Unknown Neighbors

Yesterday morning there was a very interesting hourlong program on the Science Channel featuring the NOAA Marine Sanctuary at Thunder Bay.  There are scores of shipwreck sites in the sanctuary, a testament to both the extent and the inherent danger of Great Lakes shipping in the 19th and 20th centuries.  One photo showed the bodies of sailors washed ashore after their ship went down.  Quite often a victim could not be identified and was buried in an anonymous grave marked by a wooden cross.  In time the cross rotted away and the gravesite was forgotten.

I'm told there are several "unknowns" buried in the Presque Isle Township Cemetery — just a short walk down Kauffman Blvd. from my house.  An effort has been made to locate these grave sites, because the cemetery is still active and no one wants to disturb an earlier burial.  But these "unknowns" have no family to visit or tend their graves, and their contribution in life goes unhonored.  The township ought to correct that oversight.  I'm not quite sure how... but it's the germ of an idea.


One year ago, January 6, 2011, the drywall crew was busy mudding the drywall.  The January weather was much more wintery than it is this year.

The upstairs guest bedroom.

The lake from the master bedroom.