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<DIV>I think this is a GREAT project. The first time I found a link to
Oregon cemetery projects online I was really excited...until I clicked the links
and found that there were very few cemetery inventories (not to mention photos)
actually online. If Rootsweb actually has thousands of Oregon graves, I
haven't found them.</DIV>
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<DIV>But what a good idea to create a searchable database of photos. Now
that digital cameras are so inexpensive, it costs no more to snap a hundred
photos than it does to snap one. Much faster than the old way of copying
gravestone data on the back of an envelope found in the glove compartment!
Although the cropping and editing of the photos takes a few minutes, I do
believe that a bit of practice will produce good photos that don't need
editing.</DIV>
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<DIV>I think the other positive aspect of an organized effort like this is that
it may draw attention to the neglect of some of the smaller/family
cemeteries. The outcome could be some brush cutting and grave
marking. It would be a good family project; a way to interest children and
teens in local history. I have always enjoyed walking through old
cemeteries and reading the inscriptions, so stopping to snap a picture takes
only a few seconds more. In high school a friend and I noticed that there
were old graves in the Canyonville cemetery that were no longer being
tended. So, we "adopted" several of them. We weeded them and used a
toothbrush to remove moss from the lettering. It began as a somewhat of a
lark, but we soon developed an interest in the lives of the people whose graves
we were tending.</DIV>
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<DIV>Carla</DIV>
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