What is the future of our local cemeteries?
Ic all myse lfa Ce me te ry T re kkie .W he n my T e xan siste r visite d for a month, we se arc he d file s and note d tomb stone s.
W e journe ye d to North Ce me te ry ne ar Ce darville on Ohio 72 , ne xt to Ce darville U nive rsity c ampus. T he groundske e pe rs do a b e autiful job taking c are of it.W e c ould only find one S te phe nson in the whole c e me te ry and the date on the stone was ille gib le . County re c ords do not list the stone , whic h me ans that some time s it pays to se arc h the grounds ourse lve s.W e c he c ke d out the S te ve nson R oad and T arb ox Ce me te rie s, b oth south ofCe darville on U .S . 42 , b ut to no avail.
Ihe sitate to walk on grave s out ofre spe c t. Ye ars ago, grave rob b e rs invade d many site s, le aving b odie s and b one s de - c aying in the ope n.Empty grave s we re the norm, e spe c ially in the 180 0 s. M any me dic al sc hools or re se arc he rs e nde d up with the b odie s.
Curt Dalton ofDayton, a fe llow re se arc he r/ historian/write r, pub - lishe d a fasc inating b ook ab out disinte rre d b odie s that rob b e rs sold to the M e dic al Colle ge ofOhio, Cinc innati.T he T e rrib le R e surre c tion de sc rib e d the b ody-snatc hing ye ar of 1878, and c e nte re d spe c ific ally on the stole n b ody ofJohn S c ott H arrison, third son ofPre side nt W illiam H e nry H arrison.Be njamin H arrison was John’s son and had the e ve nt inve stigate d.T he Cinc innati Enquire r ran an inte rvie w ofa we ll-known grave rob - b e r, who b oaste d offurnishing ab out 50 0 b odie s during his unsavory c are e r.
No one c an make c e rtain that e ve ry de ad b ody will re st pe ac e fully in the e arth for e te rnity, b ut re - ligious le ade rs and sc ie ntists are c ollab orating to make sure that the y tre at the re mains with re spe c t. M ode rn me dic al sc hools de pe nd upon donate d c adave rs and the y some - time s e xpe rime nt with unc laime d one s.
A c ontrove rsial art display in Ge rmany use d b odie s and ske le tal re mains in unusual pose s as art forms.Eve n though the b odie s we re le gitimate - ly se c ure d, vie we rs found the sc ulpture s offe nsive . T he artist, Gunte r von H age ns, wante d to show the b e auty ofthe human b ody. H e pre se rve d the forms through plastination, whic h me ans tissue s are fre e ze -drie d and plastic re - plac e s the liquid.
T he Dayton A rt Institute e xhib it, Que st for Immortality, e xamine d a re - c re ation ofthe tomb of T hutmosis III, and re late d ite ms ofb urial.A nc ie nt Egyptians b e lie ve d that afte rlife was more important.T he y ornate ly de c - orate d the tomb s, fille d with tre asure s, for the gre at b e yond — the b ody pre pare d for the spirit to follow.
For thousands ofye ars, c ave s, the ground and tomb s b e c ame c ommon re sting plac e s for the de - c e ase d.
Calvary Ce me te ry re - c e ntly initiate d a gre e n are a for natural b urial, whic h me ans b odie s will figurative ly b e dust to dust.T he M iami V alle y has pe ac e ful, we ll-ke pt b urial site s, b ut population is e xploding and land gob b le d up for sub divisions and shopping c e nte rs.W he re will our de c e ase d e nd up in the future ?W ill Itruly e nd up as dust?M ight b e a b e tte r ide a, afte r all.