New Friends and Old Boxes

 Hello, hello, hello. 

It's me BedBeard. I have mentioned my introduction to LB'ing on my personal blog before, but I will say a little something here for those who don't know me:

I had an older sibling who was a boxer from the Boone county area. And he was involved in the community of boxing which went on between 2006 and 2008. Then he moved and his boxing slowed down (partially due to the big LB explosion among the scouts and such). However, during that period of time he was around, he took me along for some boxing and I only recently began to go on my own. (His trail name was "nugglebugs"... I'll include one of his old entries here in case you have your old stamps memorized). 

A little late, I know. But better late than never. And I actually think that the only thing I am missing out on because of my lateness is the events themselves. From the emails I have had and the old blog posts on this very page I can see that there was a very close group of LBers and lots of creativity in the area. And with the current state of the nation, there might not be a chance for a gathering of that kind for a while longer. 

I am currently at school in Kirksville until May 2021 (I will be graduating!!). After that, I will be in or around Columbia for the next year. Hopefully we will have most of Covid behind us and could have a meeting of some kind. I would love to connect more with the old timers in the area. 

But events aside, some positives come with being late to the party. One is the hilarious experiences that are a result of hunting for boxes that have been abandoned for over a decade, or boxes that haven't been hunted for since 2013. And I think that the rush of adrenaline or joy, or whatever it is you get when you find a box is even stronger if it's a box that you went to look for thinking it was lost. Another thing is that it adds to the feeling of treasure hunting, because sometimes the clues aren't updated that well and you have to try and imagine how the area has changed since the box was planted. 

I actually went to look for an old box this week. It was the Ace of Diamonds box by McMonkey Mom. I think it was planted in '07. I found the spot, and dug a bit for the box. I hit plastic and thought for sure I had found it, though the previous two boxers had failed. I managed to loosen the plastic object only to find that it was a concession stand cup that someone had shoved in the hole. Actually, it turned out that there were two of these cups in there! But there was no box to be seen. 

I will continue to LB in the area, and I am slowly crossing off the list of over 200 boxes in the mid-missouri area that I can access on both LBNA and Atlasquest. I have no idea what I am going to get when I go to look for a box because I seem to be the first one looking for them this decade (hence, I have about a 40% find rate). So if you have any boxes that are still out there or if you know you have boxes listed which have been since picked up please help me out. 

Stay safe and healthy, my friends.

BedBeard 

Return of Letterboxing to Mid-Missouri

 Letterboxing in Mid-Missouri went into dormancy a few years ago -- about the same time that the hobby was overrun as a "fad." Boxes were taken or abused and groups of scouts and others tromped clear paths to otherwise hidden boxes. The final blow was the rise in popularity of geocaching when that sport no longer required expensive GPS devices.  Now anyone can find a cache with a smartphone. It's clueless.

The sport had lost its uniqueness and appeal. Most of the oldtimers simply put their logbooks and stamps on the shelf.

But there is hope

Hugh Keene (BedBeard) of Kirksville is reviving letterboxing in Mid-Missouri. For the past several months he has sniffed out the old boxes still out in the field and planted several of his own. We are happy to welcome him to the group and encourage him to start the letterboxing conversation anew.

Who knows? Perhaps with BedBeard's enthusiasm, Letterboxing will make a comeback here. Good luck, Hugh.

C2B2