Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Joe Rupe, maintenance sexton for Colfax Cemetery, points out where sunken grave markers were discovered this fall in the infant burial section.
A statue marks "Babyland" on the northwest slope of the cemetery. A total of 16 grave markers there were brought back to the surface, spanning the years 1937 to 1974
After a newborn died last August in Colfax, preparations were made for burial.
Joe Rupe, sexton for Colfax Cemetery, as part of standard procedure, probed a spot of ground with a long metal rod, drilling down four feet to be sure it was clear to dig.
"Lo and behold, I started to find gravestones," said Rupe.
Since that incident – which expanded to include finding markers for two sets of twins – Rupe continued to probe, finding 16 infant grave markers ranging from the years 1937 to 1974, at 18 inches to two feet underground.
"It's odd that the (markers) have not been discovered before this," Rupe said.
One was engraved, "Baby Fisher," on an old-fashioned temporary marker made of glass.
The area in the cemetery, called "Babyland," is on a hill at the sloped west side.
Rupe has worked at the cemetery for four years.
Once he unearthed the markers, he cleaned them with a brush and water.
"I'm sure the infants are there, if we dug down deep enough," Rupe said, referring to the small caskets. "I'm perplexed as anyone, why families didn't notice, or at least, other sextons."
Once the markers were cleaned, Rupe put new dirt down to fill and replaced the markers in the surface grass.
Rupe indicated he will take a list to Craig Corbeill, owner of Bruning's Funeral Home and a former 15-year board member of the Colfax Cemetery District. They will check records for names and specific locations of each burial.
"To make sure they're in the right spots," said Rupe. "To make sure families, when they come to visit, they know they're there."
More found
The 22-acre cemetery at the edge of Colfax holds an estimated 10,000 graves. Next year, it will expand to use another block of ground, a quarter acre, on the southwest side, which is already owned by the Colfax Cemetery District.
After the "Babyland" graves were discovered, two weeks later, two sisters came to the cemetery and told Rupe they could not find a marker for a loved one buried in what is known as block one, first edition, on the east side of the cemetery, behind the office.
Rupe went and probed the grass area in which they said the grave was. He found nothing.
He got the name of the deceased from the two women and later checked records, to find out the sisters' recollection was off by a section. Rupe then probed where the records showed and found a grave marker under four inches of grass and dirt.
"You don't expect anything to be down there when there's nothing on top," said Rupe. "We'd been mowing right over the top of it."
"Babyland"
The markers had also not moved for the infant graves, other than sinking down, according to Corbeill.
"They always were where they were supposed to be, they just got covered over," he said. "Over time, turf and stuff grew up around them and they just got lost over time."
Corbeill indicated that in the 1940s, '50s and '60s, it was common for cemeteries to bury infants in the same area. The practice continues while families also have an option to choose another spot.
"Grass clippings, trimmings just built up and took over the markers," Corbeill said. "We're pretty proud of Joe for finding them."
The coffins would be two feet under the marker.
"Six feet is a common misconception we get from the movies," said Corbeill.
An estimated 50-60 infants are buried in the "Babyland" section, marked by a stenciled sign and statue of an angel.
QuEstions
Corbeill estimates the infant area is used once per year.
"Dirt had just settled over the years, it was sodded over and just kind of lost," said Ron Hinnenkamp, chairman of the Colfax Cemetery District board.
Was a mistake made by a previous groundskeeper?
"I don't know, I don't think so," said Hinnenkamp.
How would they not notice grave markers used to be there and now they are not?
"I don't know. I was surprised," Hinnenkamp said.
Grass could grow over a low gravestone over the course of a winter. Maintenance workers at Colfax Cemetery have changed several times over years before Rupe was hired.
If a new maintenance sexton began the job one March, they may never have known that grave markers maintained and visible the previous fall, now were not.
Is there anything the cemetery district can do to prevent this from happening again?
"Probably for the caretaker to pay closer attention," Hinnenkamp said.
The Colfax Cemetery District is its own taxing district, a sole entity.
The district owns the property, originally private land donated for use as a cemetery.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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