OurBrownCounty 20Nov-Dec | Seite 27

Peaceful Valley Heritage & Preservation

cemetery committee, a Department of Natural Resources sign was installed in July 2019.
The Peaceful Valley Heritage and Preservation turned to other cemeteries in the county to preserve. They learned that according to state ordinance, township trustees are legally responsible for the perpetual care of the graveyards if not on private property. Vivian Wolff has put her wordsmithing talent and energy to writing grants, thus securing funds to restore headstones. A small stone requires $ 350 for Stonehugger, Inc. to do this precise and specialized work. Volunteers devoted to cemetery restoration meet on the first Saturday of the month.
In this season between All Souls’ and Thanksgiving, a weekend ride in Brown County’ s back roads can provide unexpected stops at Brown County cemeteries. Dates on stones give testament to war veterans, those who perished in the flu epidemic of 1918, young lives that were claimed by childhood illnesses, and young women who did not survive childbirth. The careful preservation of graveyards give us an opportunity and place of quiet assurance that others have faced similar health calamities to this generation’ s corona virus epidemic.
Headstones carved by Henry Cross can also be located and photographed. Stone carver and farmer, Henry Cross, born on August 1, 1821. He moved to Brown County and married Mary Clark on October 12, 1845. Along with
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Bird Snider and his crew restoring the old log jail.
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