Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1895-10-10
No Use For Ancestors.
lRinn H. Butler in Pittsburg rimesl

(Bl0n h Butler IN fltlsouIB lIHeSJ
man las little use Tor his ancestors,
except TO boas. of them. When We want
to prove how noble we are II is not the
fashion TO point to acts OF our own. out
to the things done by our sires. The good
the old fellows did lives in our minds. The
frailties are buried with them and con-
veniently forgotten. Except for the pur-
pose of supplying proud line OF descent
The ancestors are forgotten at tle sane
time. Butler is a queer town. presenting
one seemiug paradox II Is a bustling
MACE but in the middle of it is guaran
lee that no man sheds tears oyeT the
| graves of his great-grand- parents. In the
| heart of Batter is an Abandoned burial
plot
II is one Of those neglected cities of the
| de "a that you think about whe1 you near
Tie phrase Gods acre" The well-kept
cemetery is still mans domain. Gods
acre il thst one which mas been abandon
| ed until none but the infinite All Father
! has room to make a place Tor 1t IN his
| warchfnlness. So Gods acre comes to be
the one that man hAs turned away from,
| and The kindly touch OF nature IN It's wlid
war. takes hold. Foliage springs up 10
hide crumbling and broken graYestones.
| The myrtle that once was tended by loF-
| ing hands and trained TO run IN proper
| lines is encouraged by the broader cuIllFa
| of natural forces 10 find root where II can
and snread 10 every conceivable point
Weeds crow. The weed is always chart
table. If it cannot hold place IN fash
ion.bIe lawns and gardens it offers its
| services in out of the way places where
irs aristocratic kin are insufficient or TOO
slow. Wild flowers cover the graves ol
the pauper and Of the patrician, when tAe
two have been dead SO long that they may
be overlooked with p-opriety Dy tneir
kindred. n.
gut the abandoned burial place in But
Ier il moi mans acre NOR is it wholly Gods
| n belongs. aside from a lew magnificent
oak trees and a carpet of grass that
struggles to befriend the memory OF the
dead. 10 the boys and girls who attend
The schools close by. Quaint hea1st1nes
serve the boys a. block for leaptroG
Well-worn paths are beaten across the lot
N different directions The quiet thal
would seem consisten- with the place Is
Droken by the laughter OF children ana
the tread of an endless stream OF people
who take near cut BIZ the paths.
Grass fears no man. lt grows, there
fore in the derserted Butler cemetery
The weeds and tangles of myrtle that are
absent here. Too many feet are an abom-
| inalion TO the growth Of anything. The
place is a common, with collection OF old
| d headstones. and through the headstones
with a smattering of the early history OF
Bntler. The epitaphs tell of men who
dier wears before the most OF us |ete
born.
Yes when we are dead We are soon tor
gatten. Who knows the name OF MS
GRANDMOTHER grandfather Who knows
where his ancestors OF four generations
ago lie buriedi Except that he himself Is
| .vidence of the fact, who Knows thai he
| had any ancestors so long ago as the He
OF the "soldier Of 1776g" And what mat
ters lt7 This is a world Of the living, mol
| of the dead. :.
Yet could not help but think that II
| Butler would enclose the acre wherein
repose the forgotten dead nature would
cover the profound graves and the dls.
| intecratiDg tombstones with weeds anu
| foliage TO temper the assaults OF time
| that she would not allow mans forget
| fuln ess to stand out so garishly as it does
now. with the naked and broken stones.
| Time effaees as fast as possible. but IN a
| Iuiet manner She does nothing IN harsh
-ss OF effrontery Sooner o. latter the
gutler burial plot will lose all traces OF
ne dead who lie there. The whole world
is a graveyard. Life is built On death,
and if we devote our time to sorrowlng
tor the countless myriads who have gone
since Adonis's days we would have to
stay up nights to wipe our eyes.
Yet thst does not smooth out the lack
of veneration and sentiment that turns the
graves of ones ancestors over to the
| children. The old Bnter burial place Is
one Of the most interesting bits Of history
| in the.county. 1t is worthy more sacred