Above and beyond the call ....

As many know --- I hope --- the Shelter House at the Chariton Cemetery is open Memorial Day weekends, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday-Monday, staffed by volunteers. This is a project of the Chariton Historic Preservation Commission and volunteer genealogists. The goal is to be on hand to help visitors locate graves when we can, offer free water, lemonade and cookies, allow guests to tour the little building, ordinarily locked --- and provide access to the cemetery's only restroom.

Anyhow, the intrepid Karen Patterson and Dorothy Allen were on hand about noon yesterday when the delivery person for a local florist threw up hands in despair and was ready to concede defeat. Michael Roach's children, who live in Washington, had ordered flowers, asking that they be placed at his grave for Memorial Day.

But locating a grave in the Chariton Cemetery can be a challenge. It is very large and very old, by Iowa standards. And even though we have a complete record of recorded burials at the Shelter House, these records work best in conjunction with the huge map, upon which lots are clearly marked, in the records room at Chariton City Hall.

Anyhow, Karen stepped into the breech, accepted the bouquet and promised to deliver it. This involved two trips to a section in the southwest corner of the cemetery where records indicated that Michael was buried. I arrived in time to accompany Karen and Dorothy on the second trip after the records had been double-checked and Alyse Hunter had arrived to relieve them from Shelter House duty.

This time we found Michael's grave with few problems. The difficulty had been that his marker is small, flush with the ground and located at the foot of his mother's grave, only evident when you're upon it. But Michael was there along with his parents, brother, sister, grandparents and aunt, Ruth Roach, one of Lucas County's most admired and longest serving educators.

I know that Karen, Dorothy and the others consider it a privilege to volunteer at the cemetery on this meaningful weekend. Me, too. So if you're at the cemetery today or tomorrow, stop at the Shelter House. Someone will be there.