I do hope they find who did it and take some measures against them for it is wrong to trespass. But I also note that some of the gravestones are illegible and no one know who was buried there...yet there is a such attachment to the space. It would be better, in my view, to cremate people and have a more permanent memorial wall with the person's name and dates. It still gives a physical place to go to if you need to light a candle, but does not glorify a physical body that has turned to dust. It honors the person - meaning their spirit. I say this as someone who began dealing with death very early in life, starting with my father's death when I was 10 and proceeding for three decades with over 30 family deaths. -----Original Message----- From: Jane Foley [mailto:mjfent@bellsouth.net] Sent: Friday, October 22, 2004 7:53 AM To: POWELL-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [POWELL] Cemetery Vandalism I felt like I had to share this article with some of the other lists in case they had some relatives in this cemetery. I certainly hope they find the culprits. Jane Foley Hi folks...... > I was sent this article, and it broke my heart.....I wanted to share with you all in case you have family there....it is in NC, but our lines usually reach there somehow...... > I for one, will be having a serious conversation with my children on the sanctity of a cemetery....... > Paulette. > > Wilmington Star-News > Wilmington North Carolina > October 11, 2004 > > By Cheryl Welch > Staff Writer > cheryl.welch@starnewsonline.com > > Stark white, jagged pieces of granite and marble littered the tree- lined lanes. > Decapitated angel statues rested in azalea bushes. Two dozen Ice House beer cans > lay crumpled on the grass. > > It was this scene that met Oakdale Cemetery Superintendent Eric Kozen as he > arrived Sunday morning at the cemetery's ornate iron gates. > > "It was very, very, very heartbreaking for me today," Mr. Kozen said later in > the afternoon. "This is just devastating ...." > > Described as the worst vandalism in Wilmington's Oakdale Cemetery history, he > estimated 75 to 100 headstones were toppled or smashed sometime in the wee hours > of Sunday morning. The gates were closed and locked at 5 p.m. Saturday, he said, > but the vandals must have scaled the fence. > > The damage was scattered throughout the cemetery, with the heaviest > toll in the oldest section. > > "It's like leaving bread crumbs," Mr. Kozen said, describing the path taken by > the vandals - a group he estimated was five to 10 people strong. "They leave a > trail of damage going through the cemetery." > > The majority of the desecrated graves were those who were buried in the mid- to > late-1800s and are among the earliest residents of the peaceful city of the dead > called Oakdale Cemetery. > > Garden-like lanes lace through the cemetery's 165 acres, home to more than > 26,000 people since its first burial in 1855. Considered a historic landmark by > locals, Oakdale Cemetery has been the final resting place for many of > Wilmington's distinguished citizens including Edward B. Dudley, the first > elected governor of North Carolina, and Henry Bacon Jr., architect of the > Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. > > The graves desecrated include those of: Civil War Col. Champ T.N. Davis who > fought and died in the Battle of Seven Pines, Va. in 1862; MaryAnne Murphy who > lived through epidemics and the turmoil of Civil War occupation to die at the > age of 77 in 1889; and little > > Henrietta "Etta" Murphy who died in 1858 at the age of one year and two months. > > Names, dates and scripture etched on the front of graves tell the story of those > who reside in the cool soil beneath dozens of toppled monuments. Some of the > gravestones hit in the rash of overnight vandalism can't be read due to more > than a century of braving the elements. > > "Oakdale Cemetery is truly an outdoor living museum of Wilmington history," Mr. > Kozen said. "They destroyed a good part of history." Wilmington police are > investigating the incident and ask anyone with information to come forward. > > "It looks like a bunch of kids or somebody went out there and had a party and > got carried away tearing up tombstones," Lt. B.L. Maultsby said. "It seems to > get a little worse this time of year." > > He said the culprits face felony charges. > > Mr. Kozen said security at the cemetery will be increased significantly to > prevent this from happening again. > > Margaret McCall, 89, said she believes whoever is responsible for the damage > should be horsewhipped. > > "I'm horrified," she said while visiting the unharmed graves of family members > dating back four generations. "Lord have mercy. This is a sacred place." > > Her daughter, Marion Danforth, said it was family tradition to spend days at the > cemetery, picnicking beneath the towering oaks and tending the graves of friends > and family. > > "It's painful," she said, her gaze sweeping across the toppled monuments. "It's > such a disrespectful act. It's not something you can quite restore." > > Due to the age of most of the stones affected, Mr. Kozen doubts he'll be able to > locate family members to repair their elders' monuments. > > In May, 18 gravesites in the older section of the cemetery were vandalized in a > similar fashion and he could locate only two of the families. > > "It really falls upon the family," he said. "The stones are not part of our > responsibility but we do take it upon ourselves to do what we need to do." > > Police estimate the damage at $50,000 but Mr. Kozen said it's hard to put a > price on irreplaceable statues and monuments purchased in memory of loved ones. > > He is asking the community to pull together and give the non-profit cemetery a > helping hand to repair what has been destroyed. > > Cheryl Welch: (910) 343-2315 > cheryl.welch@starnewsonline.com > Contributions may be mailed to the Oakdale Cemetery Company at 520 North 15th > Street, Wilmington NC 28401. For further details, please contact cemetery > superintendent Eric Kozen at (910) 762-5682. > ==== POWELL Mailing List ==== NOTICE: Posting of virus warnings, test messages, chain letters, political announcements, current events, items for sale, personal messages, flames, etc. (in other words - spam) is NOT ALLOWED and will be grounds for removal. 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