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Papa Crow Deux RIP LbNA #43184

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Aug 30, 2008
Location:
City:Evanston
County:Cook
State:Illinois
Boxes:1
Planted by:acuppajava
Found by: goofy86
Last found:Jul 23, 2015
Status:FFFFFFFUFFFF
Last edited:Aug 30, 2008
Calvary Cemetery sits on the border between Chicago and Evanston, on the lakefront. The main entrance is on Chicago Avenue (known as Clark Street in Evanston), and the rear entrance is on Sheridan. A wide road connects the two gates. To find the Papa Crow Deux RIP letterbox, you’ll want to enter at Sheridan.

As you drive down the main path off of Sheridan road, take a moment to pause and look at some of the beautiful monuments that reside here. One in particular might catch your eye, on the right hand side of the main road – the statue of little Josie Lyon, who died Dec. 4, 1891, at the tender age of 9 years old. He’s housed in a little stone hut with a glass door.

As a child, I had occasion to visit Calvary Cemetery, to pay respects to my Grandparents, who are buried there. My father would take us around to the gravestones, and we would take in the magnificent carvings and monuments with an equal mix of awe and fear. But, Josies’ statue filled us with intense anxiety, mainly because of the story my father would tell as we would gaze into the little boys’ marble eyes. My father would tell us how Josie had tragically died on his First Communion Day, when he foolishly chased a ball (given to him as a Communion gift) into a street, and was subsequently hit by a runaway horse and carriage. His narrative was simple and clear, and there was no need to expound upon the moral of the tale. My father had a gift for tale-telling, and my sisters and I were always the enthralled audience.

Now, you will continue your drive (or walk) down the main road; in the “U’ section of the cemetery, on your left hand side (the lake at your back), you will come across a white, oval shaped tombstone simply marked “LYONS”. Time to park and walk along this row of graves. At this writing, there is a tree at the end of the row; near it is a tomb marked “John Gantley”. The Gantley marker is positioned directly across from a statue of Jesus. At the base of the Gantley tombstone, you will find the Papa Crow letterbox, tucked in behind a shard of rock. Please return and hide carefully after placing your stamp.

Once you’ve completed your treasure hunt, look down at the ground next to the Gantley marker; there, you will find the markers for George and Virginia Lyons, the original Papa Crow and his loving wife. My sisters and I have since scattered to the winds, away from our Chicagoland home, and are no longer available to tend to the graves as w e should; if you are so moved, we would be blessed if you would pause, say a prayer, and brush aside the grass and debris that might collect on our parents’ makers.

As to the reason why my father is known as “Papa Crow” – that is a tale for another time!

Good hunting –
acuppajava@earthlink.net