Found, by accident, while browsing "Unknown Cemetery" of Randolph County with photos of gravestones. Families mentioned: Yost Lever, Perry M West, Elizabeth Lever, Therisa Lever. These are ancestors of my husband's family. Does anyone have any info on these persons? Would greatly appreciate any help. I am a Beginner Level researcher. **************Create a Home Theater Like the Pros. Watch the video on AOL Home. (http://home.aol.com/diy/home-improvement-eric-stromer?video=15?ncid=aolhom00030000000001)

On-line today at the Muncie Star was this article, it was an enjoyable read. Andrea http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008803230320 Spartanburg kept some amenities other towns have lost By MICHAEL McBRIDE mmcbride@muncie.gannett.com Pristine, the Spartanburg United Methodist Church sits across the street from a large cemetery 191 years old. Around the corner, the Spartanburg Christian Church is preparing for a spring building project. Pastors say their buildings, a stone's throw from each other, are magnets for community activities in a town half the size as when the churches were built. "We did a turnaround," said Mary Dailey, a member of the Christian church for 35 years. "We changed our music style, and we have really grown. "We do a lot of outreach activities to the community." >From time to time the churches participate in activities together, including cantatas at Christmas and Easter -- and an early evening service at the Christian Church on Feb. 10 complete with a carry-in dinner. "Food is not a rare commodity out here, and, for me, it was like going back to South Dakota," said Scott Miller, pastor at the Methodist church since August. "Spartanburg is a small rural community, and the people out here just wrap you up. "It's like they used to say years ago, 'Everything the family did, the church did; and everything the church did, the family did.'" Businesses and institutions in town, former horse-and-buggy hubs, are mostly gone -- except for the churches, the Greensfork Township State Bank (one of two branches, with the other in Lynn), Ward's Garage and the surrounding acres of farm land. Miller grew up in Wisconsin, pastored in South Dakota, then was youth pastor at Union City United Methodist Church before taking the Spartanburg helm. "My background is Evangelism, but in South Dakota I was asked to take care of the sick and dying," Miller said. "I was waiting for congregation members to pass away, waiting to close down the church. "My idea here is to get youth involved, and then the demographics are no different from Muncie or Indianapolis." Miller is on the board of Fellowship for Christian Athletes. "You might think Spartanburg is a little town, so what's the use," Miller said. "But there is work to be done, and there are plenty enough people to fill every church." Community John Ward has operated Ward's Garage full time for the past 20 years, and part time for twice that long. Ward, 65, is also a farmer. "Most out here try to help when people need a hand," said Ward, whose wife Maxine is a Spartanburg native. "Most like it out here, and they are pretty good people. "Lots of my customers come from different areas, but some are from here." Ward's shop is next to the bank, close to where the 1961 Lynn High School graduate lives. Children of residents from the areas surrounding Lynn and Spartanburg attend Randolph Southern Schools, according to Ray Ellis, pastor for five years at the Christian Church. Ellis said the educational link between the two communities went beyond the shared banks, the smallest privately owned banking corporation in the state. "The church is getting ready to add on," Ellis said. "It was built in 1920, and you have to go up a flight of stairs. "The planned improvements are for those who have been here a long time." The project will cost more than the $32,000 the church cost when it was first built. The work will include an elevator to the chapel from the basement fellowship hall, handicap-accessible restrooms, and special seating arrangements in the sanctuary. The church remodeled the fellowship hall a few years ago in preparation, and congregation members who were carpenters, electricians and plumbers helped with much of the work. "Spartanburg is rural by nature and poor by appearance," said Ellis, who lives in Lynn. "But it is loved by the people, who are determined to keep their community going." On a good Sunday Ellis' church draws about 125 parishioners, three times as many as four years ago. A member of the Christian Church for a quarter century, Tom Myers is a Cass County native. "Spartanburg people took us in and made us part of the family," said Myers, an over-the-road truck driver for the U.S. Post Office whose wife Susan is an attorney in Winchester. County histories suggest the town was named by early residents with connections to Spartanburg, South Carolina. "The bank has new owners, and a branch in Lynn," Ward said. "The Christian Church is really growing, and the Methodist Church is doing good, too. "And we have a nice cemetery if things don't work out." Contact towns reporter Michael McBride at 213-5826 Originally published March 21, 2008