|
|
Gravin' with Auntie - Part 2
The picture above is of Gregg Gill and Tootie Dennis. And one is of Gregg Gill reparing a gravestone we found in the old Historical Sluder Cemetery.
But, I am getting ahead of the story. My Aunt Nancy and I were on the hunt for the WESTPHAL Cemetery in Lawrence County, Arkansas. It was 2002 and we were in my Christmas present, a new Chrysler 300M. Not a good vehicle for dirt and back road trails...non the less we were there. After driving down several County dirt roads...we were about to give up and go back to Walnut Ridge and ask for assistance from someone, anyone....Then along came a man on a tractor. He passed us by and I got out of the car and stood with a pitiful look on my face...he continued to look back at me and I continued to look forward at him,,finally, when hope was gone he began to back up and turn around.
HE is Gregg Gill, whose roots run deep in Lawrence County. His grandfather and father farmed the very same land that Gregg and his family farm today.
He said he did not know the name of the cemetery but he knew where one was only a mile or so down the road. Yes, the cemetery was there...but we would never have found it...overgrown and sad it was. You may see it on the website...Lawrence County, Westphal Cemetery. It was so bad that i was really afraid to go in among the brush. So, Gregg went in and found, what we thought to be the only gravestone in the little cemetery. He took the picture for me and helped me back down the enbankment and gave me his name.
Then, April 2008, Aunt and I were once again on the hunt for the old Sluder cemetery....it was flooded in most of the areas we had tried so, we were sitting in the car at the intersection of two dirt roads looking at the map. It was getting on toward supper time, but we were going to find it that day. Then there was a pickup and two men...one seemed so familiar but could not place him as we have had so many help us. They were going to take us to SLUDER CEMETERY...but after a few miles I knew the Chrysler could not cross the many flooded ares. So, they stopped and helped us into the pickup and off we went. They took us to the cemetery over roads I could not believe.
Sluder was in sad condition...almost all stones were
on their faces or broken or unreadable. Gregg and Chris turned up the stones,
dug up many, held some together and helped us for about 2 hours to get as many
of the stones photograped as we could find. You can see old SLUDER under
Lawrence County, Sluder Cmetery.
As we worked against the fading sun, we were
in the back of the cemetery and there among all the brush was the most beautiful
gravestone I have ever seen. It was made of Bronze that had petined to a lovely
blue/green color, Totally intact and not a thing had distrubed it since it was
set..One of the inscriptions read:
[The monument was fabricated by the Western White Bronze Co.,
Des Moines, IA.]
Gregg did some careful on site
repairs with a pocket knife to the lovely stone..it was like a wonderful work of
art in a dark, damp and overgrown place with little sunshine....they took us
back to our car and we laughed and laughed about small things...like Aunty is 89
and walks with a walking cane...she could not get into the pickup and the two
guys got behind her and pushed her up into the seat...as she said: "Well, each
one of you took a cheek and here I am in the seat." We followed them back
several miles to the pavement. It was dark by then and they needed to get home.
We saw Gregg with his wife a few days later at the Steak House in Walnut Ridge...we did not know his wife but he said we got him in a lot of trouble getting him home so late...but his wife was a sweet as Gregg and Chris...Gregg told me that Westphal had two more stones that we had missed in 2002. So the next day off to Westphal cemetery...guess what...Gregg had been there earlier and stomped down a path to the other two stones...how can anyone ask for better people then those who call Arkansas home?...they have plans to take us to some other old almost lost cemeteries when I go back...I can hardly wait.
©2009 ArkansasGravestones.org