Tombstone Tuesday--Down to Earth

One of the things I find most frustrating about cemeteries are the stones that are flush with ground level.  I have several in my family and have often wondered if they were meant to be that way, or if they have simply sunk down.
Of course there are stones you can tell were deliberately placed flush with the surface of the ground.  Some are at cemeteries that were abandoned and later restored, and the stones placed flat, often at random.

 This stone above is located in Pioneer Cemetery, east of Fremont.  It was the first city cemetery and was later abandoned.  I profiled this cemetery here. 

This stone above is located in the Indian Cemetery, that lies adjacent to Fremont's Maple Grove cemetery.  Not many stones remain here and most are broken, or as above, placed flat.  Even though only a few stones remain in these cemeteries, they are better remembered than in the old County Farm cemetery.

This cemetery, as long-time readers may recall, had all of the stones set flat and buried under a layer of soil, so that residents of the Medical Care Facility would not be disturbed by the grave stones.  Balderdash!  I would be more upset by the sight of the disturbed cemetery, than I would be by the markers outside my windows, if I were there.

Then we come to my family.  (Sigh.)  Great-Great Grandpa is my civil war vet.  When I visit his cemetery, I usually have to locate the flag holder and then his stone which is first in a line of five, all flush or even buried.  I usually have to clean the grass, leaves and accumulated dirt each time I visit.  His stone, his wife, his son and spouse (Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma) and their oldest daughter who died in childbirth, all lay in a row, and usually require digging.  The last time I couldn't even find them.  I suspect the daughter's son, who would be 90 now, is no longer able to come and clear them as well. 

These were my most recent finds, thanks to my genealogy driven aunt.  From the paternal side of the family, Great-Grandpa's stone, shown on the left above with Aunt Glenna as well as below, is risen above surface level.

However, Great-Gram's stone is flush.  She died nine years later, so I am left to ponder.  Was her stone set lower deliberately?  Has it just sunk more than his?

I fear that Great Grandma Carri's stone will someday end up like my maternal great-grandparents, requiring a "dig-out' every time I stop by to say howdy.
Good thing cemetery hopping is so much fun.