Friday, Aug. 29, 2008

Unmarked graves found in I.O.O.F. cemetery

By A. LEE GRAHAM

The ghosts of Westlake past are helping town officials plan the best use for cemetery property along J.T. Ottinger Road.

Five months after authorizing a study of the Roanoke I.O.O.F. Cemetery, subterranean radar scans have detected 174 unmarked graves on the 5.5-acre property.

Are town officials surprised?

"A little bit," said Troy Meyer, the town’s director of facilities and recreation. "I figured there would be some, but not quite in that large a quantity."

Conducting the scan was Yellow Rose GPR Inc., an Arlington-based firm that helps community cemeteries identify remains and other objects beneath cemetery soil.

Results were disclosed recently, following the town’s decision to sink $10,000 into a cemetery "master plan" that funded the underground probe. That amount was earmarked in the town’s 2007-08 fiscal budget to create the plan.

Though active since 1897 when the Roanoke Independent Order of Oddfellows Lodge 421 purchased the land for burial use, only last year was the tract turned over to Westlake. But those wanting to reserve space in the cemetery must wait until the town adopts an ordinance establishing its rules and regulations.

"We’ve had some interest from folks wanting to purchase space there, but at this point, we’re not ready to start selling them or marketing the cemetery," Meyer said.

Results of the scan will help officials plan where future lots would be located.

"Obviously, we can’t sell any future spaces around those unmarked graves. That was the result of scanning the ground," said Meyer, working with town officials in creating a marketing plan.

Rules under consideration are requiring all memorials be constructed of bronze except in the monument garden, where all monuments would be made of granite.

Visiting hours would be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday from April 1 through Oct. 31, and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays and holidays in the same months.

Between Nov. 1 and March 31, visiting hours would be from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sundays and holidays during the same months.

Funerals would be permitted between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

Protecting the cemetery and ensuring its ongoing vitality is paramount for Westlake, hoping to preserve land whose tombstones bear the names of area pioneer families such as Cowan, Seagraves, Owens, Lassen, Buell, Boutwell and McMahon.

It inherited that responsibility last summer when Dick Fanning, president of the I.O.O.F. Cemetery Association, entrusted the town with the perpetual care and restoration of the unique chunk of community history.