New Mexico cemetery a link to area's past (Organ cemetery)

By Diana Alba Soular \ Las Cruces Sun-News

 Excerpt: LAS CRUCES -- Who knew Edgar Allan Poe was buried in Organ, N.M., on a sloping patch of peaceful desert?

Though not the poet of "The Raven" fame, the late Organ resident also named Poe is one of a number of veterans laid to rest in the quirky and historic Slumbering Mountain Cemetery. Dozens of civilians are also buried on the 5-acre parcel.

The burial plot dates back to an 1885 land patent and Organ's booming days of miners and pioneers.

During the past year, a local Veterans of Foreign Wars post has taken the cemetery under its wing. The group will hold a cleanup this month in preparation for a Memorial Day event to be held there.

"Our mission is to take care of our veterans and their dependents and the ones who are no longer with us," said Ralph Myers of Las Cruces, adjutant for Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6917 on the East Mesa. "The post has adopted the cemetery."

In all, about 300 people belong to the VFW post, and an additional 120 belong to the women's auxiliary, said Roger Miller, second in command at the post.

The post became involved in the cemetery effort more than a year ago, through one of its volunteer staff, Joanie Tyler, an Organ resident since 1970 and an unofficial keeper of the cemetery.

Tyler, 70, said she once belonged to a committee that included Organ resident Herman Weisner, a history enthusiast and veteran, who adopted the job of looking after the cemetery. At one point, he asked Tyler to take over

the role, she said.

Weisner died about a decade ago and was buried in the National Cemetery in Santa Fe. All the committee members except Tyler have died, too.

The VFW post, located on Bataan Memorial West, recognized the need for someone to look after the cemetery, Myers said. Roughly 150 graves are on the site. Many of them aren't marked with names, though Tyler has various maps kept by Weisner. In all, 16 veterans are known to be buried there.

Tyler said the veterans organization chopped away desert brush that had begun to cover graves and installed lights to illuminate a flagpole and American flag. A group of volunteers from NASA facilities to the north also hosted a cleanup there several months ago, she said.

Desert shrubs and cactuses are still interspersed among the graves. Tyler said, however, that Weisner had wanted the parcel to maintain its desert feel.

The cemetery is still open for burials, but arranging one can be difficult because there's no equipment on site to dig graves, Tyler said. The requirement to get a burial plot is that someone be an Organ resident, according to Tyler. In addition, headstones are supposed to face the nearby mountains -- a defining feature in the community.
The rest of this article from the El Paso Times is here.