http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070705/NEWS06/70705005 Pioneers' graves to be moved for I-69 widening THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR StoryChat Post Comment After 150 years of resting in peace, moving day is approaching for about 30 dearly departed, whose graves are too close to a major highway that needs to be expanded. Since the mid-1800s, these bodies have been resting in the small Whitesell Cemetery in the 8000 block of Castleton Drive -- visible to those who steal a glance as they approach the interchange of I-465 while southbound on I-69. The graves have been a stopping stone for the Indiana Department of Transportation, which has long had plans to widen the city's most congested stretch of highway. Now a deal has been struck to dig up the graves and move them to the stately grounds of Crown Hill Cemetery, 700 W. 38th St. INDOT spokeswoman Megan Tsai confirmed those plans this week. The cost: $400,000. "Cemetery relocation is a tough thing," Tsai said. "We probably haven't done it for 30 years. We try to avoid it whenever possible." But with I-69, a six-lane highway that will grow to 12 or more lanes in a widening project set to begin in 2012, there is just no other way. It will be a delicate operation, headed up by one of the city's most noted professors. "Forensic anthropologists will investigate the site with hand tools and carefully dig out the graves," said Tsai. In late fall of this year, Stephen Nawrocki, a forensic anthropologist from the University of Indianapolis, will lead the exhumation of bodies -- about a three-week process, Tsai said. Nawrocki, who said he could not comment on the project at this time, will oversee students who will study the remains before they are taken to Crown Hill. The students will likely find rings or jewelry buried with the pioneers, according to experts at Crown Hill. The wood caskets, standard for adults in the mid-19th century, will no doubt be deteriorated. Children, however, were often buried in metal caskets, so some of their clothing might remain. This will not be the first pioneer cemetery relocation for Crown Hill, one of the nation's most historic city cemeteries. Two others have been moved to preserve history, said Keith Norwalk, president and chief executive officer of Crown Hill. All the tombstones and graves will be mapped and then re-created in the same configuration to keep the integrity of the original burials. "Some people may get upset that this is being moved," Norwalk said. "We want to give people the assurance of the appropriateness of the process." The Crown Hill pioneer section currently houses the former Greenlawn Cemetery, which was Indianapolis' first cemetery, established in 1823, Norwalk said. More than 1,160 pioneers were buried in Greenlawn. And Rhoads Cemetery was the original burial site for five pioneer families, 12 adults and 34 children, Norwalk said. Monuments erected near the two relocation sites tell the history and have maps for locating the remains. "We will be replicating this for Whitesell," Norwalk said. "We will create a final resting place for the pioneers." The project is included in INDOT's budget for the 2012 Northeast Corridor interstate expansions of I-69 and I-465, Tsai said. "It's not a small cost, but it's so important to do this with respect," Tsai said. "Crown Hill will be able to care for it for hundreds of years. "With the noise from the interstate, you really can't enjoy it. At Crown Hill, it will be peaceful." In addition to a new resting place, the graves will get some upgraded tombstones, which have been damaged by weather and the exhaust from 130,000 cars passing within a few feet each day, Tsai said. The state is bringing in a "graveyard grooomer" -- John Walters, Connersville -- who will clean and restore the headstones with a simple ammonia and water solution, Tsai said. Not everyone was happy with the decision to move the graves. "I was appalled at the beginning," said Ron Ryker, president of the Lawrence Historical Society. "If this was my family, I wouldn't want them to be disturbed." "You and me both," said Stephen Burns, chairman and chief executive officer of Wheaton World Wide Moving, whose office looks out across a parking lot to the site. "I talk on the phone and keep and eye on it. Our drivers come in and look at it. They know the history." Since 1973, Wheaton has taken care of the cemetery, repairing broken and deteriorating headstones and hiring someone to mow the grass. It's a tradition begun by the late Earnest Wheaton, who started caring for the graves when he moved his company to Castleton. Local Boy Scouts also placed a bench, erected a fence and planted flowers several years ago, Burns said. Ryker said he took his objections to the state, but after meeting with INDOT and Crown Hill planners, Ryker now agrees that Crown Hill is the best place for the relocation. "I wanted it to be left in Lawrence Township, but we really have no place for it," Ryker said. INDOT says the reburial at Crown Hill should take place in the spring of 2008. MJ _________________________________________________________________ http://liveearth.msn.com