The following is what I have drafted for the cover of the book of petition signatures that I'm having bound tomorrow morning. I'd appreciate hearing your comments. Lois ===================== Let's stop playing checkers with our pioneer cemeteries! [GRAPHIC OF A CHECKERBOARD] In this book are 2,372 signatures (2,137 from Indiana residents and 235 from other states) from citizens who ask the Indiana Legislature to overhaul statutes that currently make the dismantling and relocation of pioneer cemeteries in Indiana too easy and a "first choice" option when development and preservation issues clash. Under current law, a developer is not required to offer even cursory proof of ownership before obtaining an Order to Disinter from a County Court. There is little or no opportunity for members of the public to object as these Orders to Disinter are routinely signed within hours of being filed with the Courts. Moving pioneer family cemeteries is seldom, if ever, "in the best interest" of the public or the men, women and children buried there. It is almost always of GREAT financial benefit to real estate developers who hope to rid themselves of cemeteries they view as nothing more than a nuisance or obstacle to what they consider "the highest and best possible use" of coveted real estate. THANK YOU. Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries Restoration Project

Lois, I like the cover letter just fine. I want to thank you for all that you do. Between balancing a career, family and the INPCRP website, I know you are very busy. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate all the hard work that you do and how important you are to us on the list. With my deepest gratitude and respect, Angela Tielking ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lois Mauk" <loismauk@home.com> To: <INPCRP-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2001 10:22 PM Subject: [INPCRP] For the cover the Petitions book > The following is what I have drafted for the cover of the book of petition > signatures that I'm having bound tomorrow morning. I'd appreciate hearing > your comments. > Lois > ===================== > > Let's stop playing checkers > with our > pioneer cemeteries! > > [GRAPHIC OF A CHECKERBOARD] > > In this book are 2,372 signatures (2,137 from Indiana residents and 235 from > other states) from citizens who ask the Indiana Legislature to overhaul > statutes that currently make the dismantling and relocation of pioneer > cemeteries in Indiana too easy and a "first choice" option when development > and preservation issues clash. > > Under current law, a developer is not required to offer even cursory proof > of ownership before obtaining an Order to Disinter from a County Court. > There is little or no opportunity for members of the public to object as > these Orders to Disinter are routinely signed within hours of being filed > with the Courts. > > Moving pioneer family cemeteries is seldom, if ever, "in the best interest" > of the public or the men, women and children buried there. It is almost > always of GREAT financial benefit to real estate developers who hope to rid > themselves of cemeteries they view as nothing more than a nuisance or > obstacle to what they consider "the highest and best possible use" of > coveted real estate. > > THANK YOU. > Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries Restoration Project > > > > ==== INPCRP Mailing List ==== > THIS IS A CEMETERY ----- > "Lives are commemorated - deaths are recorded - families > are reunited - memories are made tangible - and love is > undisguised. This is a cemetery. > "Communities accord respect, families bestow reverence, > historians seek information and our heritage is thereby enriched. > "Testimonies of devotion, pride and remembrance are carved > in stone to pay warm tribute to accomplishments and to the life - > not the death - of a loved one. The cemetery is homeland for family > memorials that are a sustaining source of comfort to the living. > "A cemetery is a history of people - a perpetual record of > yesterday and sanctuary of peace and quiet today. A cemetery > exists because every life is worth loving and remembering - always." > --Author unknown -- Seen at a monument dealer in West Union, IA

Dear Angela: Thanks for the accolades. I appreciate the kind words but I don't do much myself. Nothing compared to what I would like to do. It's all of YOU that are doing the hard work. What little I can accomplish is what I can do sitting at my computer in my jammies in the middle of the night. I don't get to get my hands dirty very often! (Working 50 to 60 hours a week in a lunatic job will do that to you!) I wish I was able to do heavy physical work or had a talent for doing stone repairs. I'm too old and too out of shape to be of much use "in the yard". I can't lift much of anything and I try real hard to just "get out of the way". My clumsiness in cemeteries is pretty much legendary and I'm still recovering from whacking my leg on a bridge in search of a hidden cemetery this past summer. I am pretty good at tearing duct tape and fetching stuff though. :-) I guess we all have special "gifts", huh? Again, thanks, but it's YOU GUYS who deserve the congratulations. Lois