CEMETERIES HOLD KEY LINKS TO OUR PAST

There is little that connects us with the past and our forebears than the many cemeteries that dot the countryside and cityscape. The tombstones and cemetery records are tangible histories of an area and its people.

In the past, grave markers and tombstones used in cemeteries tended to be elaborate, ornate and fairly large. Modern cemeteries generally prefer low-maintenance markers that sometimes don't even exceed ground level. Either way, a walk through a cemetery has a way of making history personal, and many cemetery visitors find the experience calming and comforting.

There is a cemetery on Staten Island, part of New York City, that is the burial ground for the Vanderbilts, among other notables of that area and that era. It is place of marvelous family mausoleums, stone reminders of the illustrious careers of the nation's mighty and great. In Cambridge, just across the Charles River from Boston, there is a cemetery whose landscaping makes it a draw for tourists who are awed by the beauty of the trees as well as the grave markers. And who can visit most any national cemetery and not be moved by row upon row of white crosses?

Almost every town has a cemetery that is steeped in history. Unfortunately, years of neglect have left some of these cemeteries in shambles, which means a part of history is in danger of being lost forever.

Several students from Southeast Missouri State University involved in the Historic Preservation Association have targeted a 150-year-old cemetery in Commerce and have begun cleaning it up, clearing brush and tangled vines from the stone markers and wrought-iron fences. Eventually, the group will do research at the cemetery and make a record of their findings.

This information will be invaluable to generations to come, particularly to those interested not only in history, but in genealogical research.

Hundreds of cemeteries in Southeast Missouri are maintained through private donations collected by cemetery associations. Many cemeteries show the pride of those who care enough to tend the grounds.

But many more cemeteries are neglected or forgotten. One such graveyard is the Shady Grove Cemetery between Cape Girardeau and Dutchtown. A small but hearty group of interested people showed up last Saturday and began cleaning it up.

A big thanks to those who work to preserve the memories of those who have been laid to rest in our area cemeteries.