Time has had a way of dramatically changing the view from Imogene Beals’ front window.
Once overlooking quaint country vistas and a small, old cemetery, Beals’ blue house with neatly shuttered windows now stands amid the bustling convenience stores, banks and gasoline stations lining Ogden Avenue in Lisle.
“I have fond recollections of country all around,” Beals said. “Newer people can’t understand it. They can never realize what it looked like.”
Beals smiles each time she looks at that old cemetery across Ogden, past the whizzing traffic. The 1990s have been kind to the 164-year-old Lisle Cemetery.
Once dilapidated and overrun by weeds, the cemetery–one of the oldest in the state–has been restored by the village. A wrought-iron fence with stone pillars wraps around the 2-plus-acre site, and public-works crews inspect weekly for broken tree limbs and fallen headstones.
Beals, whose house dates to 1840, is pleased with the transformation.
Her husband, Donald, is buried there, as are her grandparents.
“It is special,” Beals said of the cemetery. “Probably as the world passes it by, not many people think much about it. But for those of us who have been around, it means a lot.”
The cemetery is a source of pride for those who have worked to preserve its rich history. The grounds, at Ogden and Center Avenues, date to 1835, when one of the village’s settlers, James C. Hatch, gave a portion of his land as a public burial ground.
The village reluctantly took over maintenance in 1987 after its longtime volunteer caretaker, Bill McKibben, could no longer care for it.
Five-term Village Trustee Judith Yuill pushed for the village to get involved. Yuill, who lives near the cemetery, said spindly weeds hid much of the property, and many headstones were crumbling.
“It was awful. I had no idea it was that big,” Yuill recalled. “It was a major mess.”
The cemetery needed fixing in other ways, too. Many headstones were not marked, and a cemetery ledger did not match with graves.
After records were put in order and crews spruced up the grounds, the village put the finishing touches on the project in 1994 by installing the fence.
Several hundred people, including Beals and others with relatives buried there, turned out in sweltering heat for the dedication.
Yuill said restoring the cemetery set a precedent for development on the more functional than pretty Ogden. She said the cemetery’s new look and rich history have attracted development nearby, including townhouses to the east.
“I think we preserved history,” she said. “If it hadn’t been done, it would have been a very short time before everything in there would have been lost. Or a developer might have gotten hold of it. . . . I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever done on the board.”
Barbara Adamec is credited as the project’s driving force. The assistant village manager was in charge of finding fencing for the cemetery, but her quest soon became more a labor of love than a work assignment.
Adamec, who moved to Lisle in her teens, scoured old records and visited other cemeteries to find the right “historically significant” fencing. Chosen was a simple design appropriate for those buried in the once-rural pioneer cemetery.
In the process, Adamec became well-versed on Lisle’s history. She gleaned charming facts, including lore on the cemetery’s potter’s field in the southeast corner. The field became a necessity when the town’s founding fathers faced the dilemma of where to bury strangers who died while traveling on Plank Road, now Ogden.
She also found out more about the Hatch family when a descendant happened to be staying at a Lisle hotel while an article about the cemetery’s refurbishment appeared in a local newspaper.
“I found out so much history,” she said. “I get kind of emotional when I read the text (on headstones). You have some very sad stories.”
Much of the knowledge has been included in a cemetery visitors guide. Readers can learn of its history and get information on hours, purchasing lots, grave markers and which planting and decorations are allowed.
The cemetery always has been non-denominational. There are 470 graves, with about five or six people buried each year.
Only a few area communities–including Naperville and Bartlett–own and maintain cemeteries.
Most of the work at Lisle Cemetery consists of maintaining the grounds, headstones and closing and opening gates.
A contractor digs graves, but sexton Dennis Michaels will meet families at the cemetery to pick out a site for burial.
Michaels, also public works superintendent, had never maintained a cemetery before coming to Lisle five years ago.
“It’s a pretty unique job,” he said. “I was a little apprehensive at first, not knowing what to do. But after you do it a little bit, you know what to do.”
Village officials and historians are proud to have preserved the cemetery’s heritage and say younger residents are learning about Lisle’s history by visiting it. Lisle Station Park offers self-guided tours of the cemetery, and many people visit the grounds during the Depot Days festival in September.
“There are some people, believe it or not, who like to go to cemeteries just to be in some quiet, calm place,” said Lisle Heritage Society President Marilyn Cawiezel.
Adamec said a myriad of memories flood back whenever she drives by the cemetery. She is pleased to have helped it weather the test of time for generations to come.
“The cemetery was originally a gift from the town’s founding fathers, and it’s still there,” Adamec said. “I’m proud of that.”
