Prohibited Items Can Be Eyesores, Safety Hazards In West Hill Cemetery
March 12th, 2021
Everybody remembers lost loved ones in their own way. Between differing cultural traditions, family traditions, and remembrances unique to an individual, there’s no one right way to pay tribute to those we’ve lost. But in an effort to make sure that Dalton’s West Hill Cemetery remains an appropriate place to honor all who rest there, the City of Dalton put into place some guidelines on what can and can’t be left at grave sites in 2008.
“We put in place the policies and procedures to have some uniformity throughout the cemetery to have it look more consistent with what you might see at Chattanooga National Cemetery, a military type cemetery, something that’s very uniform and very respectful and very tasteful for all,” said Public Works Director Andrew Parker, whose department oversees the cemetery. “We think there are still provisions in the policies and procedures for a family to customize the gravesite within the confines of the ordinance to have some measure of individual expression.”
Whether a remembrance left at a gravesite is an eyesore can be in the eye of the beholder. What isn’t up for debate is that some items left can pose a threat to workers who maintain the cemetery. With grass mowing in the cemetery set to resume soon as spring dawns in Dalton, items that can become projectiles when caught in a mower such as glass vases or solar powered lights are once again targeted for removal by city staff.
“Sometimes families like to strip the top soil and put white gravel or some other type of gravel there and it’s not allowed,” Parker said. “We have contracted with a company to do grass mowing and landscaping in the cemetery and the idea is for it to be set up such that they can just mow efficiently and safely through the series of headstones and if they hit areas where there’s gravel or other things in the way, it can cause injury.”
Over the years, more than one worker has suffered a cut leg due to hitting a prohibited glass vase in the cemetery while cutting the grass.
Above: A gravesite out of compliance with cemetery code, covered with gravel and with a border; a sign at the cemetery listing some of the items which are prohibited
“The other thing with the gravel is that if there’s gravel out there and the guys come through with weedeaters, it can hit other headstones and cause damage that then needs to be repaired,” said Terrell Stallings, the cemetery sexton.
Some other items left at grave sites aren’t necessarily risks to safety, but still aren’t allowable under the city ordinance.
“There are beer cans and beer bottles left out there on graves,” Stallings said. “Full bottles of beer are out there on head stones and if some kid comes by and picks it up…”
“We had a family member of an avid golfer who passed on, and they put a putting green on the grave,” said Parker. “There have been pictures, mailboxes, all sorts of things left at graves. So what I say is, ‘look, everyone’s got different preferences, everybody’s got something that may be tasteful to you that may not be tasteful to me or your neighbor so that’s why we have to have some uniformity.”
So what is allowed under the ordinance?
“If the headstone has vases on it, they can put whatever they want in those vases living or artificial,” Stallings said. “And then they are allowed one plastic vase to be stuck in the ground in front of the monument, but not the whole grave covered in flowers.”
“They aren’t allowed to have granite coping (a granite border),” Parker added. “That’s another thing that we see a lot.”
“We do allow ledgers that cover the whole grave but they have to be granite,” Stallings said. “Benches, yes we do allow benches but it has to be granite or marble.”
Parker noted that the older, more historic areas of the cemetery have been grandfathered into the ordinance as many of the families of those who have been interred in the cemetery for more than 100 years may not still be in the area to maintain the graves. Most of the code enforcement issues currently facing the cemetery are in the newer, modern burial areas of the cemetery.
Stallings noted that he prefers to contact families to come remove items whenever possible instead of having the city remove them because many of the items in question cost a lot of money. Two concrete benches currently are sitting near gravesites, for example, which are not allowed.
“This is a very sensitive issue,” Parker observed, “and we realize that. It’s not just as simple as code violations on the street where someone’s got a non-complying garbage item that they put out for us to pick up. That’s not that much of an emotional issue but when you’re talking about a family that feels like they’re paying respect to their loved one and we’re trying to keep the cemetery in compliance, it’s a constant struggle.”
Families are given a complete set of rules for the cemetery which they must sign when they purchase a gravesite plot. Of course, in a time of grief, the details may not stick with them after signing it. A full list of policies and procedures for the West Hill Cemetery can be downloaded here.
Opinions may differ on some items left behind at graves, but certainly there’s less room for disagreement for letting pets use the cemetery as a bathroom. While the cemetery is popular with walkers and runners, pets are not welcome unless they are on a leash and owners must clean up after them.
“There’s a person who comes and parks on the hill and lets their dog out and then drives along the woods with the back gate up and lets the dog follow along and walk and use the bathroom and then the dog jumps back in the car and they close the door and drive off, they don’t pick up after the dog or anything,” Stallings said when discussing complaints received about loose animals in the cemetery.
With spring approaching, the City is planning another big cleanup in the cemetery soon so families are urged to collect any items left on graves to avoid having them lost.
“I think everyone can be proud of their city-owned cemetery when it looks like that,” said Parker.
