Story by Tim King, photo by Jan King
The Land Correspondents
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Private Frank X. Wochnick passed away on Dec. 14, 1918, and was laid to rest shortly afterward on the high rocky hill that was then the cemetery for the Swiss Catholic Church.
At the time the church was known as Our Lady of Einsiedeln, or simply St. Mary's, and was located in the hill country between the villages of Grey Eagle and Burtrum.
May is the month to remember ancestors, especially veterans. Many of us walk through green, well-mown cemeteries contemplating those who have gone before us. We place flowers at grave sides, remove encroaching weeds, say a quiet prayer, and perhaps shed a tear for what was or could have been. As we leave we may wonder about those who lay here but have been forgotten.
Those ancestors who lay at rest at Our Lady of Einsiedeln were among the forgotten and their graves went untended. In 1946 the Little Swiss Church was closed. Many parishioners joined St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Grey Eagle, or left the area. The cemetery began to fall into ruin. By the end of the century tall maple, ironwood, red cedar and black cherry grew on the graveyard hill. Neighbors came and went. Most knew where the abandoned cemetery was. There was a quiet respect. But there was no caretaking.
The Knights of Columbus Council of Grey Eagle and Swanville have changed that in recent years. They cut and burned the thick brush. They located many of the gravesites. Stones that were broken were respectfully put in place. Flagging was placed at burial sites without gravestones. It was difficult and hot work.
Each year since then they have returned to cut back the prickly ash and remove debris. Someone has placed a flag and veterans star by Private Wochnick's stone. Around it grow forest flowers; purple and yellow violets, yellow clintonia, trillium and columbine. A light breeze blows over the hill and rustles the leaves of the trees. It is, as it should be, a place of peace and beauty for the living and our ancestors.
The ancestors on this hillside were not forgotten this Memorial Day.
