Riddle Cemetery – I’m Just There for the Ice Cream

Billion Graves is a website that encourages volunteers to take pictures at cemeteries to post online and also volunteers to transcribe information from the pictures (once they are online).  I have personally known a few genealogical nuts that have found ancestors through these gravesites – usually missing spouses or children that have been buried along side of the names they already have.

For those who are really into family history, it does seem convenient to have this site, as they are able to visit many cemeteries from around the world without the expense of actually having to physically travel.  But only the recorded sites may provide the needed information.  There are a number of graves that have yet to be photographed and transcribed.

Last night the girls and young women of my new ward had the opportunity to take pictures to load to the app. of said website. One of the leaders referred to Riddle Cemetery as a virgin cemetery – meaning it has never been photographed or documented.

When we arrived, there was a sign that announced that the cemetery was legally closed from 7:00 pm to 7:00 am.  The activity started at 7:00 pm. Some were afraid the gates might get shut on us or that we would be arrested.  I personally don't think that law is enforced.  We worked at the cemetery (undisturbed) for just over an hour.

Many headstones – especially older ones – actually don’t provide a lot of information.  Names.  Sometimes years.  Sometimes just a death but no birth.  Sometimes marked unknown.  We actually skipped over the unknowns.  I wonder how many others were overlooked.

Jenna had Roland’s phone and claimed she had downloaded app – whether she did or not is unknown at this time.  I followed her with my notebook to write down what I could see not knowing how well it would translate to film. (Actually there was a lot of information on the stones themselves that had been worn out over the decades; I had brought tracing paper to cover and shade or try rubbing information onto the paper - but did not work out to my expectations)

 Now I wonder how many of us were photographing and recording in vain as I don’t know what has actually been sent to the app and what has not.


Riddle has several graves with this kind of marker. 

This one actually had more information than most.  

 

I did find an entire family, or so I believe – several circles with just names.  And then finally two stood together with two names and dates.  Perhaps they were the mom and dad of those others buried beneath?  

Further down was this actual headstone.  Perhaps the grandparents?

And then there were a few with gifts placed all around the statue. 

In Salt Lake, the cemeteries are cleaned out right after they’re decorated.  It is weird to see a cemetery that seems to stay decorated.  A lot of the flowers were plastic or silk and not actual plants.  I don’t know how long things stay.  I know it is longer than Salt Lake though.

And then there was one that was facing a different direction than all others: 

At first it appeared that the backside was blank, but when I looked again I did see an inscription.  But I have no clue what it said

Many of the girls didn’t actually understand why we were there – though several of us tried to explain it to them.  Jenna was mostly just interested in the friendships that she’s made and for the ice cream treat that was promised after our hard work.  

 
I’m quite certain that we did not even get half of what was there.


When I tried to go to the site to see if anything had actually uploaded, I learned that volunteers that transcribe names off stones don’t necessarily do it with cemeteries where they may have been.  Or at least in my case.  I signed up to be a transcriber – but thus far all the stones have been from Wilson Cemetery or Sunset Memorial Park – both located somewhere in Oregon.  I think Sunset might be in Coos Bay, but I’m not sure.

It’s nice to know that I can assist in somebody else’s research – even if it’s only in a small way.  I don’t enjoy research myself and as I’ve stated in several blogs, family history (beyond those I actually know and have known in this earth life) just isn’t that important to me.  But I know many who thrive on it, and I don’t mind doing the transcribing.  It kind of makes me feel like I’m doing my part.  And that’s a good thing.

I’m happy that I’ve had this opportunity.  I have enjoyed living in this area.



* I didn’t mean to desecrate any that are deceased or those related.  If anyone related to those I mentioned or pictures I posted feel offended, I will gladly remove them from this post.  Just let me know *

The Girl in the Torch: Book Review

          I really enjoyed Robert Sharenow’s “The Girl in the Torch”.  The story is about a girl named Sarah who has traveled to North America i(the United States) n early 1900’s.  

          The crime activity is high in the country where they are from.  A relative sends a postcard with the statue of liberty and Sarah's father starts setting money aside hoping that one day they will make the voyage to the promised land.

          When Sarah’s father is killed, she and her mom get on a boat by themselves and leave their country behind – hopefully never to return. 

          The Statue of Liberty is a sign of hope, and they are happy to see it. 

 

When they arrive in New York, Sarah is forced to part company with her mother who had gotten sick on the boat.  After her mother passes, the authorities tell Sarah that she has to be sent back to her native land where an uncle lives.  Sarah tells she the authorities that she has a relative in Brooklyn, but when the authorities are unable to contact the relative, they put Sarah on a boat to take her back.

As the boat pulls away and Sarah looks again upon the Statue of Liberty, she decides to jump off the boat and swim toward the statue.

The story shares Sarah’s life on Ellis Island and then in New York – where after a time a judgement is brought against her to send her back to her native country.

I really enjoyed following Sarah through her journey and the friendships that were made and the compassion that is shown in this story.  I thought it might be historical fiction, but the author makes note that not all of the facts brought up were true to the situation.

          At the conclusion of the book are his commentaries and then a time line about Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  There were some things that I had remembered reading about already, but even more that I hadn’t known.  I enjoyed reading about that as well.

It is written in third person and I think geared to 4^th to 8^th grade reading levels.  Though I’m obviously outside of that range, and I enjoyed it.

I highly recommend this book.

I Spilled the Beans Literally – and They Were Hot!

            We got up early yesterday morning to drive out to Riddle and assist our ward members in clearing weeds and cleaning head stones.  It was a really good turn out – I thought, but didn’t seem well organized as there were several of us kind of doing our own thing without specific direction.  It’s a huge job.  Two hours was not enough.

            The young women and achievement day girls will be returning on Wednesday with cameras and writing pads to record information to put on grave websites and hopefully make somebody’s family history a little more exhilarating as he or she discovers relatives who may be buried in Riddle, Oregon.

            We returned home for a while.  Roland frosted and decorated the cake that he had made on Friday night.  I made two scrapbook pages on the computer and had become quite frustrated with the slowness of the computer.  It makes AOL dial-up seem speedy.

            I put some ingredients together and put my beans in the oven to bake them.  I took them out just before we left the house to get in the car.  The beans were quite hot, and I actually burned myself when I went to set them aside while trying to get my seat belt on.  Yowsa!  I can still feel the heat.  I am certain to have a scar.

            We joined our ward family members at the pool – where first there was a barbeque dinner.  As usual, there were more desserts than anything.  I think everybody who attended may have brought more than one dish. I know we did. We enjoyed the company of a few of the adult members as the children started filing into the pool.  

            My leg ached where the beans had burned.  The heat from the sun was not helping.  After a while I went into the pool just to cool off my leg.  

            So a service project, a barbeque and pool party – first ward activity that we attended since living in Oregon.

I Found Priddy Meeks Autobiography Through Google

        My first week at the Myrtle Creek Ward was on Father’s Day.  Several members introduced themselves to me and Roland.  During Relief Society I was sitting with a sister who thrives on family history. 

        A sign up list had been passed around for an activity that would take place in a three weeks time.  The sister asked if I had pioneer ancestry and would I be willing to share something from my history.  Sure, I guess.  I do have pioneer ancestors. 

        When a received a reminder call, I realized that I didn’t have any stories.  As mentioned on previous posts, family history is not my forte – and I don’t do all that well at Church history either.  There is definitely need for improvement.

        I do remember my mom telling us about an ancestor named Priddy Meaks – though I didn’t really have any details.  I have since added his name to my ancestral files and do have more information on him than probably mom did – but still not a story. I didn’t see any stories come up on ancestry and so decided to put his name into Google to see if anything would come up that way.  I didn’t expect an excerpt from a volume (or volumes) found here. 

Sarah Meaks was his wife at the time they crossed the plains

 

So this is certainly interesting.    But it presented a new problem. I was given three to five minutes in which to tell my story.  So what story should I tell.  I’d have to read it all first.  As I have also mentioned: No matter how interesting the material,   I am a rather slow reader.  I tried skimming through words and pages until I realized it just wasn’t connecting for me. 

Priddy had written this all down when he was 85 years old.  I wonder how long he was writing.  I decided I would have to pray about finding the appropriate selection that would help benefit the results of said activity. I was blessed to be called upon first and shared a brief piece of his history.  My night blindness caused me to leave before the last sisters were through sharing their stories (I think I was actually the only one who didn’t go over) – perhaps the one behind me as well.

I would have liked to stay and offer my assistance with clean up.  I guess next time I’ll just have Roland drive me so that I can take that opportunity.

It was a really nice activity, and very well attended.  I'm grateful to the pioneers and to those who took the time to translate Priddy's words into print that it could be shared on the Internet - otherwise I wouldn't have had it to share.  I'm so happy to be here in Myrtle Creek and for the ward that I currently attend.

Instead of Complaining About What is Wrong, Be Grateful for What is Right!

Recently my brother Corey experienced a problem with his car.  Instead of complaining about it, he wrote a list of  things that he was grateful for about his situation.  He posted his list to facebook.  I tried sharing his post with my friends – though I think the only ones who might actually have an opportunity to view it are those that Corey is friends with already.  I just really like the attitude he has incorporated into his life.

He was grateful that his car had died in the parking lot and not on the crowded streets of Las Vegas.

He was grateful that the break down didn’t happen on the way to taking Joh or himself to work.
        

He was grateful to get roadside assistance through his insurance.

He was grateful that the weather was not typical of this time of year, but much cooler to wait in than the normal July heat.

Neither he nor Joh were on a schedule in which they had to be somewhere at a certain time.

Roadside assistance arrived within an hour, and because no one was parked next to him, made it easier for the technician to get to his car.

The car started!

The problem is no more serious than a bad battery cell.

Corey and Joh were able to finish whatever errands they had started as Joh’s car was working.

Coery was able to get his car into his auto dealership and drive it home the very next day.
        

Coery leaned that his warranty was only 300 miles away from expiring and did not have to pay for his battery’s replacement.

The dealership washed his car for free.

Moral: Even when bad, inconvenient, annoying things happen, there is still so much to be grateful for.

I try to apply this attitude to my own life because complaining does not solve a problem.  Hearing others complain has dampened my spirit – and yet I know I have been the complainer.  I have tried to do better and look at the bright side of whatever situation may come my way that I may make a list of things to be grateful for in a similar situation.