Thursday, December 1, 2016

A Mission

As you all probably know I am a volunteer at Find A Grave.  We spent a number of days walking local cemeteries.  We still have one to walk if the weather permits. 

St Marys Jesus on the Cross

Tuesday was the day I chose to walk this Catholic Cemetery.  I have two aunts, two uncles and two cousins buried there.  Far Guy went along, Chance watched from the car.  I gave Far Guy a camera so if he found a grave that I needed a photo of he could do it.  We had 35 graves to find and found 24 of them…so it was a successful afternoon in the rain/snow.

The grounds of this little cemetery will put many other larger cemeteries to shame. 

St Marys Cemetery

It is well kept.  See the Christmas tree?

St Marys fixing graves

They added some black dirt to low areas this Fall and probably seeded with grass too so in the spring the grass will grow.  The middle patches of black dirt are right in front of my Uncle George and Aunt Grace’s headstone.  It was thoughts of my Aunt Gracie that made this a mission to complete before winter….she died last May and I wondered if the engraved dates were in place.  They were.

George and Grace Yliniemi

I found a classmate’s grave and headstone, and my cousin Lyle has a brand new beautiful headstone.  I photographed both.  It was a lousy day for photos but they are what they are and are better than nothing. I can always replace them with better photos in the Summer.

Now I have the photos to enter at Find A Grave….I have started a list of obituaries to transcribe…but that is a winter after Christmas project.   I have asked a number of people for photos and or obituaries.  Some obits will have to be researched and found in newspapers.

So now we say goodbye to November and hello to December.  The days are so dark and dreary that I am tempted to just wish the month away. It has been raining and or snowing for days.

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20 comments:

Anonymous said...

So glad you had a successful day and what a tremendous service you are doing for others. I dislike these dark, dreary days. I end up bored and going to bed way too early!

ekullumanali said...

Its a last mission.

Alan Burnett said...

The graveyard looks so neat, well organised - and well-kept - compared to the ones over here. You did well to find so many you were looking for. Whenever I try searching graveyards for particular people I hardly ever succeed - often because I get distracted by the ones I wasn't;t looking for

DJan said...

It is a very nicely kept area, that's for sure. I did see the Christmas tree right away. It is a very good thing you do in finding and registering these gravesites.

Tired Teacher said...

I always marvel at the rich, black soil of your area: it truly is black goal and perfect for farming.

Phyllis Pritchard said...

I haven't forgotten about getting you some pictures, I just don't take the time to get it done. Maybe a project after Christmas. Thanks for the work that you do on Find a Grave.

linda m said...

Happy December First. It's been raining on and off here for 3 days now. Seems more like September than December.

Shirley said...

I love visiting cemeteries. So peaceful and a great place to pray.

Red said...

Good discipline gets you out on a so so day to take photos. It's always darker someplace else like here. so don't worry about the dark.

still the lucky few said...

I admire your dedication! Granted, it is very interesting work. I agree, the cemetery is very well kept. Your pictures, given the lack of light, are so clear!

Lady Fi said...

A lovely cemetery!

Patsy said...

Find A Grave is the best thing to happen for us documenting
and can't get to far away cemetery's.
Proud of you and on a raining and snow day.

Paula said...

Fascinting job you have to Find A Grave! I will have to check that out! We have a very old cemetery here and that is where my baby daughter is buried. Someday I would like to walk around and find my kids' great-grandparents!

Linda said...

We have an old cemetery a few miles from here that went unused for years...now they're using it again but there are unmarked graves and no one knows any information on them at all....sad really.

Linda W. said...

Very nice of you to locate the graves. I love your new Christmas header photos!

Granny Marigold said...

I like your header. Chance has a look that seems to say that he's hoping for a nice juicy bone in that package in front of him.

Rita said...

And very cold to be out in the cemetary! Brrr!

Linda Reeder said...

That sounds like a good activity to get you outside in less that ideal weather. Thanks for the work you do.

Jacqi Stevens said...

Well, that miserable weather was probably more lousy for the photographers than the photographs. I've heard camera people say cloudy weather makes a better photo because of the lack of glare. But, oh, you two must have nearly frozen out there! Bet a cup of cocoa or hot apple cider would have been just the thing after your mission was completed!

L. D. said...

I really admire your work with the Find a Grave site. I would like to do that someday and find all my great grand parents and put them up on the site. I don't even know where some of them are and one of them would be in Illinois in some unknown town. I really appreciate those you do the postings in our family. I will work at getting a photo up for my brothers new stone.