My respect for the final resting place of everyone goes way back. As a child, I was fortunate to grow up on my G-Grandparents Homestead. We had an extended family, which included my Grandparent’s, my Mom and her brother. Respect and a yearning for knowledge was instilled in me at a very early age. As a five year old, I was shown photos of my ancestors and long time family friends, long since departed. I was then taken to their final resting places, where we placed Memorial flowers annually. Sometimes, living plants were placed, which we maintained throughout the year. We were often back at all resting places, to hand clip, with shears, the grass which the Cemetery Groundskeepers missed.
I am also fortunate, that most of the family photos I have, dating back to the early 1800’s, are all labeled. Not only with the names, but also location and date taken. Also, have most of the obituaries from my family members and some of long time family friends from the early 1800’s onward.
I am a historian, genealogist and preservationist, with great attention to detail. Feel fortunate to have met many distant and not so distant cousins on this journey. We have worked together to ensure that our data is correct in many cases. Researching many things presently.

In addition to the final resting places of our own family and friends, my ancestors instilled in me a respect for any long forgotten, ravaged or partially destroyed cemetery. We made frequent visits when I was young to several of these in NW Wisconsin. The ones that stand out to me are the Apollonia Catholic Cemetery, located in Rusk County, WI, just West of Bruce. This is located across the road from the Protestant Cemetery. I remember going there as a child. Many of the markers were cracked or piled in a corner. It was at that time, part of a cow pasture. The monuments were covered with lichens and heavily pitted. As a child, it made me sad to think that there were the graves of babies there long forgotten. Many years later the pasture was partially removed, many markers placed again. One year, I took some Memorial flowers there and ensured that every resting place was honored on Memorial Day. Many wondered where all the flowers came from. To the best of my knowledge the Cemetery is still being maintained, although no one leaves Memorials there.
Another fond memory is of the Mud Lake Indian Cemetery, located in SW Rusk County, WI. I was taken there as a child to help a long time family friend with his restorations. In the mid 2000’s, a friend and I helped a friend of mine go there for her last time. Her parents were there and she had grown up nearby. He had limited mobility, but we were able to help her make one last visit to pay her respects.
The last Cemetery I want to mention is the Old Norwegian Cemetery, located North of HW 8, just East of Weyerhaeuser, WI. The Town road now has limited access, due to mining operations which closed it. Another one of the Cemeteries that brought tears to my eyes as a child. Since then, major restorations were done, but many of the markers had been removed prior and thrown in a pile to allow for logging road through the Cemetery.

I look forward to assisting others and learning more about the locations of my ancestors I am unaware of. If we have a common ancestor, or one of my family friends is your ancestor, I would gladly share any photographs, documents, family stories with you. I am posting Memorial photos and documents on many presently, so if you notice something that interests you, please let me know. Working together to unlock the secrets of the past.

My respect for the final resting place of everyone goes way back. As a child, I was fortunate to grow up on my G-Grandparents Homestead. We had an extended family, which included my Grandparent’s, my Mom and her brother. Respect and a yearning for knowledge was instilled in me at a very early age. As a five year old, I was shown photos of my ancestors and long time family friends, long since departed. I was then taken to their final resting places, where we placed Memorial flowers annually. Sometimes, living plants were placed, which we maintained throughout the year. We were often back at all resting places, to hand clip, with shears, the grass which the Cemetery Groundskeepers missed.
I am also fortunate, that most of the family photos I have, dating back to the early 1800’s, are all labeled. Not only with the names, but also location and date taken. Also, have most of the obituaries from my family members and some of long time family friends from the early 1800’s onward.
I am a historian, genealogist and preservationist, with great attention to detail. Feel fortunate to have met many distant and not so distant cousins on this journey. We have worked together to ensure that our data is correct in many cases. Researching many things presently.

In addition to the final resting places of our own family and friends, my ancestors instilled in me a respect for any long forgotten, ravaged or partially destroyed cemetery. We made frequent visits when I was young to several of these in NW Wisconsin. The ones that stand out to me are the Apollonia Catholic Cemetery, located in Rusk County, WI, just West of Bruce. This is located across the road from the Protestant Cemetery. I remember going there as a child. Many of the markers were cracked or piled in a corner. It was at that time, part of a cow pasture. The monuments were covered with lichens and heavily pitted. As a child, it made me sad to think that there were the graves of babies there long forgotten. Many years later the pasture was partially removed, many markers placed again. One year, I took some Memorial flowers there and ensured that every resting place was honored on Memorial Day. Many wondered where all the flowers came from. To the best of my knowledge the Cemetery is still being maintained, although no one leaves Memorials there.
Another fond memory is of the Mud Lake Indian Cemetery, located in SW Rusk County, WI. I was taken there as a child to help a long time family friend with his restorations. In the mid 2000’s, a friend and I helped a friend of mine go there for her last time. Her parents were there and she had grown up nearby. He had limited mobility, but we were able to help her make one last visit to pay her respects.
The last Cemetery I want to mention is the Old Norwegian Cemetery, located North of HW 8, just East of Weyerhaeuser, WI. The Town road now has limited access, due to mining operations which closed it. Another one of the Cemeteries that brought tears to my eyes as a child. Since then, major restorations were done, but many of the markers had been removed prior and thrown in a pile to allow for logging road through the Cemetery.

I look forward to assisting others and learning more about the locations of my ancestors I am unaware of. If we have a common ancestor, or one of my family friends is your ancestor, I would gladly share any photographs, documents, family stories with you. I am posting Memorial photos and documents on many presently, so if you notice something that interests you, please let me know. Working together to unlock the secrets of the past.