Protecting the dead
By JOHN PUTERBAUGH jputerbaugh@daily-chronicle.com
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| This unidentified grave stone is in the DeKalb County Cemetery. DeKalb County historian Phyllis Kelley said it belongs to a young man who died in a train accident in Waterman in 1970. Another man, Denny Green, was able to be identified and his grave lies two over from this one. Beck Diefenbach - bdiefenbach@daily-chronicle.com |
In the early 1950s, the human remains in the old Needham family cemetery on the east side of DeKalb were moved, clearing the way for housing development.
The Daily Chronicle reported in its May 7, 1952, edition that the DeKalb City Council had determined "the public welfare and interest will be best served if the cemetery is vacated and the remains removed to a suitable burial ground." This would clear the way to put families in homes on vacated burial grounds.
Such an ordinance might not be so easy to pass today.
The Human Skeletal Remains Protection Act, passed in 1989 and administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, makes it illegal to disturb unregistered graves and grave markers that are more than 100 years old. Whether those of American Indians, pioneers or otherwise, human remains are not to be moved without the approval and oversight of IHPA-certified archaeologists and skeletal experts.
With a good number of old family cemeteries dotting the county landscape and the ever-present possibility of other burial sites yet undiscovered, this is an issue that isn't likely to fade away any time soon.
"It never hurts to remind people of etiquette with this sort of thing," said Sue Breese, a volunteer with the Joiner History Room in Sycamore.
And while the state makes proper etiquette the law, this isn't something that should take a lot of thinking, according to David Blanchette, spokesman for the IHPA.
"As far as we're concerned, if either human remains or suspected human remains are discovered, the first call should be to law enforcement," Blanchette said. "Common sense tells you, if you come across human remains, call law enforcement."
The law requires the county coroner's office be notified of the discovery of human remains within 48 hours. And while local governments are responsible for cemeteries throughout the state, the state does require a strict protocol in these instances.
Whether found by children in their back yard or contractors on a construction site, the law reads the same. If discovered remains are determined to be 100 years or older, the IHPA requires they remain where they are or be moved by state-approved experts. If they aren't moved to another location within the county, the Illinois State Museum in Springfield may be used to house them.
If remains are discovered, DeKalb County Coroner Dennis Miller said, the first thing to determine is whether the discovery is crime related. While his office hasn't seen anything like this in his tenure, he said people do bring bones in for him to look at fairly regularly. They usually belong to long-buried pets or other wild animals; it's not difficult to identify human remains, he said.
If human remains were found, he said, his office would work with the IHPA to ensure the remains were dealt with appropriately.
Even today, evidence of DeKalb's expansion and its history can be found, sometimes coexisting in unusual places. Long before Walmart, Target and other businesses popped up along what is now Route 23, the county owned the land. And while most of this land was cleared for businesses, there is an exception.
A small clearing between the parking lot in front of Michael's and Small's Furniture City is home to the DeKalb County Cemetery, with graves ranging from the late 1800s to 2005. County Historian Phyllis Kelley said this cemetery has been used by the county over the years to bury the remains of those who had no money or plans for other arrangements following their deaths.
One gravestone labels the remains beneath as unidentified and the result of a train accident in 1970. Kelley said this and a nearby stone correspond to an accident that happened in Waterman. One of the young men killed in the train accident was identified; the other wasn't.
The stones are simple, and trees surrounding the clearing effectively isolate the cemetery from the nearby commercial development. But to anyone parking in that portion of the lot, it serves as a reminder of the county's battle to look toward the future while simultaneously preserving the past.
While the laws are in place to prevent wrongdoing throughout the state, Kelley and Breese say they don't worry about impropriety here in DeKalb County.
"In this county, as far as cemeteries go, they have been documented," Breese said. "I think that shows that people respect them."
Kelley said DeKalb County residents have a strong affinity for local history, with historical groups in every city, town, village and otherwise throughout the county.
"People in DeKalb County just like history," Kelley said. "I think that helps."
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