Happy Days

We are officially back working San Jose de Armijo Cemetery.  Everyone is happy to be back outside, enjoying the cool mornings and clear blue skies.  The mornings are so beautiful and we enjoy the fresh air and crisp temperatures.  It isn't TOO cold yet, so it is still 'fun' to be working.  We'll see how long that lasts when the temperature falls from the 60 degrees this morning to 40 degrees in the future! 

The only problem is the way this cemetery is laid out.  It is absolutely crazy!  There are no definite rows, so writing down the headstones in an orderly manner is almost impossible.  When we started at this cemetery, as always, I mapped out the grounds into sections.  We take each section and work row by row, starting with row one through the end.  But some of the sections in this cemetery are helter skelter, not in a straight line (not even in a semi-straight line) and sometimes you can't even figure out where the next grave is. 

We worked section 20 today - all of us!  We had to just leap frog over each other doing one row at a time.  There was alot of "did you get this grave?", "isn't this one in your row?", "where does this cross belong?"  Heavens knows if we got most of the markers written down, but as crazy as the section is, I'll be grateful if we got 80% of them.  And of course this is the section that holds the oldest burials and was the first section used.  There is history here!

After an hour and a half of trying to read old cement markers, digging out headstones buried in sand, markers covered with ten (or more) plastic flower arrangements, hand painted rocks, and worse, we are all exhausted!  But we feel that we have accomplished our goal - preserving history and writing down things that will soon be lost to weather and time.

This last picture is the entrance to this wonderful Spanish cemetery where traditions are strong and families are proud of the grounds.  Someone(s) did this wall painting and it is beautiful.  I hope it lasts for many years honoring the dead.

Favorites!

Ah, my favorite time of the year.  Nope, it's not that it is Dixon Apple time, after all they were sold out in three days and we didn't get any.  Nor is it the beautiful Balloon Fiesta, even though we rarely go.  Most years many of the balloons come right over our house in Corrales - even land in the corn fields right next to our house.  This year no balloon came even close!  And it isn't even the beautiful Sandhill Cranes and Canadian Geese that fly over our house by the hundreds every morning, squaking and honking before then land to graze in the cornfields.

Nope - it is my favorite time because it is Fall and the hot weather has left the scene.   Wonderfully cool mornings mean one thing - the Tombstone 'bees' will be returning to the cemetery grounds.  HOORAY!!

All of us love getting back out into the field, so to speak, and completing another cemetery.  It is kind of strange the joy that it brings to all of us to get all those names down.  But we all understand the wonderful history we have created in documenting a particular cemetery.  After it is uploaded to the internet, the information is there forever.  For anyone in the whole world to find their friends and relatives. 

Yes, that is why this is my favorite time of year, why everyone is happy to go back outside, and why we do this job.  Year after year, happily creating history.  Thank you, all you 'bees'.

Eagles Soar

Once or twice a year, I am contacted by Boy Scouts who are looking for a project to complete their work for the Eagle Scout ranking.  Sometimes there are cemeteries to clean, headstones to set or weeds and tumbleweeds to be removed.  This year brought me Logan Pickett, a young man eager to complete his service project and move forward to Eagle Scout.  He wanted to tackle a cemetery because he saw the importance of Tombstone Transcription.  Luckily I had a cemetery in Rio Rancho that needed to be re-walked and it would be perfect for his project.

Logan is a senior at Cibola High School, the son of Glen and Linda Pickett.  He has been a Boy Scout for five years but always wanted to be an Eagle Scout.  This was his final step.

We met several times as I explained and laid out the project.  He organized everyone that would need to work with him and we had a training meeting on Wednesday, August 25.  There were about 25 people who attended and quickly caught on to the process.  We went directly to Vista Verde Cemetery after the training and started work.  Even my grandson, Gregory - also a Boy Scout - came to help.  Logan did an excellent job in pairing people up and getting them into the correct sections.  It was a hot evening but all the scouts, parents and volunteers worked for two plus hours without complaint. 

About 2/3 of the needed re-walk was completed Wednesday night and Logan and a few other scouts returned on Thursday after school and finished.  Then Logan took all the papers and notebooks home to organize the information.  By September 15 he was ready to begin the computer entry part of the project.  After a brief training on databases, he was on his way to finishing up.  On September 28 Logan submitted the final database with all the changes to data and additions with new names and dates.

Logan did an excellent job in completing this project.  It took dedication and perseverance to handle all the data, papers, people and questions.  He had to stay organized and focused, which he did quite well!  Everyone I met in regards to this project was energetic and eager to help.  There were never any complaints or hesitation to jumping in and helping. 

Thank you Logan, your parents and your scout leader, for taking on this project, which ultimately helps everyone around the world searching for a relative.  You have done a terrific job and I am honored to have helped you.