The cemetery has now been opened, the final graves appear to all be gone, and only the memories of those who lived, died, and grieved there remain. The city park has expanded, walking trails go past the old cloistered corner with its sentinals of scraggly pines. If you walk or run in the area, slow down and remember those who once rested there.
For many years, an urban legend floated among community members that the cemetery on the northwest corner of the Eldon Lion's Park in Bethany had to be haunted - it was overgrown, shady, and secretive. It looked the part. It was the cemetery associated with the St. Joseph's Children' Home. Bizarre tales emerged fed as much by anti-catholic sentiment as any real fact; but some times in perpetuating urban legends that is enough. Recent televised explorations of sanitariums in Kentucky and Ohio have added a new word to the lexicon of urban legends. The term 'death tunnel' is spoken in hushed sounds as if nefarious acts were to be associated with such a feature of an institution. Thee truth is less attractive and far more practical. In some settings such a hidden avenue for the removal of the dead was a necessity. It provided them some last privacy and, in settings such as hospitals and orphan care facilities, some protection to those who resided in the facility as well. It was also very practical when the location was one where long winters or protracted rainy seasons might preclude being able to bury a body in a timely manner. There is some indications that such a feature was at the Bethany location, according to sources who wish to remain anonymous. However, long before the facility closed, it was sealed shut and had not been used in decades. The people who had been buried there - the orphans who had died of fevers, the nuns of old age, and the older people who had come there to end their days - were respectfully interred. When the facility closed, the nuns and priests buried there were transferred to another burial site. If any graves remain in the tiny shady corner, let them rest in peace. As you pass, whisper a tiny prayer and grant them respect and dignity.
For many years, an urban legend floated among community members that the cemetery on the northwest corner of the Eldon Lion's Park in Bethany had to be haunted - it was overgrown, shady, and secretive. It looked the part. It was the cemetery associated with the St. Joseph's Children' Home. Bizarre tales emerged fed as much by anti-catholic sentiment as any real fact; but some times in perpetuating urban legends that is enough. Recent televised explorations of sanitariums in Kentucky and Ohio have added a new word to the lexicon of urban legends. The term 'death tunnel' is spoken in hushed sounds as if nefarious acts were to be associated with such a feature of an institution. Thee truth is less attractive and far more practical. In some settings such a hidden avenue for the removal of the dead was a necessity. It provided them some last privacy and, in settings such as hospitals and orphan care facilities, some protection to those who resided in the facility as well. It was also very practical when the location was one where long winters or protracted rainy seasons might preclude being able to bury a body in a timely manner. There is some indications that such a feature was at the Bethany location, according to sources who wish to remain anonymous. However, long before the facility closed, it was sealed shut and had not been used in decades. The people who had been buried there - the orphans who had died of fevers, the nuns of old age, and the older people who had come there to end their days - were respectfully interred. When the facility closed, the nuns and priests buried there were transferred to another burial site. If any graves remain in the tiny shady corner, let them rest in peace. As you pass, whisper a tiny prayer and grant them respect and dignity.
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