Tombstone Tuesday--Merrill Cemetery

Merrill Cemetery, located of course in Merrill Township is one of our more rural cemeteries. It is less than a mile from the main state trunk line that roughly bisects the county. But as you can see from the pictures, while mowed and cared for, it is still quite rustic.
This building appears to be the only building in the cemetery for tools and such. It sets the tone for this out of the way cemetery. Of course since the pictures appear to be taken in the autumn months, that contributes to the atmosphere.
This lovely shaped stone for H. J. Reichard who died in 1903, has a massiveness to it, in its thickness. Yet is is simple and seems to still be cared for. You can see a bit of flowers peeping around the base.
There are also hints that all has not been peaceful in this cemetery. The larger stone outside the bordered plot appears to be missing most of the monument. It looks like it is just several bases, in preparation for the obelisk type top. The picture showing a closer look at the top resembles the picture below.
This appears to be two broken off stones. The center of the rectangular and also the hexagonal stones, flush to the ground seem to have a post or rod of some type in the center that have been broken off. Notice also the mossy ground in the background of these pictures. Not much grass in evidence. This is typical of yards in the northern part of the county, with the poor marl-like soil. Hard for grass to grow, and here it just appears that the surface is left to its own devices, other than mowing.
Merrill share of the homemade memorials. Above it appears that a military marker is surrounded by the fence. The names of four men are engraved on the posts. Possibly sons? This appears to be to recent to appear in our transcript of graves, although that extends into the 1960's and 70's.
These two home-made stones for the Huntley's also do not appear in our list. You can see the difference in the weathering in the wood.
At the top of this cross is the number I believe is 87. Written below is Symons. There are also names written on the crosspiece. Simple but touching.
One of the cemeteries I touched on recently, Lincoln had similar lovely homemade monuments. It has come to our attention here at the Divas that they are thinking of banning such monuments. We (especially Sandy) are up in arms and will keep you posted on developments.