----- Original Message -----
From: Lois Mauk <LoisMauk(a)home.com>
To: David Cheesman <kdcheesman(a)netnitco.net>
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2001 7:18 PM
Subject: Re: [INPCRP] Time to pick up your pens again. . . .
Dear David:
Yes, we are making progress. Not nearly fast enough, but progress
nonetheless. May I ask that you send your message to the whole group at
INPCRP-L(a)rootsweb.com so others can hear your comments.
Lois
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Cheesman" <kdcheesman(a)netnitco.net>
To: "Lois Mauk" <LoisMauk(a)home.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2001 6:46 PM
Subject: Re: [INPCRP] Time to pick up your pens again. . . .
> Dear Lois:
> It is certainly good news to learn that at long last cemetery vandals
are
> being
> prosecuted by the law.
> I ran art fairs in Chicago, Illinois throughout the 1970's and one year
a
> stone sculpturor had blocks of marble stones that looked
familiar.
> Asked where he got such stones he said at stone yards and some from old
> cemeteries. He was never allowed to enter my shows again.
> Another time, a potential exhibitor wanted to exhibit coffee tables and
end
> tables he boasted as having "made out of
tombstones", and wanted to
sell
> old stones for use as patio pieces.
> I inquired where he got the stones, he said from "old abandoned
cemeteries."
> Of course, he was denied entry in the art fair.
> I asked various officials at that time what could be done about
individuals
> rading cemeteies and was told there was nothing could be done.
> Some even shugged their shoulders... It just seems no one cared.
> That was a quarter of a century ago... Then, in the 1980's, a contractor
> wanted to destroy the cemetery where my 3-times great grandmother and gg
> grandfather were buried (Pinhook Cemetery, Jackson Township, Tippecanoe
> County, Indiana) ... Earlier the wrought iron fence to the cemetery had
> disappeared... Someone probably stole it to put around their own yard.
> Then the road leading into the cemetery was plowed under, and stones
began
> to disappear a little at a time. Next we learned that a land
developer
> wanted to build a trailor court there. So my relatives got together and
> really raised some noise and the trailor project was called off. The
land
> developer wanted to sell us a road way into our ancestral burial
ground
at a
> rediculous cost... We promptly rejected that. Bobbie
"Robert" Cheesman
> (1922-1992) and I met with officials an a city attorney on the issue,
and I
> was told that if I could document existing burial markers, like
a
> descriptive inventory, then
> if people are caught vandalising the grounds they might be made to pay
for
> everything that is damaged and missing from the cemetery.... So
I
promptly
> began an inventory of ever marker and associated piece, which
led to
> publishing a series of books, and the first book was titled PINHOOK
> CEMETERY, AN ILLUSTRATED GARDEN OF STONES, published in 1989.
> I thought I would pass this tid bit on to you.
> Dave Cheesman
> gardenofstones1989(a)yahoo.com
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Lois Mauk <LoisMauk(a)home.com>
> To: <INPCRP-L(a)rootsweb.com>
> Sent: Sunday, March 25, 2001 7:47 PM
> Subject: [INPCRP] Time to pick up your pens again. . . .
>
>
> > I sent you a message last night about the conviction and sentencing of
2
> young
> > people in their 20s arrested, tried and convicted for cemetery
mischief
in
> > Shelby Co., IN under the "cemetery mischief"
statute enacted back in
the
> > summer of 1999. This conviction was under Public Law 100,
which we
worked
> so
> > hard to pass back in 1999.
> >
> > The Shelbyville News on 8/14/2000 ran a story about 12 tombstones
being
> > toppled at Boggstown Cemetery.
> >
> > On 9/15/2000, the Shelbyville News ran a follow-up story on the
vandalism
> at
> > Boggstown Cemetery when a Shelbyville woman reported that two of her
> friends
> > had stolen two tombstones and put one of them in her basement. The
second
> > stone was found in a suspect's vehicle. The case was
sent to the
Shelby
> Co.
> > Prosecutor, who filed charges against the suspects (aged 20 and 27).
The
> > tombstones were returned to Boggstown Cemetery.
> >
> > On 3/24/2000, the Shelbyville News and Indianapolis Star reported that
> Robert
> > Bohlen, 20, of Shelbyville on Thursday, 3/22/2000, was sentenced by
Shelby
> > Circuit Judge Charles D. O'Connor to one year in prison
and two years
on
> > probation, plus an additional year of incarceration for
violating
> probation on
> > an earlier, unrelated theft.
> >
> > Bohlen's 27-year-old companion, Chrisann Michelle Tindle, also of
> Shelbyville,
> > was sentenced early last week by Shelby Superior Court 1 Judge Jack
Tandy
> to
> > serve 240 days on house arrest in addition to the 24 days she spent in
> jail
> > before resolution of her case.
> >
> > All of these news stories are linked on the INPCRP "In the News" page
at:
> >
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inpcrp/inthenews.html
> >
> > That's the basic background. Now, HERE'S MY IDEA:
> >
> > If just a FEW of those of you on the INPCRP e-mail list (and we
presently
> have
> > 152 subscribers as of today) would take TEN MINUTES out of your day to
> write a
> > short, concise letter to the Editors of the Indianapolis Star AND the
> > Shelbyville News lauding the efforts of the local law enforcement
> officials,
> > the prosector and the two local judges (one was a Shelby Circuit Court
> Judge,
> > the other was a Shelby Superior Court Judge), there is an excellent
chance
> > that the Editors of these respective papers will run at
least one or
two
> of
> > those letters.
> >
> > Of particular importance is as many of you as possible sending short
> letters
> > to the Editor of the Indianapolis Star. The General Assembly is still
in
> > session. The Senators and Representatives read the Star
religiously
while
> > they are in session. If they see 1 or 2 or 3 Letters to
the Editor in
the
> > paper congratulating the local officials in Shelby Co., it
will go a
LONG
> way
> > to reinforcing our past efforts to educate the Legislature on the
urgency
> of
> > protecting cemeteries in this state.
> >
> > It can also be important to help reinforce the importance of
investigating
> and
> > prosecuting this sort of crime to our county sheriffs and prosecutors
and
> > judges throughout the state.
> >
> > Please send your letters (including your full name, address and
telephone
> > number for verification purposes) to:
> >
> > stareditor(a)starnews.com
> > AND
> > bhansen(a)shelbynews.com
> >
> > Lois
> >
> >
> >
> > ==== INPCRP Mailing List ====
> > This list is for discussion of topics related to the Indiana Pioneer
> > Cemeteries Restoration Project only.
> >
>
>