Like war monuments that help remind us of those who gave their lives for our freedom, cemeteries are monuments to remind us of lives that once were like our own. Ones that should never be forgotten, or swept aside because of the passage of time. They created our towns. We have a duty to care for them.
We have a great place to live in this area not just because of the people who now reside here, but also because of the people who came before us and shaped it into what it is today. The most important of these are the very first settlers who had the courage to carve out of the wilderness a better place to live and to share with their fellow neighbours. Things it seems today most people take for granted.
This is opinion piece directed at a developer wishing to move a cemetery. This sort of controversy is likely to continue coming up more often as cemeteries that were once on the periphery are now in suburbs and exurbs. Sticky situation. In some cases, it might be a draw to hve a nice, quiet, neatly maintained cemetery nearby, but often it's on prime land. There is some point to developers' arguments that many of these cemeteries are largely forgotten and poorly maintained, especially small ones in rural areas. I'd like to hear more about what local people are doing about old cemeteries, so email or post a comment if you have anything to add.