Greetings to all:
Many times we thing that children, especially an eight year old,
should be seen and not heard. Here is one story I pass on to you
for your consideration:
It is reprinted from the following publication:
MISSING LINKS: A Weekly Newsletter for Genealogists
Vol. 4, No. 24, 11 June 1999; Circulation: 21,281+
Copyright (c) 1996-99 Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley
By the way, this is a good E-Newsletter that you can subscribe to
if you want. Subscription information is at the end of the
message.
Noel Matthews
I give you eight year old Ashley Loweth:
* * * * *
INDIANA PIONEER CEMETERIES RESTORATION PROJECT: HALL OF SHAME
Ashley Loweth's Testimony before the
Indiana House of Representatives
by Lois Mauk, INPCRP State Coordinator <LoisMauk(a)usa.net>
<
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inpcrp/AshleyLoweth.html>
Ashley Loweth is a third-grader from Jeffersonville, Indiana,
who went with her father, Donnie Loweth, to Indianapolis on
February 8, 1999 to testify in the House Chambers before the
House Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural
Development concerning the woeful inadequacies of Indiana's
cemetery protection laws.
Though only eight years old, little Ashley proved to be the
highlight of our day. About 16 supporters of the INPCRP arrived
at the Capitol at about 1:30 p.m. Four and a half hours later, we
went into the House Chambers.
I must admit that, other than the endless standing on those hard
marble floors, I really enjoyed the fellowship with so many
people who share my concerns and interests.
Donnie Loweth's family cemetery in Clark County, Indiana was
blacktopped in the 1970s and turned into a parking lot -- graves
notwithstanding. Last Fall, Donnie, his wife Carol, their son
A.J., and their daughter Ashley spent weeks cleaning up the
little corner of the cemetery that was not paved over.
With her teacher's permission, her father took Ashley out of
school for the day and we brought her with us to the Capitol.
When the hearing began, Rep. Markt Lytle thanked us several times
for our fortitude and explained that, because of the lateness of
the hour, rather than receiving comments on individual pending
bills, the Committee would hear brief testimony from anyone
wishing to speak about the situation in general. I got up and did
my little song-and-dance. Then Rep. Lytle called Ashley.
Though she was conspicuous as the only child present, I think all
of them were a bit stunned when she got up to speak. Ashley
approached the microphone and, in a very clear, calm voice, said:
"Good evening. It makes me very happy and proud to speak before
you today, but it also saddens me for the reason that I am here.
My name is Ashley Loweth. I'm eight years old and I'm in the
third grade.
"The reason I am here today is, we write laws every day to
protect ourselves and our rights. That is great. But what about
after we leave this world?
"I am a descendant of the Nathan Hale you may have read about in
your history books. I have three generations of great-
grandparents buried in a little lonely cemetery in Clarksville,
Indiana. What is sad about this is that three-fourths of the
cemetery is now under blacktop and the law says, 'This is okay.
As long as the property owner is paying taxes, they can do what
they want.'
"I don't understand all the laws, but I really don't understand
how this one got passed. How would you feel if your grandma took
you to put flowers on your great-grandparents' grave and you were
told, 'There they lay, under that blacktop!' Well, I know that
feeling and it hurts. Not only blacktop, but there are two pay
phones and a utility pole with guide wires going into a grave.
That's not all. They even have an EPA monitoring device in the
middle to monitor the ground for their gas pumps.
"I am asking you to please change this law for some day I will
want to take my children to this very same lonely little cemetery
and be able to say, 'This is where we came from. This is our
roots! Thank you."
Ashley received a standing ovation. I don't believe there was a
dry eye in the house. She left the Representatives speachless.
Rep. Lytle jokingly asked, "Does anyone on the committee have any
tough questions for Ashley?"
Of course, there was nothing they could say. She'd said it all.
The rest of us then had our opportunity to speak and I'm very
proud of each and every one of you who toughed it out with us. I
don't believe, however, that there's much question that little
Ashley stole the show and the rest of us were just there to lend
our support to her plea.
* * * * *
Julia M. Case <Julie_Case(a)prodigy.com>
Co-Editor of ROOTSWEB REVIEW
<
http://www.rootsweb.com/~review/>
Editor-at-Fault of MISSING LINKS
<
http://www.rootsweb.com/~mlnews/>
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