Participation Type
Workshop
Session Title
Session 1.08 Politics and Government
Presentation #1 Title
Owning our heritage: stories of family cemetery preservation struggles in West Virginia
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Our presentation will be focused around 1) the critical cultural importance of WV family cemeteries, 2)struggles to personally preserve our family cemeteries and 3) efforts during the past five years to gain better legislative support for prevention of desecration and access rights to all cemeteries. Many small community and family cemeteries in West Virginia are endangered due to large scale mineral extraction, housing development, road and school construction, etc. While there are legal processes in place to record a cemetery with the State Historic Preservation Office, there are no enforcement processes to ensure that these cemeteries or the access routes leading to them are protected. In fact, the very definition of what constitutes a cemetery has recently been debated in the WV Supreme Court, due to a case of desecration in Logan County, WV. These cemeteries contain precious and irreplaceable records of our state and cultural heritage. Countless Civil War era veterans are buried in our hills and hollows, as are veterans of other wars. Occasionally, one will even find a Revolutionary War veteran or a community founder. We are therefore in danger of losing some of our most precious state records and resources. We believe it is critical at this point in time for all West Virginians to claim “ownership” of their heritage and seek to maintain and preserve their family and community cemeteries. This workshop will provide first-hand accounts and pictorial evidence of endangered and desecrated cemeteries, and information on how preservation can be accomplished in West Virginia.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Robin Blakeman, MA, (Marshall U 1989), MDiv & ThM (Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary 2003/2004). She is an 8th generation southern West Virginia resident, an ordained Presbyterian minister, and currently employed by the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (OVEC).
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Additional Presenters (as available): Dustin White, Maria Gunnoe, Danny Cook (all are multi-generational descendants of WV residents. Dustin and Maria are also OVEC employees; Danny is on the OVEC Board of Directors)
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Additional Presenters (as available): Dustin White, Maria Gunnoe, Danny Cook (all are multi-generational descendants of WV residents. Dustin and Maria are also OVEC employees; Danny is on the OVEC Board of Directors)
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #4
Additional Presenters (as available): Dustin White, Maria Gunnoe, Danny Cook (all are multi-generational descendants of WV residents. Dustin and Maria are also OVEC employees; Danny is on the OVEC Board of Directors)
Owning our heritage: stories of family cemetery preservation struggles in West Virginia
Corbly Hall 244
Our presentation will be focused around 1) the critical cultural importance of WV family cemeteries, 2)struggles to personally preserve our family cemeteries and 3) efforts during the past five years to gain better legislative support for prevention of desecration and access rights to all cemeteries. Many small community and family cemeteries in West Virginia are endangered due to large scale mineral extraction, housing development, road and school construction, etc. While there are legal processes in place to record a cemetery with the State Historic Preservation Office, there are no enforcement processes to ensure that these cemeteries or the access routes leading to them are protected. In fact, the very definition of what constitutes a cemetery has recently been debated in the WV Supreme Court, due to a case of desecration in Logan County, WV. These cemeteries contain precious and irreplaceable records of our state and cultural heritage. Countless Civil War era veterans are buried in our hills and hollows, as are veterans of other wars. Occasionally, one will even find a Revolutionary War veteran or a community founder. We are therefore in danger of losing some of our most precious state records and resources. We believe it is critical at this point in time for all West Virginians to claim “ownership” of their heritage and seek to maintain and preserve their family and community cemeteries. This workshop will provide first-hand accounts and pictorial evidence of endangered and desecrated cemeteries, and information on how preservation can be accomplished in West Virginia.
