Katie,
I haven't ever looked the word up, I have always used it in connection with
my work as a historian and in combination with my work on saving, preserving
and restoring cemeteries. We have over 250 cemeteries in our county many
that are no longer here. Being an historian I could not ignore that if we
didn't stop the loss of the cemeteries there would be no history left for
many of our early communities. I just combined the two words and thought I
had made up a new word. Darn, it seems someone's always been there first!
Seriously, I have been Sexton of El Dorado Cemetery since 1997. I do make
decisions on the management and operation of this 150 year old, 3.19 acre
FULL cemetery. Guess that means I qualify to use the term. My organization
also found itself having to save the Cold Springs Cemetery from a county
delinquent tax sale in 1998, so I guess you could say I own a historic
cemetery also! (We conditioned a worthless quit claim deed on the fact that
the cemetery is a county public cemetery and we can only transfer title to
the Board of Supervisors.) They still want us to pay $143 dollars in back
taxes. When donkeys fly!
Thanks for bringing it up. I learned something new today.
Sue Silver
El Dorado County Pioneer Cemeteries Commission
ssilver1951(a)jps.net
P.S. Even Spell Check recognizes Cemetarian!
----- Original Message -----
From: <Katydid579(a)aol.com>
To: <INPCRP-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2000 5:08 AM
Subject: Re: [INPCRP] Re: [Old Bones CEMETERY-L] Cemetery destruction/fixing
In a message dated 08/28/2000 12:26:16 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
ssilver1951(a)jps.net writes:
<< To Cemeterians In the USA: >>
Hi Sue and everyone,
As long as we are defining terms, can we also look at the use of the
word "cemeterians"? It has been my understanding that a "cemeterian"
is
one
who works in the capacity of management of a cemetery. At least that
is
how
it is recognized within the industry. For instance, I am active in
doing
cemetery history research, tours, lectures, etc., and performing
preservation
activities, yet I do not consider myself a cemeterian. That term is
reserved
for those who make the decisions about how a cemetery is managed and
maintained. Your thoughts?
Katie
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