A Handy Andy Dandy

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Hidden On: 07 Jan 2004
Waypoint (Landmark): N00D65
Open Cache:  Personal use only
Cache type:  Normal
Cache size:   Normal

Difficulty:  (moderate)
Terrain:  (easy)

Misc:

Comments:

This is a "bi-directional" multi cache. You may choose to take the "high" road (a difficult micro cache) or maybe you would rather stick with the "low" road (a simpler traditional cache with the theme of handy tools).

A Handy Andy Dandy!

At the listed coordinates you will find a large rock structure with a pot of flowers on it. This, believe it or not, is the grave site of Handy Andy. OK, so now you are probably wondering who was this Handy Andy. Would you believe a horse? That's why the stone structure is so big. Yep, here lies ... a horse. But really Handy Andy wasn't just any horse! A Champion Arabian Gelding, a descendant of Handyraff. This fine equestrian was the proud owner of a human named Stockman. Mr. Stockman owned a horse farm near Wilson, Wisconsin (site currently occupied by Stockman's Farm Supply store). Along with this horse farm, he also owned some land along the Eau Galle River (see where this is heading?). The current site of this park used to be one of the many pastures for Mr. Stockman's horses. The small barn looking pavilion was actually the horse barn at one time. Now it's a park along the wonderfully tame Eau Galle River. But this was not always so:

Here's some village
history: Logging crews began the first commercial ventures in the area around
1857, traveling upstream from the sawmill at the settlement of Eau Galle. This
tranquil scene, with only a few odd stores scattered about, changed overnight in
1891 with the coming of the "pig iron" industry and the true birth of
Spring Valley. Discovery of iron ore and other minerals, together with the
eastern venture capital raised by S. Frank Eagle, quickly lead to the creation
of the Eagle Iron Company and the Gilman Mines.



Suddenly Spring Valley was a major civic project, providing housing, food,
blacksmith shops, barbers, doctors, entertainment (saloons), etc. needed by the
new army of smelter and mine workers, many of whom brought their families. Thus,
up went churches, schools, police and fire departments and other trappings of
civilization, such as new village ordinances banning cattle from the city
streets and outlawing the playing of baseball on the downtown thoroughfare
because of all the broken windows and how it slowed down the horse traffic.



By 1895, Spring Valley had become incorporated and boasted a population of about
1000 souls. Probably the only serious local fiasco was the flood problem.
Bridges, railroad beds and trees sustained varying degrees of destruction,
depending upon the size of the flood. Major floods occurred in 1894, 1896, 1903,
1907, 1934, 1938 and 1942. There were, in fact, three floods in 1942 and the one
that washed through on the night of September 17, 1942 was, you might say,
"the mother of all floods" in Spring Valley. That night was pitch
black with no electricity and the flood waters moved at 12 to 15 miles per hour.
By dawn the valley floor was underwater up to depths of 20 feet (where the
present day Bank of Spring Valley is located). The flood quickly receded, but
now villagers had to decide whether to relocate Spring Valley or build a dam.
Frank Lloyd Wright visited in 1943 and offered to design a new village-as-a-mall
(it would have been the first one ever). Instead of rebuilding on West Hill (now
the site of Spring Valley Golf Course, "the best kept secret in Northwest
Wisconsin"), the residents went to the Army Corps of Engineers and asked
for a flood control gameplan.



Twenty years later, after tons of paper-shuffling and legislative wrangles, the
present-day dam was authorized, funded and commenced in 1964. On September 21,
1968, the completed project was dedicated during the first "Dam Days"
celebration and Spring Valley became known as "The Town That Wouldn't Be
Licked." [historical source: Doug Blegen, "resident historian"]

On the plaque at the above
coordinates, find the month, day, and year of Handy Andy's birth: AB /
CD / EFGH

Now find the month, day, and year
of Handy Andy's death: JK / LM / NPQR

There is another number, under
Handy Andy's name: STUVW

First the "low" road
(traditional cache with the theme of handy tools):

N44° 50.BBD' W92°
EB.RQD
When you find this one, log it as a LOW find.

Now the "high" road (micro cache - more difficult):

(LFQM + HEPK) x B / 129 =abc
(HA.F5SDD)²=def

N44° 50.abc' W92°14.def When you find this one, log it as a HIGH find.

Yep, you can log a find for EACH of these... Assuming you find them both.

Clues:    decode

• Low road 
  [Genqvgvbany Pnpur = ] Ybbx jurer n enoovg jbhyq tb>

• High road 
  [Zvpeb Pnpur = ] Oevat n pnyphyngbe>