Summer school students tour Logansport cemeteries

LOGANSPORT, Ind. (AP) - Some of Logansport's youngest residents this month have been touring and exploring the gravesides of those who have passed on, including many of the city's founding fathers.

Greg Dominick, who's been teaching high-ability summer classes for about 18 years, created a course this year about the many facets of Mount Hope Cemetery, the state's third largest cemetery and a place he calls Logansport's "best-kept secret."

On the final day of class, students toured the Ninth Street Cemetery, the oldest burial grounds in town, where the first mayor of Logansport and many others have been laid to rest.

"I wanted to give kids an opportunity to explore the cemetery, and if nothing else, to learn," Dominick said. "It's truly one of Logansport's best places to go. It's not a place to be afraid of."

During the two-week class, students have spent time in the classroom at Columbia Elementary School, as well as taken the 15-minute walk to Mount Hope. The kids have investigated mausoleums, solved for the area and perimeter of burial plots and learned about the types of tombstone material. Dominick said there's always something to learn at the cemeteries.

The class is one of several Logansport Community School Corp. had for fourth-grade through eighth-grade high-ability students during the first two full weeks of June. Kids also learned about Chinese art, science, math, the human body and mystery. Dominick also taught a class about the history of baseball.

With clipboards in hand, students followed a map of the Ninth Street Cemetery on Friday, discovering the many tombstones, some of which have been there since it opened in the 1820s. They found the graves belonging to Jordan Vigus, the city's first mayor, as well as William Cooley, an African-American servant of General Andrew Jackson.

"There's always something that I've learned every time I visit," Dominick said.

During the week, kids also observed a couple of funeral services and people burying and spreading ashes at Mount Hope.

"It's a place of respect," Dominick said.

However, many people haven't given the cemeteries the respect they need, he added. Many gravestones and markers have suffered vandalism, some of which are brittle and have been crumbling for years. Others have been knocked over in recent years.

"Why would anyone do this?" Dominick said, pointing to tipped-over gravestones.

Ten-year-old Jace Smith said people can't easily damage the inside of the mausoleums at Mount Hope - they can only do harm on the outside.

"A whole bunch of people vandalize stones, push them over," Jace said.

Fifth-graders Emily Sanchez and Sarahy Jimenez said they weren't aware of the vandalism at the cemeteries until the class.

"I don't know why they would vandalize," Emily said. "What's the purpose?"

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Source: (Logansport) Pharos-Tribune, http://bit.ly/28QxX4b

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Information from: Pharos-Tribune, http://www.pharostribune.com