{"id":2621,"date":"2011-06-16T13:44:55","date_gmt":"2011-06-16T18:44:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs2.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/?p=2621"},"modified":"2011-06-20T10:15:31","modified_gmt":"2011-06-20T15:15:31","slug":"summit-cemetery-memories-of-a-rural-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/2011\/06\/16\/summit-cemetery-memories-of-a-rural-past\/","title":{"rendered":"Summit Cemetery: Memories of a Rural Past"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It catches the eye.\u00a0 Nestled amongst more elaborate headstones in Summit Cemetery is a small wooden grave marker.\u00a0 It is simply engraved \u201cLena Smith 1915 \u2013 1932.\u201d\u00a0 One cannot walk by, but feels the need to stop and ponder about this young girl and her simple monument as the smell of corn from the nearby fields drifts in the air.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Located on the corner of Utica Ridge Road and Blackhawk Trail this small piece of land contains not only the cemetery, but historic Summit Church as well.\u00a0 Built in 1858 \u2013 1859, this building is a reminder of the small country churches that once dotted the local landscape.\u00a0 Once known as the Summit Presbyterian Church it is owned and maintained today by the Scott County Historical Society.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It feels as though a church service could begin at any moment (regular services ended in 1972).\u00a0 One can picture in the mind\u2019s eye the sanctuary windows open to allow the summer breeze to flow through the room.\u00a0 Listening to the sermon, a glance out of the windows on the right side of the church would provide a picturesque view of farms and growing fields while the view from the left would be a reminder of the past as the headstones of the cemetery gleam white and black against the green of the trees and fields nearby.<\/p>\n

In the midst of all the white and black headstones is that of Lena Smith.\u00a0 The wood of her marker a dull gray with green summer moss and cracks marring its surface but not hiding the name and date so deeply cut into its face.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We have learned through research that Lena was the second of seven children born to Dawson and Laura Smith.\u00a0 \u00a0In the 1930 census it is recorded that Lena lived on a farm with her parents and siblings in Allen\u2019s Grove Township in Scott County.\u00a0 The Daily Democrat and Leader<\/em> published a small article on her death on August 19, 1932.\u00a0 17 year old Lena had been ill for two weeks before passing away at noon on that day.\u00a0 She had been born and reared in Scott County and was a student at Davenport High School.\u00a0 Arrangements were pending.<\/p>\n

A glance at the Davenport High School yearbook for 1932 does not show Lena as a member of that year\u2019s graduating class. \u00a0During that time period only graduating seniors were pictured.\u00a0 She cannot be found in any of the activity or club photos either.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Only Lena is buried in Summit Cemetery.\u00a0 Her family appears to have moved outside the area within a year or two of her death.\u00a0 We currently do not know where they relocated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Summit and other rural cemeteries are wonderful places to explore.\u00a0 A small adventure while enjoying the beauty of our area and remembering those who came before us.<\/p>\n

If you would like to explore Summit Church and Cemetery an opportunity exists as the Scott County Historical Society will hold its annual Ice Cream Social and Fundraiser at the site on Wednesday, July 20th<\/sup> from 5:00 \u2013 7:00 p.m.\u00a0 Please see our Blog Calendar <\/a>of Events for more information.<\/p>\n

It is a wonder in some ways that Lena\u2019s small wooden marker still stands so strong with the intense weather changes our area experiences every year.\u00a0 In 2012 Lena\u2019s marker will have stood in Summit Cemetery for 80 years marking a life that ended far too young.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

(Photo by Amy Driskill)<\/em><\/p>\n

(posted by Amy D.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It catches the eye.\u00a0 Nestled amongst more elaborate headstones in Summit Cemetery is a small wooden grave marker.\u00a0 It is simply engraved \u201cLena Smith 1915 \u2013 1932.\u201d\u00a0 One cannot walk by, but feels the need to stop and ponder about … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[633,22,635,634,636,638,631,632,637],"class_list":["post-2621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-history","tag-allens-grove","tag-cemeteries","tag-grave-markers","tag-headstones","tag-lena-smith","tag-scott-county-historical-society","tag-summit-cemetery","tag-summit-church","tag-summit-presbyterian-church"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pd0CXc-Gh","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2621"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2629,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621\/revisions\/2629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}