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Return-path: Bubblecut(a)aol.com
From: Bubblecut(a)aol.com
Full-name: Bubblecut
Message-ID: <0.cf899c86.253fdbaa(a)aol.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Oct 1999 22:59:54 EDT
Subject: Re: [INDIANA] Cemetary problems....
To: Cak8155(a)aol.com
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X-Mailer: AOL 4.0 for Windows 95 sub 10
Carol,
That sounds like it's right out of an article I read from the Indianapolis=20
Star - a very sad article. I've included a copy. I think I found it on the=
=20
Indiana Cemetery Preservation site.
Jan Rader
Kent, Ohio
Wayne Township graveyard destroyed for warehouse shows final resting places=20
aren't so final under state law. =A0
By Bill Shaw=20
Indianapolis Star/News=20
INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 22, 1998) -- Sometime in 1844, James Rhoads, a prominent=20
Wayne Township farmer, died. He was 70. His family members and friends burie=
d=20
him in a grove of walnut trees on a hill overlooking a little creek.=20
It was the first burial in what would become Rhoads Cemetery. During the nex=
t=20
half-century, 43 members of the Rhoads, Foltz, Shute and Rude families would=
=20
be sent to eternity in the walnut grove.=20
The tiny cemetery was the scene of extraordinary grief over the years as=20
members of the four families repeatedly journeyed in horse-drawn wagons=20
across the sweeping fields and up the lonesome hill to bury their children.=20
<DISTURBED GROUND: Danny J. White found this grave marker while looking at=20
the site of the old Rhoads Cemetery. The grave stone says "Wife of James=20
Rhoads ...," being the grave stone for Hannah Rhoads. Duke Investments owns=20
this property now, and White is upset at how the company has excavated this=20
site.>=20
Thomas B. Rhoads was 7 months old in August 1849 when he died of an inflamed=
=20
brain. Elmer Shute was 2 when he died of a bowel infection in August 1859.=20
Hiram Foltz was an infant. George Foltz was 1. Lillian Rhoads was 2 and died=
=20
of whooping cough on Aug. 13, 1878. Casey Rhoads died of an inflamed brain=20
when he was 2. Emma Rude died at 18 months.=20
On and on they died until there were 35 children buried in the peaceful=20
cemetery on the hill.=20
By the dawn of the 20th century, the burying ceased as the four families=20
either died out or drifted away from southern Wayne Township. Nobody paid=20
much attention to the old cemetery anymore.=20
The cemetery and surrounding farmland changed owners several times. Each new=
=20
owner farmed the fields and tended the old cemetery out of respect for=20
earlier generations of Hoosier families. The farmers could have knocked down=
=20
the trees, plowed under the tombstones, planted corn on the graves and made=20=
a=20
few more dollars at harvest.=20
But they didn't.=20
The pace of change in Wayne Township picked up dramatically in 1931 when the=
=20
Indianapolis airport opened on 900 acres, gobbling up farmland and triggerin=
g=20
a development explosion in western Marion County.=20
Still, the land around the old cemetery remained untouched, save for the=20
annual spring plowing. The burying ground remained unmolested, decade after=20
decade, hidden on the hill in a 60-foot-wide opening in the walnut grove=20
Danny J. White grew up in the Lafayette Heights neighborhood, just south of=20
the cemetery. In the 1970s, the field around the cemetery served as a dirt=20
bike track for White and his teen-age buddies. He crossed it many times=20
walking to Ben Davis High School. The old dead-end dirt road served as a=20
teen-age lovers' lane. Neighborhood families held picnics beneath a massive,=
=20
gnarled oak tree just east of the cemetery.=20
White, 41, is a tool and die maker and an Indy Racing League mechanic. He=20
helped fabricate the car Eddie Cheever drove to victory in the 1998=20
Indianapolis 500.=20
Every day driving to work along I-465 near the airport, he'd glance to the=20
east through the sprawl of hotels, office buildings, warehouses, parking=20
lots, gas stations and fast food joints, and take comfort that the solitary=20
hill and the dark grove of trees remained in this mass of concrete and=20
asphalt.=20
"Even when I was a kid the cemetery and the area surrounding it was=20
breathtaking," he recalled.=20
In the name of development=20
By 1995, the fields that stretched to the horizon when James Rhoads was=20
buried so long ago had shrunk to 21.2 acres.=20
Now jet planes scream overhead, and the rumble of nearby I-70 and I-465 is=20
constant. Cement trucks and construction equipment line the old lovers' lane=
,=20
and new buildings seem to appear daily, landscaped with skinny stick trees,=20
surrounded by acres of asphalt.=20
One day about 18 months ago, Danny J. White was driving to work and glanced=20
toward the familiar hill and the concealed cemetery. He was startled to see=20
it surrounded by yellow trucks, graders, backhoes and dirt scrapers.=20
He raced immediately to the cemetery and felt his stomach heave. The=20
tombstones were gone. There were ugly gashes in the earth. The big yellow=20
machines had pulled the graves from the earth.=20
"It was sickening," he recalled. He was furious. He made dozens of phone=20
calls and fired off angry letters to an assortment of government officials=20
seeking an explanation.=20
He got one.=20
It was all quite legal, according to state officials. Now go away and quit=20
bothering us, Danny J. White.=20
He wondered how such an abomination could occur in conservative,=20
family-values Indiana where, he, like most Hoosiers, was raised to respect=20
the dead and revere their hallowed, final resting place.=20
"How did this happen?" he asked. "You don't mess with graves."=20
Well, here's what happened, Danny. They do mess with graves.=20
James Rhoads, Thomas, Henry, Casey, Elmer and the other children and eight=20
adults who rested more than 150 years in the safety of the walnut grove=20
became the property of Duke Realty Investments Inc.=20
Duke, which owns or manages 60 million square feet of real estate in eight=20
states, bought the 21.2 acres and the 360-square-foot cemetery in 1995.=20
"We purchased the land for development purposes," explained Donna Coppinger,=
=20
the helpful vice president of marketing for Duke. "We couldn't develop a sit=
e=20
with a cemetery on it."=20
Why?=20
"It wasn't what we wanted to do," she said.=20
Duke will soon level the hill and build a 458,000-square-foot bulk=20
distribution warehouse on the 21.2 acres, obliterating the one-tenth-acre=20
Rhoads Cemetery.=20
It's legal=20
Nearly two years ago, after they bought the land Duke hired an archaeology=20
company called NES Inc. in Blue Ash, Ohio, and together they filed the=20
necessary forms with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of=
=20
Historic Preservation and Archaeology to dig up the Rhoads, Foltz, Shute and=
=20
Rude families.=20
State laws, which are made by the 150 members of the Indiana General Assembl=
y=20
with extensive guidance from corporate lobbyists, allow property owners to=20
demolish old cemeteries they find on their land. Throw away the tombstones,=20
plant corn or build a warehouse on the graves. It's legal.=20
DNR's chief archaeologist Rick Jones is monitoring the Duke demolition. He=20
said his agency issues about 10 cemetery relocation permits a year. How many=
=20
cemeteries simply are destroyed, he doesn't know. "We have no way of=20
knowing," he said.=20
But throwing away tombstones and paving over graves doesn't require a permit=
.=20
Just do it. It's legal. In fact, old tombstones often end up in flea markets=
.=20
"Most people think cemeteries are forever," Jones explained slowly and=20
uncomfortably. This is not a topic most state officials enjoy discussing. "I=
n=20
Indiana, cemeteries are not forever. If you own the property, you can=20
bulldoze them down. Basically, in Indiana, nothing is sacred."=20
Digging into graves and moving them does require some paperwork, except for=20
farmers who are exempt from even that minor inconvenience.=20
"Farmers can just throw away the tombstones and plow up the graves," said=20
Jones. "And they do. The Indiana Farm Bureau got the legislature to exempt=20
farmers."=20
A couple years ago, DNR proposed a bill to offer some mild protection for ol=
d=20
pioneer cemeteries. Corporate lobbyists smothered the bill in committee, and=
=20
it never received even token consideration.=20
The end of Rhoads=20
Anyway, Duke's cemetery demolition project proceeded under DNR Digging Permi=
t=20
960062.=20
NES Inc. archaeologist Jeannine Kreinbrink directed the removal of "remains,=
"=20
once known in another life as James Rhoads, Elmer, Thomas, Casey and others.=
=20
Kreinbrink, who now works for Natural and Ethical Environmental Solutions=20
Inc. of Liberty Township, Ohio, did not return phone calls.=20
She did submit a preliminary report, as required, to the DNR's Rick Jones.=20
It's a haunting document, complete with photographs of the "remains." In
man=
y=20
cases, much remains of the remains, like the perfectly preserved bones of=20
little children, their arms crossed, lying in tiny hexagonal coffins. Pieces=
=20
of shoes and clothing remain.=20
The report also contains a diagram of each grave's location, the shape of th=
e=20
coffin and what was in it. Each former person is identified by a letter and=20=
a=20
number.=20
For example, C-2 was the "well-preserved remains of an adult. Sex unknown.=20
Head to west. Arms at side."=20
B-10 contained the "well-preserved remains of an adult. Arms folded with=20
hands over waist."=20
Mr. D-1 was obviously a wheat farmer because he was buried with a wheat=20
scythe and a small plate.=20
Infant D-6 was buried beneath 2.8 feet of dirt in a decorative metal coffin=20
called a sarcophagus with a glass viewing window.=20
E-7 was an older adult male with a engraved tulip on his coffin and the word=
s=20
"Rest In Peace."=20
A-1 was the "poorly preserved remains of an infant, sex unknown. Few=20
scattered post cranial remains."=20
B-1 was an "adult female 20-35 years. Well-preserved remains."=20
And on it went in graphic detail. Most people were buried under only 2 feet=20
of dirt, symbolically facing the setting sun, the western horizon.=20
"I feel a connection with these people," Rick Jones said quietly, flipping=20
through the depressing document. "You feel something looking into a child's=20
grave after 150 years. These are people that used to live, walk around and=20
breathe. We're literally looking into the past and I feel a profound sense o=
f=20
respect."=20
He paused, blinked a couple times.=20
"This is a serious thing."=20
Once Elmer and the others were dug up, labeled with numbers and letters, the=
y=20
were shipped to anthropologist Stephen Nawrocki at the University of=20
Indianapolis on the Southside.=20
He was hired by Duke under terms of digging permit 960062, which required an=
=20
"osteological" investigation by an anthropologist. That is a study of the=20
bones and "artifacts" for historical significance.=20
"I haven't been cleared by Duke to discuss this with reporters. I'm just
a=20
sub, sub contractor," said Nawrocki. Jeannine Kreinbrink called and told him=
=20
not to talk, he said. Her firm is paying his fees.=20
When will your report be done, doctor?=20
"I don't know."=20
Once his report is complete, DNR will either order Duke to rebury the=20
"remains" somewhere else or they will "be kept in a lab for future
study,"=20
said Jones.=20
Last December, Blair D. Carmosino, Development Services Director, Duke=20
Construction Inc., fired off a stern letter to DNR officials.=20
"Duke's schedule for construction start-up in this project area is rapidly=20
approaching, so it is imperative that the (DNR) properly issue a clearance=20
letter for this project area."=20
Part of the reason for delay was DNR's displeasure with Jeannine Kreinbrink'=
s=20
preliminary report. Jon C. Smith, director of DNR's Division of Historic=20
Preservation and Archaeology, found about 40 points in her report he wanted=20
explained, corrected or expanded upon -- like what did Duke plan to do with=20
the "unwanted" headstones they dug up?=20
On July 22, DNR issued a conditional permit to begin "ground disturbing=20
activities" but demanded an archaeologist be present in case additional=20
"human remains" are uncovered.=20
"We'll probably start drainage work and soil things soon," said Donna=20
Coppinger, the Duke marketing person. "Site preparation before winter means=20
if we can get the site ready, we construct our industrial warehouse product=20
this winter. The building will be 1,032 feet long and 440 feet wide."=20
This is good news? "It is good news. We're good corporate neighbors,"
she=20
said.=20
Property of Duke=20
The other day Danny J. White visited the old cemetery one last time before=20
the ancient walnuts and solitary oak are bulldozed, the hill flattened and=20
the "final" resting place for 35 kids and eight adults is erased from the=20
face of the earth.=20
He hiked through the alfalfa field, brimming with buzzing bees, butterflies=20
and summer wildflowers and up the hill. He rummaged around through the dense=
=20
brush at the edge of the cemetery. Day lilies planted 150 years ago around=20
the graves still flourish.=20
"Look what I found," he said suddenly, emerging from the brush with the=20
broken top half of a tombstone bearing the words "WIFE OF JAMES RHOADS.=20
DIED." He found it in a bulldozed pile of dirt between two old tires, beer=20
cans and soda pop bottles.=20
What to do? Surely the DNR would want Mrs. Rhoads' broken tombstone. It=20
couldn't be left in the pile of tires and broken glass. Somebody might steal=
=20
it. It might be demolished in "site preparation." It could be lost forever,=20=
a=20
historic treasure, the last poignant symbol of a person's life, sacrificed o=
n=20
the altar of economic development and corporate neighborliness.=20
A quick phone call to DNR research archaeologist Amy L. Johnson provided the=
=20
answer.=20
"Put it back," she said firmly.=20
What?=20
"Put it back," she said again.=20
Why?=20
"It belongs to Duke. It is their property."=20
James Rhoads' wife's name was believed to be Hannah, and she died on July 24=
,=20
1849, at age 85. Her husband, remember, was the first person buried in the=20
cemetery in August 1844.=20
Her broken tombstone, which was carefully placed in the Hoosier soil during=20
solemn, no doubt tearful, ceremonies 149 long summers ago, was returned to=20
the pile of bulldozed dirt, tires, broken glass, beer and pop bottles.=20
It belonged to Duke.=20
It's the law.=20
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