I live in the Wausau, Wisconsin area. Unless I am traveling all of the photo requests I fulfill will be in Marathon County, I might make an exception if the Cemetery catches my eye and I have photo requests there. Marathon County is the largest by area in Wisconsin, it is not practical to cover the entire County and some of the far Western Cemeteries I am no longer volunteering for.

I recently have taken interest in the two closest Veterans/National Cemeteries. I will strictly use the location that is on the Veterans Gravesite Locator. Plot info will be as follows:

SECTION X LOT X SITE X an example is SECTION C LOT 9 SITE 137 computer will not show gravesites in order if some other format is used, an example that should not be used is SECTION C-8 SITE 246, it properly should be SECTION C LOT 8 SITE 246. I personally would prefer not all CAPS and a comma between fields but that is not what they use. There is nothing I can do about those memorials that have wrong information when the memorial managers decline edits because they are too "busy" to edit the correct information or whatever the reason is.

Here's a new word I learned recently. (Swiped from a Find a Grave friend)

COIMETROMANIA - (n.) is an abnormal or unusual fascination with and strong desire to visit cemeteries, often involving an interest in examining graves, collecting epitaphs, and exploring burial sites. While a taphophile has a general fondness for cemeteries, coimetromania suggests a more intense, almost compulsive, attraction. Can you relate?

If you were a Coimetrophile you could relate.

Family Surnames:

Paternal line: Sweet, Mudgett, Roberts, Benjamin, Rice, Pruett, Coons, Young.

Maternal line: Russell, Petersen (Denmark), Ayers, Larsen or Larsdatter (Norway), Phenn (Phen or Fenn), Boyce

I will add to the list from time to time, these surnames are back to second great grandparent level and living in the USA.

I will use the following criteria to add military rank to a Find a Grave memorial that I manage:

The guidelines state that the rank should be listed as a prefix in one of two conditions:

1. They were killed in action
2. They retired from active duty

If they don't meet either of those, they should just be tagged as "VETERAN."

If military information (including rank) is on the headstone, that can be included in the "inscription.

I find it near insulting to add Private to a memorial, like that is his lifetime achievement, it is different if they were killed in action. If I see this in a Cemetery I am doing lots of work in I will very likely suggest an edit, especially when the person is also not designated as a Veteran.

It is a near certainty that if I fulfill a photo request at one of the large local Cemeteries there will be another one later that day, I am going to start fulfilling those only if they have languished a few days.

I will look for any memorials without a grave photo with that surname and try my best to take all the photos. I have missed some of these through the years and that is my current focus to catch up on them. I am first trying to complete this task at Restlawn Memorial Park, my list of surnames is in the hundreds.

Cemeteries that provide information on plot locations will receive greater attention from me. The same is true for those who request photos, if you want to request 15 or 20 photos please consider doing something to obtain plot information. Life allows me limited time to work on Find a Grave and absent plot information my projects take priority over the projects of others. Eventually the projects might overlap but I am in no hurry to make that happen.

I have found several volunteer photographers that do area Cemeteries and I want to see all of Marathon County requests completed, for those genuinely seeking family grave photos and all other similar requests within a 25 mile radius of my home. I have received assistance on requests outside Marathon County and I will be encouraging more.

IF YOU ARE COPYING PHOTOS FROM BILLION GRAVES PRETENDING TO ACTUALLY BE TAKING GRAVE PHOTOS OR OTHERWISE DISRESPECTING THE EFFORTS OF REAL PHOTO VOLUNTEERS YOUR PHOTO REQUESTS WILL BE THE ABSOLUTE LOWEST PRIORITY FOR ME. BAD ENOUGH THE POSING AS A PHOTO VOLUNTEER BUT ADDITIONALLY WHEN NOTHING HAS BEEN PERSONALLY VERIFIED THE QUALITY OF YOUR WORK IS IN THE RANGE OF A TIER OR MORE LESS THAN THE HIGHEST QUALITY TO SUSPECT.

If I am managing your family's memorial it is because someone had to in order to create one, just ask and it is yours.

I have recently started accepting management of memorials that were managed by Find a Grave if that pops up as an option or if they are in my favorite Cemeteries. It will be a bit before I get them all cleaned up. Effort will be made to have a grave photo and plot information on all memorials I manage.

Besides my interest in genealogy, photo volunteering gives me a great reason to get out and get some exercise.