There are two old family cemeteries on the dirt road where the hunting camp is. They are about 1/3 mile apart. It is sadly shocking to read the names and ages of so many children and babies who died in these forgotten communities… truly sad.

Conversely, it is equally surprising to read the ages of these pioneer farmers, some aged into their 90’s. Why did the babies die yet their parents and grandparents live so long?




.

The luck of individuals, or lack thereof, always puzzles me, too, but I always try to show reverence (as Dean and Chris clearly do) when I come upon these vestiges of the past. Will any of us leave a sign of our existence I wonder.

I sure hope so... that's why I write.





.

...old family cemeteries are numerous here in SC. I stop and read the headstones. What stories they tell! Many are bordered by large brick or stone walls and Hurricane Helene was not kind to them. The ones I find don't seem to get much maintenance. I suspect that they too will melt into the ground in the years to come.

Here's the most neglected of the two cemeteries I mentioned. the ground rises on each little plot and falls between them. I have no idea who's responsibility it is to maintain them...
This is the Shattuck Cemetery not far from where the old homestead stood. even the fieldstone foundation is mostly below ground now, thanks to loggers, but there are still a couple of lilac there by the cellar hole. Half of the headstones and small markers here are for the little children.

Oh, by the way, there's great deer, grouse and woodcock hunting all around this spot.


.

I was over in your "neck of the woods" yesterday traveling between Evans and Modoc for the first time since Helene, Chris. The timber devastation on some of those hillsides near the lake is staggering. I can imagine many old family cemeteries took a beating.

Dean inspired me to get some photographs of local cemeteries. I will have to work on that. Yes we had areas hit hard. It was sporadic. Although any land sitting high seemed to get it worse. Was in Augusta this morning and there are still neighborhoods where wires are down and reconstruction/repairs have not yet begun. None as bad as north of us however. Occaisionally I'm down in Burke County. Happy to buy you lunch some day!

In this vein, here are a few pics you might enjoy, the first is an old truck we found near Eastland Utah while deer hunting, the second is an old Colt that a friend in Monticello Utah found while plowing a wheat field on his ranch. The third is “Newspaper Rock” near Monticello. Probably carved by the Navajos. I picked this panel because it includes an elk. They are still there, numerous 400in bulls are shot each year!

A few lines from “A Year In The Maine Woods” in reference to the lost or forgotten family cemeteries of a hundred or more years ago.

The author mentions Houghton Brook… Houghton Brook runs merrily through my favorite Vermont hunting covers. I know this because he also mentions Anthony’s Diner in St. Johnsbury, a place I’ve often eaten breakfast.

.

Add to the abandoned vehicle stories this car near a phenomenal grouse covert. I suspect some members here might have even walked by this gem in the north country of NH. What is interesting is that it is nowhere near a paved road. It sits at least a quarter mile from the nearest forest road which is a good 12 miles from the nearest paved road. Would love to know the story behind it. Over the years it has slowly melted into the ground and provided shelter for critters. Did she break down and become abandoned? Stolen? Impatient logger's transportation? Young lovers out on a warm summer evening and ran out of gas??