Remembering loved ones for generations
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“It’s been seven years today, so I brought him seven roses,” Whiteaker said. For her and others, Smyrna Cemetery in the Fairview community is a place to pay respects and remember. And when their annual decoration day comes around next Saturday, Whiteaker plans to be there.
Smyrna Cemetery president James Tittsworth said their annual decoration day means a lot to the cemetery’s operation and provides a place for the community to gather. Many who are buried at Smyrna have been life-long residents of the community, but others, even after living out of state for their adult lives, are buried there as well.
There are family names like York, Savage, Stubblefield, Gulley, Turner, Grissom or Byers that make up some of the history of the place, which dates to the 1800s.
Cemetery officials use an honor system – only requiring a claiming of space in the free cemetery – to make sure others can be buried there if they wish. And like many other county cemeteries, decoration day and a donation system are ways to make sure they can honor those wishes.
With mowing fees of around $450 per mow, cemetery upkeep can be expensive.
“Everybody gathers around,” Tittsworth said of the annual event, which he expects will attract between 200 and 300 people throughout the weekend. “It’s sort of a get-together and you see people you haven’t seen in a year. If it wasn’t for that, you couldn’t keep up with it.”
Like many close-knit communities, there is also disagreement from within the community. Tittsworth, who has been involved for about 20 years, said some think it’s disrespectful to have the decoration day, concession-style picnic on the grounds themselves, but said it’s too hot in the paved parking lot next door with no shade.
“We’re striving to do something to keep everybody happy,” he said.
The same goes for the recent refurbishing of some of the older gravestones, some of which had been blackened by years of weather or were tilted to their sides.
“We had several people suggest it, but I was against it at first. You start messing with people’s stones – I was afraid that when they started straightening the bent ones up, that they’d break,” he said.
“All these here were real faded and dull looking,” he added, pointing to granite stones, more than a century old, giving credit to Mack Mullican for their refurbishment. “I thought they did a wonderful job of cleaning them.”
The history of the cemetery dates to 1883, according to cemetery treasurer Leonard Clemons. He notes the first land purchased for public burial purposes was from James W. Clendenon in early July of that year, but notes the oldest readable grave stone belongs to George Bullen and is dated 1811.
Clendenon was paid $40 for 5.65 acres including the one-acre tract on the southwest part of the property formerly known as the McGregor Burial Ground.
The deed was made to A.C. Myers, M.D.L. Boyd, P.E. Hennessee, W.W. Ware and S.R. Safley. Smyrna Church of Christ owned and operated the cemetery for years and it was supported by congregation members and others.
Since 1974, Smyrna Cemetery, Inc. has held title to the property, has adopted a charter and provided upkeep.
Over the years, various committees have added more land, with the last purchase of land in 1991 for 12 acres. Today, the cemetery formally consists of about 21 acres with 1,419 known graves.
The cemetery is supported entirely by contributions, interest on a trust account and interest on CDs and is directed by a committee of seven men, none of whom are paid.
But even though she makes a donation, Whiteaker isn’t so concerned about all the technicalities. When she visits her husband, Joe, and places flowers there, she is happy he is where he wanted to be and glad there is space for family members in the scenic, historic cemetery.
“It’s a beautiful place. He was a hunter and a fisherman and he loved the mountains,” she said, noting his parents are buried alongside of him and there are plans for other family members to be buried there as well.
“All of those out there are his family, so it means a lot,” she added.
PHOTO INFO:
Above, Smyrna Cemetery president James Tittsworth inspects repairs to granite headstones at the cemetery, which will be celebrating its annual decoration day July 27.
Above and below, views from the historic cemetery show a picturesque area known and beloved to the community. (Amy Satterwhite photos)