George's assists with project - By Lisa Schlichtman
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Cemetery project is team effort George's is working with the Barry County Cemetery Restoration and Preservation Committee to preserve the Hadley Cemeteries, which are located on pasture land the company owns southwest of Butterfield. George's paid for material and labor to fence the two cemeteries and also volunteered its equipment to reset several headstones. Pictured above, from left, are: Jack Fly and Ted Roller, members of the Cemetery Restoration Committee; George's employees Terry Caudill, Joe Chaney, Dustin Long and Jake McFarland; Randy McFarland, head groundskeeper; and Matt Skinner, plant manager. The headstone pictured above is made of hollow steel. It belongs to Sarah McKee, who died on Dec. 5, 1898. Democrat Photo. George's assists with project - By Lisa Schlichtman Cassville Democrat, Thursday, May 31, 2007 11:50 AM CDT The Barry County Genealogical and Historical Society and George's Inc. of Butterfield have been working together to restore two cemeteries in Butterfield. The Hadley Cemeteries, which are located on property owned by George's, have now been fenced and restoration work on deteriorating headstones has begun. George's provided all the materials and labor to build fences around both cemeteries, which are located in the middle of pasture land along Farm Road 1085 south of the new George's feed mill. On Tuesday morning, the George's crew, under the direction of groundskeeper Randy McFarland, were back on site with a large back hoe to help reset several large headstones that had toppled off of their bases. Now that the cemeteries have been fenced, volunteers working with the Barry County Cemetery Restoration and Preservation Committee will begin cleaning up both cemetery sites. "Our goal will be to rake the cemetery and remove any remaining debris and stake out those graves marked with field stones," said Jack Fly, Committee founder and member. "I currently have several of the headstones at my house, and I am in the process of restoring them. They will be reset at another time." George's employees who assisted with the project included: Randy McFarland, Jake McFarland, Terry Caudill, Joe Chaney and Dustin Long. "These guys attack any project we give them, and they did a great job here as well," said Matt Skinner, George's plant manager. It was Skinner who Fly and Ted Roller, another Cemetery Committee member and avid historian, approached about helping with the cemetery project. "They asked for our help, and we were happy to give it," said Skinner. "I'm a big history buff, so this is of particular interest to me. When you stand up here and look at these cemeteries, you can see this would have been a beautiful place to homestead." Roller said he did not believe there were any of Henry Hadley's family still living in the Barry County area. "That's why it's even more important that we restore these cemeteries and their history," said Roller. For more information about the Barry County Cemetery Restoration and Preservation Committee, contact Fly at 271-3868. Story Submitted by Jack Fly |