Olympia Cemetery

The spirits of Olympia

Link: http://www.thestate.com/2012/03/24/2205554/the-spirits-of-olympia.html#storylink=misearch

My observations on the article:

Even though the engine that drove this community has shut down and many people have moved away, there is still a bond that Olympia natives share.

This cemetery is very important to a lot of people

Those that have moved away still visit the area on a regular basis, so even though those that live in the village now may not be the natives, the original mill families will likely still visit and benefit from the development that we create.

Some of these houses do stay with the families from generations on down.

Not as many burials as there used to be, but still 15 a year

Notes from the article

Connections are maintained after people who grew up in Mill Villages move away because “everybody knows everybody”. 

“Most moved away from their family homes in Olympia long ago, but they return for church.”

They reconnect at funerals at the Olympia cemetery.  Some people go to the services of anyone whose obituary mentions Olympia.

As of March of 2012, 3800+ people associated with the textile mills have been buried in the Olympia cemetary

“My son lives in my grandmother’s house that’s been in our family since 1915,” Betty Hilliard said. 

“The Hilliards spent three years documenting burial sites on the property after records maintained by the cemetery’s original owner, the textile mill, went missing.”

About 15 burials a year – down from 20 a year ten years ago

At first, Isenhower said, he was perplexed when he heard people talking about the closing of the local school or the shuttering of the textile mills as if it happened yesterday.

“It’s been a long time since some of the institutions in the community have existed and been there in a physical sense,” he said, “and yet folks here still maintain those ties.”