“Giving Names to Numbers” CLSH Cemetery Preservation

The first thing that comes to mind when looking over the large grassy field is what a beautiful peaceful place it is.  If not for the few markers resting on a concrete slab at the front and the large white cross on the hill you would not know it was a cemetery.  Very few people know there is a cemetery on the grounds.  To be honest, very few people care.

If you look at the photo above closely you will be able to see a portion of the graves.  Some of those graves have been there for over a hundred years.  Why should we try to preserve the cemetery or mark the graves now? We try because at one point in time each one of those buried there was the whole world to someone else.  They were someone’s child, someone’s husband or wife, someone’s mom or dad, someone’s brother or sister.  Today there are grandchildren and great-grandchildren who never had what most of us take for granted.  They don’t know where their grandparent died or where they were buried.  Some don’t even know their name.

The people buried here did not lead an easy life.  They did not have someone to hold their hand as they died.  There was no one there to cry as they were lowered into the ground.  All those people, over 2469 of them, rest in graves with the one and only thing to mark their lives being a concrete square with a number on it.  A marker now buried beneath the ground.  They deserve better than that.  They deserve to have their lives recognized, even if it is only a marker with their name on it.

What would it take to make that happen?  Not very much at all if enough people care.  For some it would mean putting off buying the new X-Box game or the latest app.   For others it is a matter of getting angry.  Angry that there is a cemetery in our small town with over 2469 graves marked with numbers.  You can help by joining the committee, giving a donation or by simply sharing our story with others.

Visit clshcemeterypreservation.com for more information.