Ex-cemetery worked charged with stealing grave plates

GARY | A former employee of Oak Hill Cemetery was charged Friday in Lake Superior Court with the theft of 62 bronze nameplates from tombstones in the cemetery. The nameplates were valued at $52,000.

South Shore Civil War Memorial Trail

Portraying Civil War Capt. Charles Bell, Dave Crane of Cedar Lake speaks during a dedication ceremony for new Civil War veteran headstones and the launch of the South Shore Civil War Memorial Trail Saturday, May 26, 2012.

North Twp. hires new manager to organize troubled cemetery

HAMMOND | The chaos and disrepair long characterizing the city's massive Oak Hill Cemetery should be met with order following the recent hiring of a cemetery manager, North Township officials said.

081212DELAGARZA, new headstone for Lance Cpl. Emilio De La Garza

A small flag sits atop a gravestone Saturday in St. John-St. Joseph Catholic Cemeteries Saturday during a ceremony for Marine Lance Cpl. Emilio de la Garza.

EDITORIAL: Oak Hill's grave situation improving

The struggle for control of the troubled Oak Hill Cemetery in Hammond is over. North Township not only is cleaning up the cemetery, but also is its new owner.

North Township trustee takes ownership of troubled Oak Hill Cemetery

HAMMOND | The North Township trustee has assumed ownership of Hammond's troubled Oak Hill Cemetery, vowing to restore honor to previously neglected grave sites without major taxpayer expense.

Graveside rites recall Civil War sacrifice

A little old, a little new — Joe Wszolek, of Portage, takes a photo of a QR code following a dedication ceremony Saturday for new Civil War veteran headstones and the launch of the South Shore Civil War Memorial Trail. Smartphone and mobile tablet users can access Internet-based biographical…

Graveside rites recall Civil War sacrifice

Portraying Civil War Capt. Charles Bell, Dave Crane, of Cedar Lake, speaks during a dedication ceremony Saturday for new Civil War veteran headstones and the launch of the South Shore Civil War Memorial Trail.

Graveside rites recall Civil War sacrifice

Portraying Civil War Capt. Charles Bell, Dave Crane, of Cedar Lake, speaks during a dedication ceremony for new Civil War veteran headstones and the launch of the South Shore Civil War Memorial Trail.

Girl Scouts log hundreds of volunteer hours to preserve Oak Hill burial records

Girl Scouts of Troop 10051 are counting and cataloging the Oak Hill Cemetery burial records in a computer program to make grave site information more accessible to the public.

Girl Scouts logging hundreds of volunteer hours, preserving Oak Hill burial records

MUNSTER | The first trip the Girl Scouts of Troop 10051 made to Hammond's Oak Hill Cemetery revealed a troubled, unkempt burial ground with more graves than the girls thought they could count.

Girl Scouts logging hundreds of volunteer hours, preserving Oak Hill burial records

A Girl Scout with Munster Troop 10051 reads burial information on paper cards during a work session to digitize the records from Hammond's Oak Hill Cemetery.

Girl Scouts logging hundreds of volunteer hours, preserving Oak Hill burial records

Girl Scouts from Troop 10051 work on digitizing burial records contained on paper cards for the troubled Oak Hill Cemetery during a work session last week at their troop leader's home in Munster. The girls are assisting the North Township trustee's office in bringing some order to the cemete…

Girl Scouts logging hundreds of volunteer hours, preserving Oak Hill burial records

Girl Scouts, from left, Anna Riggs, Lauren Florek and Claire LeMonnier and Troop 10051 leader Kerry Connor, standing, work on digitizing burial records for the troubled Oak Hill Cemetery in Hammond during a work session last week at Connor's home in Munster.

Girl Scouts logging hundreds of volunteer hours, preserving Oak Hill burial records

Girl Scouts from Troop 10051 of Munster are digitizing all available death records contained on paper cards for the troubled Oak Hill Cemetery in Hammond.

More bones found in troubled section of Oak Hill Cemetery

HAMMOND | North Township maintenance crews found three more bones Wednesday in a dirt berm near an area where five human bones were found Sunday at embattled Oak Hill Cemetery.

More bones found in troubled section of Oak Hill Cemetery

Robert Hansen, left, of Munster, and Prescott Serna, of East Chicago, workers for the North Township trustee's office, look on Wednesday while Julio Merced operates a backhoe during an excavation of a large dirt pile on the east side of Oak Hill Cemetery in Hammond.

More bones found in troubled section of Oak Hill Cemetery

A bone similar in size and shape to a human leg bone and a smaller rounded bone rest on a gravestone at Oak Hill Cemetery. The apparent bones and gravestone were found Wednesday in a dirt pile by North Township maintenance workers after an excavation.

More bones found in troubled section of Oak Hill Cemetery

Robert Hansen, left, a North Township trustee maintenance worker, and North Township Trustee Frank Mrvan look at an apparent bone discovered Wednesday morning as crews excavated a dirt pile along the southeastern fence line of Oak Hill Cemetery in Hammond.

Coroner: Additional bones found at Oak Hill are human

Daviantae Dunham carries a bone that he discovered Wednesday morning while working to excavate an area along the southeastern fence line in Oak Hill Cemetery. Human bones were found near the same area on Sunday, prompting further excavation.