This is a station editorial, I’m Randal J. Miller, station president.

Well, it’s summer.   Time for hot weather, vacations, swimming pools, t-ball and Little League games, reunions, and….Fairs.

Our local Fairs give our youth thru-out Central Illinois, the opportunity to show off their:   cows, pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits, chickens, flowers, cookies...well, you get the idea.

To show off all those things, these kids work countless hours getting ready for that big moment when that animal, bouquet of flowers, or plate of cookies, goes before the judges.   

Thanks to many businesses in our listening area, our stations will again have the honor of going out and broadcasting live from many of these Fairs.  Some of my greatest memories as a broadcaster and broadcast owner, are when I hear these kids and teenagers be interviewed to talk about all the hard work they put in ahead of the big moment when their animal or item is judged.

From the Junior, 4-H and County Fairs, to the State Fair, we’ll be there all summer long, capturing the sounds of summer.   We put many miles on our station vehicles, going out and interviewing those kids and teenagers that will be showing in the many Fairs across the area.  And, you’ll read the results of all that judging on the Fair Results page of taylorvilledailynews.com and dewittdailynews.com.

We encourage you to go out and support the future of agriculture by attending these Fairs, walking thru the barns and culinary buildings, and see that the future of agriculture is in good hands.

Yup, it’s summer….it’s hot….and it’s Fair season.   Go out and enjoy it...and have a corn dog!

That’s our opinion, we welcome yours.   Our e-mail address is editorial@randyradio.com.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:  Grave Markers in Disrepair at Fraley Cemetery

Posted June 10, 2024

Dear Editor:

Your local cemetery may not be top of mind – until you need to lay a friend or family member to rest.  Or you may be one who notices how pristine the grass looks as you drive by.  Let us be honest, cemetery maintenance isn’t something you really think about.    If you hear about gravestones in poor shape, or falling over, you are probably dismissing it thinking “old colonial” “in the middle of the woods somewhere”.     

I write to draw your attention to the state of the old graves in Fraley graveyard.  Fraley, like many cemeteries, are in need of some serious TLC because they have not been treated with the respect and attention they deserve.   Monuments have toppled and been left in the dirt and trees to crumble.  Other stones have been tossed in a pile, leaned against stumps so they don’t interfere with mowing.  No one is caring for them.    Loved one’s markers are being treated as trash and a nuisance.

How do I know this?  Why do I care?  As an amateur genealogist, I believe that the markers left are links to a different time and culture that we need to be mindful of, learn from and care for.  Markers were chosen and placed with love in hopes that family members would never be forgotten and forever celebrated My great great grandparents called Taylorville home in their early marriage. 

Their five children were born here – three are buried in Fraley Cemetery.   These babies were lost to time.  I knew “of” their existence due to a box filled in an old census and the where to start looking from a clipping in my grandmother’s scrapbook.  It was thanks to some local people that I was able to connect that I have been able to see the state of the old cemetery.   And it is because of local people, that I will be able to preserve my family’s monument.   If I waited til fall, I may have been too late -  Erma, Mettie and Ross Bell would have been lost.

It is these old cemeteries that tell the stories of war, influenza, the bitter winters, lifelong loves and high mortality rates of mothers and young babies.  These cemeteries are a snapshot of our story – our history.  We all have the responsibility to look after the cemeteries in our communities.  Families may have moved away, but they have placed their trust in their community to continue to care for their loved ones – the same way you have placed your trust in the cemetery and community where you have recently buried your loved one.

My letter today intended as a call to action to the community of Taylorville and surrounding area.  Save your old cemeteries.  Ensure they are properly cared for and respected.  Do not let any more markers get lost and with them the last trace of many of our early family members and their neighbours.

   
Respectfully,
Sandi Urban
Great-great granddaughter of Joseph B. Bell & Hattie Lowrance
Martensville, Saskatchewan Canada