In late Autumn 2011, I had the privilege to
travel to an abandoned cemetery south of Springfield, IL in a remote rural area
surrounded by harvested corn fields to learn how to restore 100 [year] old head
stones. I was with the State Historical Archivist and her
staff. There were several of us invited to spend two Saturdays in
the cold and wind, surrounded by a small forest to
learn the proper technique to repair 100 year old broken grave
stones. It seems the fence that used to surround this family
cemetery of 20-30 graves was broken in a storm, the story goes, and the cattle
came marching through this graveyard and their bodies hit most of the grave
stones and broke them in half. Some of the stones were half buried
in the ground. But most were to be found and we
fixed them using proper preservation techniques.
For two Saturdays in a row we braved the winds and bitter
cold to mix special cement and clamps and “right” broken head stones back on top of their bottom
pieces. It was hard work. As we worked I noticed that many families
in the 1800’s not only placed a “head stone” but also a foot stone at the other
end of the grave and side-rails along both sides. It very much resembled a bed of sorts.
Digging out buried head
stones we found artifacts that had been placed by grieving loved ones on top of
the soil before the burial was completed. One set of graves were
young brothers 10 and 12 years
old. One boy had fallen into a
river and was drowning and when his brother jumped in
to try to save him, he drowned too. I stood there reading this story
on the graves and felt what the parents must have gone through having tragically lost two sons at
such a young age. Perhaps the deteriorated items we found just under the
top soil of the graves were things the parents placed as a memorial. I was sad
the whole rest of the day. Somehow, my being so cold did not matter
anymore. We carefully cleaned the small items and placed
them back in the top soil in a well arranged manner. Head stones, foot stones, side
rails, trinkets, words carved in stone, all depicting the memories of people
who lived in Illinois over 100 years ago.
It has been two years since I
spent those hours in that cemetery learning special preservation techniques to
extend the life of grave markers in an old abandoned cemetery. Death is
the final curtain. Rich or poor, young or old, death awaits each of us at
the end of our lives. Death leaves life before the grave. Try as we
do to remember our loved ones as if they are still with us in life, they are
departed from all the world they once lived in. We strike the stone to
carve their names for us, not for them. For those who faced death before
they actually died and took seriously the consequences of what will happen to
them beyond the body are those who will only experience one death, not
two. For those who never accepted Jesus as the Lord of their lives,
a second more frightful death stands in the wings. Jesus died so we will
only experience one death. You will find no headstone for Jesus, no
earthly marker to remember His life. He was risen after three days from
the grave. 1 Timothy 2:3 says, “This is good, and it is pleasing in the
sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth.” Ask not what you can do for God, rather ask
God what He already did for you.
Jack Moody, Pastor
Bloomington, Illinois
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