To Cemeterians In the USA:
One thing we all might wish to consider, and consider seriously, is the use
of certain words that do not accurately depict a cemetery's condition. One
such word is "active" and it's opposite, "inactive."
We have been told by our Board of Equalization in California that a cemetery
remains "active" as long as it remains in "use" as a cemetery. That
means
that as long as there are remains in the ground and the ground is "used" for
the permanent deposit of the human dead, the cemetery is "active." The term
"active" is not equated with whether a cemetery continues to receieve
current interments, but rather that it is "actively" being used for the
purpose in which it was intended - the permanent deposit of the human dead.
"Abandoned" is another term we ought to be cautious about using. In
California a cemetery may only be an "abandoned" cemetery if all the remains
have been removed and relocated. Until that time, the cemetery is just
that - a cemetery. It may be ignored by the civil authorities, but that
doesn't make it legally "abandoned." It may be neglected by the
authorities, but it is still a cemetery and won't be "abandoned" until all
the remains have been removed.
Semantics plays a heavy role in the legal language of our nation. We need
to learn those nuances and use them to our advantage.
Hope this helps to inform.
Sue Silver
El Dorado County Pioneer Cemeteries Commission
California, USA
ssilver1951(a)jps.net
----- Original Message -----
From: Robert Young <kempassn(a)worldnet.att.net>
To: <CEMETERY-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2000 8:45 AM
Subject: Re: [Old Bones CEMETERY-L] Cemetery destruction/fixing
Fellow posters...
This is exactly the type of problem I encountered in Danbury, CT. There
are 23
cemeteries in town, of which only 6 are active. The others range from
just
inactive, but
having some degree of maintenance, to the totally abysmal.
Very few laws - and even when they exist, they are seldom enforced.
The only viable answer to this problem is the old adage about the "squeaky
wheel". In
Danbury, it has taken me almost 3 years to finally gain recognition
by the
Historical
Society, publicity in the newspaper, and a good core of volunteers.
We are
finally
gaining some headway.
I'd invite anyone facing this problem to visit our website at:
http://home.att.net/~gravestones
You might also want to check the publicity we received from the
newspaper - it
generated
both volunteers and some contributions.
http://www.newstimes.com/archive2000/jul27/lca.htm
And as your project progresses, keep dropping notes to this mail group. We
love to
hear
of successes - failures, too. We all can learn from both. And if
you've
hit a real
problem area, it is highly likely that at least one of us has had the
same
problem, and
might be able to offer insight.
Bob Young, Coordinator
Danbury Gravestone Project
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