June 2024
This is a story of people doing what they believe is right, not just for themselves. It begins in 1848 when a young girl, Mary Ann Plummer, died and was buried on their farm as was then common. Later in 1869 her parents, Mark and Louisa Plummer, as well as neighbors Cyrus and Malona Pride, each gave land to start what would become Plummer Cemetery in the Town of Oshkosh. In 1926, another acre would be ceded by their descendant Levi.
In 1999, the Leach and Stearns families would cede another acre for future cemetery use. That acre was already under town control through a conservancy that had been set up for hundreds of other acres of land in the town – land that could have been sold for development. For them the right thing was keeping it farmland, or letting it return to nature. Most is still farmed.
Being sexton of the Plummer Cemetery for almost 40 years – taking over from my dad – something about that new acre got me thinking. It could be left as farmland, or turned into lawn, for future sales. Yet, there was still almost an acre of unsold lots serving that purpose. It could become more grass desert.
Did town taxpayers really need to pay for more mowing? I searched for groups such as Wild Ones, with conservation-minded members trying to restore natural habitat litt ...
