By RACHEL PHELPS
Longview News-Journal

Thursday, January 03, 2008

If a proper gravestone was not available in the 1800s, people improvised. G.D. Ray, president of the Enon Cemetery board of trustees, said he has seen axle springs and pieces of wagons serve as gravestones in Enon.

"Some of those are called unknown markers now," Ray said. "There are several out there that are deteriorating and we don't know who they are."

G.D. Ray walks around the Enon Cemetery on Monday in Gilmer. Cemetery trustee members say a replacement is needed for the 60-year-old fence.

Enon Cemetery in Gilmer has been around since sometime in the middle of the 19th century. Ray said the oldest gravestone he found so far was dated 1852.

About 1,000 people are buried in Enon, Ray said. Along with vehicle parts for headstones, the cemetery also has the grave of a Confederate cavalry trooper and a grave marker with six names on it.

The upkeep of Enon Cemetery is the responsibility of a local board of trustees. Basic upkeep costs about $275 a month, according to Mary Hamberlin, the board secretary and treasurer. The expenses are paid out of an operating account and interest from investments. Hamberlin said the income covers the general costs, but not any special projects.

The board is raising money to replace the cyclone fence around the cemetery. It was installed in 1949 and has severely rusted. Ray said the posts will be straightened and the chain link portion replaced. This is the first time the board of trustees has launched a formal fundraiser since the 1960s, Ray said.

The money donated will not necessarily go to the fence. Ray said he hopes more money comes in because he also wants to raise funds for a summer project to fix the leaning headstones.

"You get these tall, old-timey stones from the 1800s and after a while they start to lean bad," Ray said.

The trustees for the cemetery are elected each year at a public meeting. The positions on the board are not paid, and not many people apply for them, Ray said. When a position comes open, the board members nominate people with relatives buried in the cemetery.

Enon has always been special to Ray.

"(Enon) has always been a tender spot for me, because I've always said, 'those people can't help themselves,'" Ray said.

The board is soliciting donations from those who have relatives buried in the cemetery, but anyone is welcome to give. Ray said people used to just hand the trustees change.

"Some gave a nickel, some gave 25 cents. A dollar was big time back in the forties and fifties," Ray said.

The records were written on scraps of paper and thrown into a box, Ray said. When he took over as president in 1974, he and the board went through and organized everything and upgraded their system.

"Everything is taken care of now," Ray said. "When you make a donation, we keep records and you can get a receipt from the treasurer."