Manly Signal, Manly, Iowa, Thurs., April 29, 1993, p.3, Falcon Times [High school student paper]“Hilltop memorial gets attention of motorists” by Lisa Lutz
Many motorists have traveled Highway 9 from Manly to Osage and wondered about the crosses that sit on top of the hill, three and a half miles east of Manly on the south side of the road, just before crossing the Shell Rock River.  Today there are two crosses that sit on that hilltop. One is made of oak and the other is blue angle-iron.  In past years a small gravestone leaned against a wooden fence post.  The inscription on this weathered gravestone simply read, “Our Freddie,” son of C. & M. Hensel, died August 3, 1880, aged 3 months, 1 day.  These crosses reflect the passage of time, when there were many hardships.  Little Freddie’s grave was one of the many in the little known country burial ground.  The Wise Family Cemetery, named after the family who farmed the land nearby, was established before the first official cemetery was founded in Plymouth.  There was an estimated 15 people buried in the hill.  As the population of this area began to boom there was a need for improved roadways. With teams of mules and horses, the grading of Highway 9 began in 1921.  As the workers dug their way through fields they came to the knoll with plans to level the hillside.  As they dug, they came upon the little cemetery.  Perhaps the most talked about and speculated resident of the Wise Cemetery is little Freddie Hensel.  His parents were Charles and Mary Hensel.  Freddie was the first born of eight children, with four younger sisters and three brothers.  The cause of his death is not known.  Though facts are sketchy, and time has claimed many of the people who may have known something about the history of the hill, the crosses still stand in memory of the unknown.  Local residents and some passersby have laid plastic flower bouquets at the foot of each cross of those they never knew.  Hopefully I have satisfied some of the curiosity about this hill.

Northwood Anchor, Northwood, Iowa, Thurs., July 13, 1978, p.10, “Too-wet” land chosen as Grafton”
[Note: The town of Grafton was celebrating their centennial the coming  weekend.]
Grafton 1878-1978 – Then, too, there was the Wise Cemetery to the west of Shell Rock River bridge, on Highway No.9.  Only one tombstone, slightly tilted, remains, and there was the Schmidt Cemetery, located on section 27. One known burial took place there.

Manly Signal, Manly, Iowa, Thurs., May 27, 1982, p.1, “Plymouth Bohemian Cemetery Started One Hundred Years Ago This Year”
The Wise Cemetery, located on section 30, Union Township, Worth County, Iowa.  Early burials on the Wise Cemetery as listed in the St. Joseph Catholic Church records in Mason City, were Catherine Hunchis, Mrs. John Wise, Mathias Michalek – 1880, and Franz – 1880.  All that remains of that windswept cemetery on the knoll along Iowa Highway No.9, about four miles east of Manly, is one lonely tombstone, bearing the inscription, “Our Freddie,” who died in 1880.  Freddie was the three month old son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hensel, who lived in Plymouth at that time.  Three other early burials in the Wise Cemetery were Edward Cobeen, Barbara Cobeen and Katherine Cobeen.  In all, about 30 people were known to have been buried in this early cemetery.