November 24, 1998

Grade Six made its first trip to the graveyard on November 24. Working in pairs and after becoming familar with the data recording technique, the twelve students recorded five gravesites. Two of the students found a stone laying flat on the ground and, digging at its widest part, found the base of the stone about five centimeters deep the soil. The fieldstone marker had broken off at ground level many years ago and the base had been covered by silt from the Big Piney River. McCortney Cemetery has been listed as having 12 graves. The students began numbering the gravesites that we had begun to identify and placed a surveying flag by each one. They numbered 28 by the end of the day. We knew we were going to find more. Many of the graves were of infants.