From the Detroit (Mich.) Free Press:
A cemetery, a trailer park and one lonely headstone
Man looks for more than dead relative's grave
December 19, 2005
BY JOEL THURTELL
The biggest problem for Southfield's pioneer Beekman Cemetery is not its long history of abuse -- from the gravel pit operator who ran dump trucks over graves in the 1930s to the trailer park residents of later decades who stole headstones and used them as doorsteps.
It's biggest problem is that few know it's a cemetery.
[snip]
On Friday, [Clark] Risley brushed snow off the inscription of Samuel Beekman's monument. Yellow paint from graffiti stains the stone. "Logically, the first thing to do is re-mount it," said Risley.
[snip]
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