Salem Cemetery decorated for holiday weekend

RALSTON - The Salem Cemetery, located three miles northwest of the community, is decorated each year with flowers on each of the 80-plus graves, and flags, in time for Memorial Day.

"It's a fun project," said Randy Roth, who does most of the work himself. "A number of families still stop by and decorate their own family graves, too."

Roth, who has family members buried there from both sides of his family, organized a renovation of the fence and grounds in 2004. Descendants of those buried there pitched in, and work was completed in 2005.

The earliest date of death noted on a tombstone is 1899, prior to the cemetery actually being established. Roth said he had burial records translated from German, and is working on figuring out who is buried where.

"About half the graves are unmarked," Roth said. "Many, many baby graves from the diptheria epidemic of 1906 and the Spanish flu of 1919 are not marked. It's like putting together a puzzle."