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March 11, 2009

Trustees worry cemetery will be forgotten

By Brian Livingston

We will all die one day. Of that we are sure.

One of the goals in this life is to be prepared for the afterlife. People naturally want to be remembered and they want their lasting resting place to be a kind of memorial to their life on this earth. They want to be buried by those they have loved in a place where the living can come and visit on special dates.

It is when these places of rest become overgrown and generally unkept that the tragedy begins to set in. High grass, vines, brush and trees encroach on once pristine plots. So many cemeteries have as their regular visitors deer, raccoons, snakes and field mice. It is not the way those who have passed on wanted to be remembered.

To visit the Stinson Cemetery in Clarkdale, it would appear all is well. But the truth of the matter is trustees who have been tapped to oversee the very old memorial park are now worried the area will go the way of so many other rural graveyards.

"It's in pretty good shape right now but with spring fast approaching I'm afraid the cemetery will be overgrown quickly," said Larry Taylor, one of three trustees overseeing the area. "It would be a shame if the cemetery were to be swallowed up by the surrounding woods."

Taylor said a lady who passed away about two years ago donated $2,500 into the fund to keep the cemetery mowed and neat. But that money has been used up and there isn't even enough to pay the worker who mowed the property last year. He is asking for those who have relatives buried there to pitch in and help fund the cemetery.

"If everyone who has relatives resting there would put in five or ten dollars then there would be enough to keep the cemetery clean for visitors," Taylor said. "Used to, families of loved ones buried there would gather once a month and do yard work and maintenance. That has all but stopped."

Stinson Cemetery is not without its share of history either. Two of its first inhabitants were soldiers from Gen. William T. Sherman's Union army that marched through Meridian during the Civil War. Their plots are marked by simple small boulders bearing no name. Other headstones showcase families such as the Pickards, the Moore family and of course, the Stinson family. Taylor said it would be a shame if these families and others represented there were to be allowed to be lost to the surrounding area.

If you would like to donate funds to this cause you can contact Taylor at (601) 693-4196 or you can mail your check to Larry Taylor, 2337 Atwood Road, Meridian, MS, 39301.

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