Arkansas Blog

Dear Ms. Brown,
Just because the legislature passed a law and the governor signed it, that doesn't mean that it was a good idea or that it is something worth enforcing. If the State and/or City buy this cemetery like you obviously want, wouldn't that only encourage other cemetery trustees to mismanage their cemetery trusts in the hopes that the trustees could pass off their responsibilities to the taxpayers? If the State purchases this mismanaged asset, the taxpayers will be obligated to support it indefinitely. That is a terrible precedent to set, and I encourage the cemetery board to maintain its position that the State should NOT buy this cemetery.
Secondly, if you had spent as much time fund-raising as you have bitching and moaning about the cemetery board, you wouldn't need the State to assume responsibility. The trust would be well-funded, and there would be no problem. Stop waiting on the government to come and save your bacon. Grow up, act like a responsible adult, take some damn initiative and solve the problem without dumping it on the taxpayers. GO HAVE A FUND-RAISER!!!!! If this cemetery is so important, it will be easy to find donors.
Signed,
A poor taxpayer

Well, she is sort of Casting Down Her Bucket Where She Is...

Years ago the Haven of Rest Cemetery had an arch way above the entrance proclaiming the cemetery "The Most Beautiful Cemetery in the South for Colored People". And it truly was a very nice, well cared for cemetery. The news release pointed out "the cycle of poor maintenance and operations at Haven of Rest Cemetery" but the cycle has happened over a long period of time. Where were these people while the cemetery was going down hill.

Let's see, there's a not so little community cemetery down in Lincoln County that I know a little something about. No charge to bury your people there if your family still has plots that were spoken for in the past -- wives by husbands, children by parents and so forth. Otherwise, there's a nominal fee for a new grave site -- $250, I believe. Every spring, we get a "please, please, whatever you can afford" (along with an invitation to the pot luck on the grounds) for a little bit for maintenance -- usually just mowing although they did get a new back gate a few years ago. There's even a tidy surplus for future projects.
Every time I've been down there, the cemetery looks well shorn and immaculate. If country people and relatives scattered here and yon can manage this, you'd think city foks could too.

I contribute every year to an old cemetery in Lonoke County that hasn't had a burial in 60 years. It's kept free of brush and weeds, there's a fence around it and a decent road to it. It just takes a little money from those whose people are buried there.

It's a sad day when the living uses the color of the dead and buried to promote their prejudices. The comments I have read thus far appear reckless and biased. The questions we should ask must include what is the historic significance of this unit, what is reasonable support, and what are the ramifications of not supporting an effort to maintain this unit.
Maybe my parents were mistaken when they taught their children all cemeteries are hallowed ground regardless of who's buried there. Peace be with you!

So much for the woulda, coulda, shoulda, how can I contact someone to get involved. My older sister is buried there and I want to help.