Memorial Day Weekend. The official beginning of summer and a time to pause and think about those who have gone before. The cemeteries are beautiful… freshly mowed, full of flowers and veterans’ flags planted amid permanent monuments to souls no longer with us but whose memories endure.

The tallest monument in the cemetery belongs to John V. and Lola Evans. John V. was a former governor, but I’ll always remember him coming in from farming on Saturday afternoons ready for lunch. Campbells Bean with Bacon soup and sandwiches made up the menu. Lola and her friends went grocery shopping on Saturday mornings and then to lunch; so, Martha, their daughter, and I heated the soup and made the sandwiches. The future governor was quite normal. He read his mail, ate his lunch, gave the boys (Dave and Johnny) instructions for the rest of the afternoon and then went back to work.

Orin and Pearl Jones rest under two smooth river rocks that are unique and so appropriate for this couple. Many from my generation learned to drive sitting next to Orin in the Drivers’ Training car. I don’t remember ever thinking he was happy to be there, but we paid attention, and he got the job done. That feat alone would smooth your rough edges.  Pearl ran the first pre-school program in the county and was smooth from the start: kind, caring and someone you would trust with your little ones. Her snow-white hair and gentle way introduced many to formal education which included the wonders and challenges of a peer group.

Up in the northeast corner are Richard T. and Mary Jones along with Thomas L. and Jane Evans; both sets are my Grandma Blodwin’s grandparents. They were early arrivers in the valley and currently have posterity from the seventh generation still thriving here. They came and they stayed. 

There are about 5,500 graves in the Malad Cemetery. As of 2023 there were 4,953 living people in Oneida County. Now that isn’t counting all the other cemeteries in the valley, so I think it’s safe to say the deceased outnumber the living. Most of us are just going to end up in the ground at the foot of the mountain with our own peer group of sometimes grumpy, mostly kind workers who care, it’s life. It’s a Good Life when we can contribute to the well-being of those left behind… just like John V., Lola, Pearl, Orin and my Greats and yours did. So, while we can let’s get to work, even if we are a little grumpy  sometimes!