Anna, I was so sad to read this ------------ this must be very had on the cemetery staff-and all who have families buried at the cemetery-----------------truly upsetting and maddening to read about these kinds of incidents--------- Carolyn Fresnobee.com The Fresno Bee History Shattered 33 grave markers are toppled, ruined at Academy Cemetery. By Matthew Kreamer The Fresno Bee (Published July 13, 2001) More than a century of Fresno County history lies cracked and shattered on dusty ground at the Academy Cemetery. Thirty-three marble and granite headstones, bearing the names of many historical community leaders, were pushed over and destroyed by vandals during the weekend. Many had stood since the late 1800s. Sheriff's officials haven't identified any suspects but are following various leads. Meanwhile, the cemetery gates are locked, and detectives have asked that restoration not begin until the case progresses, said Anna Herrera, manager of the Clovis Cemetery District. "A lot of people have asked me, 'How could someone do something like this?' " Herrera said. "I tell them people these days don't have much respect for the living; why would they have respect for the dead?" The horror for those who know the cemetery and its history is not only the damage, but also that it was done to historical headstones. All but two of the broken headstones were hand-carved between 1870 and 1920, Herrera said. The names include Gillum Baley, who led a wagon train of settlers from Missouri and became one of Fresno County's first judges; Sarah Simpson, an Academy landowner whose donations helped found the local Methodist Episcopal Church; and William L. Greenup, a farmer, judge and deputy sheriff. "This isn't just a cemetery; this is Clovis history," said Marilyn Gran, a descendant of the Greenups and Baleys. "These are the people who made Clovis." The cemetery sits atop a gent-ly sloping hill at the end of Mendocino Road in Academy, about 10 miles northeast of Clovis. The first person buried there was Benjamin Baxter Baley in 1867, said Sharon Hiigel, curator of the Fresno Historical Society. His headstone was not vandalized. The most recent burial was Monday, Herrera said. Margie Pokorny, 82, of Clovis said her ancestors, including her grandparents, are buried in the cemetery. She walked through Wednesday and saw the damage. "I don't see why someone could do this for fun. I don't know what kind of fun this is," Pokorny said. "My great-grandfather, they just destroyed his tombstone. Some of them are so old that they just shattered when they fell. I don't see a way they can ever put some of them back." The restoration will begin as soon as the Sheriff's Department gives permission, Herrera said. Repair material has been ordered that closely matches the light-colored marble headstones. Dozens of people have called and offered to help with the repairs, she said. "The markers and monuments are the property of the families, but there's just no way we can get a hold of people, so the majority of the markers we will be restoring ourselves," Herrera said. She couldn't place a value on the damage. "What value do we put on our history?" Herrera asked. "Once you have something of a historical nature that is shattered, you can put it back together again, but it is never whole." Authorities and cemetery officials are not certain exactly when the vandalism occurred. Cemetery district employees were at the site July 6, and everything appeared fine, Herrera said. The damage was discovered Monday morning. Herrera said sheriff's officers received a telephone call Sunday morning from a nearby resident who reported what appeared to be people partying and making noise in the cemetery. A deputy wasn't sent about the call, she said. This isn't the first time the cemetery has been vandalized. In 1993, 30 headstones were knocked over, but none was destroyed, Herrera said. More recently, 26 headstones were vandalized March 10 at the Red Bank Cemetery on Shaw Avenue, east of Clovis. That cemetery has headstones dating to the 1870s. A recent law added to the California Penal Code makes cemetery vandalism punishable by as much as a year in jail. The reporter can be reached at mkreamer@fresnobee.com or 441-6208.