Unusual Memorial to a Young Man in the Pines

RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
5,064
3,342
Pestletown, N.J.
Did a little coyote hunting in the pines this morning with a friend and we came across a very secluded and unusual memorial near the Sleeper Branch.

The first thing we noticed were two sealed photos of a young man attached to two different trees. The first is a pic of the person wading in muddy sneakers drinking a beer and holding a dip net. Above his picture carved deeply into the tree were the initials T A. The second photo on another tree was the young man holding a huge snake. The photo is faded but this thing looked like an Anaconda to me. It may be a huge pine snake but I know next to nothing about snakes.

At the base of the second tree there were two large turtle figurines. The first was a chainsaw carving of a snapper. It was very heavy and very realistic. The material looked like white cedar and the lack of decay supports that. The second turtle was made of a baked clay material and the head was broken off. Under the clay turtle was written "1980-2008". Next to the turtles were two unopened bottles of Yuengling laying on their side. I placed the bottles upright and took a few minutes to reflect on the apparent loss of this young person.

Who was this young man ?
Was this one of his favorite spots in the Pines ?
Do his family and friends still visit ?
How did he pass ?
Will someone do this for me someday ?

I hope so.






 
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RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
5,064
3,342
Pestletown, N.J.
I'll put a few Miller High Life's, some mild long hots and some sharp provolone out there for you Bob.
Oh yeah, and a solar powered CD player continuously playing "Yoko Ono Sings The Grateful Dead's Greatest Hits"
 
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Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,984
8,737
Was that at Rockwood? I have photos of the same turtle there at a memorial. Let me find them.
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,984
8,737
Scott,

On 6/27/2009 I visited there and found these. It is obvious that someone is coming back to keep the memorial updated.


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Wooden%20Turtle%20at%20Rockwood.JPG



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Scott ... when we arrived that day we were looking for one of the Rockwood stones. About 30 feet in that swamp there is a state monument and when we got there we could still see the impression in the ground where one of the large Rockwood stones had been at. Someone had recently removed it. It was a stone like this.


Steve_Me.jpg



Guy
 

manumuskin

Piney
Jul 20, 2003
8,678
2,593
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millville nj
www.youtube.com
The snake is being held on a snake hook between him and the camera. That gives it the appearance of being larger than it actually is.
To me it looks as if the snake is against his body and within striking distance but if he is holding it on a hook and it's out in front of him then he is probably safe and this would almost confirm that it is a rattler.has the right pattern and a triangular shaped head like a pit viper would.
 

Y-BUC-BILL

Explorer
Mar 9, 2007
129
26
Scott.......Very interesting find and reading.Don't know what you will find in the Pine Barrens.How did you do with the coyote's?
 

Nark

New Member
Aug 27, 2012
14
8
Searched through a lot of obit archives in the Courier Post who fit the T.A., 28, died in 1980 criteria.
 
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