Two news stories provide details for several Stark County and area cemeteries and their Cemetery Grant Program distributions

 On November 16, 2020, Ed Balint, veteran journalist reporter for "The Canton Repository" published two reports that can be accessed online.  They detail the 2020 distribution of Cemetery Grant Program funds to Stark County cemeteries and some other area cemeteries that applied to the Ohio Department of Commerce and received the awards. 

In the article entitled: "Stark County's Melscheimer Cemetery gets state grant to boost upkeep", we learn this Pike Township cemetery received $1,000 to remove trees.

The Melscheimer Cemetery is listed on Find A Grave with 3,642 memorials. 

The German Cemetery, in Sandy Township, Tuscarawas County, is also mentioned in this article.  It has 517 memorials listed for it on Find A Grave. 

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In the second article: " 'Priceless piece of history' to be cleaned at Dalton Cemetery" we learn about this Wayne County cemetery which has 2,638 memorials listed for it on Find A Grave. The story states that the Dalton Cemetery received $851 to clean gravestones. A video about the Dalton Cemetery is featured. 

There is a stunning full-length photograph of the Mary A. Morrow Jameson white bronze (zinc) monument that towers over the markers around it.  These unique grave markers and monuments are always a treat to see! Ohio is indeed fortunate to have a good variety and large number of them.  They can be found gracing the landscapes at cemeteries in urban areas and small townships.

The Arnold Cemetery in Sugar Creek Township, Wayne County, is also included in this report.  It received a $1,000 to repair and reset grave markers. 103 memorials are shown for the Arnold Cemetery on Find A Grave. 

These reports are both educational and uplifting to read.  We learn how the grant money will be put to good use.  The cemeteries benefitting from the Ohio Cemetery Grant funds awarded to them will be able to move ahead with their plans that help to better preserve and protect gravesites and the gravestones that mark them.  More respect will be restored that in turn honors the memories of those who called home the communities we live in today.  

Moonville Cemetery in Vinton County, Ohio suffered severe vandalism attack yet again

The "Scioto Post" feature story (November 16 2020) by Jeremy Newman.:

 "200 year-old Southern Ohio Cemetery Vandalized Again in Less than a Year"  brings tremendous heartbreak for those who have been following the sad saga of this tiny rural abandoned cemetery that only has 26 Find A Grave memorials.  The article states that the Vinton County Sheriff is investigating. 

The extent of the damage is sickening and saddening.  No cemetery should be subjected to such disgusting desecration. The photographs tell the story beyond what any words could convey for understanding.    

A Facebook page entitled "Moonville Rail Trail Association" today (November 16 2020) also broke the news about this latest vandalism attack on the tiny burying ground. Included in the post is a link to the "Go Fund Me" account set up for the needs of the Moonville Cemetery. 

Once again we are reminded that in the State of Ohio, cemetery grant fund money is only available to certain categories of cemeteries.  Inactive / abandoned, family, and for-profit cemeteries are excluded from receiving cemetery grant money funds that originated from the passage of HB168.  

Once these pioneer burying grounds are gone - they are gone for good; and we can't take them for granted. 

Ohio's lawmakers need to strengthen and update existing Ohio Revised Codes that impact all of the state's cemeteries. 

The passage of stronger legislation  is crucial.  It should include funding for any cemetery in crisis regardless of its status -- i.e. registered and non-registered cemeteries alike.  

Over the years, several posts have been shared here about active cemeteries with no owners, for-profit cemeteries that have multiple unresolved long-standing complaints about those responsible for them.  

The list of problems goes on and on.  

The need is urgent for Ohio's cemeteries which are all at risk for vandalism or for other reasons; and sadly remains so as we move toward 2021.     

Sharing this story from Otterbein University - "Otterbein Professors Use Cemeteries as Teaching Tools"

How gratifying it is to learn about this educational program offered at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio. 

It is spotlighted in significant detail on the university's website on October 29, 2020. 

 It isn't often we learn of universities utilizing cemeteries as serious study tools.  

As we know, too much history has already been lost at many of Ohio's earliest cemeteries. The next generation needs to learn more about the lives of those who came before us who have been at rest in them - perhaps for more than a century. The program's scope of studies is detailed clearly throughout the report.  Familiar topics covered include: understanding carving styles and learning about the varying types of stone materials chosen at different time periods for grave markers and monuments.   

The program's focus centers on three different categories of cemeteries in the central Ohio area.:

The first one is also the largest one - the Otterbein Cemetery - with 4,533 memorials posted for it on Find A Grave.   

Next, is the Olde Methodist Cemetery, also listed on Find A Grave with 246 memorials. 

Below is the Olde Methodist Cemetery's description on Find A Grave.:

"The Methodist Cemetery was founded in 1849, when Garrit Sharp gave land to the church. There are over 200 burials in this small cemetery, but some records and some stones have been lost to time. The final burial occured in 1956. For many years, it was known as the Lincoln Street Cemetery."

And, with the smallest number of burials of the three cemeteries with eight memorials, is the Kokosing Nature Preserve that offers natural burials. 

The website for the Kokosing Nature Preserve provides further information about their natural burial option. 

I feel students enrolled in this type of program, or others similar in nature, could ultimately choose a lifetime career in any number of cemetery-related fields.  

As we have come to learn, "cemetery preservation" is in reality an umbrella term.  It encompasses a vast array of subjects with a wide range of elements pertaining to cemeteries ranging from archaeology, burial documentation, and landscape conservation measures. The hands-on learning experiences should also include how to properly clean, repair, and reset historic gravestones - the key word being properly!   

Cemeteries are hallowed grounds deserving of our respect and careful attention to their ongoing needs. They are living breathing sacred spaces holding life stories of triumphs and tragedies.  They are key to unlocking histories hidden far too long in our communities all across Ohio and America.