Gravediggers put 'six feet under' myth to rest

Daily American Republic

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- There isn't a whole lot left that you can count on these days, not even how deep you're going to be buried.

So much for being buried "six feet under." The phrase is so well-known that a vast majority of people don't realize caskets aren't actually buried beneath six feet of dirt.

In fact, Missouri law specifies no set depth at which caskets must be buried, but instead mandates that there must be at least two feet of cover above them. This is just one of the many insights into the burial process that Ralph Campbell has discovered as one of the Poplar Bluff Street Department's backhoe operators.

For many people, digging a person's final resting place or even just working in a cemetery might seem a bit morbid. But for Campbell, it's just another day on the job.

Graves are dug a standard three-feet wide and nine-feet long. In following the state's guidelines, Campbell said that most graves are only four or four and a half feet deep.

Like Campbell, Jerry Smith has been involved in work at the city cemetery for several years. He's served as a supervisor there for 11 years, overseeing the sale of plots and the maintenance of the cemetery grounds.

According to Smith, the city cemetery spans more than 110 acres and there are an estimated 18,300 people buried there.

While it may seem an unusual source, the city cemetery is full of unique history that traces the lives of some of Poplar Bluff's earliest residents.

While the record books only date back to 1887, Smith said that there are graves that go back much further than that.

"We have several from the 1870s. The oldest grave that I've found is Thomas Harvey. He was buried here in 1854," Smith said.

Harvey, who died at the age of 34, was buried near the rock building that currently serves as the cemetery office near the entrance of the City Cemetery on North Main Street.

In more recent years, the cemetery has undergone several additions to the original 10 small plots. There are now 16 additional sections, several of which are named after the people who donated the land.