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.

Grave markers preserve Civil War legacy

HAMMOND | The wives of two region Civil War veterans and a Union Army private wounded in battle all received special Christmas Eve honors with the placement of new memorial markers at Hammond's Oak Hill Cemetery.

Oak Hill Cemetery ceremony focuses on region Civil War veterans

HAMMOND | About 100 region residents gathered Sunday at the tomb of a Hammond veteran who served his country more than a century ago, commemorating the sacrifices of America's bloodiest war.

Covert Purposes: A Letter from New York

The crowd last month at Edelman Arts in Manhattan was lively and enthralled. Gathering to see “The Dead Supreme,” the exhibition of New Buffalo native Scott Covert’s gravestone rubbings, the crowd discovered there was something for everyone: color, celebrity, mystery—even glitter!

C.P. Civil War soldier honored on 150th anniversary of his wartime death

CROWN POINT | A century and a half ago, Civil War Sgt. Edwin Sprague died of a sickness that posed perhaps a greater threat to Union soldiers than Confederate bullets.

Descendants hail volunteer efforts to preserve ancestors' region Civil War headstones

VALPARAISO | When she attended a special ceremony honoring region Civil War veterans in May, Valparaiso native Pat Lane had no idea she would learn her great-great-grandfather served as a sergeant in the war.

Headstone of Gettysburg survivor replaced on anniversary of battle

On July 3, 1863, Pvt. Robert Livingston and other Lake and Porter county soldiers were recovering from fierce fighting in Gettysburg, Pa. — a battle that claimed the life of their commanding officer one day earlier.

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.

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.

Headstones found in Valpo yard

VALPARAISO | Most people don't expect to find tombstones when they are digging in their yard, but Mike Pardo found fragments of one while trenching around the foundation of his house recently.

EDITORIAL: Putting cemetery's many troubles to rest

The deplorable condition of the graves at Oak Hill Cemetery in Hammond was bad enough, but finding human bones lying around? That's sacrilege. That's disgraceful. That's reason to be glad North Township now maintains the cemetery and is working to gain legal control of it.

EDITORIAL: Oak Hill's grave situation improves

It is heartwarming to hear about the improvements taking place at Oak Hill Cemetery in Hammond. Volunteers have begun setting things right there.

Burial site renewed

HAMMOND | It was a day of mixed emotions for Judy Richter on Tuesday as volunteers hoisted the granite headstone of her grandmother back into its rightful place but couldn't find her grandfather's missing memorial.

Burial site renewed

The headstone of Anna E. Klug is brought back to her gravesite Tuesday.

Burial site renewed

Volunteers Kyle Prendergast, left, Kert Hansen and Mike Prendergast place the headstone of Anna E. Klug back on her grave Tuesday. Klug's headstone had been missing from its grave site at Hammond's Oak Hill Cemetery since at least 1992 and was found discarded in a debris area of the cemetery.

Burial site renewed

HAMMOND | Kyle Prendergast, left, Mike Prendergast and Kert Hansen place the headstone of Anna E. Klug back on her grave Tuesday.

EDITORIAL: Township should take control of cemetery

While we believe township government should be abolished and its duties assigned elsewhere, it does have a role to play for now. And in North Township, an urgent task is to straighten out the mess at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Hammond.

Oak Hill headstones, management missing in action

HAMMOND | The government-issued headstone of a Hammond World War II veteran lies near old discarded tires and rusted-out machinery, cast off in an area behind a trash bin.