CARROLL'S REPLY TO NORMA LEWIS: On Sun, 11 Oct 1998 17:13:18 -0700 (PDT) PSRoots-D-request@rootsweb.com writes: >Today's Topics: > #1 Re: SNOHOMISH CEMETERY FYI: [Norma Lewis ><norie@localaccess.com] >X-Message: #1 >Date: Sun, 11 Oct 1998 00:50:07 -0700 >From: Norma Lewis <norie@localaccess.com> >To: PSRoots-L@rootsweb.com >Message-ID: <3620632F.50F19AB2@localaccess.com> >Subject: Re: SNOHOMISH CEMETERY FYI: >Thanks for posting this, Carroll - did you type it? Yes, I did Norma complete with all errors, and I saw my grammar mistake(s) after I sent it, when I looked at it. I got called away as we were getting new tires for our cars for Winter; ours were getting worn. So, I didn't really finish my comments - I just had to drop it, and go - guess it was a bit obvious. You can go to the >Herald site and copy and paste from there I have never done that but was aware of it, though I have looked at the Herald site a number of times. After I read this msg to PSR & myself, I checked the http://www.heraldnet.com/search/search.cfm where I had seen an article about the cemetery before, but search as I may, while actually looking at the actual herald newspaper, I could not find the article in the Local News by Moriarity. So, just to see what was going on, I tried checking for the "Snohomish library plan preserves, dispatches history" article by Moriarity right below the cem. article but nothing was there - so I guess "they" are choosey about what gets online from the Herald - or space doesn't allow it, or whatever. Oh, and I forgot to mention when I QUOTED the article, that there was a map included right beside the article, "Fight over cemetery heads to court". the map in color by Judy Stanley, The Herald showed a vast map of the town of Snohomish - hwy 9, clear over to the Pilchuck river and a caption, "Snohomish Cemetery" with an indicator pointing to a small red rectangle indicating the loc. of the Cemetery at 2nd St and the west side of the Pilchuck River. Snohomish Cemetery is the only cemetery inside the city limits of Snohomish. The Thomas Maps and many other maps printed show cem. or cemetery at the site though some of the brochures of the town do not. The city has never put up a sign that indicated the site was Snohomish Cemetery, whereas they have put signs all over the place indicating historical places of interest historically, some of which are somewhat for looks, like Pilchuck Landing or some such thing. I wouldn't see these >articles if >you didn't post them as I don't have access to the Herald in >Centralia. This is why I did so, because I know that there are a lot of people out of town who wouldn't know unless someone informed them. Some have lived in Snohomish or had relatives who lived here, and several have thanked me for allowing them to learn of this terrible neglect by the very city who owned the cemetery but were too busy with other projects, and hype to care about the REAL HISTORY that was around them. "They" are always playing up the historical Snohomish with signs, Kla Ha Ya Daze, and PR of all sorts, but neither the City of Snohomish, the Historical Society or anyone else bothered to "dig a little" to find out about a genuine site of Snohomish history - Snohomish Cemetery, or Indian Cemetery as River Reflections referred to it, and happened to mention on p. 55 of one of the volumes that there were still remains in that cem. in the very last paragraph of their 1975 1st volume covering the history of Snohomish 1859 to 1910. > >There are several facts about this cemetery that have not been >publicized. I'm >sure these facts will be brought out in court. This is the most unfair >situation any city administration has been involved in this state in >years, >and with all the bad publicity Snohomish County gets on a regular >basis you'd >think they would be sensitive to this and bend over backward to make >amends. >Obviously they are not doing that, they are insistent on building over >this >old cemetery. It is rather apparent that they do not care, shown by the neglect of the historical value of the site as a cemetery which contains a wealth of pioneer Caucasian and Indian ( latter day, Nativ. Amer.) lore. John Low, et al, were not important to them - all he did was play a major roll in the historical discovery and settlement at Alki Point, with the Denny Party in finding the earliest site of a place that came to be known as Seattle. But , that was not all that John Low, and others who were pioneers of Snohomish's Past. All those early pioneers were the real founders in addition to Ferguson and others in Snohomish's history. It is ironic how some records were kept but others were "lost", strayed, or stolen - whatever! Not only the city records, but the records of the other cemeteries just outside of town where remains were supposed to have gone from the Hwy 2 cut (2nd St) in 1947. Then, Snohomish County has difficulty with such records, also. State records, various archives, survivors, historians, et al have to be consulted to piece the past records of those who are supposed to keep records, and those whose usual interest is to find and preserve the history of a town such as Snohomish. But, who cares! It is the "me" the "now" the "my" the 'today" syndrome - "old bones" "a blackberry field" "weeds allowed to grow tall and hide the tombstones at the base of the trees at the NE corner of the senior center"(actually they are mainly base stones for tombstones, but one pinkish marble one has T H O M A S on it, as I made a rubbing of it when it was visible - but now it is hiding in the only clump of weeds allowed to grow when the rest of the cem. was quite bare of vegetation. I went past it today, but the green grass & weeds have been allowed to grow over the former bare area when the remains were uncovered - the leg bones. at least. Were they afraid that might be Indian (Nat. Amer.) remains? They quickly looked no farther and covered it up after confirmation by the Co. Examiner that it was truly old remains and not other than that. > >When the house for the Senior Center was moved onto the cemetery and a >permit >was requested, the city engineer informed those people (and they know >who they >are) that what they were doing was illegal because that property was >divided >for cemetery plots and contained burials, and those people proceeded >without a >permit inside the city limits of Snohomish. Then they added an >addition and >parking lot to that site, all illegally without city permits and >inspections. >Who are these people who can proceed to break the law and complain and >literally campaign in their favor? State RCW's say a stiff fine and >jail time >for building over a known cemetery! > >Also, the Pioneer Village was built in the 1960's over another part of >that >cemetery that still had graves. A log cabin from a site just outside of Snohomish on the Snoho.-Machias road near the site of the Centennial Trail parking lot on a bluff; several old bldgs from various Snohomish area sites, including one bldg. I remember well that stood originally across the street from the present Police Station on the West side of the street,(my old Herald paper route back 1938/39. It is well documented that the state >removed >110 gravesites and the construction crew said when they finished there >were >graves remaining on both sides of Hwy 2 or 2nd Street in Snohomish. remains from the 111th found went to Monroe Cem. east of Snohomish. >They >literally moved tombstones from graves across the road to set up their >exhibition cemetery in the 1960's - did they think the highway crew >removed >the graves from under the tombstones and left the stones???? The THOMAS base stone didn't make it to the replica site for some reason - even though a part of it did. The base still lies catywampus where it was dumped along with large sandstone bases at the base of those trees at the NE corner of the present senior center - you have to pull the weeds allowed to grow there when all other weeds were down so that they would not be seen - whereas they were in plain sight before all the hype (publicity) came about. Then >these >Snohomish Pioneer Girls and Boys who were all mature adults the earliest of them used to hold their picnics there, and after a parade in town on some important celebration, usually patriotic type, they would convene at Snohomish Cemetery where a picket fence and sort of trellis entrance to the cem. greeted the celebrants. Chuck or Charles Rice wrote of it in his historical articles about Old Snohomish and his pictures accompanying the article showed such evidence of the activity at the cem. of which he had written. These are historical articles that should be among the Snohomish Historical Society's archives, but are surely recorded elsewhere by those who cared, and wished to preserve such history. said they >didn't >think there were any graves left there. They wrote a book less than 10 >years >later saying there were graves there, quoted the construction crew who >said >they were there, and were able to look out at a bunch of tombstones at >that >time. Those people seem to hear and see only what they want to hear >and see! > >Bill McDonald, Snohomish City Manager said, > "We feel it would be better to get anything we find moved to a >> cemetery," McDonald said, "because we are not operating a cemetery >there. It's the most respectful thing we could do." > >Excuse me, Bill, but you don't own the city, you are only there for a >few >years, the cemetery has been there for 120 years. What does he mean >they are >not operating a cemetery there? How do you "operate" a historic >cemetery? > >As for Leslie's comments about records and the blackberry patch, she >has been >told repeatedly by several different people records have been found, >she has >ignored that fact in every article she's written. We can only hope the >judge >won't ignore that fact. It should be an interesting court case. > >BTW - Glen Grace and I are the only ones from our little committee >left on the >Cemetery mail list Norma, I really like all that you have written here - truly so, and I appreciate your doing so. You are sincere, and dedicated, and so is Glen. I felt bad that I had to reject or not e-mail any of the multiple mailing lists that have come to me from various persons, but I feel that they just congest the system unnecessarily - some of it chain letter stuff, others well meaning but still require multiple repetition of words (mine are bad enough!), but I just don't believe in that sort of thing so I just reject them with a delete or I may write rejected and return them - which is blunt, but to the point, that I don't accept it - Bill Gates , Walt Disney, whatever - if it is a hoax I don't need it. I did repeat the WX thing because it fit at the moment with the ham or amateur radio emergency communications idea that I was doing at the time - but I did realize that that article sent to me was quite presumptious in saying we are going to have an exceptionally bad Winter this year - I hear that every year, in fact - but I know that not even the Farmer's Almanac - the bible of WX predicitons can do it and neither can scientists to any reliable degree of accuracy - even with all the sophisticated electronics, space, satellites, and GPS can anyone do it with any accuracy, - but we can, should, and are supposed to be PREPARED for the Big One - whatever that might be. Being the human beings that we are - glued to the U.S. Soap Opera each episode, we will probably procrastinate as we usually do and who knows - Snohomish Cemetery might be REOPENED by the City of Snohomish, the Snohomish Hist. Soc. ( of which I am a member - in good standing!) and those old grave sites may be handy. Get out the Plot Map! Night All. Carroll of Snohomsh, at 11:07 p.m. no Melatonin necessary. Inundated with genealogy these days, thanks to Cyndi, and rootsweb sites plus ultra: See you at 9. 10-12-98 ZZZzzzzzzzs zzz 30 zzz and the stories we've heard in recent weeks would >curl your >hair. In New Jersey they rededicated an old cemetery that had been >abused in >about 1954. In 1955 the city began using it as a dumping ground and it >is now >buried under several feet of city garbage. >Not as a sanitary fill, mind you, a place where the city threw their >garbage >to avoid using the sanitary service! > >A strip mall in Indiana began encroaching on a neighboring historic >cemetery >until there are only a few stones left standing and they have been >encroached >by the local telephone company who sunk a pole and put lines there to >the >mall. A telephone booth sits beside a tombstone dated 1850's. The rest >of that >family is under the parking lot. > >There are so many cases of private cemeteries surrounded by farm land >where >the farmer won't allow access - he will shoot you if you trespass on >his >property. > >One cemetery was dismantled by a neighbor because his wife was tired >of >looking out her kitchen window onto a grave yard - a fence seems not >to have >been considered. > >Our little committee which began on this list last December has tried >to get >some results for Snohomish and we have been turned away and ignored by >every >government agency in this state. It is just too bad we couldn't get >the same >help Andi is getting in Kitsap County where County officials are >helping to >clean up and reclaim their cemeteries. It only takes a few caring >people in >the right places. What has happened to Snohomish County? Makes you >wonder! >Norma > >______________________________ >------------------------------ ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]