Sad Sight

One of the things I can't help noticing while walking around Oak Hill is the sad sight of broken headstones and toppled monuments. I'm not even going to mention those stones and monuments that are so weathered or covered with moss and lichens that they have become unreadable.

People on my tours often assume that broken and toppled stones are the result of vandalism or damage by mowers, and while malicious or careless damage does occasionally happen, most of the causes are natural.  Here in Wisconsin, with annual freezing and thawing cycles, headstones shift a bit every year.  Blame part of the problem on winter.  Then there are those shady mature oak, hickory, maple trees whose roots interfere with headstones, sometimes whose trunks actually encase small stones.  Not so long ago I saw a monument toppled after a summer storm broke a large tree limb free, and it fell on one of those old vertical stones.  Some of the stones are not set on secure bases, so they gradually shift. In the oldest parts of the cemetery, where  burials did not involve a cement vault, the wooden coffins deteriorate, the ground sinks, and the stones move.  This is especially true at Oak Hill, where many burials are set into the side of the hill. Then there are burrowing critters, mostly woodchucks, but also skunks and foxes, who destabilize the ground.

The cemetery, which is now run by the City of Janesville Parks department, is not responsible for repairing or resetting old stones, which are the property of the grave site owners.  Unfortunately, often there are no living family members to assume responsibility for the fallen or broken headstones.  Technically plot owners are also responsible to keep old stones from being dangerous.  A quick Google search will illustrate accidents where both adults and children were killed by falling monuments.  One wonders about liability in such cases. Some of the old tall stones at Oak Hill lean perilously, and I wouldn't want to stand under them too long for fear of staying permanently.

 I think the caretaker occasionally works with local monument seller/installers to right historic stones, and I have spoken to people who have hired the work done, though it is not inexpensive. I don't know what the solution is to this problem.  Perhaps there could be a friends group who adopts a block and helps to do or finance expert repairs, or perhaps there are grants for such things. 

 But it is sad.