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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday May 31, 2008 - 3 DAMAGED GRAVESITE: Knocked over gravestone near a roadway at St. Jude's Cemetery. HIDDEN TREASURES: Markers of family members of Captain Robert Wilson, nearly hidden in the underbrush at the Oakville and St. Mary's cemetery. Historic grave sites lay in ruin waiting for repairs Continued from page 1 Wayland also pointed to markers almost hidden in the underbrush nearby, which he said mark the resting place of members of Wilson's family. At the Chisholm family plot, which houses the graves of Oakville's founder William Chisholm and Oakville's First Mayor George King Chisholm, Wayland also sees desecration. "George had this fence built in 1858 to keep grazing cattle out of the family plot; they'd come and eat all the flowers," said Wayland. "The Town about 10 years ago decided they needed to cut this plot with a riding lawn mower so they came up here with a cutting torch and cut out a chunk of the fence." The portion that was cut away remains at the site, propped up against the rest of the fence. Back at St. Jude's Cemetery, Wayland points to the chipped grave of a Triller family member, located near a road. Wayland said the damage is the result of a close encounter with a slightly off-course snowplow. The use of backhoes and other heavy equipment have also resulted in significant damage to many of the cemetery's fragile and historical graves, said Wayland, who pointed to a pair of markers that appear to have large tire tracks running over them. "It's just not designed to have backhoes running through it and it's just not designed to be plowed," said Wayland. "They just didn't think about that in the 1850's and when in Rome you have to do what the Romans do." For Supervisor Heather Turenne, of the Town's Cemetery Services, the situation is much more complicated. "We have to think about the health and safety of the people who are opening the ODE TO A VETERAN: Toppled veteran's grave lies near pile of leaves in Oakville and St. Mary's Cemetery. internment spaces," she said. "Digging by hand in some of the cemetery locations where we have shale conditions or heavy clay conditions would be an impossible task." Turenne said some graves are dug by hand when the headstones are too close together to get heavy equipment to the proposed gravesite. She also pointed out that the equipment purchased for the work in the cemeteries is smaller than the conventional backhoes, thus minimizing the impact they have on their surroundings. "That enables us to get in and around and really get to some of the tricky locations," she said . PHOTOS BY DAVID LEA / OAKVILLE BEAVER MONUMENTAL DAMAGE: Local history buff Terry Wayland stands beside the damaged monument to Captain Robert Wilson at the Oakville and St. Mary's Cemetery.. Wilson played an important role in the underground railroad transporting many American slaves across the Great Lakes to freedom in Canada. Look for these and more great flyers online. See Annual page 4 More of what you LOVE, all your favourite flyers anytime online! Save time, save money.