Back in September of this year I wrote about a gate to a farm. Above this gate was the word, Friendship. On the particular day I was there the word showed starkly against the sky. The lighting and background were favorable. I was back at that place today and the conditions had changed. Now the word was barely visible. It wasn't because of an increase in the amount of vines growing upon it. The sky was rather gray and low light was the reason I think.
After my initial writing about the gate and the name friendship it slipped my mind. I had previously speculated about the significance of this. There is a small building there,painted white but bearing little resemblance to a church. I had thought perhaps it was a meeting house for the Amish or Mennonite communities in our area. That has proven to be false. It is a church after all. A Methodist Episcopal church to be exact. There is a small cemetery there as well. I saw someone enter that church today so I can only assume it is still an active church. Not wishing to intrude, I didn't enter the building or question anyone.
Across the paved highway and down about 500 feet or so there are several more tombstones. I hadn't noticed them before. They sit on a small knoll overlooking a field. The area is overgrown and untended. The headstones are quite old and several have toppled over. And so there they sit, alone and all but forgotten.
I walked over to that area to have a look. The tallest two stones once stood side by side upon a pedestal.The one marked " Father " has fallen over and lies face up on the ground. It's mate " Mother " is still standing watch over the fields. The name on these stones is Willis. They were a family and all buried together. The patriarch was Zachariah and died 15 days short of his 84th birthday. He was survived by his wife Mary.
I did a little research and was surprised to find a site on the internet about this Willis family. The graveyard was "discovered" in 1976. A lot of research was done tracing their descendants. They have all moved on from that place called Friendship. Apparently whoever did all that research is satisfied, or no longer with us as no updates have been added in quite some time. And so for me, it just added to the mystery.
Label me odd or eccentric but seeing a family plot left neglected and forgotten strikes at my heart. These were people. Living breathing people who had hopes and dreams like all of us. Who were proud of their accomplishments and prouder still of their children and grandchildren. They deserve to be remembered.
I can understand their descendant have moved away. I have no problem with that. We all have to do what we need to do. The thing that bothers me is that no one takes the time to treat this ground with the respect it deserves. Those memorials are on someones property. Some farmer comes within a few feet of them every time he plows or harvests his crops. Surely he/she could take an hour or so every once in a while to trim the grass and pull weeds. Perhaps stand the stones back up. If it were on my property I surely would.
I read the words inscribed on the stone and it says," Gathered in a good old age to the assembly of the righteous." Rest in Peace Zachariah and your good wife Mary. May you continue to enjoy her and your family in the righteous assembly.
pay no attention to the date on the pictures I don't know how to change that on the camera ! LOL
My orginal post was September !8,2011 if you care to check the archives for it.
After my initial writing about the gate and the name friendship it slipped my mind. I had previously speculated about the significance of this. There is a small building there,painted white but bearing little resemblance to a church. I had thought perhaps it was a meeting house for the Amish or Mennonite communities in our area. That has proven to be false. It is a church after all. A Methodist Episcopal church to be exact. There is a small cemetery there as well. I saw someone enter that church today so I can only assume it is still an active church. Not wishing to intrude, I didn't enter the building or question anyone.
Across the paved highway and down about 500 feet or so there are several more tombstones. I hadn't noticed them before. They sit on a small knoll overlooking a field. The area is overgrown and untended. The headstones are quite old and several have toppled over. And so there they sit, alone and all but forgotten.
I walked over to that area to have a look. The tallest two stones once stood side by side upon a pedestal.The one marked " Father " has fallen over and lies face up on the ground. It's mate " Mother " is still standing watch over the fields. The name on these stones is Willis. They were a family and all buried together. The patriarch was Zachariah and died 15 days short of his 84th birthday. He was survived by his wife Mary.
I did a little research and was surprised to find a site on the internet about this Willis family. The graveyard was "discovered" in 1976. A lot of research was done tracing their descendants. They have all moved on from that place called Friendship. Apparently whoever did all that research is satisfied, or no longer with us as no updates have been added in quite some time. And so for me, it just added to the mystery.
Label me odd or eccentric but seeing a family plot left neglected and forgotten strikes at my heart. These were people. Living breathing people who had hopes and dreams like all of us. Who were proud of their accomplishments and prouder still of their children and grandchildren. They deserve to be remembered.
I can understand their descendant have moved away. I have no problem with that. We all have to do what we need to do. The thing that bothers me is that no one takes the time to treat this ground with the respect it deserves. Those memorials are on someones property. Some farmer comes within a few feet of them every time he plows or harvests his crops. Surely he/she could take an hour or so every once in a while to trim the grass and pull weeds. Perhaps stand the stones back up. If it were on my property I surely would.
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| Zachariah |
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| The family Plot |
pay no attention to the date on the pictures I don't know how to change that on the camera ! LOL
My orginal post was September !8,2011 if you care to check the archives for it.
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