Arc of Appalachia donates land to Paint Township cemetery

Saying that "nature and memorials go hand in hand," the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System has donated approximately an acre of land to Paint Township to expand the Beaver Cemetery. 

Paint Township Trustee Randy Mustard said that all of the lots in the cemetery, located off of state Route 753, have been purchased. Faced with the potential of running out of space, they approached the preserve to see if they would consider donating land. 

Arc of Appalachia Director Nancy Stranahan said that the organization felt that helping out the Paint Township area people with a donation of land was a perfect fit in their mission of nature preservation.

"Our mission is to preserve the beauty of the wildlife, and that would not be possible without the support from people, like the people here in Rocky Fork," Stranahan said. "We're always looking for ways to give back, and we had room to spare."

Founded in 1995, the Arc of Appalachia manages several nature preserves in Ohio, including the Highlands Nature Sanctuary, Fort Hill and Serpent Mound. 

"We greatly appreciate that they did this," Mustard said. 

The only cost to the township, Mustard said, was having the land surveyed and the payment of the deed. 

"That sounded like a pretty good deal to me," he said.

Grave markers that are in the current cemetery area date back into the 1800s, Mustard said, with some stones so old and worn that the dates cannot be read. 

"What better way to pay tribute to nature than to honor the people who have supported us. Our landscape is our memory, and this cemetery is a memory. To me, nature and memorials go hand in hand," Stranahan said.

Stranahan said that quite often people will donate to the preserve in the memory of a loved one. 

"They will say, 'Here's a fifty-dollar tribute in memory of my father who just passed away,'" Stranahan said. "It felt really good to give back not just to nature, but to the people who support it."