Honoring Ancestors

This is my friend Fae at a little pioneer cemetery in Piedmont, Wyoming. I love the hat she is wearing. I was told it is a special gift from a thoughtful friend:

Fae tends the cemetery faithfully. There are 28 lives remembered here and most of them are Fae's ancestors. A couple are her descendants. Fae grew up in Piedmont in one of the little houses you can see far in the background of the picture above.

The railroad line used to run right past and Piedmont was a busy little town until the railroad line was moved in 1901. It is now grazing range for cattle.

Fae and her sisters in Piedmont. Fae is the big sister on the right.

Fae has always looked especially beautiful wearing a hat.

John P. Byrne was Fae's grandfather

Moses Byrne was Fae's great grandfather and she is tending his memorial stone below. Moses was an original founder of the town that was established largely because he built the charcoal kilns that look like big beehives in the background. I love that the memorial stone echoes the shape of the kilns.

Although Piedmont is now a ghost town, the State is taking care to preserve the kilns as a historical landmark.

I will long treasure the hours spent with Fae at her old hometown hearing her stories of life in Piedmont.

Many cultures honor The Ancestors with great care. The Ancestors are our links in the Great Chain of Humanity. I am grateful to people like Fae who organize and care for family histories. I look forward to a joyful hobby of genealogy in my golden years.

So in a while you'll find me wandering around cemeteries talking with The Ancestors. I'm pretty sure I'll be wearing a beautiful hat.