I am forwarding this message from Trish Cobb. Brenda ----- Original Message ----- From: "Trish Worthington Cobb" <turniproots@coastalnet.com> To: <NC-PCFR-L@rootsweb.com>; <WITHERINGTON-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, July 01, 2002 10:49 AM Subject: {not a subscriber} Memorial & Dedication Service at WORTHINGTON Cemetery, Winterville, NC > We had a very meaningful memorial & dedication service at our WORTHINGTON > Cemetery near Winterville, NC, on Sat. June 22nd after the WORTHINGTON > Reunion. > > 145 people showed up for the reunion, an average attendance. I had feared > only a handful would stay for the service at the cemetery, but well over 50 > came, even though the day was hot. > > We had a tent for shade, chairs for the weary, and lemonade to help keep us > cool. Luckily there was a light breeze, but no rain. > > We opened with a scripture which was read in unison, a prayer, and an > ensemble reading which described our purpose for being there and our > family's characteristics (the good ones only, of course). We read memorials > for the four oldest ancestors and for the first person buried in the > cemetery, all this to tie in the family history to the cemetery. We read > the names of each person buried there. We closed with a dedication and > another prayer. Overall, there were eighteen readers and speakers involved, > though most readings were short. > > Interspersed among all this were two solos and four hymns which we sang > together, accompanied by a violinist. > > At the end we formed a big circle and sang Will the Circle be Unbroken? > Then everyone helped to place bouquets of flowers on all the graves. We had > placed a written memorial by each grave prior to the service so that people > could walk around and read these after the service was over. > > The service lasted about 45 minutes, but lots of folks lingered afterward to > read the memorials. > > I was pleased that the service was well received. It was worth all the time > and preparation that went into it. > > The reason we had the dedication is that during the past year, we enlarged > the size of the cemetery and enclosed it with a very nice black picket-style > aluminum fence and brick entrances. Much effort has gone into the project. > Our family is in the process of forming a legal association to manage a fund > for the perpetual maintenance of the cemetery. > > We hope that our efforts will be an inspiration to others to take the > responsibility to look after their families' graveyards. We believe that it > takes a long term plan and a fund. Volunteer efforts, while of value, do > not insure the long term care of a cemetery. Volunteers eventually get > tired, forget to continue the work over the years, or age out. Asking the > local government to fund a family's cemetery is like pulling hen's teeth. > The money isn't there, nor is the interest. The descendants of those buried > in the cemetery must get involved, take charge, and organize to raise the > money needed to pay for someone to continue to do regular maintenance. > > If you are in the vicinity, go by our family cemetery to take a look. It is > located at the intersection of Worthington Road and Corey Road, 1 mile east > of Winterville. Look for the Worthington sign. > > Trish Worthington Cobb > > >

Brenda, Thanks for forwarding the message. Actually I am subscribed under my new alias, but I forgot to change my email address when I sent the message last night. I remembered it after I clicked "send now ‹ too late! I will be changing servers as soon as my new modem arrives, so I took an alias email address which should make the transition smoother. Trish on 7/1/02 11:06 AM, Brenda Stocks at bstocks@cox.net wrote: > I am forwarding this message from Trish Cobb. > Brenda > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Trish Worthington Cobb" <turniproots@coastalnet.com> > To: <NC-PCFR-L@rootsweb.com>; <WITHERINGTON-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Monday, July 01, 2002 10:49 AM > Subject: {not a subscriber} Memorial & Dedication Service at WORTHINGTON > Cemetery, Winterville, NC >