Marker Cemetery Restoration
Marker Cemetery Restoration
A Work in Progress
Summit.
At the top. This little family cemetery literally feels like it's at the
top of the world. These photos, taken in Fall, 1999, document the
neglect that dominated this cemetery. This photo actually looks down
on the Center Lutheran Church, near Rockdale Road in Summit Township, Somerset
County, PA
The Cemetery was not fenced in from the adjacent
field, and horses, sheep, and cattle roamed at will, with the resulting
toppling of stones. At the base of this tree was actually a cow or
horse carcass.
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The groundhog
holes in this cemetery were so deep you almost expected to see old Adam
looking up at you. The underbrush was also taking over. This cemetery
was documented in the 1930's by the WPA, and recently transcribed by a
Burkholder family historian. Click
here.
March 2000
A local friend of little cemeteries, "Junior" Snyder, was contacted to
pique his interest, and ask for his assistance. He's done several
of these cemeteries already, so obviously he was a first choice.
The early Pennsylvania spring got him up to the top of the world to begin
work. First, brush was cut, carcasses cleaned away, and locust
posts planted for fencing. Top soil was donated to fill in the holes,
and new fence was purchased.
A number of stones have been sheared off, and need repaired by a stone
cutter. The fence is not up yet, the topsoil still needs hauled,
and grass needs planted. Adam Marker's great-grandson, Oscar will
be hauling the topsoil.
You can still see Center
Church in the backround, but the Marker Cemetery itself looks a lot more
under control. Let's see what April brings...
April 2000 brings completion. Lloyd did the manual labor, and
obtained a donation of top soil, a family member to haul it, and did the
fencing and seeding himself. The cemetery is now orderly, and cared
for. Note Center Church still in the backround.
This stone, of John Schadt, was one of several repaired.
Please thank Floyd, an
Adam descendant, for soliciting financial contributions for this undertaking.
For questions on this page, contact Linda
For questions on Schad family history, contact Betty
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