when i was young -- this would be the fifties -- my family would travel to iowa to visit

[xchrom]

other family on memorial day.

and part of those trips always involved a trip with other family to visit the graves of the soldiers.

we just wander the cemetery -- looking at the bedecked grave sites with their flags and flowers.

if my family didn't travel to iowa -- we did the same ourselves in peoria.

always there were other families there doing the same -- it was something of an unspoken community event -- you all just went to to gaze. to See.

there would be small talk about dates -- if they knew a family -- there would be talk about what happened after and then move on to another bedecked headstone.

it was just a ritual that was part of memorial day -- it stopped at some point -- i don't really remember when -- but today -- probably because my family is dwindling -- i remember that.

the grilling and feasting with family always came after those trips to the cemetery.

[Scuba]

1. So you're saying Iowa is VacationLand for Peoria flatlanders? That's just sad....

... seriously, thanks for your thoughtful post.

[xchrom]

2. i'll have you know -- peoria sits on a bluff.

*** and i am indignant

[JDPriestly]

5. Iowa is beautiful. Rolling hills, lakes and little streams.

When it is ready for picking, the corn smells so sweet. Iowa is beautiful, a fruitful land of kind, generous people -- for the most part.

[Scuba]

6. Yes, I've spent lots of time in Iowa and agree that it's a lovely place...

... but us Cheeseheads have a long tradition of teasing Flatlanders and Iowegians.

[xchrom]

7. we have yet to be amused -- and it's a wonder you all haven't drowned in one of those lakes...

but... what ever...

[Scuba]

8. OK, I take it all back. The stink-eye is too much.

[JDPriestly]

17. You are forgiven. Just as long as you know. Wisconsin must be beautiful too with

all the lakes. Iowa has nice lakes and streams, but I will concede that Wisconsin and Minnesota have many more.

[SharonAnn]

10. Hey, I'm from Iowa and I have wonderfulmemories of

growing up there.

It's a great state and has the kind of beauty that one remembers. Fertile fields, meandering streams, running rivers, blue lakes and miles and miles of miles and miles. It seems almost endless as you drive through it.

It "restoreth my soul" when I have the opportunity to drive through even part of it.

[Frustratedlady]

3. Yes, it was a special day at the cemetery

We had several cemeteries to visit, as family was kind of scattered around the countryside. When we went to the cemetery where my great-grandfather was buried, it was an all morning undertaking. No pun intended.

Since this cemetery was out in the country, the county was responsible for keeping it mowed. However, whoever was charged for my relatives' cemetery, didn't do a very good job. So, my father would drive his tractor/mower all the way across country to get there, then mow down the tall grass on the hillside, while my uncle used the push mower to clean up around the stones and the women pulled weeds and clipped around the stones. It was a bunch of busy bees, but the cemetery shone when we left.

The flowers were always peonies, irises and sprigs of spirarea. When those were already done blooming, my mother would pot up some geraniums. There had to be some flowers of some kind with a small US flag to the side. I loved to go there because there was such a variety of birds and their songs kept us entertained.

My great-grandfather was a captain of the Civil War and he was revered by all in the family. We heard the stories over and over again about his travels, the battles he fought in and how the men admired and adored him. He later fought for Rural Free Delivery and won. He was an staunch Democrat and known for his blasphemy of "egad" and "by jove" but I never did figure those out as being bad words to use.

I haven't been back to visit that cemetery because I can never find it. But my uncle fought for and won a new edict (new at that time) that the county would either have their employees mow that cemetery, without fail so many times/year or be fined by the cemetery association he started around the end of WWII. I understand they now hire out that task, but out of honor to my uncle, I should check to be sure.

After cleaning that cemetery, we would retire to my grandmother's house for fried chicken and all the trimmings, with freezers of homemade ice cream to top it off. The crock of freshly squeezed lemonade had to be replenished several times during the day, as that nasty job of clearing the cemetery was exhausting...even for a child of 4-5.

Hmmm! I may have to make a little trip to that cemetery today and check the ol' Captain out, as well as inspect the grounds to be sure my uncle's wishes are being followed almost 70 years later.

[xchrom]

4. indeed. -- there was all of that -- mt pleasant wasn't/isn't a very big place.

but memorial day every one seemed to turn out -- and some like you mentioned cleaned up older sections of the cemetery that were neglected.

[Frustratedlady]

9. Well, hello neighbor.

I'm just down the road in Burlington. The cemetery I was speaking of was outside Mediapolis. In fact, as soon as the rain subsides, I decided I am going to head out and see if I can find that cemetery again. The hog lot where we used to turn off the highway is no longer there. That was my landmark.

[barbtries]

11. this site might help

http://www.findagrave.com/
if you try it let me know if you have any luck.

[Frustratedlady]

12. Thanks. I just talked to a cousin who gave me directions.

I'll leave in a while to see if I can locate the cemetery...can't miss the grave, as it's the biggest marker in the cemetery. Gosh, I haven't been there since the 1950s.

That site looks interesting for other uses, as well. Thanks again.

[xchrom]

13. i've spent more weekends in burlington than i can count.

my aunt jua lived there -- jua because i couldn't say julia and it stuck == she jua to every one.

i remember the statue of keokuk? there in town -- and all the big houses on the bluff.

oh i loved it there.

[jwirr]

14. Me too. There is a cemetery in Iowa that has so many of our relatives that when we go to visit we

use it as a time to make sure that all the graves are in good repair and the sites clean. The little children come with us and learn about all their ancestors as we tell the stories about each one. I haven't been home for about 5 years now but my brother keeps the tradition alive.

[Frustratedlady]

15. That's good to hear. We need to keep up the traditions...

as they'll be visiting us one of these days. I told the kids not to let me lie there without a fake rose or something to show they remembered or I'd come back and haunt them.

[jwirr]

16. My brother planted lilies on the grave so Mom & Dad have their favorite flowers every year.