Greetings from the wicked ones in California....
Speaking of the Catholic Church, the Sacramento Diocese has apparently
"abandoned" a large number of their Mother Lode Gold Country cemeteries. At
Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, the Church deeded their church
and cemetery at Coloma (where gold was discovered) to the State Parks in
1985 for "park purposes." The park now maintains it through volunteers with
the Gold Discovery Association, a non-profit.
Between 1989 and 1996, Pacific Bell telephone and a California residential
developer "subdivided" St. Michael's Catholic Cemetery property to 1)
install a telephone switching building (on/near the MacDonald family plot)
and to cut a necessary ingress/egress to the subdivision. In 1998, the
Diocese (after much hounding), sued Pac Bell, the developer and the County
of El Dorado over what had occurred there.
A second Catholic Cemetery in El Dorado County has been abandoned by the
Church also. St. Joseph's was located at Grizzly Flat, in southern El
Dorado County. Still another Church cemetery was abandoned at Live Oak
(Rancho Murieta), Sacramento County, and the local newby property owners
began to start "using" the cemetery again in 1975.
Since finding out about those, we have also discovered that the first
Catholic cemetery in Placerville is under the new Church that was built in
the 1960's. Likewise to your tale, the headstones were bulldozed off the
property and fill brought in to cover the cemetery before the foundation
work began.
In other counties, the Diocese has turned it's pioneer-era gold rush
cemeteries over to others to operate, without regard for the fact that no
one has any records.
I'm not Catholic and I'm not against Catholicism, but they Church is now
advertising that, "unlike private cemteries..." they "take care of you in
death as in life." We know how they've handled things in the first 150
years of California's statehood, wonder how the next 150 yrs will go???
Just another tale from California. Nothing surprises me anymore.
Sue Silver
El Dorado Co. Pioneer Cemeteries Commission
(a non-profit corporation....)
----- Original Message -----
From: <Jb502000(a)aol.com>
To: <INPCRP-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2000 11:03 PM
Subject: [INPCRP] Old St. Peters Cemetery, Harrison Co. In.
Lois, The Corydon In. Democrat Newspaper finaly ran a
"Story" on the
Cemetery that thye Catholic Priest ordered bulldozed clean. The story is
not
as complete as it could be, but at least they ran it. The stone's
should
never been destroyed, but they were. The article admits no one knows
exactly
why the Priest, Father Strahl, ordered it done. He used
"Rented" Harrison
Co.
employes and Equipement obtained thru A Parishoneir, County
Commissioner
Lewis Miller. this was done about Aug. 1965 based on the work being done
about 5-6 Months before Paul bierley one of the workmen died on Ja.
19,1966.
I directed Lonnie Fink to the Cem. and showed him the stone's i
had
probed
and dug up. The Paper said they were "Loose Stones" lying
around and
piled
up by occasional visitors. ? I found 2 pieces of the stone of a
child
less
than 1 year old, and then dug up the base. I have now Repaired it.
I am
going to take it to Corydon Thrusday and show a "Loose Stone", to the
reporter and see if the story cant be corrected, if they will listen. It
is a
very interesting story. I can get you a copy of the article if you
would
like. I also have photo's of the growth now in the Cem. This story
needs
to be used to show what has happened to our Pioneer Cemeteries. NO
MORE !
I may set the Restored stone in a small clearing i can create by the road
in
full view, as a memorial to all those buried there in places known
only to
God. Of all the stone's that would be symbolic, it is one of a 1 year old
German Child. There is a verse on the stone in German. If anyone is
interested in the story you may E-Mail me for more Info. This is a sad,
and
confusing story. I'am tired, I'ts late , Later
Jack Briles
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If we cannot respect the dead, how can we respect the living?