I am really, really PLEASED to announce that the clean-up and restoration of Grayson-Long Cemetery in Jeffersonville Township, Clark Co., IN is nearly COMPLETION. This site is nestled in a heavily wooded oasis, surrounded by residential and commercial developed. The cemetery was savagely vandalized about 30 years ago by some miscreants who dug up at least two people and paraded around down with their skulls and jewelry. 30 years passed and the graves were never filled it. In the meantime, the neighborhood children carried on the tradition of their predecessors, vandalizing the site to the point that every single stone was broken or down, except one Civil War marker. There were huge dead trees down all over the site. In a word, it was a mess! For the past year or so, I have been communicating with several people who have been working quietly in the background to get this site cleaned up. Today, I'm pleased to announce that the work is nearly finished. The dead trees have been moved off the cemetery (which turns out to be a full, square acre); we still need to get rid of the dead trees, but they aren't on the graves anymore. Jim Grayson, the owner of Grayson Funeral Homes and the Charlestown Monument Company, and his family donated their services to repair all the broken stones and monuments. Either inmate labor or community service labor was used to do the actual cleaning (I'm still not sure which). All of this was coordinated by Mr. Dale Popp, the Jeffersonville Township Trustee. In the next few weeks, a fence (chain-link?) will be built around the entire one-acre cemetery. The surrounding woods are been converted into wooded parkland. It really is a beautiful area. If you haven't been to Grayson-Long Cemetery and can't find it following the directions on http://www.rootsweb.com/~incccpc/graysoncem.html , just give me a call. I'd love to take you there! The above webpage features over 2 dozen photos that I took this afternoon, a true virtual tour of the site. It will take a while for the pix to load, but I think you'll enjoy them. I'm sure there are a ton of buried stones here and I'd love to coordinate a probing day (with the Trustee's permission, of course!). Let me know if you'd be interested in looking for buried stones at Grayson-Long Cemetery. Lois

Hi. I would be interested in joining your group in looking for stones. I live in Cincinnati so I couldn't necessarily come at the drop of a hat, but I would certainly come if I can. I'm on the board of Shiloh in Dubois County, and several of our members are active in helping to restore local cemeteries. Glad to meet you. MaryAlice Parks 513-793-7739 ----- Original Message ----- From: Lois Mauk <loismauk@home.com> To: <INPCRP-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, December 16, 2001 12:16 AM Subject: [INPCRP] Restoration of Grayson-Long Cemetery in Clark Co., IN nearly completion > I am really, really PLEASED to announce that the clean-up and restoration of > Grayson-Long Cemetery in Jeffersonville Township, Clark Co., IN is nearly > COMPLETION. > > This site is nestled in a heavily wooded oasis, surrounded by residential > and commercial developed. The cemetery was savagely vandalized about 30 > years ago by some miscreants who dug up at least two people and paraded > around down with their skulls and jewelry. > > 30 years passed and the graves were never filled it. In the meantime, the > neighborhood children carried on the tradition of their predecessors, > vandalizing the site to the point that every single stone was broken or > down, except one Civil War marker. There were huge dead trees down all over > the site. In a word, it was a mess! > > For the past year or so, I have been communicating with several people who > have been working quietly in the background to get this site cleaned up. > Today, I'm pleased to announce that the work is nearly finished. The dead > trees have been moved off the cemetery (which turns out to be a full, square > acre); we still need to get rid of the dead trees, but they aren't on the > graves anymore. > > Jim Grayson, the owner of Grayson Funeral Homes and the Charlestown Monument > Company, and his family donated their services to repair all the broken > stones and monuments. > > Either inmate labor or community service labor was used to do the actual > cleaning (I'm still not sure which). > > All of this was coordinated by Mr. Dale Popp, the Jeffersonville Township > Trustee. > > In the next few weeks, a fence (chain-link?) will be built around the entire > one-acre cemetery. The surrounding woods are been converted into wooded > parkland. It really is a beautiful area. > > If you haven't been to Grayson-Long Cemetery and can't find it following the > directions on http://www.rootsweb.com/~incccpc/graysoncem.html , just give > me a call. I'd love to take you there! > > The above webpage features over 2 dozen photos that I took this afternoon, a > true virtual tour of the site. It will take a while for the pix to load, > but I think you'll enjoy them. > > I'm sure there are a ton of buried stones here and I'd love to coordinate a > probing day (with the Trustee's permission, of course!). Let me know if > you'd be interested in looking for buried stones at Grayson-Long Cemetery. > > Lois > > > > ==== INPCRP Mailing List ==== > Quote from William Gladstone (1809-1897), three-time Prime Minister of England > and Victorian contemporary of Benjamin Disraeli: > "Show me the manner in which a nation or community > cares for its dead and I will measure with mathematical > exactness the tender mercies of its people, their > respect for the laws of the land, and their loyalty > to high ideals." >

Lois, That is one very nice story. I love it that you have found ways to involve many different types of groups in this one cemetery cleanup. I have the opportunity next month to talk at a district boy scouts meeting. I'm excited about that and hope I keep it together. <g> The more we involve, the better our chances are of keeping this all going forward. I'm ready to work on a web page for my county. Is anyone else ready for this? I would love some thoughts about what you think is important. I didn't see many County webpages with INPCRP logos on them. Guess were all to busy working in the dirt. I has been wonderfully warm this month and a great time to go find the overgrown cemeteries. Wishing you all a wonderful and peaceful Christmas! And I hope you get new Cemeteries tools this year too. <g> Lou Ann Terry-Clugh (L.A.) Tippecanoe County Pioneer Cemeteries Group Coordinator

I just got done looking at your pictures. The cemetery looks beautiful. How wonderful that it will be surrounded with fencing and a park, it will certainly be an asset to the area and a real piece of history. I've been involved in cleaning, repairing and documenting a cemetery in SW Michigan and know the feeling of seeing broken headstones brought back to "life". Please congratulate the volunteers/workers for a great job. Marge (Hess) Yetzke ----- Original Message ----- From: Lois Mauk To: INPCRP-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Saturday, December 15, 2001 11:16 PM Subject: [INPCRP] Restoration of Grayson-Long Cemetery in Clark Co., IN nearly completion I am really, really PLEASED to announce that the clean-up and restoration of Grayson-Long Cemetery in Jeffersonville Township, Clark Co., IN is nearly COMPLETION. This site is nestled in a heavily wooded oasis, surrounded by residential and commercial developed. The cemetery was savagely vandalized about 30 years ago by some miscreants who dug up at least two people and paraded around down with their skulls and jewelry. 30 years passed and the graves were never filled it. In the meantime, the neighborhood children carried on the tradition of their predecessors, vandalizing the site to the point that every single stone was broken or down, except one Civil War marker. There were huge dead trees down all over the site. In a word, it was a mess! For the past year or so, I have been communicating with several people who have been working quietly in the background to get this site cleaned up. Today, I'm pleased to announce that the work is nearly finished. The dead trees have been moved off the cemetery (which turns out to be a full, square acre); we still need to get rid of the dead trees, but they aren't on the graves anymore. Jim Grayson, the owner of Grayson Funeral Homes and the Charlestown Monument Company, and his family donated their services to repair all the broken stones and monuments. Either inmate labor or community service labor was used to do the actual cleaning (I'm still not sure which). All of this was coordinated by Mr. Dale Popp, the Jeffersonville Township Trustee. In the next few weeks, a fence (chain-link?) will be built around the entire one-acre cemetery. The surrounding woods are been converted into wooded parkland. It really is a beautiful area. If you haven't been to Grayson-Long Cemetery and can't find it following the directions on http://www.rootsweb.com/~incccpc/graysoncem.html , just give me a call. I'd love to take you there! The above webpage features over 2 dozen photos that I took this afternoon, a true virtual tour of the site. It will take a while for the pix to load, but I think you'll enjoy them. I'm sure there are a ton of buried stones here and I'd love to coordinate a probing day (with the Trustee's permission, of course!). Let me know if you'd be interested in looking for buried stones at Grayson-Long Cemetery. Lois ==== INPCRP Mailing List ==== Quote from William Gladstone (1809-1897), three-time Prime Minister of England and Victorian contemporary of Benjamin Disraeli: "Show me the manner in which a nation or community cares for its dead and I will measure with mathematical exactness the tender mercies of its people, their respect for the laws of the land, and their loyalty to high ideals."

Lois, I just got done looking at your pictures. The cemetery looks beautiful. How wonderful that it will be surrounded with fencing and a park, it will certainly be an asset to the area and a real piece of history. I've been involved in cleaning, repairing and documenting a cemetery in SW Michigan and know the feeling of seeing broken headstones brought back to "life". Please congratulate the volunteers/workers for a great job. Marge (Hess) Yetzke (2nd try at sending this) ----- Original Message ----- From: Lois Mauk To: INPCRP-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Saturday, December 15, 2001 11:16 PM Subject: [INPCRP] Restoration of Grayson-Long Cemetery in Clark Co., IN nearly completion I am really, really PLEASED to announce that the clean-up and restoration of Grayson-Long Cemetery in Jeffersonville Township, Clark Co., IN is nearly COMPLETION. This site is nestled in a heavily wooded oasis, surrounded by residential and commercial developed. The cemetery was savagely vandalized about 30 years ago by some miscreants who dug up at least two people and paraded around down with their skulls and jewelry. 30 years passed and the graves were never filled it. In the meantime, the neighborhood children carried on the tradition of their predecessors, vandalizing the site to the point that every single stone was broken or down, except one Civil War marker. There were huge dead trees down all over the site. In a word, it was a mess! For the past year or so, I have been communicating with several people who have been working quietly in the background to get this site cleaned up. Today, I'm pleased to announce that the work is nearly finished. The dead trees have been moved off the cemetery (which turns out to be a full, square acre); we still need to get rid of the dead trees, but they aren't on the graves anymore. Jim Grayson, the owner of Grayson Funeral Homes and the Charlestown Monument Company, and his family donated their services to repair all the broken stones and monuments. Either inmate labor or community service labor was used to do the actual cleaning (I'm still not sure which). All of this was coordinated by Mr. Dale Popp, the Jeffersonville Township Trustee. In the next few weeks, a fence (chain-link?) will be built around the entire one-acre cemetery. The surrounding woods are been converted into wooded parkland. It really is a beautiful area. If you haven't been to Grayson-Long Cemetery and can't find it following the directions on http://www.rootsweb.com/~incccpc/graysoncem.html , just give me a call. I'd love to take you there! The above webpage features over 2 dozen photos that I took this afternoon, a true virtual tour of the site. It will take a while for the pix to load, but I think you'll enjoy them. I'm sure there are a ton of buried stones here and I'd love to coordinate a probing day (with the Trustee's permission, of course!). Let me know if you'd be interested in looking for buried stones at Grayson-Long Cemetery. Lois ==== INPCRP Mailing List ==== Quote from William Gladstone (1809-1897), three-time Prime Minister of England and Victorian contemporary of Benjamin Disraeli: "Show me the manner in which a nation or community cares for its dead and I will measure with mathematical exactness the tender mercies of its people, their respect for the laws of the land, and their loyalty to high ideals."