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Moxie! LbNA #23690

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Jul 10, 2006
Location:
City:Somers
County:Tolland
State:Connecticut
Boxes:1
Found by: Nairon
Last found:Jul 8, 2016
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFaFFaaFaF
Last edited:Nov 8, 2015
Moxie Letterbox
Somers, CT

This is the same starting point as "Peace...in Klingon" letterbox. The distance for this letterbox is about 0.5 miles. If you choose to go for both boxes, plan on hiking about 2 miles.

Moxie? What's That?

Moxie is the uniquely New England soft drink. Back in 1876, Dr. Augustin Thompson of Union, Maine, first marketed Moxie as a patent medicine in Lowell, Massachusetts. It was advertised to cure medical problems, including "loss of manhood, paralysis and softening of the brain". Dr. Thompson changed Moxie to take advantage of the new and growing soft drink market at the time. He put it on the soft drink market in 1884 as "Beverage Moxie Nerve Food". Later it became known simply as "Moxie". It has a core of dedicated fans in Maine.

Moxie was America's most popular soft drink until the 1920's, due in large part to a very aggressive and effective advertising program. For many years, Frank Archer was in charge of its advertising program. It is rumoured that Archer's face is the trademark "Moxie Man" on the orange label. Moxie was the nation's first mass-marketed soft drink.

A combination of factors caused the decline of Moxie as the nation's favorite, and it was eclipsed by Coca Cola in the 1920's. Moxie has never regained its national appeal, and is found mainly in New England and a few other locations around the country.

I happen to like Moxie - my grandfather got me hooked on it as a kid. At camp I used to line my cabin with empty cans and bottles to signify the number I drank over the course of a summer. I think the total was about 106! It is refreshing and doesn't have an overpowering sweet taste like a lot of the soft drinks on the market. Moxie is definitely an acquired taste.

DID YOU KNOW?
Moxie was a favorite of President Calvin Coolidge!
Baseball great Ted Williams used to advertise it!
The word "moxie" may have come from the Algonquin Indian word "Maski" which means "Medicine"!
One of the primary ingredients is the gentian root!

DIRECTIONS: From the junction of routes 190 and 30 in Stafford, drive west on route 190 for 3.6 miles. Turn left at the blinking lights onto Gulf Road. Go about 1.8 miles. Turn right at the sign for Soapstone Mountain. Park in the lot immediately to your right.

Walk back to Gulf Road. Cross the street and walk past the green gate. Head northeast on the blue Shenipsit Trail. Shortly after strolling past the gate you will come to a pond on the right that is covered with lily pads. There is a picnic table on the shore. Very soon after that the blue trail splits off to the left. Follow it. After a few minutes you will walk between 2 rocky formations. As the trail gradually leads uphill you will see 2 larger rocky areas on both sides of the trail. Keep your eyes open for a blue-blazed ā€œVā€ tree on the left sise of the trail. Stop here. Get out your compass. At 195 degrees, spot a tree growing out of a rocky ledge. Walk about 30 steps to it. Look under the rock to the right of the tree for some liquid refreshment.