I started letterboxing due to instigation by a group of friends. They decided that it was for my benefit if I were to get out of the house during a tragic time for my family, so they carted me off and brought me up to Mt. Misery, to capture one of the first existing boxes in the country, let alone in the state of Connecticut, Misery Loves Company; an apt name to the melancholy that I was currently feeling! My initial feelings of the hobby were those of indifference. I could take it or leave it, the Log Stamp was a small, plain, store bought thing which cried of boredom. But, I decided to give it another try. From here, I went out with one of the same friends to find the mystery series "Bushy Point." Beautiful views and gorgeous weather increased my desire to once again be out in the wilds of nature. "The Bug" had entered my viens and spread. There was no cure.
Thankfully, to a family who was seemingly devoted to this hobby, more and more new boxes began to pop up, after a while these boxes contained handcarved stamps. You could honestly say that you were witnessing the birth and evolution of the hobby with each new DREW CLAN box. To Jay Drew and Family, I would personally like to offer this word of thanks for what you did for the hobby in Connecticut, and after a fashion for the entire country.
As more and more Drew boxes dotted the area, an even larger number of names began to look familiar... Melissa and Dan, The Four Elements, The Ram (where have I met him before?) Many people now choose to accept a "Handle" when they go boxing. A moniker that they can sign into boxes with. I liken it to a trail name similar to one that you would get on the Appalachian Trail. The familiarity of these names encouraged local gatherings to become common place. For more information about the next local gathering for this area check out the great work Trish Kurdziel is doing for the Burlingame Boxing 2001 event here. This gathering will take place in the Fall of 2001 at Burlingame State park.
The aspect of Letterboxing that I appreciate the most is the ability to see new areas of my state and country, that I wouldn't have seen if it weren't for this hobby. Of course I have hiked many miles of trails locally and distant, but there are areas that I haven't seen, that someone else has. Thankfully these areas struck the people enough as unique to want to place a letterbox there . |
