Willow Grove is a busy place this weekend, as friends and family visit to remember those, who rest inside these gates for eternity. The staff have mowed the acres of grass and trimmed around all the tombstones. The cemetery is well maintained all year long, but it seems an extra effort is made to ensure it appears at its very best for this special day. Some years the weather impedes their efforts, but a sunny, clear, dry week aided them for this season.
The streets are busy, cars drive past, some with "16" license plates and others from Casper, Sheridan, and even a few are from out of state. One of the staff is at the entrance , map in hand and giving directions to a new visitor.
Visiting cemeteries is a family tradition for me. As a child, my family made monthly trips to the nearby cemeteries in Iowa. My Mother would pack a picnic lunch and it was loaded in the car along with our push lawn mower and the grass clippers, as well as flowers from our yard. In those years before "perpetual care",
my Father saw to it that the family grave sites were mowed and trimmed and kept in good order all summer. We were seldom alone , as others families were present caring for their plots. So there was a chance to share a visit with relatives and/or friends. Family stories were told and retold, the good times and the sad and difficult times were discussed and shared. Putting death in perspective, for the adults, but even more importantly putting it in perspective for the children. Yes, there was sadness! But, there was also solace and peace and laughter.
My husband and I spent Saturday morning at Willow Grove. We care for several plots there, we clean the stones and place flowers. We say a silent prayer and for a few minutes in the quiet solitude we think of our friends and the good times we shared. And we think of the cemeteries so far away, where many of our family lie in peace and we add a prayer for them as well. Hopefully someone is caring for those plots, as we care for these. A tree we planted near our plot has not survived the winter, so plans are made to have it removed and a replacement is discussed. We purchased "our" headstone and had it installed several years ago. One less thing for our son to have to deal with.
We have been asked to provide photographs of a group of stones. We locate the family plot and my husband has his digital camera, so takes pictures of the 8 stones. Three generations buried side by side. The death dates range from 1910 to the mid 1940s and today they all have fresh flowers! Someone has been here and remembers! We will forward the images to a woman in Florida, to add to her family history. We will tell her about this beautiful cemetery with its. breath taking view of the Big Horn Mountains. We will tell her how well maintained it is all year round, and of the animals who inhabit it daily, deer, antelope, wild turkeys, rock chucks, and rabbits. And we will tell her of the fresh flowers at each stone.
Champion and Ray, the casualties of the Invasion in 1892 are buried here. Someone puts fresh flowers are at their graves each year.
The local Historical Society purchases small arrangements for the few graves at POTTERS FIELD. Connie Norton and I have assumed the responsibility of seeing them placed each May. This year they are a cheery bright red. We have printed up information sheets about the one woman, one child, and the few men buried here, as well as some information about the area. These are laminated and then stapled to the gate post, so visitors may understand this space outside the boundaries of the cemetery. It is fenced and the graves have small markers. These burials all in the early 1900s, show the community's respect and concern for these fellow citizens.
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