By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
If there’s one thing the Positive Seekers know how to do, it’s showing how much Bucyrus has to offer the community. Now, they’re hoping the community will show how much it will give back to the ones that have come before.
The Positive Seekers held a meeting to discuss possible renovation of the Union/Revolutionary War Cemetery on Tiffin Street. Over the years the cemetery has fallen into disrepair, much of it due to the fact that no one knows who actually owns the site.
RELATED CONTENT: Remembering those who made history here
Law Director Rob Ratliff said the city has no idea who owns the cemetery and, other than extensive research, there is no way to know. He noted that a Norton Township was formed in that area at one point in time, but without any township trustees or other official, there was no way to prove that the township actually existed.
“We just don’t know,” Ratliff, who admitted he couldn’t look into anything on behalf of the Positive Seekers due to legality issues, said. “We just haven’t found anything.”
Despite the unknown that the Positive Seekers have to wade through, Ratliff offered suggestions to the group on how to proceed if they wanted to see any kind of restoration done at the cemetery. The Positive Seekers would have to apply for a 501(c)3 status and get insurance, processes that could take two to three months.
During that time, Ratliff said, the group could start the footwork on background information. Two people that Ratliff believed could be huge founts of information were Bill Fisher and Ferdinand Weaver. Fisher taught science at Bucyrus and took his eighth grade class out to the cemetery to do grave stone etchings. Weaver often maintained the cemetery before his passing; his widow, Betty, may have some kind of information or photos, Ratliff said.
Ratliff also suggested searching property records within the Treasurer’s office at the courthouse to discover who owns the site and attending a Bucyrus City Council meeting to request the city to acquire or look into the ownership.
“Even if you guys just take over the maintenance – the mowing and the trimming – that cemetery is 100 steps ahead of where it’s at right now,” Ratliff said. “Even that minimal of an effort is a benefit not only to the city but the cemetery as well.
“Whether you can ultimately repair or replace any of those things – do one a year. It’s better than going negative one a year which is what’s happening now,” Ratliff added.
“I appreciate you guys doing this, taking the lead on this,” said Bucyrus Mayor Jeff Reser, who helped portray Bob and Charlie Hoelzel at this year’s cemetery walk. “We’re coming up our bicentennial here in just a few years. Speaking from my point of view, which is a lover of history, I think it’s really an important project to be able to at least let people know.”
Mary Fox, president of the Genealogy Society, said there have been stabs at preservation of the cemetery over the years. She suggested talking to Joe Blum, who played a pivotal role in restoring the Union Cemetery in New Washington.
The Positive Seekers would like to restore the cemetery to be as historically accurate as possible but realized the cost of doing so may be out of the community’s budget. Despite that, they plan on taking it one piece at a time.
“I can only speak for myself,” said Joe Graham, president of the Positive Seekers, “but that’s an important part of our heritage as people of Bucyrus . . . I have deep ties to the community of Bucyrus and, as a citizen of Bucyrus, it saddens me to see (that).”
Graham understands that the project may just be restoring the aesthetics wherever possible he still wants to pursue the project in tribute to the city and the citizens.
“The people in that cemetery deserve our utmost respect for what they’ve done for Bucyrus,” remarked Barb Rigdon.
Veterans of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War are buried in the Union Cemetery.
The Positive Seekers have planned to schedule another meeting once they’ve received a 501(c)3 status.