Brenda and I had breakfast in Muncie, IN with my brother Bob and his wife Mary Lou on Saturday morning June 13th. Our next stop was Troy, Ohio to visit relatives grave plots.
Why return to the cemetery? My dad died in 1940 and the last visit I had at my dad’s grave was in 1948 when my grandparents took Ben and me there. I had Grandpa take a picture with my Ansco box camera of me, Grandma, and Ben standing behind dad’s grave marker. The picture is below. Two years later in 1950 my grandmother died and was buried about 35 feet behind where I was standing.
She was 64 years old and had 12 children and helped to raise two grandchildren. When Brenda and I arrived in Troy we had no idea where Riverside Cemetery was located. First we would get lunch and then locate the cemetery. On our way through the town to find a place to eat, we drove right by Riverside Cemetery! Beginner’s luck! So we stopped at a local eating establishment and then went back to the cemetery. Of course, the first place you would visit would be the office to locate the plots of Leonard Moore and my grandparents Jesse I. and Mattie Moore. We found the office and they were closed on Saturdays. Ok - now what do we do. This is a big place. Brenda said she was saying a prayer for guidance and I decided we would drive slowly around and see if we couldn’t find a section that had markers of 1940 - 41 - 42. We found one and I said “that has to be it”. We got out of the car and Brenda took the left side of this section and I took the right side.
About 10 minutes later I found my grandparents plots and called to Brenda to look down by the road for M. Leonard Moore as he should be next to the road. She found it! Prayer works! One thing you will notice in the more recent pictures of dad’s marker is a tree. That tree wasn’t there in 1948 when I last visited this spot.
I was able to introduce my daughter to her grandfather and to her great grandparents. This is the first time to “meet” my Grandma. She had met my Grandpa before at our home in Huntington Beach when we had his 95th birthday party for relatives in Southern California. Grandpa was on a trip west to visit a couple of his children who lived in this area. It happened right around his birthday so we honored him then. Grandpa lived to be 101 years and 11 months old before his death in December 1984.
Something that Brenda did on this entire trip was to pull out her video camera and let me talk about memories at every place we visited. This was put into a DVD for me to remember this incredible trip. She and her husband, Scott, are able to do wonders with video and still pictures for memory purposes. So I was able to give my memories about visiting dad’s grave before and about living with my grandparents.
I don’t remember my dad at all. I was 6 years old when he passed away and that is when my memories start. I know he remembered me.
Entrance to Riverside Cemetery in Troy Ohio. As you see, it started in 1867.
Dick, Grandmother, and Ben in 1948 visit to dad's grave stone.
Grandpa Moore in Celina, Ohio after his wife's passing in 1950.
Dick at his father's grave stone on June 13, 2009.
Brenda at her grandfather's grave stone June 13, 2009.
Dick at his grandparent's grave site June 13, 2009.
Brenda at her Great Grandparent's grave site June 13, 2009.
I was at my grandmother's funeral service in Celina and Troy in 1950. So I must have come by this spot for grandmother's burial. I don't remember it. Very glad I was able to revisit this cemetery and introduce Brenda to her history!
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