I really enjoyed the story in the post from Ruth. As some of you know We are having a conflict here in Lincoln County. Back in September while I was doing research for my book Jacob Dellinger of Leepers Creek, Paul Dellinger and I found an old abandoned grave yard. This grave yard contains between 20-40 graves, and is on the property that was originally granted to Jacob and William Dellinger. Most of the graves are old field stones with initials carved in them. some are over 200 years old. The grave site is in a wooded area in eastern Lincoln County. The conflict arose when we contacted the land owner (Mr. Daniel Greene and wife Jane) and asked permission to enter the cemetery and record the names and info on the stones. Permission was denied. We offered to purchase the property containg the graves, this was denied. The County offered to allow Mr. Greene to donate the property @1/4 acre and the county would give a tax credit, again that was denied. North Carolina has a law on its books which allow any interested person or descendent to enter an abandoned grave yard, to restore, maintain and for upkeep. Using this law Paul and I filed a special proceedings with the Clerk of Court asking her for a court order to enter the gravesite. Mr. Green through his attorney filed a motion to dismiss and a counter claim asking the court to force us to dig up the graves located on his property and move them somewhere else. In a Charlotte Observer newspaper article on the subject, Mr. Greene likened anyone who visited gravesites as "idol worshippers." He also stated the law concerning gravesites was biased against the land owner and should be changed. This matter is scheduled for a hearing Jan. 24, 2000 in the office of the Clerk of Court. The matter was offered for mediation but Mr. Greene declined. Paul and I are acting as our own attorneys in this matter and if any folks on this list are attorneys either practicing or retired and would like to offer any advice we would love to hear from you. Neal Caskey ostrich@bellsouth.net Please visit my website-books for sale at: http://members.xoom.com/petphotos/books.htm