My grandmother taught me the importance of genealogy. We would visit the cemeteries on Memorial Day and at other times. My mother drove us. This was not a quick event, but a day long affair. We would not only locate the graves of loved ones, but of locals and persons my grandmother or mother had known. They reflected their importance and shared stories of each. Though they had passed from this life they were not forgotten. I found the cemetery to be a place of peace and reflection.
As I grew older I made note of the styles of the tombstones and the stories they themselves told. This led to my love of genealogy.
Though the world seems to be marching at a fast pace we still have a longing to know on some level where we came from. I feel it is imperative to save this information for others and to preserve and protect our cemeteries. Not only are they the final resting place for our loved ones, a place to reflect and pay our respects, cemeteries are storehouses of information for generations to come.