Strolling Through History: Tabor City, NC v2.0
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This is a history / mystery cache; the second I ever found. The original CO archived the cache in November, 2012. He gave me written permission to take over the cache. So, with some advice from forum members at GroundSpeak, I edited the cache text, added new info, changed the math - and took over this awesome mystery cache. I just couldn't let this piece of Southern Carolina history go to waste. Hope geocachers feel the same way!
BYOP, please!
Strolling Through History: Tabor City, NC v2.0
Original Cache: GC250VQ
Originally Hidden by EZTracks: 03/14/2010 (30 Finds)
Now Hosted (with written permission) by Char1ieJ
N 34° 08.835 W 078° 52.546
Tabor City, North Carolina
Tabor City, population estimate 2,600, is located on the North Carolina / South Carolina border at 34°8′55″N 78°52′19″W (34.148621, -78.872073). Tabor City was named after Mount Tabor Baptist Church (now Tabor City Baptist Church). Mount Tabor Baptist Church was named after the biblical reference to Mount Tabor. Originally named Mount Tabor, the town adopted its current name after postal authorities confused it with Tarboro, NC. Business activity started in Tabor City in the mid-1850s with a saw mill, turpentine still, grocery store and dry goods store. Incorporated in 1905, Tabor City has been known as the "Yam Capital of the World" since the 1930's. The first tobacco warehouse in Tabor City was built in 1909. A crate factory was built in 1910 and the Tabor City & Waccamaw Lumber Companies began in the 1940s. The town also contains Lake Tabor, a 149 acre recreational lake. Tabor City is home to South Columbus High School Stallions, the last of the three county high schools (opened in 1993).
A new state prison, the Tabor Correctional Institution, opened in 2007, housing 1,500+ inmates. TCI is located two miles (3 km) northwest from the center of Tabor City.
On the fourth Saturday of every October, the North Carolina Yam Festival is held in Tabor City; celebrating the beloved sweet potato. Since 1948, crafts, train rides, arts and assorted vendors have been a part of the annual festival. A local Christian music festival, Youthfest, has also been held the same weekend as the Yam Festival. In past years, Youthfest brought major recording artists such as New Song, Big Daddy Weave, Kutless and Dara McLean to this small town in rural North Carolina.
A large part of Tabor City's fame is associated with The Tabor City Tribune newspaper, which was established by W. Horace Carter in 1946. The Tribune was awarded the 1952 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. The Pulitzer Prize citation stated that the newspaper was awarded the prize "for their successful campaign against the Ku Klux Klan, waged on their own doorstep at the risk of economic loss and personal danger, culminating in the conviction of over one hundred Klansmen and an end to terrorism in their communities." The Tabor City Tribune was the first weekly newspaper to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize. The name of the Tabor City Tribune was changed to the Tabor-Loris Tribune in 1996, as the communities of Tabor City, NC and Loris, SC spread closer to one another geographically.
1-Go to the posted coordinates [N 34° 08.835 W 078° 52.546]
These coords will bring you to the Todd House Restaurant, a Southern style buffet eatery. The first home cooked meal to send its aroma through the Todd House doors occurred way back in 1920's. That meal was prepared by the owner and originator of the establishment, Mrs. Mary Todd. Mrs. Todd reclocated from the turpentine-producing community of Pireway to Tabor City. She rented rooms in her Tabor City home to visiting tobacco buyers. Mary Todd prepared homecooked meals, leaving her cooking pots on the dining table for boarders to server themselves -- a very early form of the "buffet". As her business grew, Todd had to close in her back porch to provide additional room for her guests. Quail hunters and their dogs also enjoyed the three-story boarding house. Ever a servant to boarders' needs, Mrs. Todd kept pens under the home for hunters' dogs.
Traveling salesmen, another regular group found renting accomodations from Todd, could eat supper, spend the night and have breakfast the next morning at the Todd House for a grand total of just $2.00. Mary Todd never owned a cash register. She kept her money in her apron pocket instead. Mrs. Todd gathered fresh fruit daily from her back yard, where fig trees and small strawberry patches could be found.
Mrs. Mary Todd died in 1963, but many still remember her as a great cook and a generous woman who never hesitated to help those in need. Her daughter, Virginia Smith, took over the business and continued the same traditions that her mother had started. A fire destroyed the old building in 1971. The Todd House was rebuilt with the present day large dining rooms and fourteen boarding rooms. The Nelson Lee family now owns and operates the Todd House, still providing home cooked meals, ice cream and assorted crafts to locals and tourists alike.
Where you're standing, there is a large sign with a date on it. Take the second number in that date. That number will represent M.
M minus 3 divided by 2 minus 2 = A. Record the value of A.
2-Go to N34 08.837 W078 52.652
These coords will bring you to the Tabor City Train Depot and caboose. This depot maintains a number of artifacts depicting the days when the railroad was an integral part of the daily living in Tabor City. The Depot offers visitors a replica of the town in the early 1900s as well as pictures of prominent citizens who led the town to its present growth. Tabor City was on the route of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.
Walk around to the front of the caboose where you will see a visitors' door on the caboose (not an original part of the caboose). Now, count the number of small panes of glass in this door. That number will represent N.
N divided by 3 times 4 minus 5 = B. Record the value of B.
3-Go to N34 09.038 W078 52.377
These coords will bring you to the "Mt Tabor" historical marker, located outside of the Tabor City Visitor's and Information Center. On this sign you will see when Mt. Tabor's Charter was changed to Tabor City.
Take the second number in that date. That number will represent O.
O times 2 plus 3 divided by 3 minus 4 = C. Record the value of C.
You now have the numbers needed for the mystery longitude of the Goal Zone. Keep going to find the numbers for the latitude...
4-Go to N34 09.313 W078 51.712
These coords will bring you to the Tabor-Loris Tribune and the Horace Carter Museum. The museum exhibits the life and works of 1952 Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Public Service winner W. Horace Carter. The museum most prominently features his editorials against the resurrection of the Ku Klux Klan in eastern North Carolina, and the reactions generated during that campaign. Horace Carter was the founder of the newspaper in 1940's. The small museum also contains some of the equipment used to publish the Prize winning newspaper.
You will be in front of a statue of a young boy selling newspapers. On the ground, in front of the statue, is a bronze plaque. At the bottom of the plaque, there is the date it was dedicated.
Take the number of the day it was dedicated. That number will represent P.
P plus 7 divided 4 plus 6 = D. Record the value of D.
5-Go to N34 08.830 W078 52.451
These coords will bring you to the Tabor City Baptist Church. The Tabor City Baptist Church had its beginning, in so far as can be ascertained, in 1838 as the Mount Tabor Baptist Church. The first building was a log structure located on the outskirts of the little village of Mount Tabor on Old Stake Road. In 1872, a new frame building was erected on the site of the former high school. This structure was enlarged in 1886 to accommodate an increase in church membership. As the church continued to grow, there was a need for a new building, at a new location.
One of the first pastors, who is recorded in the church's history, was the Reverend Zade Bullock. Rev. Bullock served the church before the Civil War. The pastors during the war were Bill Ayers and Jesse Blanton. In 1878, the Reverend John Harrelson was called to pastor Mount Tabor Baptist Church. In 1892, the Mount Tabor Baptist Church joined with the Cape Fear-Columbus Association. In 1893, the Reverend Joshua Soles received a salary of $20.00 per year.
In 1906, Mr. William "Bill" Fowler, grandfather of Mabel Fowler and Janice Richardson, donated land to the church. A new frame building was started at the present location on Live Oak Street. The new church sanctuary was completed in 1908. At that time, George F. Stanley, from Loris, was pastor. In 1930, the Mount Tabor Baptist Church became part of the Columbus Baptist Association. In 1931, the progressive membership saw the need for a more adequate building, and the first brick building was constructed with Sunday School rooms and Training Union facilities. The Reverend Wilbur H. Wall was pastor.
Other former pastors were John Connelly, A.B. Rowe, John McCaskill, Moses Pridgen, Daniel Cox, D.N. Gore, Daniel Boyd, David James Ray and Dr. David Coleman. Today, Pastor Jeremy Deal resides as minister over the Tabor City Baptist Church.
On the front of the main church building is a plaque denoting when the Educational Unit's first service was held.
Take the number in the day the first sanctuary service was held. That number will represent Q.
Q times 4 minus 1 = E. Record the value of E.
6-Go to N34 09.025 W078 52.418
These coords will bring you to the Mt. Tabor 1870 Schoolhouse. The schoolhouse is believed to be the first one-room schoolhouse in Tabor City. It is used by the local schools during school hours to hold classes. The schoolhouse contains a wood burning stove, along with replicas of desks built out of 100 year old pine. There are also photographs, textbooks and histories of the school on display. [If you wish to look inside the school all you need do is visit the Tabor City Visitor's Center and ask for the key.]
At the coordinates, there is a school bell on a post, along with a plaque on the ground in front of it.
Take the second number in the year Mr. Ottis was born. That number will represent R.
R minus 3 times 2 minus 4 = F. Record the value of F.
You now have the numbers needed for the mystery latitude of the Goal Zone.
[The check sum for the 6 numbers needed to find the final cache location is 33.]
Final Goal Zone Cache Coordinates = N 34 08.ABC W 078 51.DEF FTF goes to sandini (1/06/13)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Lbh'er ybbxvat sbe n cvyy obggyr. OLBC. Gnxr fbzr fjnt naq fvta gur ybt, cyrnfr!