We had business to do in St. Helens, Oregon following our lunch at El Tapatio in Rainier. As we passed through Columbia City, I burst out laughing when I saw the tire cover of the trailer in front of us :-)
On our way back home, we were passing near Trojan Nuclear Plant when a gray cross caught the attention of my peripheral vision. I pointed across the dash, and said, "Holland, that looks like a grave marker. Is there a cemetery up there - in the middle of nowhere, all by itself?" He said, "I don't know - let's go see."
So, that's what we did ;-)
A couple months ago, while driving West Side Highway near Vader, we found a gravesite near a fishing hole. It's possible this was the same type of scenario.
I think it's strange to find a solitary grave in the middle of nowhere, but graveyards don't bother me.
And as I walked uphill, closer to the gray cross marker, I could see that the property was still being tended to: there was a clearly marked turn-around kept free of deadfall debris. There were flowers at the foot of the large cross grave marker. Weeds had recently been pulled back from the daffodils blossoming along the track leading upwards toward the cross. Obviously (though there was no Do Not Trespass sign), this was private property still being tended by living relatives.
Out of respect for whoever tends the property, I stayed on the grassy blacktop road leading up to the headstone that caught our attention from the highway.
I looked this thing up online when I got home. It is a Family Cemetery, located on private homesteaded property across from the Trojan Power Plant north of Goble. The Welter family moved here from Luxemburg in the 19th century.
I only saw the one headstone, but according to a June 2006 accounting, several family members were buried there. Perhaps the headstones have sunk into the ground - or were never marked. But then, I never climbed the hill to see if there were more markers up there.
Welter Family Cemetery: (http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/columbia/cemeteries/welterfamily.txt)
When we got home, Shay stopped in to tell us that there is an offer on the house - but the potential buyers want us to drop the listing price $5,000. I said, "No; this house is worth what I am asking. And just yesterday, we had a new furnace put in at a pretty steep price. I want full asking price." So, we filled out the paper work, and we will know tomorrow sometime if they are still wanting the house.
Following Shay's visit, Holland got a phone call from his friend Sonny telling him that his youngest brother had died Sunday (the following day after Holland learned he was terminal); he had died of stomach cancer at his home in Fargo.
There is no need now to rush off to North Dakota when this house sells … but my heart hurts for Holland.
