Further examples of neglect

Don't forget for a second that each of these markers represent people who were laid to rest here by families that loved them.




































Yes, this a very old stone that is now illegible. It once had paint on it but that has faded. Why is this where debris is collected? Are the remains of anyone else under the rubbish?












































































































































































































I still cannot fathom how a church can allow this to happen to a cemetery they bought and promised to "clean up" over a decade ago. Bethany Slavic Missionary Church is one of the area's "Megachurches" with well over 3,000 people in its congregation. Over 3,000 members, and they cannot get a dozen volunteers to perform their "Christian duty" to take properly care of the resting places of the deceased that their church willingly and readily purchased? Don't forget that ALL modern Slavic graves are immaculate and extravagantly cared for at both cemeteries in Quiet Haven Memorial Park. The dichotomy is palpable and pathetic. It is clear that management feels the only graves worth caring for are deceased church members. I hate to say that, but there is really no other conclusion to draw in light of the apparent and overwhelming evidence.

Myra Chambers, 1906-2007

This is curious. We have a temporary marker and the permanent marker sitting off to the side of the cemetery along the fence with the other misplaced stones. Why is this? 2007 is not long enough ago for the cemetery to have misplaced Myra's remains.

Myra was loved. She was probably a mother, a grandmother, maybe a great grandmother? She lived 98 years. Apparently she was a Registered Nurse, so she cared for others. Why, barely three years after her death, is her grave marker set aside with the other misplaced stones?

Her obituary ran in the Sacramento Bee on December 9, 2007. Without paying the obituary archive service, I can read the first line: "CHAMBERS, Myra Catherine Died on December 6, 2007. Myra is survived by her grandson Michael Brian Chambers, devoted friend Dennis John Huber, and son John."

"Saving Graves"

This site does not seem to have been updated since 2004, but it is interesting to note its assessment of "Bell View Cemetery" in 2000.

It claims 1500 grave sites and that the oldest was 1839? Maybe that's just a typo? Listed key problems includes "apathy," (I agree). Also claims to have contacted local news station and "authorities". The Sac Bee article on a community meeting was at the end of 2000, so perhaps is listing coincided with the December meeting?

http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ca/state/bell%20view.htm

Saving Graves

Bell View Cemetery

Sacramento, Sacramento County, California

Date: December 19, 2000

Cemetery: Bell View Cemetery
Street: 9899 Elder Creek Rd.
City: Sacramento
Township:
County: Sacramento
State: CA
Nation: United States
Zip: 95829-9305
Nearby: Bradshaw Rd.
Land Type: Private
Status: Active
Accessible: Yes
Unmarked graves: Yes
Graves within: 1500
Oldest grave: 1839
Newest grave: unknown
Records: Unsure
Inventory: Yes
Records location:
Owner: The Bethany Slavic Church
Condition: Cemetery destroyed
Vandalism
Apathy
Broken Headstones
Fallen Headstones
Previous contacts: Channel 40 and the authorities
Work Status: The current status of this cemetery is: Unknown

Submitted by / Contact for additional Information:

name: Tawney Mitchell
Email: TotalyTawney@aol.com [still active?]

Shameful neglect

Before I realized the extent of the problem, I tried to clean off some tombstones in order to read the names. The modicum of respect for the dead should be that their names are left visible when they have stones that still bear their names. After trying to clean off the first few stones to read who I was paying respects to, I saw that this was a systematic problem at Bellview Cemetery and started to leave them as I found them in order to take pictures for evidence. The photos posted here are not meant to illustrate the extent of the problem- this is only a sampling of the obvious disrespect rampant here. There is NO EXCUSE for a cemetery to care so little about those who are buried there as to let so many stones become buried and unreadable. Is it any wonder that so many graves have been "lost" here? Management apparently cannot be bothered to keep soil and weeds from overtaking the identities of the deceased.








































































































































































Remember: this isn't the problem of a small grounds crew and management that could not take proper care of these graves. They have made an conspicuous show of how well they tend to modern Slavic graves. The attention to these graves is so over the top in abject contrast to the care given the historical graves in this cemetery it is unconscionable.

Not one modern grave is left unadorned, yet the only adornment for the graves that preexisted this church's ownership of these grounds seems to be mud, gravel, weeds, and animal droppings.

Is this responsible cemetery management- and how can a church, of all possible owners- allow this to happen?

As cemetery management obviously has problems tending to their mission, I have a mind to go out here with a shovel myself, though I need some garden tools and some help. The community should not have to volunteer as this is supposedly a professionally managed cemetery- one whose tagline on its website is "Service you can trust!" However, reality seems to be harsh and unmistakable. The management's utter disregard for historical graves is as undeniable as it is atrocious.

Satellite View Notes

The view from above says a lot- you can see the stark contrast between the lawn portion of the cemetery and the gravel portion by air, though if that were not clear enough I outlined it in blue.


















The yellow mark is where the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors put the Bellview Cemetery monument citing that over 800 people were buried here between 1961-1973. As it is at the section of the cemetery that turns to gravel, I am not sure if it meant to demarcate only the gravel section or if it was placed in the center of the graveyard to indicate both sides.

















The orange outline is the line of modern Slavic graves, all of which are covered in fake, colorful flowers in abject contrast to the poorly cared for graves that preceded them. These "new" graves abut antique stones buried in the ground so it is not a leap of faith to assume that there is over-burying here.
























The purple outline is the approximate placement of the "lost" stones. There are grave markers and a foundation of a marker sitting over here against the fence because they were somehow separated from the plots.

















The red outline is the juniper bushes where there are a cluster of children and infant graves, most of which were from the 60s and 70s, despite the majority of markers surrounding the bushes being from the 1800s or early 1900s. This is also where I found an old marker for a five year old child face down in the dirt which I propped upright against the base of the juniper. I also discovered Miracle-Gro boxes discarded and stuffed in the branches of the bushes! I pulled them out and threw them in plain view of the cemetery staff to tend to. I thought that littering by the very people who are supposed to care for the cemetery grounds was inexcusable.