Day Trippin’ Through Central Pennsylvania

We , being a spontaneous duo, decided to take off for parts unknown on Wednesday.  We had no idea where we were heading or where we would end up, but knew we’d start at Woodward Hill Cemetery where I had to check some very hard to read inscriptions.

After checking this headstone, I still only know that Anna was the wife of John and cannot make out his surname.  I took some more pictures of Section L in the cemetery and we decided to forget Woodward Hill for awhile and see something different.

As we headed north we decided to go to Indiantown Gap National Cemetery since we were very close to it.  We have found our final home! This place is absolutely beautiful!  It is serene, well manicured and just one of the most attractive cemeteries we have ever been in.  We checked and Jim, being a veteran, and I as his wife, will have no problem making this our final resting place.

We drove through this well-designed cemetery and I looked for various people in my database.  The computer database at the cemetery had spit out maps with the name and section number for each name, and all we had to do is drive to it!  Each section was well manicured with no trash or dead flowers.  Throughout the cemetery spots like this are found with benches, trash cans, and a paved walk.

As we were about the leave the cemetery, a funeral was in progress in the area referred to as the Commital Shelter.  This is a secluded, covered area where final services are held for the veteran, with military honors and are scheduled at 30 minute intervals throughout the day.  When we had entered the cemetery we noticed the flag was at half mast and wondered why.  According to the brochure I obtained in the office, I found out that the flag is at half mast “out of respect for all persons buried that day.”    The scene below was behind the Commital Shelter on the way to the Pennsylvania  Veterans’ Memorial.

What would be off to this man’s right, and up on a small rise is The Pennsylvania Veterans’ Memorial, aforementioned.  It is beautifully designed, and was dedicated in 2001 in honor of all veterans from the Commonwealth starting with the Revolutionary War and through the present.  Names, rank and dates of service can be added by filling out a form and purchasing a spot on a Cruciform for a small fee.

Leaving  this cemetery we decided to cross the Susquehanna and head north to Perry County, one of our favorite spots!  Since we have not been to Millerstown for quite a while, we decided to go visit my great-great-great-great-grandmother, Mary Wolf Troup Lemon, who is buried in the old cemetery in this area.  She and her second husband, Daniel Lemon, are buried next to a large, growing tree.

On our last visit a year or so ago, Daniel’s headstone was growing into the tree.  The tree won.  Daniel’s headstone is now broken into several pieces.  If you follow the dark line up the tree and then see the black hole to the right of that line.  That black hole once had the corner of the headstone imbedded in it.

In the far corner is a group of headstones belonging to the Wolf family.  My fifth great grandfather, Peter Wolf, is in this group, so I visited him as well.  Peter Wolf was Mary Lemon’s father and rests with a few of his children in this shady spot under an old tree.  His wife, Elizabeth Grove Wolf, may rest here as well, but if she does, her headstone has been either buried or missing for a number of years.

There were several headstones just like this one ~ well, the names and dates were different, of course ~ but they were all cast iron with a minimal amount of rust.  You could read each one easily.  I was amazed, since in all the cemeteries I’ve been in, I’d never seen any quite like these.  It was the first I’d taken time to walk thru this cemetery, so of course, it was the first time I’d seen these.  There were several sites that had wonderful surrounds and one of them was spectacular.  It must be maintained by the family.

One of the residents of this site is William Everhart, who’s monument is still very readable even though he died in 1881.  Perhaps the fact that this cemetery is surrounded by trees and hedges contributes to it’s protection from the elements.

Bidding adieu to my family in Millerstown, we headed towards Newport, taking the long way through woods, next to streams and farms. We saw a couple of cabins off the side of the road and got a little wistful thinking this must be, after all, the right way to live!   Reality took over as we neared Newport and we realized we could always visit. . . 

Since I stopped and saw her mother and grandfather, it was only right that I stop and say Hello to my great-great-great-great-grandmother Ann Eliza Troup Ziegler.  She is buried next to her husband, Philip and in front of my great-great-grandmother, Mary Jane Ziegler Gantt Carvell and her first husband, Joseph Don L. Gantt.  

Mary Jane married my great-great grandfather, Jeremiah Mark Carvell, after the death of Joseph Gantt, bringing a young daughter to the marriage.  She and Jeremiah only had one daughter who survived infancy, and it was my great-grandmother, Carrie whom I had visited last month in Shippensburg along with my grandmother, Nellie, and Carrie’s father, Jeremiah.

Next to Mary Jane Carvell and Joseph Gantt’s site are his parents.  Somebody had requested, and probably paid for Perpetual Care, and there was, at one time, a plate that indicated so.  The plate is still there . . . sort of!  

I walked through a portion of the cemetery, talking to a few of my people here and there and taking a few pictures since the landscape seems to change with each visit.  The Troups headstones were some that had changed drastically.  It appears a flood of water went through at some point, although these headstones are on the uphill side of the cemetery.  Can’t figure out how this happened. . . 

As we left the Cemetery and headed back to Newport on our way home, I had to take the final picture of the day.  For some reason this just struck me a peculiar!  The American Legion is the Perry County Country Club??  Am I reading this right?  or are they just on the same road?  Some day we’ll have to take a side trip to find out, but not today!  Our day was drawing to a close and we were hungry.  It was 4:00 PM and we had not stopped for lunch.  A combination lunch/dinner was coming up on the way home.

Another wonderful day in Paradise. . . .