Post by Clipper on Jul 20, 2022 9:05:39 GMT -5
www.wktv.com/news/local/children-gather-to-bury-their-mother-in-utica-cemetery-abandoned-by-its-board-last-month/article_9f5b43f6-07a7-11ed-b86b-87f93bc336e2.html
Someone needs to step up and maintain that cemetery while the present situation is resolved. Not only is it a historic landmark, it also contains many graves that have been purchased and paid for and not yet filled. The city or county should step in and hire one of the present displaced caretakers to perform the task of opening and closing graves.
My heart ached when seeing the photos. In sweltering heat a family should not have to dig a grave for their own mother in modern times. I had a friend who hand dug graves for Autenrith Funeral Service in Newport back in the early 70's. It is a very labor-intensive task and can be dangerous. I helped my friend dig graves a few times in cemeteries in Newport and on a couple of occasions in Wilmurt. On more than one occasion he called me to go with him on short notice on the day of a funeral to re-dig a grave in sandy soil and gravel that had partially caved in overnight. That was a common problem with the sandy soil and gravel present in those cemeteries. We would clean up the grave so that the vault company could put the vault in the grave.
If you have ever dug a post hole or a trench by hand with a shovel, imagine digging a hole 30-36 inches wide, 8 feet long, and 6 feet deep. Now imagine doing it when it is 80 or 90 degrees. It is sad that the family had to hand dig their mother's grave. I would assume that the family had enough to worry about just having a proper funeral for their mom. If you go to T. Revels Gibson funeral home's web page there is no obituary there or in the OD and that leads me to believe that the family may have possibly had to skip publishing an obit in the paper.
I certainly hope that the situation is satisfactorily resolved. There is so much history there that deserves to be maintained and preserved. Perpetual care is becoming more and more difficult to provide cost wise.
There is a similar cemetery here that goes all the way back to the days when Bristol was settled and founded. There is a black section of the cemetery that goes back to segregation days and there is also a section where civil war dead are buried. Recently volunteers have gathered to clean up and help maintain those old and historic sections. Thank goodness the cemetery is in no danger of being forced to eliminate caretakers and proper maintenance for the major portion of the cemetery.
The cemetery where my parents are buried is a small cemetery where there is only one elderly gentleman performing the caretaker duties and mowing. Often the trimming is neglected. I have a battery-operated weed eater and have in the past taken it with me when I visited mom and dad's grave. While I am there I will sometimes trim up a few of the nearby surrounding graves also. I mowed their lawn when they were alive, so it goes without saying that I would insure that their graves are kept groomed.
Someone needs to step up and maintain that cemetery while the present situation is resolved. Not only is it a historic landmark, it also contains many graves that have been purchased and paid for and not yet filled. The city or county should step in and hire one of the present displaced caretakers to perform the task of opening and closing graves.
My heart ached when seeing the photos. In sweltering heat a family should not have to dig a grave for their own mother in modern times. I had a friend who hand dug graves for Autenrith Funeral Service in Newport back in the early 70's. It is a very labor-intensive task and can be dangerous. I helped my friend dig graves a few times in cemeteries in Newport and on a couple of occasions in Wilmurt. On more than one occasion he called me to go with him on short notice on the day of a funeral to re-dig a grave in sandy soil and gravel that had partially caved in overnight. That was a common problem with the sandy soil and gravel present in those cemeteries. We would clean up the grave so that the vault company could put the vault in the grave.
If you have ever dug a post hole or a trench by hand with a shovel, imagine digging a hole 30-36 inches wide, 8 feet long, and 6 feet deep. Now imagine doing it when it is 80 or 90 degrees. It is sad that the family had to hand dig their mother's grave. I would assume that the family had enough to worry about just having a proper funeral for their mom. If you go to T. Revels Gibson funeral home's web page there is no obituary there or in the OD and that leads me to believe that the family may have possibly had to skip publishing an obit in the paper.
I certainly hope that the situation is satisfactorily resolved. There is so much history there that deserves to be maintained and preserved. Perpetual care is becoming more and more difficult to provide cost wise.
There is a similar cemetery here that goes all the way back to the days when Bristol was settled and founded. There is a black section of the cemetery that goes back to segregation days and there is also a section where civil war dead are buried. Recently volunteers have gathered to clean up and help maintain those old and historic sections. Thank goodness the cemetery is in no danger of being forced to eliminate caretakers and proper maintenance for the major portion of the cemetery.
The cemetery where my parents are buried is a small cemetery where there is only one elderly gentleman performing the caretaker duties and mowing. Often the trimming is neglected. I have a battery-operated weed eater and have in the past taken it with me when I visited mom and dad's grave. While I am there I will sometimes trim up a few of the nearby surrounding graves also. I mowed their lawn when they were alive, so it goes without saying that I would insure that their graves are kept groomed.
