The Remarkable Renewal of the Old Burying Ground in Greenfield Continues in the Summer of 2018

From the Greenfield Historical Society where you can check out more photographs taken during the June 9, 2018 work session - and a more dedicated group of hard working volunteers you won't find anywhere as they work their way through the Old Burying Ground cleaning, repairing, and re-setting the town's earliest gravemarkers and monuments - during this their 5th year of restoring the "OBG"! 

****************** 

THE NEXT WORK SESSION

 AT THE OLD BURYING GROUND:

TUESDAY - JUNE 26, 2018

"Please join other volunteers as we continue to make improvements to the Old Burial Ground. We'll start at 7:30 a.m. and work as long as we have the energy. Come help and stay as long as you can."

******************

"Volunteer Session - June 9, 2018"

"We got an early start this Saturday in an effort to avoid most of the heat and any pop-up showers. That was a good idea since by 11 or so it was getting hot and our energy levels were diminishing. 

We had a great morning! 

We were able to realign more stones, repair some broken stones, clean some stones, and were excited when we uncovered a Gibson Post 180 GAR war marker! 

Joining in were Scott Andersen, Venus Andersen, John King, Jackie Doles, Mike Anderson, Gloria Losey, and Diana Zimmerman. 

The grounds looked especially nice as the mowing and trimming had been done extremely well by village workers. Our thanks to City Manager Todd Wilkin and the workers for making that big difference!

Many thanks to ALL the volunteers who help throughout the years making this a very successful project."

 (Photo Above - Photo courtesy of Scott Andersen):  

From Left to Right:  

John King, Jackie Doles and Michael Lee Anderson

**
All Photos below courtesy of Michael Lee Anderson

 

 

 

 

The latest News Release from the Ohio Department of Commerce SHOULD READ: Ohioans Facing Issues with REGISTERED Cemeteries can seek help from the Department of Commerce

The latest (May 21, 2018) News Release from the Ohio Department of Commerce fails to include a very important word in the title of the News Release; and that word is:  "registered" which should have been placed before the word "cemeteries".

*****

Also, the link in paragraph two for the laws and guidelines, which is the "Cemetery Minimum Maintenance Guidelines" By The Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission", states:

"ORC Section 4767.06(H) Adopt and Publish Suggested Minimum guidelines for all cemeteries registered in the state of Ohio under ORC 4767"  

So, it is in the linked document from the News Release that we see the word "registered".  

Registered is a very important word!  

Indeed Registered is the word to keep in mind when you are considering filing a Complaint with the Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission about the unresolved issues you have with your cemetery of concern.  

*****
'Read below and weep' if your cemetery comes under one of these categories:

(C) Sections 4767.02 to 4767.04 of the Revised Code do not apply to or affect a family cemetery or a cemetery in which there have been no interments during the previous twenty-five calendar years. As used in this division, "family cemetery" means a cemetery containing the human remains of persons, at least three-fourths of whom have a common ancestor or who are the spouse or adopted child of that common ancestor.

*******************

 Below are images of the two pages

of the Cemetery Registration Form

for Registered Cemeteries:

 ************

Below is my response from the Department of Commerce's Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing.  

The Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission comes under the above Divisions.

 ****

My request to file a complaint on an inactive and unregistered cemetery was denied because the cemetery was Unregistered due to its inactive status.    

Sharing a Story about The Loudon (AKA Loudon Township) Cemetery - Fostoria, Ohio - An Unregistered Cemetery that is "Registered" as being Inactive - Please Don't Let the use of the word "Registered" cause confusion

Sharing a link to this news story by "The Courier" from Fostoria published June 6, 2018 

by Lydia Bauler

~*~*~*~*~

Below are the comments made during the last Fostoria City Council meeting (June 5, 2018) regarding the Loudon Cemetery in Fostoria.:

"Separately, council passed an ordinance ratifying the operation of the Loudon Cemetery by the city of Fostoria and declaring that no burials have occurred there in the past 25 years.

Nothing will significantly change in terms of operation of the cemetery, nor will it be moved. The cemetery was part of the property brought into the city when the Muirfield Place neighborhood was annexed, according to Keckler.

The legislation came before council in response to the Ohio Department of Commerce, which is in charge of cemeteries and their operations. Since there has not been a burial in the cemetery since 1957, the state agency recommended the cemetery be registered as inactive.

The ordinance allows Loudon Cemetery to be registered per the agency’s request."

My Thoughts:

The statements about the Loudon Cemetery to be 'registered' as an inactive cemetery, its status being due to not having burials in the past 25 years, is in truth not a registered cemetery in the state of Ohio because only active cemeteries can be registered.

Thus, if we would place a heading on a column for inactive cemeteries, we would not be putting the word "Registered" in the title heading for those that have been inactive for 25 calendar years or more; meaning no interments during that time.

The choice of words - "Registered" might be a bit confusing for some who might believe that this cemetery is being considered to be a registered cemetery, however, because of its inactive status, it is not. 

Only active and registered cemeteries are eligible to have complaints against those responsible for them filed with the Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission. The Commission does not accept complaints regarding inactive, and thus unregistered, cemeteries.

***************

The Loudon Cemetery is shown as the Loudon Township Cemetery in Seneca County on "Find A Grave"