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Seek And Ye Shall Find With New Cemetery Map
As printed in the July 31,2006 edition of the Barnesville Record-Review.
by: Pam Aakre
There are many ways to earn an income. Occupations range from astronaut to
zoologist and everything in between.
Some professions are common, like a farmer, teacher, doctor, businessman,
lawyer, or even a journalist, while other types of employment may be
considered a little out of the ordinary.
One rather unique means of livelihood is the mapping of cemeteries. But that
is what Debbie and Mike Wiczek have done for the past 16 years.
During this time, the Winona, MN couple have been contracted to map hundreds
of cemeteries throughout the United States and recently completed mapping
City Cemetery in Barnesville.
The Barnesville City Cemetery Association Board of Directors contracted
with Debbie Wiczek, owner of Cemetery Updating Services, to map the cemetery
and provide a user friendly database enabling a quick, efficient and easy
way to locate the graves of loved ones.
The need for the Barnesville City Cemetery to be mapped became apparent
about a year ago when a family was about to bury their father. When the day
of the interment arrived, the family gathered at the cemetery.
Unfortunately, because no one was able to, with clarity, judge whether the
intended burial spot was indeed available, the family was unable to proceed
with the service.
As it happened, the cemetery sexton, who has possession of the most current
map, was out of town and the funeral director was from out of town and not
familiar with the local cemetery.
All did turn out well in the end as the lot was open for burial. But the
family was rightfully very distressed, inconvenienced and forced to return
another day for the burial service.
"The three-ring binder I will provide the cemetery board after I am through,
will allow easy access to locate the grave of a specific person, see which
lots are purchased and those that are still available," says Wiczek.
"It's all about penning, pinning, placing and proofing," says Debbie.
"Penning is taking the information from the head stone, like the name, date
of birth, date of death, and comparing it with the data given by the
cemetery board. Pinning is measuring the lot. In Barnesville's case, it's
every five feet."
She continues to explain, "placing is when we take a long string that has
evenly placed flags tied to it and record the actual placement of the graves
within the lot. We even record it on the map when there is no stone, but it
looks like a burial. It's our job to make the map of the cemetery and its
records as accurate as possible. That's where the proofing comes in. We're
constantly checking and re-checking the information as it is recorded and
entered into the computer. We do the best job that we can to provide an
accurate map and record of the cemetery."
Debbie admits it is a long, tedious process. "You really need to be mind set
and remain focused, especially when the bugs begin to squirm, the sun is
scorching down on you and your back begins to ache. It may not seem like it,
but this job is physically gruelling."
On the other side of the tombstone is the peace and naturešs beauty that
cemeteries provide. "And we always meet really nice people wherever we go,"
says Debbie.
"The people of Barnesville have been so welcoming, bringing us cookies and
stopping by for a visit." Board member Sharon Ellefson and husband Arnie
offered the use of their camper to the Wiczeks during their stay. "We donšt
make a habit of camping on cemetery grounds. Wešve only done it one other
time," Debbie says.
Debbie's husband Mike teams up with her and assists in the project when his
home construction business allows. On this particular project, Mike met
Debbie in Barnesville after he completed his work in Bemidji.
The Wiczeks arrived at the cemetery on July 18 and began working the next
morning. Because the couple has put in a couple of long days, from 6 a.m. to
9 p.m, and their son was able to come to Barnesville to help a bit, they
were able to accomplish the task at hand in about two weeks. Debbie
estimates they have been able to complete, on average, 200 graves per day.
The Wiczeks agree that the City Cemetery is laid out well. "A few times
wešve run into a spot where it looks like there may be a burial, but the
grave is not marked. I use my probe to see if I can hear if anything is
buried below," says Mike.
Even though the people who currently reside in cemeteries are unable to
speak, the imprints etched in the tombstone and records do tell a tale.
"We've unveiled lots of tragic stories," Mike acknowledges. He recalls
looking through records from a cemetery near Duluth, MN that says a fire
wiped out four families on the same day.
"Another time, we saw where all the children in one family died as a result
of cholera or diphtheria. This was before penicillin was discovered," Mike
said. Debbie adds, "the Mom didnšt get sick, but ended up committing suicide
months later."
Mike thinks of another story. "While mapping a cemetery in Walker, MN, we
could see whenever a severe cold and flu season went through because many of
the elderly people living in the nursing home died."
Cemetery Updating Services has been contracted to map cemeteries that have
included some notable people, including Sinclair Lewis at Sauk Center, MN
and Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane at Deadwood, SD.
"Also buried in that cemetery,˛ says Debbie, "is a lady named Dora Dufran.
She was a noted brothel owner in the Black Hills. Anyway, the comment in the
record book stated Dora was buried with her pet parrot, Fred. Because
parrots are such noisy birds, I'm thinking that Fred died an untimely death
because no one probably appreciated him like Dora did. Thinking of that
story has made me laugh more than once."
From Vermont to Washington, Minnesota to Arizona, the Wiczeks have traveled
all across the United States providing their one of a kind service. "We
probably map about 10 cemeteries per year," Debbie figures.
The furthest request has come from Zimbabwe, Africa. They also have had
requests for their services in Mexico and Canada. "We have confined our
activity to the U.S.,"says Debbie.
Cemetery Updating Services creates a map of the cemetery. An overall map,
which is divided into numbered sections, shows the cemetery as a whole.
Smaller maps, with corresponding section numbers, indicate the lot number of
the deceased, lots that are sold but not used and lots that are still
available for purchase.
All of the data is cross-referenced and organized alphabetically by name,
numerically by location, chronologically by date of death. Included in the
three-ring binder is an alphabetical and numerical list of lot owners, as
well as veterans.
Once the on-site visit is complete, Debbie makes corrections to the records
and maps. Then, the book and maps are reprinted and everything is returned
to the cemetery board. Extra pages are already in place so additional names
can be added when the time comes.
Cemetery Updating Services archives all of its records so they can be
reprinted on demand. "I also provide the cemetery a compact disc of all
interment records and maps. The program we use is user friendly. That way,
they can update the records themselves if they have the computer capability
and so choose. Otherwise, I can do it too."says Debbie.
"This is a continual record-keeping process," Mike adds.
Debbie began Cemetery Updating Services after she visited a cemetery in
search of the grave of her friend's father who had died during the Korean
War. Staff at the cemetery office was able to locate the record after a 30
minute wait and handed her a bad photocopy of a very poor map. Despite these
circumstances, Debbie and her friend were able to find the grave.
She then stopped back at the office and handed them her business card. At
the time, she was operating her own drafting/design business for the home
construction industry. She let them know that she could help them with their
maps. Later that week, the cemetery called her to do just that and a new
business venture for Debbie was born.
Anyone who would like more information about Cemetery Updating Services can
log on to www.cemeteryrecordservices.com or call Wiczek at 507 312-0811.
Cost is based on the number of graves within the cemetery. The cost to have
this service completed at City Cemetery is between $10,000 to $11,000.
Thanks to Cemetery Updating Services, it will be a lot easier and quicker
for family members to locate the graves of loved ones who are resting in
City Cemetery.
As printed in the July 31,2006 edition of the Barnesville Record-Review.
by: Pam Aakre
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