spring. Then they had another article soon after and it still sounded interesting. We found a few boxes in the spring, and then there was a gathering planned which we went to. It was so much fun to meet everyone--what a lot of characters! Can it really have been 6 years ago? I'm glad we found this activity.
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719544 by Geedyup
Aug 3, 2012 11:54am
Thread (disabled) Board
One of my jobs is cleaning banks at night. And while i may or may not have been snooping around stuff, on this lady's desk i found card with a house stamp (guess who! Our lovely Houspitality Hostess!!) saying "if this box has been found by a non-boxer go to ... Well i took a picture of this card, got online later that night. Printed off a clue the next day, went to this cemetery of all places. And flat out failed to find this darn box. So about a week later i went out again, this time with reinforcements..maybe i just sucked that day..Still couldnt find the freaking thing. Well im just stubborn right, so the next day i go back again. Turns out Mrs. HH wrote the clues wrong and i ended up finding it kiddy corner on the other side of the cemetery. So i AQed her told her about it, and well here we are! Me still boxing like a maniac, and great friends with that CRAZY lady!
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719544 by Geedyup
Aug 3, 2012 3:43pm
Thread (disabled) Board
I came from the geocaching side. <Boo!> <Hiss!>

In 2003, I had been geocaching for almost a year. They have letterbox hybrids. I figured that if there were hybrids, there were 'letterboxes'. I found letterboxing.org, but there weren't many letterboxes in my area. I went and found one (Foul Ball) in the same park as two of my geocaches. I just drew some geocaching type picture in the logbook and wrote my experiences about finding it.

I didn't do anything else with pure letterboxing until I got interested in it again in the fall of 2010. There were a few more letterboxes in this area on letterboxing.org. I also found this site and signed up on 15 September 2010. I didn't want to start really finding them until I had my own stamp.

I finally carved a stamp for my first letterbox hybrid for Pi Day, Delta Pi 2011. (It's too far from any good landmarks to locate with anything other than GPSr.) I also carved my own personal stamp. I then went and found Foul Ball (again) on 25 March 2011 as my first official letterbox. The original logbook with my log is still in the box, though there is an additional logbook. I'm still the most recent finder, but I suspect that won't hold true after the next event on August 17th.

I've now got 84 "traditional" finds. I quoted "traditional" because three of those are really event boxes that were mislabeled, so I really have 81 traditional finds. I don't trade in geocaches much anymore. Letterboxes have more interesting contents, but there are too few of them around.
Re: How did you first hear of letterboxing?
Board: Letterbox Chatter
Reply to: #719570 by tiggermama
Aug 3, 2012 3:47pm
Thread (disabled) Board
~tigs(who forgets very little)

But, fortunately, is easily distracted. ;-)