Aaaaw, you're so sweet. But people need to know these things.
You forgot to tell them out deep a hole a chigger can make in your legs. Oh, and other
unmentionable places.
Shirley
aka Wordsmith1945
----- Original Message -----
From: The Richardson's
To: INDELAWA-L(a)rootsweb.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2003 5:27 PM
Subject: [INDELAWA-L] Newspaper article on pioneer cemeteries
Hello List,
Just wanted all the out of Towner's who may not get the Muncie newspaper to see the
article that was in the paper that our Shirley wrote.
The editor of the newspaper only put my name on this, and left Shirley's name off
the article, and I wanted everyone to see what a great job she did. She deserves the
credit, her penmanship is wonderful! So if anyone needs a letter wrote up just let Shirley
know <G>
Also there is a work day scheduled for this Saturday at the Parker- Moore cemetery, for
anyone who can attend. And if you do go be sure to wear lots of bug repellant. The Pioneer
Cemetery Preservation committee will have a tractor there to help set larger stones back
up where they belong. If you have never participated in the restoration of a cemetery, you
should try it. I learned quite a bit of things that I did not know before.
Thanks
Gina Richardson
Because we are involved in genealogy research, we see a lot of Delaware County pioneer
cemeteries, including old and forgotten ones that have been shamelessly desecrated by
vandals. It is our belief that perpetrators of such crimes are often ignored and rarely
prosecuted.
The expense of repairing monuments erected in memory of our ancestors is high and often
funds are not available to our township trustees. Just getting someone to mow and trim
these sacred places is daunting in terms of time and available funds. In addition, the
repairs, if done wrong and using inappropriate materials, will cause further damage,
making it even more costly to restore.
In some cases, cemetery sextants and township trustees have ignored the need to maintain
these cemeteries in any fashion, including record keeping, and in doing so, have violated
Indiana Cemetery Codes.
The Delaware County Historical Society is in the process of visiting and recording these
cemeteries to record damages and or neglect. It is their hope to rectify the individual
situations. They are also currently working with a group of volunteers in Center Township.
We don't know where the funding is coming from but we suspect there are some donations
of time and money. We applaud these people.
If you have ancestors in the Delaware County area (or any area), please visit that
cemetery. It can be an entertaining, educational jaunt for the whole family. Find out who
your township trustee is and contact him or her. Let them know you're concerned and,
if possible, donate some time and/or money to the preservation and repair of such
cemeteries. Mark Davis of Hartford City gives workshops on cemetery restoration and does a
fantastic job of repairing old, broken and toppled stones. Visit his Stone Saver site at:
http://www.geocities.com/md9105/StoneSaverCemeteryRestoration.html?102917.... I would
also highly recommend visiting the Indiana Cemetery Code page to see if your township
trustee is doing his/her job -
http://www.savinggraves-us.org/in/laws.html .
Some people are involving the whole family in this activity in which even small children
can help. Take pride in your ancestors who are also Delaware County's pioneers.
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