HISTORIAN HAUNTS CEMETERIES

Richard Betterly visits old cemeteries the way others take a walk in the park.

For him, there's no more enjoyable pastime than strolling among ancient tombstones, viewing the artistry of the markers and the history buried there.

Betterly, who has directed the historic preservation program at Southeast Missouri State University since the fall of 1992, estimates he has visited at least 200 old cemeteries in the last five years.

"That's what I do for vacation," said Betterly, who has become an expert in cemetery preservation. "I've been in cemeteries from Massachusetts to Georgia, from Georgia to Texas to Montana."

Betterly said he didn't intend to become "the cemetery man." It just worked out that way.

"People really seem to have a fascination for cemeteries," said Betterly, adding that it's becoming an accepted field of historic preservation.

No longer is it just a case of "little old ladies" going out to the cemeteries to do genealogical work, he said.

"My students love going into cemeteries," said Betterly, although he admits cemetery preservationists have to cope with everything from snakes to poison ivy.

At a rural cemetery in Tennessee once, an aging tombstone fell on top of Betterly, but he managed to crawl out from underneath it.

In today's mobile society, old cemeteries reflect our roots, Betterly believes. "It gives us a sense of our own being."

Betterly said he likes to look at the architecture and design of the gravestones. One of his possessions is a German book, dating from the 1920s, detailing engraving patterns for cemetery stones.

"It's a shame we don't make stones like this anymore," Betterly said as he toured the Old McKendree Church cemetery near Jackson recently.

Betterly and his preservation students documented the rural cemetery, with its approximately 225 stones, in the fall of 1992. Some of the stones date back to the 1820s.

The sameness of modern gravestones bothers him. They lack character, he said.

People have a tendency to view cemeteries as a permanent part of the landscape, but they are far from it.

"Unfortunately, grave markers were never intended to be permanent artifacts," said Betterly. "You cannot preserve stone indefinitely. All we can ever do is prolong their life."

Weather, vandalism and even indifference on the part of property owners have all taken their toll.

Even stones that outwardly appear solid today often have cracks or fissures inside that will eventually make them crumble. "They are really very fragile in many ways," said Betterly.

Today, markers are generally made of granite. But years ago, other, softer types of stone were used. "You didn't have granite in this area until the 1870s," he said.

Some markers were carved locally, others -- generally the more elaborate ones -- were imported from St. Louis and other places.

"If it was done locally, it was probably done of indigenous stone," said Betterly.

One of the worst stones is marble, which, with time, becomes discolored -- making inscriptions hard to read.

Betterly said worn inscriptions can often be read with the aid of baking soda or flour. Rubbed over the stone, it highlights the engraved letters, making them easier to read.

Local carvers often did little planning when it came to inscriptions. When a carver ran out of room, he would just continue the word on the next line, said Betterly. Many carvers were not literate people and misspelled words are not uncommon on tombstones.

In the Cape Girardeau area, many of the older markers from the 1820s to the 1840s, reflect a transitional style from the colonial period to the Victorian era.

"In colonial times, stones were sort of a warning," he noted. The markers often had death heads, skulls with wings, engraved on them.

"In the Victorian time period, you had a more romantic interpretation of death -- sort of gone, but not forgotten," said Betterly. Victorian markers often feature hands or fingers pointed to the sky.

In the transitional period, the markers still had the outward look of colonial stones, but bore the more idyllic message of Victorian days.

Many people couldn't afford big markers. They had to settle for wooden markers or field stones with a few words carved in them. Such simple markers quickly deteriorated.

Old cemeteries are generally found on hillsides, not just so loved ones could be "closer to God." Betterly said there's a more practical reason: hillsides were less usable for farming.

Tombstones traditionally face to the east, a practical consideration since the winds in this area generally blow from the west. As a result, there is less deterioration to such stones, he said.

Grave markers often contain a wealth of information, besides the birth and death dates -- everything from the person's occupation to where they were born and who their families were.

Such stones are particularly important because of the lack of good written records years ago, Betterly pointed out.

Until 1913, most states, especially in the South, didn't keep any statistical records.

In many cases, no local courthouse records were kept or those records were discarded. As a result, cemetery stones are often the only remaining evidence of a person's life and death.

"As the tombstones disappear, there go the records," said Betterly.

Vandalism is often a problem in old cemeteries. "Only 24 of the 50 states have anything on the books regarding old cemeteries," he said.

In some cases, vandalizing a tombstone merits just a $5 fine, he noted.

Natural deterioration and that caused by vandalism make it all the more important to document the inscriptions on the tombstones before they are gone, he said.

Many old cemeteries are family plots situated on farm land no longer owned by that family. The current owners often have no interest in preserving such cemeteries, and there's no legal requirement in Missouri that they do so, said Betterly.

Cemeteries are too often a neglected part of our culture, he said.

Part of the neglect is because our society tends to be afraid of death, said Betterly. That wasn't the case in the 1870s when people visited and picnicked at cemeteries, much as they now visit parks.

"The cemetery (back then) was more than a place to bury. It was a place for the living to commune," he said.