759.42 Municipal corporation or township may transfer cemetery property to cemetery association.

" Communication Breakdown" as my hero Robert Plant sang is quite fitting. Three sides to the story, I would suggest we move on and try to support these folks and make a difference. I think I can speak for Ms. Moon that this is what she wants. Armbrusters only want the best for this city and more than not they have given for decades to volun. groups to make this town a better place to live.

We all know who should be taking care of this cemetery and IMO to create a board with no budget is insane but council allowed this to happen. Since I don't see this board going away anytime soon or a huge gathering of taxpayers showing up at the next council meeting to protest this move all I can do is try and support those folks who are involved. Now to focus on the IMO bigger problem you don't have to look very far, a city manager who can't make a decision or utilize a city staff to handle this, which by the way I feel the down line city folks can do.

I would like to thank Armbrusters for donating flowers again this year for the cemetery entry.

"To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.
For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors
by the records of history."           
 Cicero
 Roman Statesman, Author, Philosopher

Over the years I have been asked numerous times why I’m so passionate about history and the restoration of the old Middletown Cemetery. The above quote always comes to mind.

As conscientious members of society it is our responsibility to care for these burial sites of our respected dead. Benjamin Franklin said, “Show me your burial grounds and I’ll show you a measure of the civility of a community.” Accepting this responsibility we help to preserve a resource that will benefit not only us but future generations.

Historic cemeteries are important cultural, architectural and archaeological resources. They provide us with information on our community’s history. Often a cemetery is the only remnant left from early settlements and as such is a vital link with the past. They are an invaluable educational tool whether we seek to research genealogy, educate our youth or delve into local history. They provide quiet places to commemorate the deceased, whether it be of a most personal nature, or on a local, regional, or even national scale. Originally located in agricultural areas that are now becoming more urbanized, early cemeteries can provide a place for quiet reflection and solitude and much needed open space. Buildings, fencing and other ancillary features are artifacts that demonstrate historic stylistic trends and construction methods.

These important places may provide us with some of the earliest written local history. Headstones reveal names and dates for locally significant persons. They offer glimpses into local illness and epidemics and tell of a community’s sacrifices in our nation’s wars. The same headstones provide us with samples of local folk art and, particularly after the Civil War, reflect a substantial amount of popular cultural standardization of monument forms and motifs. They were transmitted through such sources as design books and catalogs.

The Middletown Cemetery is the "Time Capsule" of our community and it is our responsibility to protect, preserve, and restore it for future generations.

I’m pleased to announce that the Middletown Cemetery Board will vote on the vendor to restore the tombstones in Sections 3 and 4 at the cemetery on Wednesday evening. These are the oldest section just as you go through the gates on the right and left sides.

I will assure you that John Walters is the most qualified man for this project. Visit his web page at http://www.graveyardgroomer.com/ - http://www.graveyardgroomer.com .

Over the summer I hope you will visit the cemetery and watch John work his magic on the old tombstones. I will post the dates later.

Again I would like to thank the Middletown Community Foundation for their continued support of this project.

These clowns in the City building need to pack up and leave,what idiots

Attention Kmart shoppers,we need a few good Men and or Women to please run for Council that have some common sense and can provide some leadership.

So...City Hall is happy to shell out several thousand bucks to demo perfectly good standard street lights on S. Main Street and replace them with faux olde tyme gas lights, but they can't spare $1,700 for an electronic gate for HISTORIC Pioneer Cemetery???

Viscount Valmont

It is the families of those buried at the Middletown Cemetery that have called and complained about the condition year after year and the nothing was ever corrected.

Viscount, it is not up to the family members to solve the problems of the cemetery it is the City since the law clearly states that it is their responsibility and what needs to be done at the cemetery. At the last meeting I attended I stated that tombstones had been removed from the graves and needed to be replaced.  You didn’t seem to think this was a serious problem that needed any action. It is against the law to deface or move a tombstone from a grave…period….and to add to this problem….these tombstones have been off the graves for at least 15 years. I have requested every year for 6 years that this problem be solved. Soooo please tell me what a reasonable amount of time should be for the city to place these stones back on the gravesites.

So once again I will tell you that the Middletown Cemetery is not in compliance with ORC 4767.06

So do you think it is ok to put the stones back in the cemetery on the ground so that they can be mowed over and grown over where they may never be found?  I know that the stones were removed from the cemetery vault.  At this point in my opinion the stones are in a place where they will not be destroyed any further and will be placed back on the graves that they belong on.  The cemetery board was created so that it might help get things done for the cemetery that the City of Middletown honestly does not want to take care of.   So if everyone would please let the Board  do the work that they were charged to do maybe they can get the cemetery back to what Vivian refers to as ORC4767.06.

Vivian Moon wrote: Viscount Valmont It is the families of those buried at the Middletown Cemetery that have called and complained about the condition year after year and the nothing was ever corrected. Viscount, it is not up to the family members to solve the problems of the cemetery it is the City since the law clearly states that it is their responsibility and what needs to be done at the cemetery. At the last meeting I attended I stated that tombstones had been removed from the graves and needed to be replaced.  You didn’t seem to think this was a serious problem that needed any action. It is against the law to deface or move a tombstone from a grave…period….and to add to this problem….these tombstones have been off the graves for at least 15 years. I have requested every year for 6 years that this problem be solved. Soooo please tell me what a reasonable amount of time should be for the city to place these stones back on the gravesites. So once again I will tell you that the Middletown Cemetery is not in compliance with ORC 4767.06

It would be only your interpretation of all that I have said and done to come to those conclusions. I was merely thanking a concerned descendant. I did not charge them with solutions. I meant that it is ultimately their WISHES about what SHOULD be done that will be the voice of how the cemetery is treated now that we have a board to represent them. As after all, unless there is enough people willing to come out to fight SOLELY for the historical aspect of the cemetery, it is family members that will be among the most important of citizens involved. And note, they are part of why the board was created. So while it took quite a long time, the complaints of family members have started to, at last, be heard. And again, you have misinterpreted my words at the meeting. I told you directly that I thought it was a serious problem, but that things must be done in a proper order. There is no reason to go about doing things now, only to have them be re-done at a later date, causing two sets of bills to pile up in the process. You as well as I know, there is only so much money. And I am not the one approving it. I am the one trying to attain it. We as a board, are right now at this very time, coming to our top decision at hand: who the Tombstone job will be done by. The vault is number two, only because the money involved- grants, etc... must be waited on in order to complete. But to lump me in with the process that has put this cemetery where it is today is a mistake. I am doing my best to make sure it actually gets brought back to code, not torn down and flattened, and furthermore, to gain higher status in a larger registry as a historical site. I value law, history, and family in this matter. But there is only so much as one board member I can get done on my own. I must work with four other members, and seek to get compliance from them. There is no railroading action I can use to push anything through. I apologize at your dissatisfaction, whether with me, or the board in its entirety. But I care about the cemetery, and the laws governing it.

Summerrain stated " Ms Moon was telling the City how to do their job"   Honest to god if you were running this city or any of the departments would you really want someone that is volunteering to come and tell you how to do your job or run your business??  I don't think so.  Let the Cemetery Board do their job and stop complaining about it.

Well Summerrain I think you need to investigate this matter further.
I did not at any time make any unreasonable requests of any City employees. I did send photos to the public works department concerning downed trees, fences and groundhog holes and any other hazards that I found in the cemetery.
You might want to ask the City why the employees lied about the damage that was done at the cemetery by Ike. It was clearly not the job of a volunteer to meet and correspond with FEMA over a 30 day period to correct the problems at the cemetery.

LMAO  sorry to hear that for sure and thank you for stepping up.

MiddletownScouter

    That is a great plan with sooo much common sense…..however…..I have been told the MPD will not open or close the gates because of union rules and the union for the Public Works said it is not part of their job description.
    Since the City knows this is a high risk, high crime area you would think they should be the ones to check the cemetery before the gates are locked.

    Please remember that in 2005 when the MPD made the security recommendation for the cemetery to the City they stated that all the fences needed to be fully repaired, all the fence lines needed to be cleared and thorny bushes needed to be planted in the problem areas and lock the gates.

LAMO
I was at the cemetery about an hour ago and the traps have been removed from the roof of the vault.  It also looks like they have removed part of the vent that was in the center of the roof for some reason.

Ground Swat
I ain’t got a clue about who’s in charge of anything.

Potential liability to the City…..