By Mindy Ragan Wood
Staff Writer
One of the county’s oldest cemeteries is overseen by the same family two generations after it was established in 1892.
Kansas Cemetery is located on the outskirts of Piedmont and its name may confuse anyone not local to the area.
“It’s actually Starr Cemetery,” chairman of the board cemetery Ken Dickerson said. “In 1927 there was a Kansas school across the street that was one of the original schools in Canadian County. Even though Starr Cemetery Association is the corporate name, everyone started calling it Kansas Cemetery because of the school.”
Dickerson, a retired judge and attorney, knows all about the history of the cemetery.
“My grandfather David Dickerson was one of the charter members in 1892,” he said. “I have a copy of the original bylaws, but they’re not in very good shape. I’ve been on the board since 1979, a board of trustees’ member for 10 years and then president. My major job is to sell lots and lay out monuments and graves.”
There are more sentimental aspects of Dickerson’s visits to the cemetery that are not within his job description. His appreciation for the those lives laid to rest there is evident as he can be seen patting the headstones and clearing away debris from the plot.
“I don’t see them as dead people,” Dickerson said. “I believe in spirits and that’s how I see them.”
Some of his duties are surprising such as the instance when a body had to be removed from the cemetery.
“I got a call from a family in Arkansas about a year ago. I knew the family when they lived in Piedmont. They lost a baby at birth and buried the baby at Kansas Cemetery. They wanted to move the body to Arkansas,” he said.
Approximately 300 people are buried at the cemetery, 14 of them belong to Dickerson’s family. In the still mostly agricultural area, many famers still hold land that have been in their family for generations Many of their loved ones have been laid to rest at the local cemetery.
Belle and Carl Hervey were visiting her parent’s grave, Florence and Oakley Moore but Belle has several relatives from previous generations in lots nearby.
“We bought this rose bush four years ago,” Belle said as Carl snipped away wilted blooms.
“It’s peaceful here and it’s pretty.”
Memorial Day was not without honor to veterans at Kansas Cemetery. For the last couple of years, the cemetery board has added a section for veterans who have been cremated or their remains never found to have a place to be remembered.
“A lot of times there’s always a problem if you want to be cremated but you still want to have a monument. We require them to buy a burial space and Ralph (Cherry) and I dig the hole depending on the size of the urn. The ashes go into the pope and we seal the opening and put the veteran’s medallion on top of it that the VA provides. All the labor was donated for that,” Dickerson said.
Dozens of veterans’ graves were decorated with American flags and most headstones had new silk flowers. Despite its remote location in a small town, it had been a busy weekend in the little cemetery.
Dickerson presides over the cemetery with fellow board of trustee members Leon Meyer, Ralph Cherry, Margaret Hull, Buel Hoar, and his nephew, Bruce Dickerson. The cemetery is funded through lot sales and donations.
