On this page: Visit Planning, Suggestions and Objectives
Latest update: Thursday, 19 February, 2015
The EDGAR Family Cemetery is on PRIVATE LAND.
Do not trespass.
Please contact us if you are interested in visiting.
• Suggestions
(Updated 27 Mar 2013)
• 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 usual forcast for Decoration Day events 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