By SARA STITES The Kansas City Star
As she walked through Highland Cemetery, Pam Kessler scooped stalks of brush from the ground, branches she snipped from around the graves of her grandparents and husband, and a few other headstones that looked like they needed it. Years ago, Kessler's family bought a row of plots in the tiny cemetery, located where 65th Street dead-ends just west of Roe Avenue in Prairie Village. Her husband was buried there after he died suddenly 15 years ago. Kessler expects she'll eventually be interred at Highland, too. But she hopes the one-acre cemetery ' also home to members from several of Johnson County's founding families ' will start looking up. 'Whenever one of us dies, we get buried here, and that's fine,' Kessler said. 'I just want to make it better. This is a lot of Johnson County history here, and it's just falling apart. It just seems sad.' With a dwindling number of living descendants to maintain graves and donate money, a cemetery association that has shrunk to one member and few new burials, Highland faces decline and a lack of interest, manpower and money to turn it around. The obstacles aren't unlike those faced by other historic cemeteries in northeast Johnson County at one time or another. Highland History Highland sits on land that was part of the Shawnee Indian reservation in the mid-1800s, according to information compiled by Linda Lewis, cemetery coordinator for the KSGenWeb project in Johnson County. The land later belonged to two families, those of county pioneer John Nall and John White, an American Indian. Both families have sections in the cemetery. Many graves date to the 1800s, but the cemetery wasn't officially organized until much later, according to Lewis' research. The Highland Cemetery Association, which included Nalls and Porters, another Johnson County founding family, first met in 1946. In 1968, the first official plat was made in the developing city of Prairie Village. Asher Langworthy, who developed a number of subdivisions in the area, including those surrounding the cemetery, bought the first plots. Current situation Today, Asher Langworthy Jr. is the only remaining association member. Other members aged and died, but new ones did not join, he said. Langworthy said the cemetery has a $15,000 endowment. He said interest is just enough to pay for tree removal and an $85 mowing bill every two weeks. Langworthy recently enclosed the cemetery with a chain link fence, but it doesn't have a sign. Langworthy said he has been unsuccessful in raising money from family members, in part because many have left the area or are difficult to track because of differing last names. Burial fees go into the fund, but he said the cemetery sees three or four new graves a year, at most. 'I always end up feeding it money every year myself,' Langworthy said. There still are available plots, Langworthy said, but others are uncertain because of the possibility of existing but unmarked rudimentary burials. 'The records don't show that the lots have been sold, but I'm afraid to sell them because I'm afraid they're already interred,' he said. Long ago, families often buried their own on the corner of the farm, Lewis said, maybe in a coffin, maybe not, and with no markers or very small ones that easily could have disappeared over the years. Other Cemeteries' Challenges 'Certainly cemeteries around the country have the same challenges facing them,' said Russ Czaplewski, collection manager for the Johnson County museum. 'Stones age, and they can tip. They can be broken, and pieces become separated. There are all too many terrible things that can happen.' However, some other northeast Johnson County cemeteries have overcome them. 'Highland's the worst shape of all of them right now,' Lewis said. Lewis said the luckiest cemeteries were full of 'putterers' ' sextons, family members or volunteers who spend time 'fixing this, weeding that' on a daily basis. 'But when there's no family left, there's no one to come out and do that,' Lewis said. 'To care for the cemetery requires someone to go to the cemetery, that's all there is to it.' Lewis and Czaplewski cited Antioch Pioneer Cemetery as one of the best examples around of a well-kept historic cemetery. 'It's one thing to pay someone to mow it,' Lewis said. 'I guess they go the extra mile.' But Antioch has several things going for it that Highland doesn't: It's big, it's prominently located and it contains a chapel. Lewis added that the association is active and that the cemetery is well-visited by descendants. Who's in Charge? Non-commercial cemeteries ' especially small, old ones ' can easily fall through the cracks because it isn't always clear who's responsible. Highland, for example, is in governmental no man's land. Prairie Village City Administrator Barbara Vernon said she knew the cemetery was privately endowed but that the city had nothing to do with it and no codes to regulate it. Jesse Borjon, Kansas Secretary of State's office spokesman, said Highland didn't fall under state jurisdiction, either. According to statute, only cemeteries whose endowments were established after 1968 are overseen by the state, Borjon said. For those, the state audits permanent maintenance funds and provides accountability for trust funds. Lewis has a goal to transcribe all the cemeteries inthe county. She started the project this summer and has completed 20 of 41, she said. Research, especially locating a sexton or cemetery owner, can be tricky, he said. 'I get a lot of requests of people just asking me who to contact about a cemetery,' Lewis said. 'And you never know where you're going to find the answer.' Owners and caretakers can be found in individuals, service clubs, churches, historical societies or city, county and state governments. Highland's Future The Shawnee Methodist Mission Cemetery now seems safe under the wing of the Kansas State Historical Society. It's part of the Shawnee Indian Mission State Historic Site. Making a historic register is every cemetery's dream, Lewis said, but an unlikely one. Another healthy thing for a cemetery is being adopted by a local organization ' an organization with money, or at least time. Linwood Pioneer Cemetery was nearly engulfed by RanchMart shopping center development, but it eventually benefited from publicity after its fate became controversial. Linwood Garden Club members and later the Leawood Lions became its caretakers. Plaques adorn the entrance to the cemetery, a historic square enclosed by a brick wall and smart wrought iron fence. The cemetery enjoys high visibility; it's in the middle of the parking lot before Price Chopper and the National Bank of Kansas City. Czaplewski said tax arrangements on the county and township level could be arranged to support cemeteries. Or they could be made to fall under city management decisions. So far, none of those is an option for Highland. 'I really don't know what the future holds,' Langworthy said, who added that he has begun to look for more money and a feasible way to maintain the cemetery. Preservation Lewis hopes her project helps Highland and other cemeteries in the county. 'I think it's important to preserve all cemeteries, because they're people's ancestors,' Lewis said. 'They shouldn't be forgotten forever. My hope is to bring some attention to them to get some care.' Kessler likes Highland Cemetery because it's quiet, peaceful and in her neighborhood. She hopes it eventually will be noted for its historical value and that awareness will help its condition. 'I think it's cool that there's so much county history here,' she said. 'I think people don't know that if they're interested in Johnson County history, they can see all this stuff. Right now there's nothing to really draw people here.' With all of its attributes, Kessler said, the cemetery would need improvements before she would be satisfied. Brambles have engulfed several tombstones, and wild strawberry vines cover much of the ground where grass once grew. 'I'm not sure it's where you'd want to put your mother,' Kessler said. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Learn more The following cemeteries can be found in northeast Johnson County: ' Antioch Pioneer Cemetery, 7500 Antioch Road, Merriam ' Corinth Cemetery, 3600 W. 83rd St, Prairie Village ' Cross Cemetery, Johnson Drive and Lamar Avenue, Mission ' Highland Cemetery, 5000 W. 65th St., Prairie Village ' Linwood Pioneer Cemetery, 3600 W. 95th St., Leawood ' Shawnee Methodist Mission Cemetery, 3201 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Fairway.