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As I was driving to my planned cemetery visit, I passed this little cemetery. I came back and didn't even see a sign naming it. It had such fabulous stones. Still, no name. I came home and did some research. Here are two articles I found on this little cemetery located in Palmyra, Pennsylvania:
The cemetery that no one wants.
April 10, 2008
BY MONICA VON DOBENECKÂ
No one wants the Cherry Street cemetery in Palmyra, where about 1,000 people are buried, including veterans of the War of 1812, the Spanish-American War and the Civil War.
The cemetery is supposedly owned by a private corporation started in 1867 and run by a board of trustees elected by lot owners. But the trustees are long gone and nobody can find lot owners. A bank account has $30,000 for maintenance, but no one is authorized to write checks. Volunteers have been mowing the grass, but they're tired of the work.
At a news conference today, representatives of two churches that have taken care of the cemetery for the past 140 years said will do so no longer and are turning their records over to the Borough of Palmyra.
Borough manager Sherry Capello said she has no intention of accepting them. "For 140 years, the churches accepted care of the cemetery," she said. "We feel they have the responsibility."
The cemetery began in 1867, when six people who were members of the predecessors to Palm Lutheran Church and Trinity United Church of Christ formed the Palmyra Cemetery Association. Trustees were elected by lot owners, but at some point the annual elections stopped. Church members continued to manage the cemetery.
According to Palm Lutheran church member Harry Fox, the churches got a letter from the borough in 2003 saying the sidewalk next to the cemetery needed repairs. The churches hired attorney John Feather to check into their legal authority and their obligation to care for the cemetery. Feather concluded they had neither.
Capello said the borough contacted the churches when neighbors started complaining that grass and weeds were getting high.
For a while, volunteers from the Brethren in Christ church agreed to take care of it because their church was across the street. But the dozen or so volunteers decided at the end of last year they wouldn't do it any longer.
In the meantime, Feather tried to find people who would act as temporary trustees to get the cemetery association going. He was unsuccessful. He also couldn't find lot owners, although a woman was buried there as recently as a year ago.
Fox said in a written statement Thursday, "The churches have concluded that their mission and ministry is not to operate and maintain a cemetery."
Feather said he would leave the cemetery records with the library or the historical society if the borough does not accept them. He said the Pennsylvania Borough Code and the Pennsylvania Burial Grounds Law give the courts the right to direct the borough to take over neglected cemeteries.
According to Capello, that can happen if a majority of a borough's property owners agree. The code limits the amount a borough can pay for cemetery maintenance yearly to $3,000, she said.
Bob Stewart, director of the Pennsylvania Cemetery Funeral and Cremation Association, said there are hundreds of abandoned cemeteries in the state, many of them started in the 1800's. "The state doesn't have anything for abandoned cemeteries," he said. "I don't know what you do in that situation."
Capello said the situation is sad. "You can't just walk away because you don't want to do it any more and throw it at the borough," she said. "What's really sad is that it is a cemetery, and it's like disrespecting the dead."
and an update from May 2009:
Borough to mow cemetery for now
Friday, May 01, 2009
BY BARBARA MILLER arbmiller@patriot-news.com
PALMYRA - Palmyra Borough Council will mow the "orphan" cemetery on West Cherry Street this summer, while the borough and two churches say they are hoping for resolution of the dispute over care of the site.
Council agreed April 27 to mow the cemetery through Oct. 1 and bill the cemetery's trust fund for the cost, which is estimated at $1,000 per mowing.
"Council concluded it's the right thing to do for the appearance of the community in general," said Keith Costello, council president. "And it doesn't put us in a bad position if we need to proceed with litigation."
Care of the cemetery is in dispute, because its board of trustees no longer exists. While members of two churches that once had representation on the trustees cared for the cemetery for 140 years, last year they said they will no longer do so.
After the borough tried to get the churches to repair sidewalk along the cemetery in 2003, the churches researched ownership and concluded this was not their responsibility.
The borough last year filed a petition in Lebanon County court asking the churches to be held responsible for care of the cemetery.
Josele Cleary, borough solicitor, said borough officials met recently with representatives of the churches. No agreement was reached, but they will continue meeting, she said.
Representatives of Palm Lutheran and Trinity United Church of Christ met Monday and agreed on a proposal to work with the borough on this issue, said the Rev. Mike Beynon of Trinity.
"I'm glad the cemetery is going to be maintained, and I'm glad for the increasing amount of camaraderie working with the new officials in the borough," Beynon said.
Maintenance work being carried out at Latchford Locks on the Manchester Ship Canal. Not before time either!!!!
A Herzog work train passing through St. Francis, WI to get in the clear and tie up for the night. The train has been working to clear drainage ditches on the UP's Milwaukee Sub. recently. 4/3/2020
Shot on the way to Melukote, Karnataka, India. On the way to plough the paddy field.
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i work at a beauty supply store.
i know nothing about beauty and supplies,
and i absolutely have no interest in beauty or supplies.
but i enjoy working there cos i like to smell fruity shampoos when i get bored.
i also love to act like a professional beauty supply gal.
all i do is wear all black and read out what it says on the back of the bottles.
people seem to believe i know a lot about the products.
it's fun.
So my boss hands out these little pumpkins every year for all of us in the practice to "decorate" this would be mine. I looked at this thing for a week and a half trying to figure out what to do with it then I just stuck a bunch of wax on it added some leftover denture teeth and a couple of clear blue marbles out of my alcohol torch, I think I will rip his little face off and use him again next year, or I could just pull a mold off of him and make a bunch of them!