To Everything A Season: EDGAR Family Cemetery, DeWitt Co., TX

Cleaning Visit

08 March 2013

Photo of Road Sign Coming

from the South on US 77 ALT

From Victoria, take US 87 North

Drive 26 miles

to Cuero,

35 minutes.

In Cuero, turn right on US 77 North

Drive 9 miles

to Concrete & Edgar Road,

12 minutes.

Turn left on

Concrete & Edgar Road.

Drive 1.5 miles West,

5 minutes.

Brown Road sign ahead on left.

Parking in gravel area on right or

beside (off) Concrete & Edgar Road.

Photo of Road Sign Coming

from the North on US 77

From Yoakum, take US 77 South

Drive 9.5 miles

to Concrete & Edgar Road,

14 minutes.

Turn right on

Concrete & Edgar Road.

Drive 1.5 miles West

on Concrete & Edgar Road,

5 minutes.

Brown Road sign ahead on left.

Parking in gravel area on right or

beside (off) Concrete & Edgar Road.

(Click to enlarge.)

DECORATION DAY: April 2013

        Welcome Grave Stones Location Meetings&Visits Management Politeness April 2015 April 2013 May 2006 WEBB 1991 - 2 GOLDSMITH 1969 TRACY

Latest update: Saturday, April 6, 2013

Join us Saturday, 06 April 2013 for a trek into the wilderness

of DeWitt Co, TEXAS to clean and document the EDGAR Family Cemetery.

Journal: Journey to DDay

Anyone interested in

attending either/or both work

sessions at the cemetery

and/or the luncheon should

contact Bob WEBB

(one of James’ and Selah’s

GGG-Grandsons).

Updates about Decoration

Day 2013,

the EFCA,

and other information

about the

cemetery can be found on

this website,

so bookmark and visit often.

As most of you know, we are planning

a group "expedition" to the EDGAR

Family Cemetery on Saturday, 06

April, 2013. The cemetery is remote,

on private land, near the location of

the old Edgar family homestead in the

Edgar community, between Cuero

and Yoakum.

It would be great if you all could

come. Of course, any other of your/

our Edgar relatives, extended family

members, and/or interested friends

are invited, too.

We are going to have most of the

major clean up work done (brush-

clearing, snake-insulated crew)

before that gathering. By April 6th,

hopefully all that will be left to do will

be "fine pruning," tending of the grave

sites, taking photographs, and

sharing stories of the EDGARs and

related families and some of their

neighbors and/or friends who were

also buried there.

I think we have all who were known to have been buried there now identified with their family linkages, except for one or two.

Maybe by (or on) April 6th, we'll get those two identified and any more we may find there.

• Directions and Parking

For the morning session, we are planning to meet at 7:45 a.m. Saturday at the parking area. Parking will be in a small, level,

gravel area on the north side of the Concrete & Edgar Road about 1.5 miles west of Hwy 77 that goes from Yoakum to Cuero

with overflow parking (if needed) alongside the Concrete & Edgar Road near there. If parking alongside the road, be sure and

pull completely off the road.  The road is not much more than one-lane wide, so parking too near the road would create

problems. There is plenty of grassy area alongside Concrete & Edgar road for safe parking if needed.

When driving west, that gravel area is on the right, just before the road sign for Brown Road that goes south (left) from the

Concrete & Edgar Road.  So, it’s essentially at the northeast corner of the intersection of Brown Road and the Concrete &

Edgar Road.  The gravel area is at the entrance to a fracking water retention reservoir built in anticipation of an oil well being

drilled there, plans for which are apparently now on hold.  The dry reservoir can easily be seen from the road and the parking

area.

From the parking area, the 15-passenger shuttle van and a few other vehicles will make the drive of about one-mile through

the landowner’s ranch over some rough terrain (very bumpy in spots), through some tall grass, past many cows and calves,

through several gates (one currently kept closed), across a branch of Cuero Creek (no bridge), and then up the hill to the old

Edgar home place and the cemetery.  The one-mile ride itself is an adventure!

The drive from that parking area back to the cemetery takes about 15 minutes, and the shuttle van will be making as many

round-trips as needed.  We are hoping to limit the number of vehicles that drive back to the cemetery, and then only to trucks

or SUVs.

Agenda (Draft 7)

News Release

The Founding of Edgar, TEXAS

• Suggestions

(Updated 27 Mar 2013)

in .pdf format

Refreshments: Please provide your own refreshments (if any) in a cooler or bag.  Drinking water is especially important

to bring; there is no source of drinking water at the cemetery.

Bathrooms: There are no bathrooms or similar facilities at the cemetery.  There are distant trees that can be used in an

emergency.  Please bring toilet tissue, wet wipes, etc. as you wish and may need.  The travel time by shuttle from the

cemetery to the parking area is about 10 minutes.  The travel time from the parking area to the nearest public facility (in

Yoakum) is about 15 minutes for a total time from the cemetery to the nearest public facility of about 25 minutes.

What to Wear: The current forecast (expect changes between now and then) is for a low about 60 (early in the morning)

and a high about 70 (by mid-afternoon).  Long pants (jean weight; briar resistant), jackets, long-sleeved shirts (consider

layers), hats, and leather gloves are advised for those who will be tending the cemetery.  All the same except perhaps the

gloves are advised for those who will just be attending the short, afternoon visitation.  Even then, gloves are advised if there

will be any reaching near gravestones to prevent briar pricks or the unlikely but possible strike from a bee, wasp, spider or

snake.  We don’t believe there is any active poison ivy remaining, but that possibility is another reason to have long pants,

boots, long sleeves and gloves.

Another reason sturdy boots are important is that the ground is very uneven and is a tripping hazard, partly due to feral hogs

rooting for wild onions and digging up the ground in all directions.

What to Bring (tools): The heavy work is done except for a few more stumps that need to be removed.  For those who

will be tending the cemetery in the morning and/or the afternoon, the most important tools to bring include (examples

illustrated in the photo):

• Strong rake with sturdy teeth for scratching and leveling and snaring small vines and roots

• Lawn rake for collecting vines and other light debris

• Hand shears/clippers for clipping vines and roots

• Long-handled shears for clipping larger vines and roots

• Gardening tools (hand rake, trowel, etc.) for leveling around gravestones

• Knee pads or gardening pad for kneeling

• Brush or brushes

What to Bring (other)

• Lawn chairs

• Sunscreen

• Insect repellant

• Camera.  Although we will be taking and posting photos, transcriptions, maps, GPS coordinates,

maps, diagrams, etc, you may want a personal documentation of the trip; for example a photo of

you standing next to the gravestone of your ancestor. Remember to share your photos with us.

• 5 Key Objectives

(Updated Sunday, March 31, 2013)

Objective 1: Work safely

• Wear long sleeves, boots, and gloves when working or walking in cemetery

• Be wary of snakes and spiders, especially in ground holes and underbrush

• Be wary of uneven ground, roots and slips, trips and falls

• Be wary of thorns and “spikes” of vines and underbrush

• Be wary of barbed wire & iron fencing around graves

• Be wary of dehydration

• Be wary of sunburn

Objective 2: Do no harm

• Grave markers (visible and not yet visible)

• Current fencing

Objective 3: Clear away debris, vines and roots

• Clip remaining vines, spikes and surface roots

• Rake area and move debris outside of fence

• Remove some of remaining stumps

• Smooth areas around stones

Objective 4: Record locations of grave stones on forms provided (16 sections)

• Identify and/or briefly describe each stone recorded (size, shape, etc.)

• Record locations of all stones with and without inscriptions

• Place flag at location of all stones with no inscriptions

• identify stones needing repair and/or resetting

Objective 5: Apply herbicide to lessen re-growth and fire ant bait where needed

• Last step, done after clearing and recording steps

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