H A P P Y N E W Y E A R ! ! ! !

Thank each and every one of you who helped in any way on the Franklin County cemeteries this year. You can look back with pride at what we have accomplished together. Let's look forward to another year working toward our common goal.

Bless You and your families in the New Year. Meet you in a cemetery soon.

A Bit of Cole Cemetery History

The Cole family occupied this site beginning as early as 1820 (the oldest dated tombstone) and they sold the property to Richard Rue in 1866. Rue and family are buried near Moselle, so they are not possible burials. Sometime later, the site was used by local African-American families as, basically, a public burial ground. This seems to have started during the ownership by the Ming family. Purportedly, there is a Ming slave cemetery, but it is believed to be located farther east than the nearby Ming Cemetery. The Cole site was not a slave burial ground during the Ming's ownership.

In the late nineteenth century and into the mid-twentieth century, South Point (now the eastern-most portions of Washington) had become known as a “black” community. Using death certificates and obituaries, we can almost prove that the Cole Cemetery, then owned by the Ming family, did indeed become what I am calling the South Point (African-American) Community Cemetery.

The two large tombstones that we re-erected were those of John and Jennie Findley. John was the owner of a store at South Point, perhaps the only store owned by an African-American in Franklin County up until that time. He dropped dead in Dr. Stierberger’s office in Union in 1924, where he had gone for treatment as he had been feeling ill. His burial, alongside wife Jennie who had died six years earlier, seems to be one of the last, if not the last, at the site.

This cemetery suffered from intentional partial destruction about thirty to forty years ago. Fortunately, a couple of the discarded headstones have been kept safe by a nearby neighbor. He is willing to return them to the site.

This narrative is condensed from a report shared by Marc Houseman of the Washington Historical Society.

Let's Meet at Cole Cemetery Saturday

We start our new project, Cole Cemetery, Saturday the 12^th beginning at 12:00 noon and probably working until about 5:00 or darkness, whichever comes first.

Directions: From Washington take Old Highway 100 (at South Point) east roughly two and a half miles. When you get to the entrance (signed) for Washington Methodist Cemetery, which is also the entrance to Riverbend Bible Chapel (the old Ming place), turn around and come back west about a hundred yards or so. There is periwinkle everywhere on the north side of the road, this is the cemetery site. A word of caution: there is an old fence along the road frontage which you will have to jump or climb over. In some places it’s almost down completely, so it shouldn’t be an issue. I think most of us can safely park along the shoulder of the old highway but there’s a chance you may have to park and walk a short distance.

I will try to be there a bit early so you can look for my truck and the trailer.

Please remember: We will NOT be removing brush, weeds, etc. Last Saturday, a visit to the site revealed that the entire place is covered in periwinkle, and there are sporadic trees of various sizes. The only heavy brush work we might want to do is moving already fallen trees or limbs so that we can work safely. Weed eaters may be helpful to temporarily cut the periwinkle to better enable us to search for fallen stones.

Notes: There are two large headstones down that I think we can put back up with enough muscle. One broken stone has a base that may be usable. A small stone was found but no base yet. Also, an intact footstone was found. We will do what we can Saturday and see what happens next! Thanks, Marc

Cole Cemetery Project

Soon, we will be in touch with Mrs. Tucker about the Cole Cemetery project. My pie in the sky goal would be to finish this small project before year’s end. Marc

Mantels Project Finished at Last!

Attached is a photo of the new directory box that Warren has fabricated. It will replace the rotten sign on the two posts in front of the cemetery at Mantels and will enclose Paul’s map of plots and the names of those with headstones. Very nice!

Well, I think I can honestly say we are through with Mantels, barring any other major discoveries. Saturday the ladies applied void mix where necessary and the last few tombstones were either erected or repaired. We have made a drastic difference there and I know that the church members are very appreciative, as am I. Thanks to everyone who helped with the project from start to finish. I know it seems as though we’ve been at Mantels for a “long time” but if you’ll remember we didn’t get started out there until sometime in June, so it’s only been about four months in which there has been a dramatic transformation.

Price's Franklin County Raid Victim Found!

A tombstone for Henry Boeger was uncovered with a death date of October 3, 1864 (Price’s Raid in Franklin County) and the inscription, in German, “Felled at the hands of the rebels.” WOW! One of the few well documented victims of Civil War atrocities from Franklin County had been uncovered!

Partial account of Boeger’s death written by Herman G. Kiel. "At the time of death, he was a member of the town council of Union. In the skirmish at Union on October 1, 1864, he and many others were taken prisoners and moved with the Confederate Army under Price which Army was in danger of being captured by Unionist forces, and saw fit to murder many prisoners including James Wilson and six comrades, killed at Casco near the same place where Boeger was shot in the head and killed on or about Sunday, October 2, 1864, while a prisoner." See the Kiel Files at the Washington Historical Society in Washington, MO.

More Plans For St. John's Mantels

We will be working at Mantels this coming Saturday October 8, beginning at 9:00 a.m.

Tasks:
(1) Burn the brush piles
(2) Trim up the stumps, etc. in the former wooded area; perhaps remove some additional trees / limbs
(3) Continue the repair of tombstones
(4) Set tombstones in new bases
(5) Probe

BONUS:
Lunch is being provided by the members, so if there is something you want to contribute bring it along. We already have hotdogs, chips, cake, cookies, water and soda.

Thanks and hope to see you all Saturday.

Meet Noon Saturday at Krog Park

We will be probing and digging at Krog Park in Washington tomorrow (Saturday, Oct. 1) beginning at approximately noon.

For our newer members; we have an agreement with the Parks Department that enables us to dig up headstones. We'll record the information and take photographs, then return the stones to their storage place in the ground.

Just like panning for gold, only you can’t keep the gold!!

Give Daniel Boone a Hand

Please join the ‘Friends of Daniel Boone’s Burial Site in Missouri’ as they make improvements to the Boone Monument site tomorrow morning (Saturday, Oct. 1) beginning at 9:00 a.m.

October Work Dates

At our September 27 meeting, the following work dates were scheduled for the cemetery society:

Saturday, October 1: Assist the Friends of Daniel Boone’s Burial Site group with some minor work at the Boone Monument near Marthasville. Following this, an afternoon in Krog Park!

Saturday, October 8, 22 and 29: “Final” work days at St. John’s U.C.C. at Mantels. Let’s get it finished before winter!

Attention Repair Team: A day will be selected very soon for three repairs at Ming Cemetery, Ebenezer “Stone” Church Cemetery and Wildey Odd Fellows Cemetery. Watch for an alert!

Thanks to everyone and I hope to see you soon, Marc

Tuesday Meeting at Mantels -- Dinner First

The FCCS will be meeting at St. John's U.C.C. Mantels Church at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 27 for dinner followed by a short meeting. Please note the place and time. See You There!

A Change of Pace -- FINNEY

Due to the great weather: a newly scheduled work day! How does this sound? Saturday the 24^th at Finney Cemetery, 9:00 a.m., to burn the brush pile and remove the remaining decrepit fence.
Some tools for we'll need at Finney:
Wire or bolt cutters, Claw hammer, Shovel and / or pry bars to remove “t” posts, Rake, Fire (matches that is) (Ha!), Chainsaw? A Truck (I think there may still be a couple of cedar logs laying around if anyone wants them) Remember, we must haul away the junk fence.

If we get this done rather quickly, perhaps some of us can move over to Mantels afterward. Mantels is nearing completion but there are some definite challenges remaining there.

Great Day at Mantels!

You don't know what you missed! We had a great day yesterday at Mantels! The ground was finally soft enough to probe and the revelations were numerous.

We made the decision to reset the footstones where possible, something we wouldn’t normally do, but since this is a very historic cemetery and there are no longer burials taking place there, etc., we decided to go for it. Since many of the footstones were still intact and tossed into the wooded area we simply played “Concentration” and matched them back up with their headstones. If a base was found, we reset it and if not, we buried the it atop the grave as we had originally planned.

The large headstone found in the woods with a fractured base was successfully reset and is a new benchmark for our group. A daunting task made simple by our outstanding crew. Our small team of four who braved the cool and threatening weather didn’t stop there. Divine intervention led us to discover that we had reset two headstones in exactly the right spots as we later found their accompanying footstones in those very places. Weird and wonderful.

To top off the day, we located a one-break headstone in the wooded area which had not been located previously (photo by Warren).

Rescheduled Day at St. John's Mantels

It was bound to happen some time.

Last Saturday, despite the rain, a few of us die-hards worked at Mantels for about two hours. After being thoroughly soaked, we gave up and headed home.

In the wake of that disaster, let’s have a workday this coming Saturday beginning at 9:00. I hope you all can make it. We’ve made great strides and the remaining work is very rewarding as the fallen stones are going back up, repairs are being made and the place is really looking great.

Please join us if you can.

Late News From St. John's Mantels

Our group made more fast and efficient progress Thursday evening at Mantels. We are getting down to the nitty-gritty. The stones that had been discarded into the woods have mostly been reset using plot plans and relying on the old German-American burial method of chronology. A good number of headstones were epoxied back together and await their final touches using our ‘void mix’.

There is still the frustration of having bases for which we have found no matching headstones and headstones for which we’ve found no matching bases. Very Humpty-Dumptyesque at this point but getting better quickly.

Come join us. See you Saturday, September 10th at 9:00 a.m.

September Meeting Place Change

Dear Friends: A Message From Marc

Next month’s FCCS meeting will be held at St. John’s “Mantels” United Church of Christ. The members are preparing a dinner for us in appreciation of our work on their old cemetery. The meal will be served at 6:00 p.m. and our meeting will follow. Please mark your calendars accordingly.

Next Time at St. John's "Mantels" Cemetery

The following work dates have been set for St. John’s “Mantels” Cemetery.

Thursday, September 1-----4:30 p.m.

Thursday, September 8-----4:30 p.m.

Saturday, September 10----9:00 a.m.

We are making rapid progress. Actual stone repair work and additional cleaning remains to be done. This is the fun, rewarding and enjoyable part! The heavy back breaking work is mostly finished. Thanks to everyone who has been able to help. Hopefully all of you can make it to one or more of our scheduled work dates. Your help is greatly appreciated!

Enjoy your week off!

Treasure Beneath Krog Memorial Park

An interesting article was published in the Washington Historical Society Newsletter concerning the unearthing of the tombstone of William Owens. After his death, his widow founded the city of Washington. Her stone wasn't found, but she is likely buried next to her husband.

Owens is buried in the old Bassora Cemetery now beneath Krog Memorial Park. The park is cat-a-corner across from St. John's Mercy Hospital. The article gives details on how the stones in Bassora came to be buried under the sod about 85 years ago.

The article was written by Marc Houseman, Director of the Washington Historical Society Museum and founder of the Franklin County Cemetery Society. Marc is very knowledgeable of area history and, in particular, the cemeteries.

For more details contact the historical society at the address given in the link to the right of this page. Better still, consider joining the organization for a mere $25.oo for an individual.

Work Schedule for St. John's U.C.C. Mantels

At the Tuesday, July 26 evening meeting, we created an agenda for August at St. John’s U.C.C. Cemetery at Mantels.

Saturday, August 6 beginning at 9:00 a.m.

Thursday, August 11 beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Thursday, August 18 beginning at 4:30 p.m.

The brush, weed, and flowering plant removal is nearly complete. A plat has been created and a complete (though growing!) inventory of the headstones has been made. We are ready to tackle the headstones with cleaning crew, repairs and much straightening. The clearing of brush has revealed several headstones that have never been recorded, so historically speaking, this has already proven to be a valuable project.

“Mantels” is located on Highway A south of Krakow, between Union and Washington. The “new” cemetery is located right alongside Highway A. The old cemetery, where we are working, is adjacent to the church which is on the other side of the highway on Mantels Road.

Magnificent Accomplishments!

Last evening, about six of our members converged on the Wildey Odd Fellows Cemetery in Washington. Though not a large turnout, the group was able to straighten and / or otherwise reset about fifteen headstones! Included in the list of re-set monuments were the rather large tombstones of Joseph H. Schmidt and family and that of the Kloentrup family. These thousand-pound plus markers, though incredibly heavy, quickly yielded to the muscle power of our determined team, well, and a variety of equipment. Also, several headstones were cleaned, including those of the Lay and Murphy families, some of the oldest markers in the cemetery. Their stones actually predate the establishment of the cemetery and likely the graves they mark were once in the old Bassora Cemetery / Krog Park Thanks to all who were able to help!

NEW JOB: St. John’s U.C.C. “Mantels”

We have another job, the restoration of the old cemetery at St. John’s U.C.C. “Mantels.” No work dates have been set. We'll keep you posted.

The cemetery is located between Union and Washington, south of Krakow off of Highway A. The church’s present cemetery is located alongside Highway A, but the older graveyard is next to the church, which is down a short lane off of the highway.

Before the work begins in earnest, there are some preliminary things that might be accom-plished by individuals or small groups.

We should have an inventory, either on paper or photographically, of all the existing headstones. I’m hopeful that a comparison of headstones to the church’s burial records will afford us an accurate list of unmarked burials, some of which may be marked by sympathetic descendants! A list of irreparable headstones will also be helpful; and there are some.

If there is a pattern to the burials, that is: Were they buried chronologically? That would be helpful in determining the proper locations of displaced headstones.

There are headstones in a wooded area adjacent to the cemetery. Are these headstones ‘discards’ from the cemetery or are there actually graves in the woods? Probing for bases might resolve this.

Let's have some discussion at tonight’s (July 5) work event at Odd Fellows Cemetery regarding work dates.

Let's Meet at Wildey Odd Fellows Cemetery

We have several monuments at Odd Fellows that, many years ago, were laid flat into wet cement. Among other chores, we will attempt to remove the tombstones from their concrete “tombs” and re-erect them properly. This will be very interesting and rewarding work.

Wildey Odd Fellows Cemetery in Washington beginning at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 5 and Wednesday, July 13.

Look for us on Facebook, too.

Wire Fence Removal at FINNEY CEMETERY

Permission has been granted to remove the old wire fence from around the Finney Cemetery with the exception of the line of fence running parallel with Finney Road. We will discuss when and how to best remove it at the next meeting unless someone gets inspired to do it before July 26th. We CANNOT leave the wire on the property, that was the only condition the property owner made. Recyclers unite!!

St. John’s U.C.C. at Mantels (near Krakow)

This Saturday Marc will meet with a gentleman from St. John’s U.C.C. at Mantels (near Krakow) to see if the old cemetery there will be a good candidate for restoration. He’ll be in touch as soon as he gets the details hammered out.

Odd Fellows Cemetery Schedule

Schedule:

July 5 and July 13; 4:30 p.m. at the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Washington.

With so many new folks joining, the Odd Fellows Cemetery will be used as a teaching tool for the proper techniques of cleaning, repair and resetting. There is plenty to do there and it is all very much appreciated.

Calendar of Cemetery-related Events:

Saturday, May 21: The ‘Veterans Hall of Honor’ will be officially dedicated at the historic courthouse in Union.

Saturday, May 28: Annual Odd Fellows memorial service, followed by a presentation by county commissioner Terry Wilson and a tour of veterans graves at the cemetery. Begins at 9:00. Free Lunch!!

Sunday, May 29: To celebrate Washington’s founding date, the Washington Historical Society will host a “tour” of the Bassora Cemetery / Krog Park at 1:00 p.m.

James Cemetery -- Pacific

Saturday, May 14 at 9:00 a.m., meet at the James Cemetery in Pacific. We’ve been rained and or flooded out twice, but we’re going to try really hard to make it happen! Please join us there.

KROG PARK Probe

Krog Park, probing for and unearthing headstones – Thursday, May 5th at 4:30 p.m. and Saturday beginning at 9:00 a.m. Come rediscover the history of Washington (and Bassora!).

New Tombstone Bases Fabricated

Last Saturday, April 30, several of our members converged on the Odd Fellows building to fabricate bases for five headstones at our Cheatham-Gibson-Coleman Cemetery project. All the bases were made and are at the Lodge building curing. I’m hopeful that one or two more trips to this project site will finish things up! Thanks to those who helped. Some work was also done at the Odd Fellows Cemetery.

"James Cemetery" Probe Rescheduled

We have rescheduled the Pacific workday for Saturday, April 30 due to weather.

An Exciting Project -- James Cemetery

A reminder that we are working at Pacific this coming Saturday at 9:00 a.m. (yes, I’ve heard the weather forecast) with a rain (snow?) date set for Saturday, April 30 if necessary.

This has the potential of being a very fun project. As you may remember, we have been asked to help “unearth” a cemetery that has been covered up by decades of flood waters and the development of a home at the site in the 1960s. Today, the home has been demolished as part of the big flood buy-out at Pacific a few years ago.

One fragmented headstone was unearthed by city crews last summer. Old timers recall perhaps as many as a dozen headstones at the site. The City of Pacific has arranged for an operator of a bobcat or backhoe to come and gently scrape away the layers of earth as we watch for headstones and other indications of grave sites. Our working name for the site is “James Cemetery” as the James family members were first to exclude the cemetery from the sale of the surrounding property indicating that the James’ had an “interest” in the graveyard.

Contact Marc at Washington Historical Society Museum for directions.

Last Week at Bem

It's hard to believe it was nearly a week ago that we worked out at Bem! We had a perfect day with sunshine and mild temperatures. Rev. Rick Oberle and crew were on hand doing their annual maintenance to the church cemetery. Our job was to make some repairs and train the church members in proper cleaning techniques. Overall, the cemetery is in excellent condition. Only about six headstones actually needed repair (two must be replaced) and these repairs were completed for the most part. Many stones were leveled and dozens were cleaned by a super-ambitious cleaning crew. Six of our members showed up, but with the help of a dozen or more church members, things went quickly and efficiently. A luncheon was served by the church for which we are grateful. Thanks to all who helped. Thanks to Susan for the picture.

Disappointment at Cheatham-Gibson-Coleman

Given the weather forecast (rain and snow???) It is wise to cancel our work night at Cheatham-Gibson-Coleman Cemetery this evening. (Tuesday) Sorry!

Please remember this Saturday we are to work out at Bem in Gasconade County. The long range forecast looks great. We need a good turnout of members to make this a one-day project. Marc hopes to see you all there.

Awesome Day at Bassora Cemetery / Krog Park

Marc is happy to report a very successful work day at Bassora Cemetery / Krog Park. We spent about two and half hours probing for tombstones, using information gathered in 1926 regarding the location of the headstones as a basic guide.

Our findings were as follows:

1. Base of a small headstone was found flush with the ground.
2. Bottom 1/3 of a small headstone was found sticking out of the ground near Hancock Street. Only inscribed information was that of the monument maker.
3. Intact headstone and base found for Eliza Cowherd, daughter of Washington's founder Lucinda Owens.
4. Intact headstone found for Bernhard Fricke, considered Washington's first or second German immigrant. He housed the twelve Catholic families when they arrived in 1833. His headstone was NOT recorded in 1926, but his name was included on the commemorative stone because research proved he was buried there.
5. An interesting stack of bricks was found at or near the supposed site of William G. Owens' grave. We plan to carefully remove the bricks next time, hoping that perhaps they were laid to protect his tombstone.
   

Although we had a small turnout, some outstanding discoveries were made. It was most encouraging to find these headstones in near-perfect condition. This certainly leaves us hungry for more!  If the most unwelcome snowstorm hadn't hit us, it's hard telling what else would have been uncovered.

Thanks to everyone who was able to help.

Off to a Busy Start -- Please Join Us

At last night’s meeting of the cemetery society we established the following agenda:

Thursday, March 24, 4:30 p.m.: Odd Fellows Cemetery, Washington. Help the Odd Fellows get the cemetery in shape for spring. Some stone work can be accomplished (leveling, cleaning). Fill trailer!

Saturday, March 26, 9:00 a.m.: Krog Park (Bassora Cemetery) in Washington. Probing for headstones, recording information thereon.

Tuesday, March 29, 5:00 p.m.: Cheatham-Gibson-Coleman Cemetery, Campbellton. Still probing for bases and stones. Repair and resetting of stones.

Saturday, April 2, 9:00 a.m.: St. John’s UCC Cemetery, Bem (Gasconade Co.) Carpoolers meet at Washington Historical Society Museum at 8:00 a.m. We'll repair and reset about a half dozen stones. Teach cleaning techniques.

Saturday, April 16, 9:00 a.m.: James Cemetery, Pacific. Heavy equipment will be used to peel back the earth slowly. We are to look for tombstones, record and assess overall situation for future restoration.

Please attend whatever you can; obviously we are busy and could use your help. Also, remember to ask a friend to join us. For only $10 a year, you can really work up a sweat!

Cemetery Work Dates Set

Tuesday, March 1: From 4:30 p.m. until dark we will be probing for bases and headstones at the Cheatham-Gibson-Coleman Cemetery near Campbellton. Bring probes and shovels. Weather permitting. We might need the shovels to move the snow! On Highway KK west of Campbellton, Fire #KK4302.

Saturday, March 12: Beginning at 9:00 a.m., we will be working at Finney Cemetery near Robertsville. This is a completed project that was badly vandalized last month. The tombstones need to be re-set and Washington Monument Company has offered to help us with the heavy work. Also, we need to drop and burn two dead trees and perform some other general maintenance. There is a lot of trash in the road ditch that needs to be cleaned up, etc. Bring chainsaws, rakes, trash / recycling container, matches (in case I forget), etc. If the weather is uncooperative we will reschedule.

We need to get the iron crosses from St. Francis Borgia reset sometime soon. Do you have them Allen?

Reminder: Work day at St. John’s U.C.C. at Bem (near Owensville) is Saturday, April 2.

Reminder: The Trailer Committee will meet soon to ready our trailer for lots of action! A special Thank You to Shelly for designing the decal for the trailer.

Marc Has a Doozy of an Idea!

Our little group uses expendable supplies that become exhausted and need replacing. By keeping your dues current, new materials can be purchased and always available for use.

Just remember, your dues can keep the work going even when you are unable to join the crew every workday. Your help is always greatly appreciated. Don’t forget our meeting, Feb. 22, 2010. We look forward to seeing you there!

It'll Soon Be Time to Visit the PROJECTS!

Spring is just around the corner, so buy some new work gloves and blow the dust off your back brace; it’s almost time to get cracking!

A trip to Finney Cemetery yesterday resulted in resetting the misplaced footstones and all of the rocks that had marked graves. Also, the smaller stones belonging to the two Finney infants were set up. Washington Monument Company has graciously volunteered to assist in putting the headstones back up whenever we set a work date. There are a number of cedar logs still scattered around the perimeter of the cemetery. If anyone wants these, please make arrangements to pick them up before the bonfire, otherwise they will be up in smoke!

Cheatham-Gibson-Coleman Cemetery: Our Campbellton project is awaiting completion. If we cannot locate bases, we will need to build and set about six of them. We will use our knowledge of the family relationships to determine the placement of the headstones. We may also have a burn day there to clean up the brush pile and we need to finish cleaning the headstones.

James Cemetery (working name): At Pacific, we have committed ourselves to an “early spring” day where we will observe as layers of earth are peeled back an inch at a time. Our job is to spot headstones or other markers as the earth is peeled back. Then, our assignment will be to repair and reset whatever is repairable. The city of Pacific will be maintaining the site.

St. Francis Borgia Cemetery: There are still a couple of iron crosses to be reset. The church’s volunteers will continue to straighten leaning and settling stones.

Wildey Odd Fellows: Some have expressed an interest in working here as time allows and perhaps in smaller groups, etc. There is much that can be done, including straightening, repair, and lots of cleaning.

St. John’s / Bem: We will be spending one work day at Bem in Gasconade County to help their cemetery committee with a few repairs and share our techniques.

Ebenezer “Stone” Church: Two of our repairs have failed, so we need to spend time there. One headstone is being replaced by Washington Monument Company. Thanks!!

St. John’s U.C.C. at Bem

On Saturday, April 2 we will be joining members of St. John’s U.C.C. at Bem (Gasconade County) at their annual cemetery work day. As you may remember, we agreed last year to assist the congregation with one work day at which we would train them in the proper methods of cleaning and stone repair. Overall, the cemetery is in excellent condition, but there are perhaps a half dozen headstones that need our help. The church is a member of the Grape Country Cluster, which is a member of our society.

FINNEY CEMETERY WORKDAY COMING SOON

At our January meeting, it was also decided that work would be done as soon as practicable at the Finney Cemetery. We will attempt to replace the unmarked rocks in their proper places. Some of the smaller headstones may go back up rather easily, with just a little bit of ‘manpower’. We'll have to assess the rest of the damage to determine how best to proceed.

There are one or two trees that still need to come down and be burned. We might as well do this type of work before things green up again. Watch for emails regarding work dates at Finney.

FINNEY Cemetery Averted Tornado, Not Vandals

Marc checked out Finney Cemetery, since the tornado hit Robertsville a couple of weeks ago. The tornado missed the cemetery, but vandals have knocked over every single headstone. Even some of the rocks marking graves have been kicked over. Footstones were pulled completely out of the ground. It’s a horrific and extremely disappointing site.

The incident has been reported to the Franklin County Sheriff. Even if he finds them, they will probably end up doing it again.