Our Family Plots In 2004 my mother, LaVonne Thayer Jordan, her sister, Diane Thayer Myers and three of my brothers, Lenny, Dennis, and Kevin Jordan (a professional landscaper), took on a major cemetery project in Burnett County, Wisconsin. My aunt Diane, who is also the family historian on the Thayer side, had a monument put at the Danbury Cemetery in honor of her and my mother's parents, Elwin Freeman Thayer and Vera Charlotte (Cornwall) Thayer. Also buried there are Vera's parents and grandparents, Archibald Benjamin Cornwall and Ella Mabelle (Burgert) Cornwall, James E. Cornwall and Agnes M. (Wood) Cornwall. Grandma Vera's sister, Mabelle Agnes (Cornwall) Thayer and her first husband, Dean G. Thayer (she married two different brother's of Grandpa Elwin Thayer) are buried there too. In January 2004, LaVonne and Diane's brother, Basil James Thayer was laid to rest at the family plot in the Danbury Cemetery. My mother drew up a landscape design, (see photo below with Diane) and with the help of my brothers they got to work. The project took them all summer.
The Danbury Cemetery has no restrictions on your family plots, other than their ability to mow the grass. So if there is not an area to be mowed, all the better for them. After the plants and bushes were planted, my mother purchased a portable water tank that she put in the back of her van and filled with water. She would then water all the bushes, plants and trees to keep them alive and growing. (There is an old fashion hand water pump in the far back of the cemetery) It was like a mini commercial landscaping job so familiar to my mother's in-laws, Ray Jordan and Sons, Inc. Landscaping, of Minnesota and her son, Kevin and his 4th Generation Landscaping. By fall, the landscaping was established and the solar lights were installed. We made a visit to the cemetery in the evening darkness and it looked like an airport runway. All of us had to laugh as we gazed at the beautiful site and marveled at how unusual it is. If only everyone's ancestors were this blessed and fortunate to have such a display of love and care to their final resting place. Thayer Family Danbury,Wisconsin
Basil Thayer's Unique Boulder Tombstone
Lakeside (also known as Orange) Cemetery Diane also saw to it that our pioneer ancestors, Great grandparents, Adam Shively Burgert and his wife, Charlotte Hall Burgert, have a similar recognition where they are buried in the Orange Cemetery (also known as Lakeside Cemetery) in Burnett County. Here is the beautiful headstone below.
Ogema Bangs Brook Cemetery Just over the St. Croix River, in Ogema township, Pine County, Minnesota, is the Ogema Bangs Brook Cemetery. Buried there are Freeman Albert Thayer, father of Elwin Thayer, and 5 babies of Elwin and Vera. There are some members of the Jordan family buried there too. My mother and our family visit there regularly and have cared for and pruned the old fashion rose bush and peonies. The ideas for developing this area are looming in our hearts and minds.
If you are in the area, stop and see this Burnett County wonder. And keep an eye on what may develop at the Ogema Cemetery too.
In Honor of Elwin F. Thayer, WWI Veteran
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