This is a photo of some of the weather damage being done to the Glenwood Union Church; note the missing gutter. Other than local history, another reason the building should be saved is a legal paper from 100 years ago when the land was ceded to the community by the owners for the sum of $1.00. The document reads that the property—including the small cemetery—would stay with the community as long as the church building was being regularly used for worship services. If the church is not used regularly for such services, the entire property reverts back to the original landowners or their heirs. The church members are also to provide for all upkeep to the graveyard and building. I have a lot of kin and people I knew from my youth buried there, including my mom and dad, grandmother and grandfather, and great grandmother. Since the church was first chartered, another family (Lige Gouge) gave an adjoining strip of land to the community, and it now has several graves on it. Another family (Romeo Sifford) whom owns adjoining land has begun a small family cemetery adjacent to the the original, but did not cede land to the community.
If the church building should somehow be destroyed and not rebuilt, the land could revert to the original owner's heirs. For many years now, a preacher from Johnson City and his small flock have been using the building for services, but there have been no members of the community regularly attending since Theodore Jones died about eight years ago. This puts us whom have kin buried there in a bind. The present congregation is using the few remaining burial spaces for its own use, even though they are not members of the community, per se. They do a fair job of mowing and keeping the land clean of debris, and have added bathrooms and a new roof to the building, but its infrastructure is decaying.
I fear for the future for my kin, friends, and neighbors whom are interred there. I can foresee a possible time when the old cemetery and church will be gone and a house or such will be built on the original property, leaving only the little family graveyard and the Gouge strip of land as a memorial to all of our dead.
The quandary of it is, my aunt, her daughter, and myself seem to be the only ones left from the old community whom cares, and we don't have the resources to repair or remodel the building. When the present congregation moves on, I fear the community I once knew will forever depart with them.
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Yesterday: Filed our taxes; paid our estimated taxes for 1st quarter; finished Chris's taxes; began and completed taxes for Jerry's in-laws. It all took several hours, but it is over with. Afterward, I donned my normal guise of mild-mannered janitor and went to work at Fall Branch and at Boone's Creek. I found time to eat during the day, and I had a cup of strong coffee, a cold pot roast sandwich, a Clementine, two cookies, and a banana. Today for some reason I feel a bit hungry.
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Speaking of taxes, I see that Mr. Obama shall speak today about restoring fairness to the tax code. I hope he at least has the gumption to say his speech on the Comedy Central channel with the rest of the stand-up farceurs.
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If the church building should somehow be destroyed and not rebuilt, the land could revert to the original owner's heirs. For many years now, a preacher from Johnson City and his small flock have been using the building for services, but there have been no members of the community regularly attending since Theodore Jones died about eight years ago. This puts us whom have kin buried there in a bind. The present congregation is using the few remaining burial spaces for its own use, even though they are not members of the community, per se. They do a fair job of mowing and keeping the land clean of debris, and have added bathrooms and a new roof to the building, but its infrastructure is decaying.
I fear for the future for my kin, friends, and neighbors whom are interred there. I can foresee a possible time when the old cemetery and church will be gone and a house or such will be built on the original property, leaving only the little family graveyard and the Gouge strip of land as a memorial to all of our dead.
The quandary of it is, my aunt, her daughter, and myself seem to be the only ones left from the old community whom cares, and we don't have the resources to repair or remodel the building. When the present congregation moves on, I fear the community I once knew will forever depart with them.
----
Yesterday: Filed our taxes; paid our estimated taxes for 1st quarter; finished Chris's taxes; began and completed taxes for Jerry's in-laws. It all took several hours, but it is over with. Afterward, I donned my normal guise of mild-mannered janitor and went to work at Fall Branch and at Boone's Creek. I found time to eat during the day, and I had a cup of strong coffee, a cold pot roast sandwich, a Clementine, two cookies, and a banana. Today for some reason I feel a bit hungry.
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Speaking of taxes, I see that Mr. Obama shall speak today about restoring fairness to the tax code. I hope he at least has the gumption to say his speech on the Comedy Central channel with the rest of the stand-up farceurs.
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2 comments:
I red this piece of your blog, Ken, yesterday, but I still think about the families which gave their properties to community to build a church and to set up a cemetery.
In Polish we call such people 'szczodrobliwi'. In English 'generous'. In Polish it is very nice word; and it is really valuable feature: SZCZODROŚĆ /GENEROSITY.
Yes, it was generous, but they also received the right to bury their dead there, and were assured the place would be maintained. Now, their family graves may also be in jeopardy.
Sharing was the strength of these old communities, and a church was the cement that tied everyone together. Country stores did much the same, and my grandfather owned a store near the church.
"SZCZODROŚĆ" is a word on which I will have to practice pronunciation. :-)
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