In a message dated 2/13/02 7:05:47 AM US Eastern Standard Time, cherokee@shelbynet.net writes: > The mention in the newspaper about him > saying they were not fixable must have come through the developer, as I had > never heard that before reading it there myself. I have emailed him and > inquired about seeing the stones, as I haven't seen the 2 best ones but I > acknowledged the awkward position he might feel he is in at this moment > since everything has been put on hold for the time being. Cris, An Archeoligists job is to study and come up with a fair and honest Determination of the site he is examining.There is no such thing as him being in an "awkward position". His job is to examine the site and give his professional opinion, no matter which side he comes out on. His opinion must be Professional. It's the old "Damn the Torpedos, full speed ahead." If his determanation comes out in your favor or Crossmans it doesn't matter. He is bound to be fair and Impartial. His very reputation for the future for himself and his Department depends on it. Personal feelings aside. He honestly may not know about the possibility of repairing these stones, I'm sure if he said that, then in his opinion they, from what he knows, or was taught are considered beyond repair. 99% of the time we know different. Good Luck, I hope your efforts pay off. As John said in effect "show me a stone and I'll repair it." I will be in Colombus tommorow (Thursday) is it possible to view the site, without any kind of problem. I'm not nosey, I would like to see the site. Jack Briles Sr.

I wish to thank Mr. Briles and Mr. Frevert for their comments concerning the professionalism of archaeologists, and feel very badly that Ms. Silver has had what seems some extremely unfortunate circumstances in California. To tell the truth, yes Mr. Briles is correct in that many archaeologists simply do not know how to repair stones. It is after all, a huge area of knowledge when you are dealing with several thousands of years of history and prehistory, not to mention countless cultures and societies that have risen and fallen in that time period. Most archaeologists will tend to deal with one time period in specific, and it may take decades to understand everything... to paraphrase Socrates in understanding the range of an archaeologist's knowledge base: 'the more I learn, the less I know'...most of us can easily apply this type of rationale to cemetery and/or geneological research work. It is unfortunate, but cemeteries (like most things in history, archaeology or pertaining to the past) are not seen as a valuable long term investment since the return factor money-wise is seemingly low in potential, and that is reflected in education. (that is a very cold comment to make and I apologize, but it is true) Therefore, cemetery restoration is not known largely by the archaeological community, although there are obviously a few who have persued it. There are many instances when an archaeologist is the LAST person called. Developers, contractors and those who want something 'done' often do what they wish and only after the whistle is blown, do they contact an archaeologist. As we all know, the state has about ten folks who are responsible for overlooking the entire state of Indiana. They are asked to give their referral on countless issues; ahh, but this is where it gets tricky. For instance, in investigating a recent road that was constructed in northern Indiana, I contacted the state and spoke with the folks down there, who did receive a request from the contractor to see if people lived 'inside a particular wetland'. The state would respond as we would think they should, 'no, no one should be living inside the wetland'. Now, because it is a legal document that supposedly has addressed the ENTIRE area of a potential construction site, the state has to take the word of the person or persons who have drafted up the legal description of the A.P.E. (Area of Potential Effect). Next, the contractor goes forward with the project; of course, who out there has already guessed what was wrong with this situation? Yes, correct - although the state was asked about potential sites, WITHIN the wetland, they were not requested to confer about the areas SURROUNDING the wetland (where you have some of the highest potentials for site discovery). Now, the state has to assume, legally, that the A.P.E. was going to be the wetland areas and not surrounding areas...because, after all, it IS a legal document isn't it? So next, with the blessing of the state, the contractor goes about their business, whether they are behind a 'master plan' or not, there is obviously someone out there who knows that they are doing some potentially illegal, but as you referred to it...time costs money and to find something would mean thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. SO what happens? Well, unless the construction crew plows right through a burial (which does happen but not always reported), they finish their task and the site is destroyed; and by the time the archaeologist is contacted, the site or sites have been destroyed partially or in whole, looting has already taken place and the artifacts have already made their way to the black market. So what does the archaeologist have to deal with: no provenience, no stratigraphy, loss of site data, loss of artifacts, looting, lies and deception...not to mention extremely bad press because now that the site is destroyed, why weren't they there in the first place? Archaeologists many times face the 'no win' scenario. It is very easy to place blame and to shift immorality, especially if a mini-mall has t o be built on time. Ms Silver refers to archaeologists as 'prostitutes' who 'prostitute their integrity just to keep being employed'. Well sorry to contradict you Sue, but for myself and many other archaeologists out there...we have all left a job (or so) or been asked to leave because we tried to do the moral and 'right thing'. Most of 'John Q. Public' rant and rave when their family's past is threatened; however it is more unfortunate that if they find they can turn a buck on their ancestors, many will do just that. SO which is worse, the archaeologist who cannot save a site or a cemetery because they were contacted after the fact...or the family member who sells Aunt Tillie's one of a kind antique broach from Ireland because they want a DVD player? Now, as I said before, there are numerous archaeologists out there who do not know many of the repair techniques for tombstones or other items of antiquity. And as Mr. Briles mentioned, 99% of the time when someone doesn't think there is a way to repair something, there is. I did not know how to repair cemetery stones, and was estatic when John came to LaPorte for a seminar on repairing stones...and from this, I made sure that other archaeologists, that I knew, were sent at least the basic information on this type of restoration work in the hope that they would have time to check it out as well. If anyone happens to speak with an archaeologist who does not know certain restoration or repair techniques, offer to share information with them. If they take the information and work with it, great; and if they don't want the information, well, then...at least you can say that you tried to help in your own way. Archaeologists are after all, people; and not everyone wants to listen all the time, but most want to listen most of the time. Ms. Silver, I feel bad that the experiences you have mentioned thus far have all appeared to have been negative concerning archaeologists. But anyone out there please feel free to put yourself in school and get the degree as it is never too late to find out just how much 'fun' it is being a professional 'prostitute'. It may be a little different than you believe. Russ Hapke - Archaeologist LaPorte County, IN ----- Original Message ----- From: <Jb502000@aol.com> To: <INPCRP-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2002 9:43 AM Subject: Re: [INPCRP] "Old Cemetery to far gone" ????? > In a message dated 2/13/02 7:05:47 AM US Eastern Standard Time, > cherokee@shelbynet.net writes: > > > > The mention in the newspaper about him > > saying they were not fixable must have come through the developer, as I had > > never heard that before reading it there myself. I have emailed him and > > inquired about seeing the stones, as I haven't seen the 2 best ones but I > > acknowledged the awkward position he might feel he is in at this moment > > since everything has been put on hold for the time being. > > Cris, > An Archeoligists job is to study and come up with a fair and > honest Determination of the site he is examining.There is no such thing as > him being in an "awkward position". His job is to examine the site and give > his professional opinion, no matter which side he comes out on. His opinion > must be Professional. It's the old "Damn the Torpedos, full speed ahead." If > his determanation comes out in your favor or Crossmans it doesn't matter. He > is bound to be fair and Impartial. His very reputation for the future for > himself and his Department depends on it. Personal feelings aside. > He honestly may not know about the possibility of repairing these > stones, I'm sure if he said that, then in his opinion they, from what he > knows, or was taught are considered beyond repair. 99% of the time we know > different. Good Luck, I hope your efforts pay off. As John said in effect > "show me a stone and I'll repair it." I will be in Colombus tommorow > (Thursday) is it possible to view the site, without any kind of problem. I'm > not nosey, I would like to see the site. > > Jack Briles Sr. > > > ==== INPCRP Mailing List ==== > "Show me your cemeteries, and I will tell you what kind of people you have." > Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790) >

Jack, You give these professional archaeologists too much credit for their responsibilities. If a developer hires an archaeologist in California, that archaeologists knows if he/she comes up with something significant and reports it, they'll never work again. For if they find something, it's going to cost the developer, whether in time or money, to mitigate it. We call these folks "ho-ho"'s or prostitutes. They prostitute their integrity just to keep being employed. That's why it's so important for the "amateur" archaeologist or historian to be a professional and polished as they can be. They may be able to try to undermine your information based on your lack of "credentials", but they can never undermine well researched and documented facts. Sue Silver CA ----- Original Message ----- From: <Jb502000@aol.com> To: <INPCRP-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2002 9:43 AM Subject: Re: [INPCRP] "Old Cemetery to far gone" ????? > In a message dated 2/13/02 7:05:47 AM US Eastern Standard Time, > cherokee@shelbynet.net writes: > > > > The mention in the newspaper about him > > saying they were not fixable must have come through the developer, as I had > > never heard that before reading it there myself. I have emailed him and > > inquired about seeing the stones, as I haven't seen the 2 best ones but I > > acknowledged the awkward position he might feel he is in at this moment > > since everything has been put on hold for the time being. > > Cris, > An Archeoligists job is to study and come up with a fair and > honest Determination of the site he is examining.There is no such thing as > him being in an "awkward position". His job is to examine the site and give > his professional opinion, no matter which side he comes out on. His opinion > must be Professional. It's the old "Damn the Torpedos, full speed ahead." If > his determanation comes out in your favor or Crossmans it doesn't matter. He > is bound to be fair and Impartial. His very reputation for the future for > himself and his Department depends on it. Personal feelings aside. > He honestly may not know about the possibility of repairing these > stones, I'm sure if he said that, then in his opinion they, from what he > knows, or was taught are considered beyond repair. 99% of the time we know > different. Good Luck, I hope your efforts pay off. As John said in effect > "show me a stone and I'll repair it." I will be in Colombus tommorow > (Thursday) is it possible to view the site, without any kind of problem. I'm > not nosey, I would like to see the site. > > Jack Briles Sr. > > > ==== INPCRP Mailing List ==== > "Show me your cemeteries, and I will tell you what kind of people you have." > Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790) > >