OHCUYAHO-L Archives

Archiver > OHCUYAHO > 2000-07 > 0962623286


From: "Donna J. Gruber" <>
Subject: [OHCUYAHO-L] Re: Protecting Our Cemeteries Petition
Date: Mon, 3 Jul 2000 11:21:26 -0000


Dear Listers,

A petition appeared on a number of genealogical mailing lists in this area
yesterday. So I took a look at it. Although its purpose is well intended,
I really didn't care for it. It was vague and contains items which seem
unreasonable and impracticable to me. It also presented problems with
regards to cemeteries owned by religious organizations, where the government
can't interfere.

I don't agree with the private property sections. While I am sure that
there are some old burial grounds on private property in cities, there are
far more such burial grounds in rural areas. Living in the country, as I
do,
and having been a farmer for many years, I am very aware of the problems
which can result from strangers freely wandering around on your property. I
would not care to see the results of someone with a pace maker touching an
electric fence. If you have never been zapped by an electric fence, I can
tell you, it packs a good jolt. Farm equipment can injure or kill. Our
livestock getting loose pose a hazard to the livestock, which almost always
have to be destroyed after an encounter with a moving vehicle, at
considerable financial loss to us. The people in the vehicles which hit
them at 55 mph are also at risk of injury or even death. As cities continue
to creep out into the country, our dogs have become our protectors and they
will bite in doing their job. Today, almost all farmers use various
chemicals at one time or another. When handled properly, they pose no
hazard to the consumer. Although we no longer farm, I still do use
chemicals in the care of our property. I would not want to have people
walking around just after I have sprayed. In today's lawsuit happy climate,
I can't blame anyone for not wanting strangers wandering around on their
property, for any reason!

I have also visited countless burial grounds on private property in doing my
research. Sometimes it has required more than one visit to get the owner to
allow access, but I have never yet, not gotten the access. I have often
found it helpful to returned at a time, set by the owner, so that they could
accompany me to the burial site.

I also don't agree with the general idea of the federal government being
involved in the regulation/protection of cemeteries. Federal involvement in
things usually just complicates everything and seldom solves any real
problems. This is from personal experience with the results of the federal
government becoming involved in areas where my husband and I actually have
worked for our living. In each of the three occupations, increased federal
regulations didn't resolve the problems or help the people they were
intended to. In fact, in each case, the problems actually got worse. Which
explains why we changed our occupations.

I was interested to see what other professionals thought. So I sent this
petition to a professional genealogical list for comment. The responses I
have received agree with what I felt. In Ohio, we do have good laws
regarding cemeteries. If you are personally experiencing a specific
problem, check to see what the state laws are and then, see that they are
enforced. If you are in a state where the laws are not sufficient, work to
get your state laws improved.

It is human nature to be upset when we are "told" what to do. I have had
much more success with a "could you help me" approach to a problem.

I am not telling you not to sign the petition, but I am asking you to think
long and hard about it before you do.

Thanks for your time.
Donna J. Gruber, CGRS




This thread: