Reporting Thefts at Knollwood Cemetery in Mayfield Heights, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Click on title to link to a story published on December 1, 2012 on "Cleveland.com" under the "Police Blotter" about two necklaces valued at $500.00 apiece that were stolen, possibly as long as a year ago, from a crypt in Knollwood Cemetery.  

Currently on "Find A Grave", there are 2,233 interments listed at Knollwood Cemetery with 129 outstanding photo requests that are waiting to be claimed by area photo volunteers. Five famous interments are listed on "Find A Grave" for Knollwood Cemetery. 

Cemetery vandalism and thefts continue unfortunately.  Let's hope that the police have some leads for this crime.  It perplexes me, however, regarding what the reason could be to account for the delay by local authorities in learning of this crime since they state they feel the thefts may have occurred as long as a year ago.  Hopefully, sooner rather than later, we will read about progress being made with apprehending the person or persons responsible for these thefts and bring them to justice for this crime.

"She Lived In Three Centuries" -- Spotlighting Alma F. (nee Wasnich) Shambarger buried at Floral Grove Cemetery in West Unity, Williams County, Ohio

Sandi Litzenberg 'introduced' me to a person she learned about named Alma Shambarger and told me "she lived in 3 centuries."  I didn't want to believe it at first until Sandi sent photographs of the Shambarger monument.

Sandi wrote:  

"I also have a photo of a headstone of a woman who lived in 3 different centuries.. the 19th, 20th & 21st centuries.. I believe she lived to be 104??.". 

"her stone was already pre-dated, probably when her husband died, with the death date of 19-- and they had to inscribe next to that the 2002.. it caught my eye so I took a few pictures.."

Two views of the gray granite monument erected for Alma F. (Wasnich) Shambarger and her husband, Galen W. Shambarger, buried at Floral Grove Cemetery, West Unity, Williams County, Ohio.  

Photograph courtesy of Sandi Litzenberg. 

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Below is an obituary for Alma F. Shambarger as it appeared in "The Toledo Blade" on Saturday, December 14, 2002.  This obituary is taken from the website of "infonewsbank.com" from a search via the Cleveland Public Library website's premium resources section:

"CENTENARIAN KNOWN FOR APPLE DOLLS"

Blade, The (Toledo, OH) - Saturday, December 14, 2002

Author: Blade

Alma Faye Shambarger [1899-2002], who was known for making apple dolls and speaking at area churches and schools, died Wednesday of complications from bronchitis at Harborside Healthcare in Bryan. She was 103.
Mrs. Shambarger graduated from West Unity High School in 1916 and married Galen Shambarger a year later. He died in 1971. 

The couple lived in Detroit for five years, then moved to Chicago. They lived there until 1963, when Mr. Shambarger retired and they returned to West Unity.

Mrs. Shambarger worked part time for 26 years as a beauty counselor for Vanda Cosmetics in Chicago. She visited people's homes to give makeovers and teach women about skin care. "She was kind of ahead of her time with the skin care," said her grandson, Russell Pritchett.
While living in Chicago, she was a member and secretary of the Federated Woman's Club from 1927 to 1942. After returning to West Unity, she spoke at churches and clubs about her experiences in Chicago.

She also gave talks on the history of her ancestors settling in the West Unity area. Her great-grandfather, a preacher, rode on horseback around the settlements in the region.
Mrs. Shambarger was featured in a local newspaper in the 1970s for her expertise making apple dolls. The dolls had padded bodies and carved dried apples for heads.

"She made the clothes for these dolls out of her parents' and grandparents' clothes," her grandson said. "They looked pretty authentic."

Mrs. Shambarger enjoyed taking train trips to Colorado and the West Coast. Her husband was a railroad detective, so she had access to discount train passes.
She belonged to West Unity United Methodist Church and the Jefferson Township Garden Club. Mrs. Shambarger was a staunch Democrat who was vocal about her political views, her grandson said.

Surviving are two grandsons, a great-granddaughter, and two great-great-grandsons. A son, Russell, died in 1970.

Services will be at 10 a.m. today in the Hollingshead Beck Funeral Home in West Unity. The family requests tributes to Harborside Healthcare in Bryan.

 
Edition: CITY FINAL
Section: SECOND NEWS
Page: B7
Index Terms: OBITUARY
Dateline: WEST UNITY, OHIO
Record Number: 0212140117
Copyright, 2002, The Blade

Spotlighting Williams County, Ohio - Scattered Stones at Four Cemeteries Need Saving!

Extending my appreciation to Sandi Litzenberg of Williams County, Ohio

(Sandi is a "Find A Grave" contributor)

for bringing to my attention the need for preservation work to be conducted at four small Williams County cemeteries.  

Sandi located several groupings of broken gravestones in each cemetery that need repairing and re-setting -- most are Civil War era markers.  

In fact, one white marble marker belongs to Ohio Civil War veteran, Joseph T. (Joseph Theodore) Kast.  It is toppled over, but intact, lying on the ground at the West Jefferson Cemetery.  How sad since I'm sure the marker had stood upright for decades proudly marking the location of the veteran who was buried beneath it.

However, there is another grave marker for Pvt. Joseph Theodore Kast that Sandi photographed and it is shown below:

 Pvt. Joseph T. Kast, of Co. "D", 38th Regiment O.V.I. buried at the West Jefferson Cemetery

Original filed under Joseph T./Kast
nara publication title:	Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations From the State of Ohio.
nara publication number:	M552
nara roll number:	57
film number:	0882270

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 John Kast - Gravestone for John Kast also buried at the West Jefferson Cemetery.  

John Kast also served as a private in Co. "D' of the 38th Regiment, O.V.I.
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Sandi has sent over some of her pictures and identfies them by cemetery name.  All cemeteries are listed on "Find A Grave":

 Above is a photo of a grouping of small mostly sunken stones that appear to have been removed from their original location at some point and just placed next to the tree we see in this picture.  Judging by their small size, they could have once been placed as footstones for larger markers.  

These stones are at the Billingstown Cemetery which is located in Northwest Township.  Per the cemetery sign the cemetery was established in 1843. 

Per the Ohio Genealogical Society's publication:  "Ohio Cemeteries 1803 - 2003" published in 2003, on page 686 - K. Roger Troutman, Editor for the Billingstown Cemetery:  

"This is the northwestern most cemetery in Ohio, being only 3100 feet from the intersection of Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana."  There is a WPA map for this cemetery.  

Currently, there are 121 burials listed for the Billingstown Cemetery on "Find A Grave. "

Per "Find A Grave": GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 41.68944, Longitude: -84.79694 

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Above is a photograph of a grouping of tossed aside broken markers and perhaps some plot marker stones at the Lash Cemetery in Williams County.   

Obviously, the flat white marble stones sitting on each end are grave markers that were once intact and upright over their original burial locations.  The one on the far right may still be over its original location.  It is not easy to tell.   

The burial ground is located:  "Just west of where US 20 turns to the north.  On the north Side of SR107," per the O.G.S. "Cemeteries 1803 -2003" publication, page 686, (referenced above.)

Currently, there are 157 interments listed at the Lash Cemetery on "Find A Grave." 

Per "Find A Grave": GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 41.58690, Longitude: -84.55970

Sandi has posted two nice recent longer shot photographs of the Lash Cemetery on its cemetery page on "Find A Grave."  Fortunately, most of the gravestone markers in those pictures are still standing. 

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 The above photograph is for at least 2 broken white marble markers at the Ring Cemetery in Brady Township, Williams County.

Per the O.G.S. "Ohio Cemeteries 1803 - 2003" publication (see reference above), page 685:  "Rings (Ring) Cemetery is located "Northeast of West Unity.  On East Side of U.S. 127.  There is a WPA map for it.  

Per "Find A Grave": GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 41.59250, Longitude: -84.43000 

Currently, 129 interments are listed for the Ring Cemetery on "Find A Grave."  

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 Above is a photograph Sandi took of a grouping of several random pieces of once standing marble grave markers now in a scattered pile at the West Jefferson Cemetery in Jefferson Township.  

The intact larger marker on the left belongs to Civil War Veteran, Joseph Theodore Kast, whose non-military white marble grave marker is shown in this post above.

  

There are 66 interments listed at the West Jefferson Cemetery on "Find A Grave." 

Per "Find A Grave": GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 41.57640, Longitude: -84.55640

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 Hopefully, thanks to Sandi's concern and intervention, as more people in these communities become aware of the need to restore these broken markers, steps will be taken so these gravestones can once again be made whole and regarded with the respect they deserve from us and also from future generations.