Friday, August 22, 2014

Cemetery of Convenience



    “Cemetery of convenience”, now that is a phrase I never heard before last night at the Elkhart County Historical Museum.
    Jeannie Regan-Dinius, Director of Special Initiatives for the Indiana Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, presented a very informative lecture on cemeteries, graves, the histories of such and some legal does and don’ts.
   It was obvious that most of the folk in attendance were either cemetery historians or genealogical hobbyists. I am neither. I like history in general. And Jeannie did an excellent job of presenting her information such that a person of casual interest could understand and have their interests and musings stirred.
   And stirred mine were.
    A “cemetery of convenience” would hardly happen today. They happened during early days of exploration, railroad laying, or other large work efforts where people were far from civilization yet had to provide for a decent burial of someone deceased. In other words, they got buried where they died.
   Nineteen people showed up for this meeting. Jeannie discussed history, preservation attempts, and legal matters regarding cemeteries. When asked questions, she immediately had a relevant and well informed answer. Of course she should, she has been doing this since 2002.
   Always articulate in her language and descriptions, she held everyone’s attention for a little more than an hour. I am a preacher, and after fifteen minutes, I can see that I’ve lost people.
Jeannie did an excellent job.

You can find out more about cemeteries at    http://in.gov/dnr/historic/