Thanks for all of the input I received.
The person at Crossmann I am dealing with is Mr. Jim Van Ness and he is very much involved
in this on his part. He has called me everytime a reporter has contacted him and
everytime they have found anything significant. He has also been at the site the majority
of time I have been. All together I have spent about 5 or 6 hours out there watching them
as they worked. They have it fenced off and no one is allowed in the area without their
approval. Yesterday when I was called out there I was able to meet Dr. Rick Jones and
Rich Green. They discovered that the headstone and possible graveshaft turned out to be a
PILE of headstones. No graves at this date and the archaeologist won't be back at the
site until the 10th. Yesterday about 3 o'clock they had the fragments of the 2
headstones completely mapped out so they carefully removed them (I have a completely new
respect for the word CAREFULLY now). These are the headstones of James R. Sweeney, who
died in 1853 and a 4 mo!
nth old son of his named George E. Sweeney who died in 1850. James was the first husband
of Margaret Jane Lewelling, daughter of Thomas & Temprance. When they picked up
James' stone, below it could be seen another stone. All that was visible was the year
1860 and age 78. I knew that was Thomas and sure enough, that is what they discovered
this morning. Jim called me 3 times today, letting me know that Chris Profitt of WTHR 13
was doing a story and that they had not only completely recovered Thomas' stone, but
below it was one of Tempy who died in 1867. He later called me at home to let me know
that before the archaeologist wrapped up his work, he had unearthed another stone a few
feet to the east of this pile, unfortunately it is face down until they return in a week.
The TV media can be great and hasn't been as rough as it could have been, but I still
feel as if the 2 stations I have had contact with are trying to find another story of
wrong-doing on the part of the developer. I have listened to all of your experiences and
will keep them in mind as this transpires, but I couldn't be happier with the
developer at this point. During discussions at the site I have gotten the impression that
there is a great possibilty that they prefer to leave it where it is if they can locate
it. When I went there yesterday I was greeted at my truck by a reporter who, while he
honored my wishes not to be filmed, he did tell me that I should just except the fact I
will have to do an interview here pretty soon. He also said I should understand that
these property owners have a right to be upset because they are worried about the resale
value of their homes and that I should be aware this will probably end up in court as
well. He may be right, but at thi!
s point, it appears to me the only ones who are considering that whatever is found should
be removed are the owners of those new homes.
Here is a little of what I emailed to the reporter last night:
"If they think a cemetery is creepy and think it should be moved, do they also
consider the ground their grandparents and possibly parents or other loved ones are in to
be creepy and an eyesore to the community? I would suspect that most people today view
the graves of their loved ones, who they can remember as living, breathing individuals, to
be a sacred place that should be protected by the cemetery caretakers. Why should the
same wishes of these pioneers, who lived, worked, and died on that ground, be dismissed
and disregarded merely because their chosen spot to greet the Rising Son stands in the way
of a view of other houses? Should these concerned neighbors own remains be one day placed
in a resealable container and set in a portable box so it can be easily moved when their
great-grandchildren decide they find it inconvienent and in the way of their material
wealth?
Americans have established a pattern of living for the moment and believing nothing and no
one who came before them has any significant importance to them or the furture
generations. I think it is high time we started preserving historic sites in this country
or future generations will view us with as much ignorance and lack of knowledge of how we
lived as we view the ancient nations that preceded us on this land.
I also should tell you I do sympathize with those owners and I can understand that the
image that pops into their minds when they hear of a old cemetery dug out of a bean field
is probably pretty undesireable. This doesn't have to be the case here. That was our
image of cemeteries in the past and perhaps this can be a shining example of how a
subdivision and a community can come together to honor not just the dead, but also the
heritage of many who will live there. What are we going to be able to show our children
and grandchildren if we leave no trace of those who came before us? I'm sure they
probably don't see Garland Brook cemetery in Columbus as being creepy or an eyesore.
Try to imagine that at one time, the spot these graves are was kept up and cared for in
the same manner by those that wanted to be buried there beside the family they lost, many
at an early age."
I am hoping all of this turns out as well as it is going right now. I turn 31 in a few
days and I'm in one of those little depressions that we women get in ocassionally so I
have just realized this is probably the only true accomplishment I have made so far (I
know, but I'm depressed, remember?).
Anyway, thank you and I will try to keep you updated, hopefully better than the tv media.
Cris West
Columbus, IN