Documenting the Past with Pictures - Elmwood/St.Joseph Cem.

KINGSTON

Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 6/14/2012 at 00:18:14

kimt-3-TV
June 13, 2012, by Shane Delaney

Documenting the Past with Pictures

MASON CITY, Iowa - Getting your family photo taken doesn't sound too unusual but getting that photo taken after you've passed on is somewhat unique.

One north Iowa woman is doing what she can to document the past, through gravestones.

Christine Kingston, who works at KIMT, has photographed and documented gravestones at Elmwood - St. Joseph Cemetery in Mason City. She says it's all for the love of genealogy and reconnecting loved ones.

“I've taken a picture of every stone in the cemetery,” Kingston said.

Kingston has been photographing head stones for the past four years.

“I just noticed…some of the stones are older and they're starting to decay and the etchings are wearing down and they needed to be documented,” Kingston said.

Kingston started her hobby of genealogy in 1997 and even with two kids and a full time job, she still finds time for her passion.

“I've had a few people that have stopped and asked for help finding someone because it looked like I belong out here I guess,” Kingston said.

Once the pictures are taken they're uploaded to FindAGrave.com where people from around the world can find their loved ones and see their final resting place.

“We've had them from all over the United States and even in Europe,” said Randy Opheim, cemetery manager.

Opheim says with more than 19,000 graves at Elmwood - St. Joseph, the demand for people wanting to know more about their ancestors has grown in popularity.

“They still want to come and see in person the grave site and feel the stones and learn more about them,” Opheim said.

So that's why Kingston keeps snapping photos.

“Some people think I'm crazy, if they're a fellow genealogist they think it's great they'll say, ‘Oh I've always thought about doing that but never found the time,’” Kingston said.

Working to connect the past to the present.

“It makes you appreciate what you have now that we're lucky to live in the time that we live,” Kingston said.

The site where Kingston posts her photos, FindAGrave.com, is free to join. It currently has more than 81 million graves recorded and documented on the site.

Kingston says once her project of Elmwood - St. Joseph is complete she'll provide the cemetery and Mason City Library with copies of the records and photos.

Submission by LaVern Velau, June of 2012