Page 120 - Demo

118School bus, Jackson County (186-01)As you might expect, you never see as many forsaken community buildings as abandoned houses and barns. In the case of churches, when a congregation moved into a larger structure, the old building was usually taken over by another denomination eager for a home of their own. Many of the old one- and two-room schools have been turned into residences, or they%u2019re used for storage or as barns. With only a few being empty and in disrepair, I%u2019m glad most of these buildings have been given a second life. It also pleases me to discover a particularly moving limestone grave marker. To me cemeteries aren%u2019t morbid, they%u2019re places filled with love. Every stone was erected in someone%u2019s memory, and many of those memories were happy ones. So, when I touch a hand-carved statue of a little girl, I don%u2019t dwell on the fact that she died young. Instead, I feel the immense joy she must have brought to her parents for them to commission a journeymen stone carver to create such a heartfelt memorial%u2014a memorial that boldly proclaims %u201cRemember!%u201d