A day or so ago, I decided that I really needed to make the acquaintance of the people who are buried in this place. I parked my car, and walked among the gravestones. I was the only one there and it was peaceful and very serene; a beautifully kept little resting place for people who lived their lives in the same area I have lived mine.
As I walked, I found many familiar names. Welcher, Lockwood, Walters, Bechtold, all names that I knew from people that I had gone to school with, so many years ago. They weren't there, but their Fathers and Mothers, Grandfathers and Grandmothers were. I have always been proud that my family has such deep roots in this community. But, here, were families whose roots stretched much deeper than mine. Families that had been here since the last decades of the 19th century.
I wonder where the children of these people are today? We live in such a mobile society that it's very unlikely that the boys and girls that I grew up with will return to this cemetery, as their last resting place. They will be buried where they lived their lives, often very far from here. In time, the names on these gravestones will fade, and the memories of these families will pass from the collective memory of this area. People will wander among them, and wonder who these people were, buried here so long ago.
But, in some way, they will live on, in the community that they created. It's a good community, strong and centered, very like the people buried at its heart.
7 comments:
Lovely place to rest. I love the old headstones and the sayings on the old carved ones. Always sad to see the baby ones. We are surely scattered away from our families and so many take their final rest - far from our families, anymore. None of my family is in the same spot.
So much of me wishes I had lived in one place all of my life. I'm glad you did and want to honor your community and heritage.--Inger
Kind of interesting what you can find there, so much history and so much to wonder about.
thx for sharing...you might enjoy Paula @ http://pl78064.blogspot.com/
she visits various country cemeteries and writes about them in her blog...she writes other stuff too...thought I would share...
A very thoughtful entry. Enjoyed it.
Hi Louise! What a thoughtful post. I envy someone like you who has such deep roots in a community and has family and friends who are connected to it also. I've been a transplant my whole life, but "think" I've got some pretty good roots here in Virginia.
PS: You are right about Rudi--She's to be kept on a oist "bland type" diet for the next week. I've not heard her bark and don't know if she can or not. But she doesn't seem to have problems eating, but it did take her a little longer to finish her dinner.
A lovely reflection -- I've visited the old graveyards of my adopted home and feel that it's helped my transplanted roots grow deeper.
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