Grave concern: Woman finds family headstones obscured, finds help in Center Township trustee

May 24—Karen Allen found her late family member's headstones in embarrassing condition Monday.

Ten of her husband's family members are buried in a row along a fence line in Center Cemetery on Ind. 32 east of Lebanon. Allen wants to plant hostas and lilies around the stones but hadn't been there for a few years. At that time, the stones were surrounded by gravel.

On Monday, Allen found that thick vegetation had overtaken the headstones. The most recent seems to be that of Dorothy O'Neal, who was born June 1924 and died in October 1972. Some Reagans are also buried among the extended Allen family. One of their stones reads: Father, W. Oscar Reagan, 1892-1951.

"I took my sister, and I was so ashamed when I saw them," Allen said. "It made me feel kind of sick."

She asked her son to clear the vegetation. But her son called Center Township Trustee Casey Samson, who manages the township's five cemeteries.

Samson called landscaper Brandon Jamison, who has a new contract with the township, and the three men met at the cemetery

They found the area along the fenceline so overgrown that it didn't even look like part of the cemetery. "It took years for it to get that way," Samson said.

Jamison knew some of the deceased in Allen's family. He was due back to the cemetery for mowing Friday, but said he didn't think he'd be able to sleep if he didn't clear the mess immediately, Samson said. So he stayed out Monday night and renewed the area around the plots.

"It's beautiful," Allen said Tuesday. "I love it and I couldn't be more appreciative. Brandon did such a good job. That's my family out there."

Now she's mapping the space behind the stones, where she intends to plant colorful annuals.

The township's five cemeteries, all need improvements, Samson said. Besides Center Cemetery, they are: Beck Cemetery on U.S. 52 at County Road 300 N., Brockway Cemetery on Budd Road southwest of Lebanon, Robison Cemetery on John Shaw Road south of Lebanon, and one along Lebanon's Park Street.

Center's gravel drive has all but disappeared under grass, for instance. And the fences need repair.

Plus, he's been unable, thus far, to find complete records and maps of all plots.

City planners platted the 1.5-acre Park Street cemetery in 1882 for residents' use. It had no official name at the time and is now known as James Hill Park. The cemetery was abandoned in 1872, and several bodies were exhumed and moved to what is now Oak Hill Cemetery on Lebanon's east side. All grave markers were removed in 1954.

It is unknown who may remain there, as no formal records were kept. It is known that more than 500 citizens, including a Revolutionary War veteran and Civil War solders who died during service, were once buried there.

Want to help?

Samson wants to create a cemetery master plan and needs the public's help to do it.

Some of his goals are to identify the remains in all plots, repair damaged headstones, and address deficiencies in fencing.

For more information about Center Township, including meeting times, visit the website at https://www.centertwpboone.com/ or the township's Facebook page.