CLINTON CEMETERY

TOO MANY TO LIST

Posted By: Nancee Seifert (email)
Date: 10/13/2014 at 09:02:26

MY TRIP TO CLINTON CEMETERY - LONG CREEK TOWNSHIP..

I set out this morning to find Clinton Cemetery, which is not far from Van
Wert, Iowa -- using the Long Creek Township map from the web site and very
detailed directions from Dean Houck. He said to look for a vacant
house/barn, etc. and that the cemetery is north of the house on a hill..

Well, I looked for 'No Trespassing' signs and there were NONE. So, I
climbed over the gate and started walking; there are several hills in that
area and I wasn't sure which one to head for, so I did a little walking (in
knee high grass) and about 3/4 of a mile from the homestead, there it was
way up on top of the hill. It isn't visible until you get right up close to
it. It is completely unkempt and what stones there were (about 12) were
leaned up against trees.. These trees are (I believe) castor bean, with
thorns all over the branches and many had fallen on the ground, making it
interesting to navigate...
Since this little old cemetery is all tall grass, tree branches and weeds -
it is a bit heart breaking..

I'm pretending/hoping that the three leafed vine growing up the trunks of
the trees, is grapevine instead of poison ivy -- YEAH SURE... As many times
as I've had poison ivy and oak, and they were really bad cases, you'd think
I'd be immune to the stuff... We'll see...

It was interesting to note that there had been a sweet corn patch planted
not far from the cemetery - up over the hill where nobody could see it.....I
didn't see any other "plants of interest" coming up in the rows - but I'm
sure it was probably a 'pot' field.. as there are a lot of them around
Decatur Co. Of course, the deer would have the corn eaten right off the
bat!!

I had a vision of this little cemetery being cleaned up and mowed with a
nice wire fence around it and all the stones set in one bed of concrete with
a sign for the cemetery, with some history. There are probably stones down
in the dirt under all that grass - to forever go unnoticed..

So, I headed back toward the car and noticed that there had been at one time
a road going up to the cemetery, but it looked like it had been cut off
close to the house.. You would have to go around the house to get up there
now. After a quick 'strip search' (since I was parked on the road) for
ticks -- which I found in my socks, etc. -- 7 so far.. I headed for Van Wert
Cemetery.

I'll be posting the pictures on the Iowa Gravestone Project site for you to
see. Also, check the map at http://www.iagenweb.org/decatur/map.html and
click on Long Creek Township to see where this cemetery is located..
Nancee