New Thoughts On An Old Cemetery

This past weekend I visited Fairview Cemetery. Over a decade ago, I spent many hours there and wrote numerous posts about its poor condition, resulting in some temporary improvements at that time. I can tell you that now it is in worse shape than ever. However, ironically, there is now much more activity and income being generated.  It has become an active Hispanic graveyard, with numerous new burials.

I was at first very disturbed about this new activity, because the new burials appear to be on old family plots, and on former common ground, such as alongside internal roadways. In one spot, it appears that all the old family stones have been placed around the family obelisk, and the old individual plots are being prepared for new burials. Almost all the new burials are Hispanic, while the old family plots are mostly old Pennsylvania Dutch. There is even a new Hispanic Jewish burial in the old Jewish section. I will leave the legal and moral implications of reusing these older plots to those better informed about such issues.

One reason the cemetery operator can get away with this reuse, is that for the most part, these old families are long gone. The families have died out, and their descendants have moved away.  Most of the new Hispanic graves are well tended by family members. I believe that these new burials may well become the saving grace for the cemetery. While the older families are gone, the new burials will help insure that there are new families who care about the cemetery, and how it is maintained.