A BROKEN LIMB

06/25/2005 Hidden history Workers discover old tombstone inside tree LINDA N. WELLER , The Telegraph
The Telegraph/JOHN BADMAN Mark Brunetto, left, his stepson, Blake Roberts, 8, center, and Jim Scroggins examine the upper half of a tombstone they found inside the center of the rotted trunk of an ash tree they cut down in Alton’s City Cemetery. ALTON -- To the surprise of tree-cutters in Alton Cemetery, a 150-year-old ash revealed a secret it had kept inside its "heart" for possibly more than a century. Jim Scroggins, 27, and Mark Brunetto, 31, both of Holiday Shores and owners of Holiday Tree and Landscape, discovered a limestone headstone dating to 1854 inside the 90-foot tree they were cutting down June 17.

As it grew slowly over the years, the tree enclosed the grave marker in its middle, surrounding it with wood and bark and eventually reaching a diameter of 4 feet. The growth process of the tree also raised the marker up about 4 feet above ground.

   When Scroggins and Brunetto cut away at angles into the towering, hardwood ash, its middle was rotted into a soft reddish-brown matter. They were digging out the center when one of the men hit the headstone with the shovel.

"We could hear it," Brunetto said. "Obviously, it wasn’t wood, and it was something hard."

He said he had no idea what could be inside the old tree, which was damaged during a windstorm June 9.

"I was hoping it was a box of money," Brunetto joked.

Instead, it was upper half of the headstone; the lower part was broken off. They also found two old bricks and a flowerpot that the growing tree had enveloped.

Both men said they were surprised at the find.

"I think it was intended to happen, from God," Scroggins said, noting that a hand with its index finger "pointing to heaven," as he described it, is carved on top of the stone. The grave marker has an arched top.

The men had spent nearly three days taking down the tree and removing the wood. A large stump remains on the site; cemetery records show two graves are under the stump. The men, who do landscaping and tree cutting, said they might come back and remove the stump, which may contain a headstone for the second grave.

Brunetto and Scroggins said they were excited to find the long-hidden grave marker. They said they never had encountered anything as interesting in their yearlong business partnership. They can be reached at 692-6115.

After finding the grave marker, the men said they mulled over calling The Telegraph for a week to report their discovery before Scroggins picked up the telephone. After getting Scroggins’ call, an editor called local history enthusiast Don Huber, who is president of the cemetery board.

The cemetery is between Fifth Street on the south and Union Street on the north between Vine and Pearl streets in the city’s Hunterstown neighborhood.

Huber met the men Friday at Alton Cemetery, applied foamy shaving cream to the indentations carved into the stone and used a ruler to smooth the foam flush with the stone.

"It kind of makes it jump out at you," Huber said as the foam filled up the lettering.

The shaving cream immediately revealed that the gravestone belongs to Martha J. Mahan, who died Aug. 13, 1854. The adjoining grave is missing its marker, which still may be in the stump. It belongs to an apparent relative, Rebecca Mahan.

"I thought it was interesting. I love history," Huber said. "It was a miracle they found it. It was neat for the guys. They were excited about it. I am going to make sure it gets back where it belongs" on the grave.

Bette Flactiff, cemetery sexton, called the find "really remarkable."

"It’s just so strange," she said. "It’s real interesting. It certainly was a surprise."

Flactiff said the Mahans’ graves, in the northern part of the property, are in the older section of the cemetery. Neither Flactiff nor Huber had information about the Mahan family or their descendents.

The cemetery began recording burials in 1837, although board members believe bodies of people who died earlier than that may have been moved from their graves to Alton Cemetery.

lnweller@hotmail.com

Thanks to Paul Drake for sending this.

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