It is amazing that two senior citizens are able to maintain this cemetery on their meager income, while the city thinks they need to turn this into a multi-million dollar project by turning it into a public park and adding public access, parking, etc. At 01:10 AM 11/26/2003, Rmony3@aol.com wrote: >Thought this might be of interest to some of those with roots in Clay County, >Missouri. > >Janet Hankins > >Historic cemetery faces foggy future >By MIKE RICE >The Kansas City Star > > > > > >Amid the new and spacious homes that straddle the Gladstone/Kansas City >boundary along Pleasant Valley Road, the Big Shoal Cemetery is a remnant >of the >area's 19th century history. > >The cemetery, which is in Gladstone, has at least 115 graves with burial >dates from the 1830s to the early 1900s. The cemetery also sits on the >site of >what is thought to have been the first organized Baptist church in Clay >County. > >But not much else is known about the cemetery. > >Its deed was never recorded, so no one knows who owns it. The people who are >buried there are probably some of the county's earliest pioneers, but >there is >no known recorded history about them. And the church, which was a bustling >center of social activity in the 1800s, no longer exists. > >The property was largely neglected over the years and the graves often were >vandalized. > >But two retired Northland residents — Jim Davidson and Walt Kelly — have > >been voluntarily mowing the property and doing other maintenance work, >such as >cutting tree limbs, covering holes left by gophers, and marking jagged >remains >of an old wrought-iron fence on the cemetery's perimeter with orange paint. > >Neither have relatives buried there. But they did not want the cemetery at >Pleasant Valley Road near North Jackson Street to become a weed-infested >eyesore. > >“The grass used to be this high,” said Kelly, placing the palm of his >hand >by his knee. > >Davidson, 83, a retired employee at the General Mills plant in the East >Bottoms, said he has been taking care of the cemetery grounds for 12 years. > >“We want to make this place respectable for the people who are buried >here,” >said Davidson, who has a riding lawnmower. “It's a nice piece of >property.” > >But Kelly, 71, a retired Southwestern Bell employee who has helped Davidson >for nine years, acknowledged that, at their age, they won't be able to take >care of the cemetery much longer. > >Davidson has asked Gladstone officials whether the city can assume the >maintenance responsibilities. City officials have shown some interest and >discussed >the matter at last week's City Council meeting. > >City Attorney David Ramsay said the city is working with William Jewell >College to learn more about the cemetery. > >He said the city has the statutory authority to obtain ownership of the >property, which would make it responsible for the upkeep. > >To help defray the costs of maintaining the cemetery, city leaders might ask >local Baptist churches for financial assistance. > >“We are very interested in preserving this cemetery,” said Councilman >Bill >Cross. “But we have a tight budget and I don't know if the citizens of >Gladstone would want several thousands of tax dollars put into this >endeavor. That's >why I suggested contacting some of the Baptist churches.” > >The city is exploring several other options, such as seeking maintenance >assistance from a nearby cemetery, publicly seeking out people with >information >about the cemetery or descendants of those buried there, and creating an >ongoing >cemetery maintenance or preservation entity that would possibly include >William Jewell College or the Clay County Historical Society. > >Davidson said he would like to see the city acquire the cemetery property and >the adjacent property along Pleasant Valley Road and turn it into a small >park. > >Such a park, he said, would get plenty of use from residents of the nearby >Carriage Hill and Carriage Hill Estates neighborhoods, which sustained major >damage in the May 4 tornado. > >“It would be a nice place for people to relax,” Davidson said. > >The Big Shoal Baptist Church was founded in 1823, according to local >historians. And past articles in The Kansas City Star reported that the >cemetery was >deeded to the church in 1834. But that deed was never recorded. > >The names on the graves include Barnes, Nall, Hughes and Suddarth. > >“I am guessing that they were members of the (Big Shoal Baptist) church,” >said Angela Stiffler, archival director of William Jewell College's Partee >Center for Baptist Historical Study. “A lot of these older churches had >their own >cemeteries.” > >According to historical accounts, the church became known for its annual >bonnet parade each May. > >“This was the great event of the year for the community,” according to an >entry in the Clay County Centennial Souvenir Book that was published in the >1920s. “Some of the bonnets worn by the belles of that other day are >treasured >relics in Clay County homes today. Many were works of art, coming from >Paris via >St. Louis and the Missouri River. > >The parade stopped in 1917 after 80 continuous years. That same year, the >church held its last service there. > >For years, the abandoned church fell to vandals, who set fire to it and >removed pews and an organ. There no longer are any signs of the church, but >Davidson thinks an open area south of the graves was the structure site. > >According to The Star, a Liberty civic club in 1967 said it would take over >the maintenance of the cemetery. But that plan never materialized. > >In 1972, Gladstone officials said they would maintain the cemetery after >vandals toppled several tombstones, stole part of the fence, and attempted >to dig >up a grave. Why that pledge was not kept is unclear. > >City officials said a takeover of the property should include a plan to put >the surrounding property to a public use, a parking plan and public access >point. No cost estimate has been determined. > >Davidson, who spends a couple of hours mowing the property, said he wonders >why Gladstone considers it to be such an expense to simply mow one acre. > >“We can afford it,” he said. “Why can't the city?” > >To reach Mike Rice, call > >(816) 234-5903 or send e-mail to <A >HREF="mailto:mrice@kcstar.com">mrice@kcstar.com</A>. > > > > > > >==== MOCLAY Mailing List ==== >If all else fails, KC Public Library's Document Delivery dept searches for >Obits. See phone, email or fax numbers and instructions: >http://www.kclibrary.org/resources/magazines/photocopy.cfm OR contact >http://www.kclibrary.org/sc/gene/index.htm for research type questions. > >============================== >To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, >go to: >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237