My family was never one to hang out at the cemetery. We didn’t clean the family graves, or go to community events happening there. We never went to visit grandmothers on Mother’s Day, leave flowers on Easter, or put flags on the graves of our veterans. We watched our dead be put in the ground, and bought a stone for the grave. Then we moved on.
I don’t know what has changed during this last couple of years, but something in my mindset definitely has. I love Greenleaf Cemetery; there’s no other way to put it. When I go there, I find peace, solitude, a sense of history, and even a sense of family.
Year before last we buried my dad at Greenleaf. Dad and I could not possibly have been more different, but he was a wonderful man. I miss him every day, and go to Greenleaf to talk to him. I have grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles, great aunts and great uncles, and a variety of old friends at Greenleaf.
Another wonderful thing about Greenleaf is the sense of history that swirls all around. I am fascinated by the idea that almost 22,000 people have been laid to rest on those grounds. We have veterans from wars all the way back to the Texas war for independence. We have Civil War veterans of the confederacy and the union army buried at Greenleaf. We have both infants and the aged, black and white, folks from many belief systems, and those buried almost two hundred years ago up through today.
So many differences, but all human beings that left people who cared about them.
I want to invite everyone to get involved with Greenleaf Cemetery. Whether you have family there, or enjoy the cemetery for the history or solitude, please join us. We will be posting this blog and information on all the upcoming activities in the Facebook group… Historic Greenleaf Cemetery … A New Day. Please find the page and join the group. We would love to have you!