I have found a new passion in my life. As I have mentioned I have been spending a lot of time in the woods, walking around and searching for whatever might be out there. I love finding evidence of what man has built. To me, this is real history. It is awesome to see what or ancestors built, whether it be in this century or ten centuries ago. But every once in awhile I come across something that brings some sadness.
When searching for areas to explore I use a variety of tools. One of these is Google Earth. When I look at a wooded area, I try to find old stone walls, structures, roads, etc. Many times I will look at areas that are already known to me. This was the case on this recent trip. I have hiked this section of woods from a couple of different angles. The satellite image shows me there is possibly an old road and some stone walls behind an existing cemetery. I would need to go through this to get to the wooded area. When I came to the back wall of the graveyard, I saw what is pictured above. Another smaller, graveyard.
This an old Roman-Catholic cemetery for what was a primarily French-Canadian parish.
There were about 15 graves here, although it is possible there were more. There were several unmarked flat stones placed in the area.
There are two things that brought sadness to me during this trip. The first is these graves seem to be forgotten. Only one had any type of recent decoration on it.
Most of the souls have been interred here for at least 100 years. I have to wonder who even remembers these people. Do any of their living relatives even know they are here? Is this the fate of us all?
But even sadder is how this section of the cemetery has been neglected. The rest of the graveyard is well maintained. There are signs of people visiting their loved ones. The grass is mowed, fallen branches are cleared. Why not this section?
Who were these people? Why have they been separated from the rest? Why has no one cared for these plots? I will be doing some more research on this and will report what I find.
In the meantime, remember those who have passed from this world. Don’t let them be forgotten
