This article was taken from the Columbus, IN Republic and permission was
granted to post here at this website.
James R. Hull, Ph.D.
Cemeteries depend on trustees
Saturday, August 02, 2003
OLD and abandoned cemeteries pose an interesting challenge: Who is
responsible for their upkeep when nobody is left to care for them or about
them? What about cemeteries at private residences - why should the public
be involved with them at all? When small cemeteries no longer accept
burials and families are gone, who will step forward to ensure proper
maintenance? Many of these issues surfaced in the recent Republic series on
township cemeteries. How the issue is addressed varies from cemetery to
cemetery and from township to township. Further, counties handle the issue
in a variety of ways. In the worst cases, no one cares or talks about the
issue. That's not the way it should be. Cemeteries should be properly
maintained if only because that is the decent thing to do. Secondly, it
shows a level of respect for ancestors and is an important link in township
and county history. Most importantly, cemetery maintenance should not
become an adversarial situation, nor should it require an additional level
of government. The best approach is for township trustees, who are the
official caretakers, to anticipate costs and include them in township
budgets. Yes, that is unpopular, but the cost should not be a budget-buster.
Clubs, church groups, volunteers and history buffs could also pitch in.
There would appear to be room somewhere for funeral homes to join the
effort. Over a few years, sufficient funds should be accrued to properly
care - and possibly even restore - cemeteries. Some Indiana counties have
established commissions to oversee cemeteries, but if trustees and their
advisory boards had compatible commitments, there would be no need for a
"supervisor of the supervisor." Granted, abandoned cemeteries are not
"front burner" issues for county commissioners or township trustees, since
the deceased have few lobbyists. But we owe it, if not to our ancestors,
at least to our county's heritage to properly maintain cemeteries. For
background on this editorial, use the key word "Cemeteries" on our Web site
search at
therepublic.com.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Content © 2003 The Republic, Columbus, Indiana
Software © 1998-2003 1up! Software, All Rights Reserved
----- Original Message -----
From: <IN-CEMETERIES-D-request(a)rootsweb.com>
To: <IN-CEMETERIES-D(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2003 11:01 PM
Subject: IN-CEMETERIES-D Digest V03 #42