Thanks Debbi -- what a great idea! They use sheep around here to clean off the fields after the crops have been harvested. Maybe some goats or a few sheep could be sent to Killam Cemetery in South Palmyra so "tall boots, lots of bug spray and a weapon" aren't required equipment to visit that cemetery. Linda Arnold Menifee, California In a message dated 12/20/2009 8:41:13 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, dgirth@yahoo.com writes: Below my sign-off is a posting from the Boone surname mail list and thought I would share with some other mail lists I belong in case someone is trying to figure out a way to clean up an unmaintained cemetery and don't want to damage any unseen gravestones. It may sound stupid but consider the gravestones won't be damaged as machines or implements might do when you have no idea what's under the brush or tall grasses. A suggestion by the original submitter was to put the goats on a chain when there is no fence around the cemetery. Debbi Geer Using Goats to Clear a Cemetery Four sturdy goats are doing their part to uncover up to 30 grave sites at the Ballard Family Cemetery in Henderson County, North Carolina. The brambles and underbrush were so thick it was hard to see anything, much less walk around. The free labor is supplied by goats on loan from Henderson County Magistrate Sandra Laughter. It's hard to tell what's here until we clean it out," says Toby Linville, the county staff member for the Henderson County Cemetery Advisory Committee. Check out Macoupin County ILGenWeb page at http://www.macoupinctygenealogy.org/. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ILMACOUP-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message