Hi Vince.
I can't figure out which one your talking about in my area. A road name would
help.
My list is set up by townships.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~intcpcrg/TippecanoeCountyIN_Cemetery_List.html
The state of Indiana has 9 cemeteries, I think, that are used to protect native
prairie grasses.
This is one of our hot buttons as cemetery preservationist. It's not easy to
change this.
Next time let me know your coming my way? I'd be glad to escort you.
LA
----- Original Message -----
From: <VinceKoers(a)aol.com>
To: <inpcrp(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2008 5:28 PM
Subject: Re: [INPCRP] Why so much grass grosth in Indiana cemeteries?
Dear list…
A few weeks ago, I was meandering west from Lafayette toward Attica, hugging
the Wabash’s south-eastern bank, when I came across a cemetery on the paved
county blacktop, likely in western Tippecanoe County. The cemetery was
perhaps 100 yards from a home that backed up to the river, and the adjacent
farm
field (and the cemetery) was very securely fenced. The rectangle of the
cemetery, located within the farm field, but sharing one edge with the roadway
fence, had no sign of a gate on the 3 sides that I could see. The 4th side was
obscured by the grass growth within the cemetery, and it there was a gate, it
could not be seen.. While the field surrounding the cemetery enclosure,
perhaps 20 yards on a side, was neatly mowed, the cemetery itself was
overgrown
with tall grass perhaps 5 foot high, and dense to the point that stones
within
the enclosure were only visible in the outside five feet or so of the
perimeter.
It was impossible to judge the condition of the stones, nor to read anything
on them. There was not any visible sign of an entranceway to the site. As
there was no provision for parking, I parked on the blacktop, and stepped
across the ditch line to examine the area more closely. As I did, I was
closely
watched by the neighbor, working in his driveway, some distance away. He did
not seem friendly, and I did not approach him.
What is the mind set of folks that would take such good care of their yard,
and let the cemetery, perhaps containing their ancestors, go to pot in such a
way? Or have I got it wrong? Perhaps they are unrelated individuals, upset
that they are not allowed to plow over the sites, and retaliating in their
own, staid ways?
Or are some folks mixing their own support for cemetery preservation with a
desire to promote and expand native grass displays?
Is there any protection within the DNR for such Pioneer Cemeteries to protect
and reserve pioneer sites them from those that would hide them amid the wild
grasses? What is the position of the state authorities on the matter? Are
they the ones providing the wild grass seed?
In this particular case, it would appear that the landowner is effectively
denying the public access to the site, which may well be his right. If there
is a gate to the cemetery, it is on his side of the fencing, and unavailable
to others without trespassing on his land. While he may be “protecting” it,
he is also challenging one and all to stay away.
It would be interesting, and perhaps enlightening, to hear other’s
viewpoints on this practice of hiding the pioneer sites in plain sight, burying
the
stones in the moisture-laden debris of grasses wind-blown by one or more
seasons of growth, left only to lie and rot against the masonry of the pioneer
grave through the winter months. Is this the best use of the site?