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Fantinekill Cemetery in Ellenville is but one of many, many local burial grounds who host our region's history. Some are maintained by municipalities, some by private associations, and still others are forgotten even as Memorial Day rolls around each May. Photo by Chris Rowley
Maintaining Our Memorials
A Look Into Who Keeps Local Cemeteries In Shape

REGIONAL – For a good majority of us, this last Monday of May marks the unofficial start of summer.

But Memorial Day's significance as a federal holiday extends far beyond an opportunity to set the grill ablaze. It's a day set aside for remembering those persons who have died while serving in our nation's military.

The holiday was born out of the Civil War, which saw more than 600,000 soldiers die over four years of fighting. In 1868, the Grand Army of the Republic, a coalition of Union veterans in Illinois, established a day to honor fallen soldiers by decorating their graves with flowers. They called it 'Decoration Day'.

For the latter part of the 19th century, the two halves of the reunited nation celebrated the day in their own styles. By the 20th century, though, traditions were merged. Decoration Day became Memorial Day in 1882, but, wasn't officially named a federal holiday as such until 1967.

In honor of the fallen soldiers, flags are hung at half-mast for a portion of the day. There are parades and a plethora of poppies, a custom begun in 1915 when Moina Michael was inspired by a John McCrae poem, "In Flanders Fields," while working as a war effort volunteer. In the early 1920s the Veterans of Foreign Wars began distributing poppies made by disabled and needy servicemen. Called the Buddy Poppy program, the proceeds originally went to the disabled and needy servicemen that created them. Today, the poppies are still made by disabled and needy veterans in VA hospitals to assist those servicemen, as well as to fund rehabilitation programs.

On Memorial Day, many visit the graves of fallen servicemen and women. To honor them for their sacrifice, their grave plots are decorated with American flags and flowers. But paying homage to those who have passed on by beautifying their eternal resting places extends beyond those who have served our country.

There are approximately 6,000 cemeteries in the state, with 1,900 regulated by the NYS Cemetery Board and the remaining 4,000 listed as municipal, religious, family or private cemeteries.

The Town of Marbletown maintains seven cemeteries within its borders. All, according to town supervisor Michael Warren, were either abandoned when the accompanying church or house of worship moved on, or if the cemetery association responsible for a cemetery closed.

It is state law that local municipalities maintain care of their cemeteries.

In Marbletown, Warren continued, there are many cemeteries that date back pre-Civil War.

Highway department personnel mow and maintain the grounds, and reset stones. "There's a cost, but it's our obligation and we take it seriously," Warren said, noting how this hasn't always been true.

There is a real sense of history one finds walking the aisles of stones. The town's historical commission, Warren said, has done rubbings of some of the stones and sold the framed copies as fundraisers... many of the names inscribed are familiar to residents.

Just recently, Warren said, a small family plot of about eight stones has been found near the Bevier House Museum on Route 209. The Bevier Stone House was used by seven generations of the Bevier family between 1715 and 1938. This newly found cemetery sits on private property, Warren said, adding that there is evidence that it may have been a slave cemetery.

"It's an exciting discovery," Warren said.

The town of Wawarsing faces a similar situation. Town supervisor Leonard Distel said the town maintains thirteen cemeteries within its hamlets and employs a summer crew — of five people this year — to maintain their grounds.

In 2014, he added, the town took over the Wawarsing Cemetery. There is no public entrance into the cemetery, also known as the Vernooy Burying Ground, located off Kelsey Lane. In 2013, the cemetery — containing over 600 internments dating back to the mid 1800s — was listed as a historic landmark.

While cemetery maintenance is budgeted for by the town, Distel said some churches find financing to do the necessary repairs of their grounds. The Catholic church in Ulster Heights just purchased an additional plot of land to extend their cemetery, necessitating clearing over the coming years.



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