Earlier in this series of stories, I recounted the ritual Ginger and I observed in early June of 2018 of decorating the graves in the Bonham and Wilks Cemeteries. I mentioned that we were following in the path of rituals we had been a part of as children as our elders gathered at the cemetery to clean and decorate the family graves, but I did not mention another factor that prompted our own ritual. Ginger and I were first introduced to the Wilks Cemetery at the end of March. By the end of May, we had been spending nearly every Sunday morning there, taking pictures, videotaping the walk into, through, and out of the cemetery, drawing a schematic of the layout, making rubbings and impressions of the stones, and simply communing with one another, Mother Nature, and the departed. We knew that construction of the Lake was imminent and we wanted to absorb the place into our souls while it was still intact. In fact, on some level the lake remained a distant possibility for me. Even though we had seen survey stakes since mid-April and orange fencing had gone up around the cemetery sites in late April, I could not fully grasp the concept of this glade giving way to a lake.
First Sign - Wilks Cemetery, photo by Ginger Sisco Cook.
Survey Stakes Begin to Appear, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.
Orange Fencing Around Bonham Site, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.
On June 1, 2018, we drove out for a visit - it was a Friday, and I don’t recall why we had picked that day to go. It must have simply fit our schedule for that week. We went very early in order to beat the heat, arriving at Mike Barbaro’s gate just after 7am. We immediately noticed what I thought was fog or mist wafting up just over the rise beyond Mike’s barn. I thought it must be moisture rising from the pond that lay in that direction, but as we closed the gate and pulled up a bit further we gained a view to what it actually was. It was smoke from smoldering piles of uprooted trees. A great swath of land had been bulldozed. The construction of the dam had begun in earnest. The reality hit hard. Suddenly the construction of the lake was not an abstract conjecture, but an overwhelming reality.
It Begins, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.
Side by Side, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.
In juxtaposition to the devastation cutting widely through the land, Mother Nature was unfurled in all her glory. The wild flowers were beautiful, especially the Queen Anne’s Lace and Black Eyed Susan gracing the meadows. We saw several skunks, a squirrel, a hawk, and a great blue heron. A woodpecker was busy at work in a tree in the cemetery. Birdsong surrounded us as we quietly worked.
Looking back toward Wilks Cemetery from Hillside, photo by Ginger Sisco Cook.
Wilks Cemetery Road, photo by Ginger Sisco Cook.
Road from Wilks Cemetery, photo by Ginger Sisco Cook.
Near Wilks Cemetery, photo by Ginger Sisco Cook.
In the car on the way home, Ginger suggested that we decorate the graves, and began to outline her ideas for doing so. We were back on Sunday, June 3, with ribbon, stakes, wire, and tools, and with letters to the departed. We gathered wildflowers from the meadows to make the bouquets, and used the staked bouquets to pin the letters to each grave. It was our way of acknowledging that we had to say goodbye, and likely very soon.
Today, anyone driving along FM 1396 or CR 2700 is familiar with the clearing that has taken place in what will be the basin of Bois d’ Arc Lake and with the active construction of the dam. That day in early June marked a pivot point in our story, and in the story of Fannin County. As it turned out, we would continue to have unfettered access to the Cemetery until early September, much longer than we anticipated on that June morning, but we have had to say goodbye. By early September, the close encroachment of heavy construction activities to the location of the cemetery made safety a legitimate concern, and the beginning of the disinterment made securing the site necessary. Our visits since then have been at the gracious invitation of North Texas Municipal Water District - visits we’ll outline in upcoming posts.
Story by Wanda Holmes Oliver.