September 11, 2001 Forever in our Hearts

We shall never forget
We shall keep this day,
We shall keep the events and the tears
In our minds, our memory and our hearts
and take them with us as we carry on.

"Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)"

by Alan Jackson

Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?
Were you in the yard with your wife and children
Or working on some stage in L.A.?
Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke
Risin' against that blue sky?
Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry?

Did you weep for the children who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don't know?
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below?
Did you burst out in pride for the red, white and blue
And the heroes who died just doin' what they do?
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself and what really matters?

[Chorus:]
I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell
you the difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love

Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?
Were you teaching a class full of innocent children
Or driving down some cold interstate?
Did you feel guilty 'cause you're a survivor
In a crowded room did you feel alone?
Did you call up your mother and tell her you loved her?
Did you dust off that Bible at home?

Did you open your eyes, hope it never happened
Close your eyes and not go to sleep?
Did you notice the sunset the first time in ages
Or speak to some stranger on the street?
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow
Or go out and buy you a gun?
Did you turn off that violent old movie you're watchin'
And turn on "I Love Lucy" reruns?

Did you go to a church and hold hands with some strangers
Did you stand in line and give your own blood?
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family
Thank God you had somebody to love?

A Decade of Hard Work by Dedicated Volunteers

Negra Cemetery, Torrance County, NM

On September 12, 2011 we are 10 years old.  I don't know if I feel 10 years young(er) or 10 years old(er).  But ten years has brought great happiness to me as well as a sense of great accomplishment in New Mexico.

In March of 2001, my best friend Danielle Sengel and I decided to walk and record the beautiful Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Albuquerque.  It was so pleasant meeting in the mornings and plotting out the cemetery.  We quickly wrote down every stone in that cemetery.  And the people in the office at the cemetery were so gracious to us with their time and information that we felt we had done something well worth while.  A special 'hats off' to Rosina (manager) and Reno (ground crew) for their help and education.

But when we were finished, I knew there was more - you know "the rest of the story" or sequels.  We had several other cemeteries in the city and I just had to do them too!  The next one I wanted to work on was Mount Calvary, sister cemetery of Gate of Heaven.  It was also one of the Santa Fe Catholic Archdiocese cemeteries but much older than Gate of Heaven.  I was eager to begin....Danielle wasn't so sure.  Just about that time, the Albuquerque Journal newspaper contacted me and wanted to do a story on what I was trying to accomplish.  When the reporter talked with me, he suggested getting other people involved and forming a group.

I did have another life besides being in a cemetery every day so I decided to go ahead and try to get a group together.  Little did I know that there are MANY people very interested in being in cemeteries!  From the newspaper article I got many phone calls about the work, eagerly volunteering to join me!  In August I started putting together a group and set the first training session for September 12, 2001.  But on September 11, every American's heart was broken and our earth moved beneath us.  I questioned going on with this project, but a very kind lady called me and said she wanted to come anyway!  So on September 13 I held the first training session at a local library.  I think 12 people came to it, all eager to make a difference somehow in this crazy world.

Two weeks later I had another training session and another 15 people came to it.  It was at this session that Betty Lamberti came into my life.  She has stuck with this group from day one.  Dedicated and a hard worker!  By the first of October, a committed and trained group of 20 people were ready to write their hearts out.  Our first meeting was at Mt. Calvary and we all worked through the various problems we encountered both on the grounds and tombstones.  Oh, so many different ways to write a tombstone!  Another big thank you to the office staff of Mt. Calvary, especially Mr. Baca and Anna Cantwell who gave us tremendous support. 

It was right after this first group meeting that a gentleman called me and said he had been out of town and couldn't make either of the training sessions.  Would it be possible for him to still join us?  This is how I came to know Al "Wink" Winkeljohn.  I don't know if we would be as far along as we are today without Wink.  Since 2006 he has almost single handed found over 800 cemeteries in the state.  He has patiently located them, verified them, wrote directions and got GPS listings for them.  And he has another life too!  

Through the years, we have walked most of the cemeteries in Albuquerque (Gate of Heaven, Mt. Calvary, Fairview, Sunset, Sanchez/Romero, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Alameda/San Carlos, San Francisco, San Jose de Armijo, Los Padillas, Pajarito, Sandia Memory Gardens.  We've branched out to Torrance, Santa Fe, Sandoval and Socorro counties. 

In the Sandia Mountain area, we walked Carnuel/Santo Nino Cemetery, San Antonito, San Antonio de Padua, Golden, Tijeras, Saint Francis of Assisi at Golden.  Another of my very early volunteers was Sally Goehring.  She and Wink walked Chilil/St John Nepomunceno Cemetery, Canoncito, Cerro/Cedro, and Juan Tomas.

This group has never had any funding nor outside support and we are not a 501c(3) organization.  A few of my volunteers travel around the state and they kindly look out for cemeteries.  Many take pictures or verify the location of these far out sites.  But it is Wink who travels great miles, without being paid, just to find and verify a cemetery.  Last week he and his sister traveled to Dixon to find four cemeteries that had eluded us over the years.  Now we have pictures, GPS, names of the cemeteries and a feeling of accomplishment.  I try to find cemeteries in Quay and McKinley county. Anyone who knows this state knows how deserted and barren it is.  Most of the states cemeteries are on lonely dirt roads, miles from civilization, hot and dusty.   But truthfully, whenever Wink or Rich and I are travelling up/down a highway, our minds are always thinking, "what cemetery is near here - I need to stop there!" 

Through ten years of joy, hard work, friendships, trials, supportive friends and love, I take my hat off to these volunteers:
Danielle Sengel, Sally Goehring, Anne Hayward, Linda Hobart, Robin Hoffman, Herb and Sharon Palm, Sue Greene, Karen Twohig, Carolyn McMillan, Linda Ingram, Linda Sprague, Shirley Ash, Anthony Lohr-Valdez, Ruth Apodaca, Veronica Mercer, Connie Sirman, Betty Jo Minshall.  Whether you were with us for 3 months or a year, thank you. 

And to my dearest friends that have been with me for years, a huge bow, salute and heart-felt thanks to:
Al "Wink" Winkeljohn, Betty Lamberti, Gloria Henderson, Barb Borowy, Diane Bloom, Sharon Serrano, Marion "Lee" Miller.  You all have a special place of honor in heaven and history.  And a special thanks and hug to my husband who joined us in 2008 after he retired.  Rich has always supported me and this group.  Now he knows just what we've been up to all these years!


New Mexico Tombstone hours worked:
(I did not keep hours for the first 2 years, but we wrote over 10,000 graves)
2003 - 460 hours
2004 - 507 hours
2005 - 655 hours
2006 - 527 hours
2007 - 303 hours
2008 - 459 hours
2009 - 418 hours
2010 - 442 hours
2011 (so far) - 320 hours

We have found and verified 1,832 cemeteries in 33 counties, and have approximately 238,000 individual graves logged.  And we are no where near the end!  So many books, records, death certificates, obituaries yet to write!!

Encino Cemetery, Torrance County, NM

Gate of Heaven, Albuquerque, NM

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GATE OF HEAVEN CEMETERY

Wyoming N.E. at Paseo del Norte N.E.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

505-821-0800

 

                                                            GPS 35.17309, 106.56271

 

This was the very first cemetery that I walked and registered.  My friend Danielle Sengel helped me get the Tombstone Transcription project off the ground.  We worked early mornings for about two months mapping out the grounds and then walking and writing down every headstone we found.  This information was later typed up and submitted to the internet.

This cemetery is beautiful in that there are many trees, lush green grass, a beautiful mausoleum and wonderful people in the office willing to help us.  Gate of Heaven is a Catholic cemetery, under the guidance of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and is the sister cemetery of Mount Calvary (downtown Albuquerque).  You do not need to be Catholic to be buried here. 

The Tombstone Transcription group comes back to this cemetery about every 3 years,

most recently 2011.  We have logged 8,842 names. 

 My father, John Junior Ralf (1921-2006), is enniched in the Mausoleum.

 Gate of Heaven sections:

• St. Michael
• St. Peter
• St. Gabriel
• Garden of the Resurrection
• Garden of the Holy Family
• Garden of the Ascension
• Garden of the Nativity
• Garden of the Holy Cross
• Sacred Heart
• Mausoleum
• Garden Crypts
• Mausoleum Patio