More towns in Vermont are adding natural burial sections to cemeteries because people are learning about the idea, and they like it. The nontraditional burials keep embalming fluids out of the earth.
Some of Vermont’s now-unmowed burial sites look about like they did a half-century ago.
The centuries-old gravestones in Vermont cemeteries may offer only glimpses of the personal histories of the dead. But those markers still hold lessons for the people who visit and research them today.
The discovery of misplaced burial sites, unusual but not unheard of among Vermont cemetery caretakers, kicked off a process that local officials and the family that owns the plot hope to conclude soon.
The measure would permit burials at a depth of at least 3½ feet, compared with the current 5-foot state requirement.
More communities are struggling this Memorial Day to provide enough money and muscle to care for historic yet high-maintenance burial grounds.