I received a letter stating that we should be thankful to those who volunteer to cut grass in certain cemeteries. I believe everyone would agree that it is appreciated that there are those who will volunteer to do this. Our family would gather every Memorial weekend & clean up the cemetery. Not just our relative's plots, but everything surrounding them. When my grandfather passed away, it became less of a group project & now, we go individually, when we can. My turn was in June. I responded to the original post, saying that this is a problem in other cemeteries, & it is. Some are well maintained & have little damage. Gamel Cemetery in Festus is one that is taken well care of, with little damage occurring to the stones. (many of my relatives are there) The letter sent to me stated that we all should cut volunteers slack, because they at least do it. I agree there, but if you are going to volunteer to do anything, you should strive to do it well. The boy scouts started cleaning off the Sunnyside Cemetery & have done an excellent job so far. I'm not sure what troop & if they have plans to continue with this project. If you pay to have your relatives graves kept nice & it is not to your satisfaction, then I would certainly seek to make changes. If they are maintained by volunteers, then try to get involved, so others will follow by your example. I was in a cemetery today that has been neglected for quite sometime & the thought that kept running through my mind was, how can so many people be buried here & no one seem to care about their condition. On a positive note, these cemeteries have less vandalism & the stones seem to be better preserved with the foliage protecting them from the elements. Anyway, I was not trying to put anyone down with the earlier post. Anyone who attempts to protect our history by maintaining a cemetery is ok in my book. Desoto Joe/The Record Man