It is soapbox time!!!!
I paid a visit this weekend to the Laurel Cemetery in Laurel and was absolutely apalled
(sp?) at what I saw I could not believe....
First off, we were there looking for a stone for a gentleman in Alabama who found his
g-g-g grandfather was buried in the cemetery by way of our list. The cemetery looked like
a hayfield--freshly mowed. It appeared the cemetery gets mowed twice a year, but there
was so much grass debris it was hard to read alot of the stones. Then as we were walking
through we found people buried in an area not kept up and was completely covered with
thistle and weeds and was located in a ravine. There were stacks of broken stones STACKED
on other cement monuments. It was just unbelievable. This is one of the cemeteries that
is TAKEN CARE OF by the county. This cemetery hits home as my g-g-g-grandfather is also
buried there and is a CIVIL WAR veteran. Needless to say I never found the stone for the
gentleman in Alabama and I have never found mine as well. I just do not understand how
people can disgrace our ancestors like this. It just makes everyone
think----------where's the respect anymore
Randy Klemme
Franklin County