Tercentennial - Letterboxing

April 1 through September 15, 2008

• Do you want to learn more about Ridgefield's history?
• Do you like to go on Treasure Hunts? Be outdoors? Take hikes? Visit some interesting places?
• Just be together with friends? Family?

Then Tercentennial Letterboxing is for you!

Letterboxing clue booklets available at Union Savings Bank, Squash's, Neumann Real Estate, Books on the Common, Chamber of Commerce, Town Hall and Scott House. The next time to present your Clue Booklet for the commemorative prize (11 letterboxing stamps) and the grand prize entry qualification (21 letterboxing stamps) is at the Country Fair at the Old High School on July 5...look for the Letterboxing table at this event.

Matt Kirby, Sean Brady, Patrick Spauster, Jack Truskowski and Drew Truskowski reading a compass As part of Ridgefield's 300th Anniversary celebration, 21 sandwich-size plastic containers, "letterboxes", are hidden at various sites around Ridgefield - in historical places, parks and open spaces. Find at least 11 and you can receive a commemorative prize; find all 21 and you're eligible for the grand prize. Or, just have fun finding a few letterboxes. Some locations are quick and easy walks, others involve moderate or longer hikes, but this is an event designed for groups and individuals of all ages.

The Tercentennial Letterboxing Event is a unique and entertaining way to learn about Ridgefield and its history as we celebrate our town's 300th anniversary!

A Letterbox
Brian Truskowski

Clue Booklet

• Union Savings Bank on Danbury Road (Route 35)
• Squash's Office Supply on Main Street
• Books on the Common in Copps Hill Common on Danbury Road (Route 35)
• Town Hall information desk on Main Street
• Chamber of Commerce on Bailey Avenue, just off Main Street
• Ridgefield Historical Society on Sunset Lane, just off Grove Street
• Conservation Commission Office in the Town Hall Annex (old high school building)
• Neumann Real Estate on Main Street

How does it work?

All you need to participate in this adventure is a Tercentennial Letterboxing Clue Booklet, a pen, and a compass; the compass is needed to find some, but not all, of the letterboxes. You will bring these items with you to each letterboxing location. The Clue Booklet tells you the general location of the letterbox. Once there, you follow the clues in the booklet to find the exact location.

Contents of a Letterbox At each site a plastic box contains a rubber stamp, inkpad and logbook. Once you find the plastic box you will make an imprint of that box's unique rubber stamp on the correct page in your Clue Booklet. You will then sign your letterboxing nickname or alias in the letterbox's logbook and then replace the plastic box and its contents, exactly as you found it, for the next visitor.

Most participants may want to bring along a rubber stamp purchased from a craft store or a handcrafted rubber stamp to use as their signatures in the letterbox's logbook instead of a letterboxing nickname or alias; this is totally optional. Making and buying rubber stamps will be discussed at the optional letterboxing workshops.

The letterboxes are hidden from April 1 through September 15, 2008. You might decide to find a couple letterboxes in a day, or find several every few weeks. You decide how and when you want to look for the letterboxes.

Anne Farrell, Melissa Brady and Belinda Ward reading the clues in their Clue BookletWhen you search for a letterbox, you will want to take the utmost care to not let others see you, as it would reveal the location. This could spoil the experience for the next letterboxing visitor, and it could allow someone not on the secret letterboxing adventure to disturb or take the box.

You also want to respect the land upon which letterboxes are hidden, never disturbing sod, vegetation, natural rock formations, stone walls, animals or anything else. And you want to leave each site better than you found it by removing litter left behind by people who care less for the land than you do.

Here's an example: The Keeler Tavern grounds might be one of the historical places to visit and find a letterbox. (You will find this out in the Clue Booklet.) You would take your Clue Booklet, pen and compass with you to Keeler Tavern and follow the clues in the Clue Booklet to find the exact location of the hidden letterbox on the property. Once you found the letterbox, you would make an imprint of the Keeler Tavern rubber stamp on the appropriate page in your Clue Booklet to record your find. You would then leave the imprint of your personal stamp and/or sign your letterboxing nickname or alias in the letterbox's logbook. You would then replace the plastic letterbox exactly as you found it, being careful that no one saw you.

Prizes

Once you or your family or group find at least 11 letterboxes and have the imprints of their rubber stamps in your Clue Booklet, you can present your Clue Booklet at one of several Ridgefield 300th anniversary events to claim your commemorative prize.

The commemorative prize is a Ridgefield 300th anniversary reusable plastic water bottle, the perfect companion for your letterboxing and hiking adventures. This 28-ounce wide mouth water bottle has a screw top lid. It is made in the USA from BPA free plastic so no chemicals will leach from the bottle into your water. The contoured tapered base allows it to fit in auto cup holders.

If you or your family or group find all 21 letterboxes and collect the stamped imprints from them in your Clue Booklet, you're eligible to place your name in the drawing for the grand prize.

To collect your prize and/or submit your grand prize entry form, please bring your Clue Booklet to the Letterboxing table at the following town and 300th Anniversary events:

• May 26 - Memorial Day parade (at Ballard Park from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.)
• May 31 - Colonial Day at Keeler Tavern
• July 5 - Country Fair at Richard E. Venus Building (old high school)
• August 16 - Art Walk in the Evening on Main Street
• September 20 - 300th Anniversary Celebration Stage Review at RHS

Contact Us

To contact the Tercentennial Letterboxing Committee, please send a note to Peteltrbx@aol.com

Our goal is to create a unique and fun way to learn more about our town as we celebrate Ridgefield's 300th Anniversary in 2008! Happy Hunting!

Terry McManus
Letterboxing chair

A Short History of Letterboxing

Andrew, Thomas and Fiona McKee opening a letterboxLetterboxing is said to have started in England in 1854 when a Dartmoor National Park guide left a bottle in the park with his calling card and an invitation to others who found the bottle to add their calling cards. Eventually, the current custom of using rubber stamps and visitor log books came into use. It caught on in the United States in 1998 after an article was published in Smithsonian magazine. Letterboxing is an intriguing pastime combining map-reading skills, hiking, arts and crafts, and delightful treasure-hunting in beautiful, scenic places.

Are there any rules?

Letterboxes are hidden on land to which the public has access. They are placed so that a casual find by a "non-letterboxer" is unlikely, yet they must be accessible without impacting the natural surroundings. They are not buried in the earth, but are instead placed under rocks or in existing natural holes, crevices or cavities. They should not interfere with native wildlife or habitats. They are not placed close to one another (to avoid damage from over-intensive use of an area), nor are they located in such a way as to cause any potentially dangerous situation. Contact information is provided so that information pertaining to the box can be passed to the owner.

When hunting for letterboxes, please respect the land upon which they are hidden. Do not disturb any historical landmark or private property. Do not break sod, remove native vegetation, disturb natural rock formations, or interfere with animals or their habitats. Leave the site in better condition than you found it. You are encouraged to remove any litter left behind by people who care less for the land than you do.

Please respect the contents of each letterbox and the effort put into it by its planter. Replace the box carefully and leave it as you would hope to find it: hidden from view, with contents intact. If a box is damaged, please notify its owner.

More information

If you are interested in learning more about letterboxing, visit the Letterboxing North America website.

Continue to watch this Ridgefield Tercentennial website for more information and details about Ridgefield's own 300th Letterboxing Adventure.

ENJOY!!!!