Cemetery controversy: Some say Civil War soldiers' graves aren't being cared for; "it's a weed patch"



MUSKEGO -- A Civil War group is up in arms over the condition of a cemetery in Muskego -- objecting to what they consider a lack of care shown to the graves of two soldiers.

During the Memorial Day holiday weekend, there was a salute to two Civil War soldiers buried in the Luther Parker Cemetery in Muskego. 

Luther Parker Cemetery in Muskego



"Lt. Clarke died from wounds suffered at Chickamauga. Private Smiley over there, he died from disease," Jeffrey Graf with Sons of Union Veterans said.

While the ceremony was meant to honor the soldiers, those with the group "Sons of Union Veterans" say the condition of the cemetery does not.

Luther Parker Cemetery in Muskego



"It's a weed patch. They call it a wild plant sanctuary," Graf said.

Some of the country's earliest European settlers are buried at the cemetery in what the city forester calls a remnant prairie.

"I don't think they would feel they are being dishonored in any way by what grows here," Tom Zagar, Muskego city forester said.

Luther Parker Cemetery in Muskego



"Give it a month or two. It'll be as tall as me and I'm 6'5," Graf said.

Graf says calling the cemetery a prairie is a convenient excuse for neglect.

"I've been driving by this cemetery for 20 years and it's always a mess," Graf said.

Robert Koenecke



"This is buck-thorn and it's a very invasive plant," Robert Koenecke said.

Koenecke says the cemetery is filled with invasive plants.

"There's multi-flora rosa, which I call natural barbed wire," Koenecke said.

"This is actually what this looked like when these pioneers were laid to rest," Zagar said.

Zagar says just like the uniforms are authentic to the era, so are the plants.

Luther Parker Cemetery in Muskego



Tom Zagar



"Prairies have been lost in the landscape to the point that there's one less than one tenth of one percent in North America right now," Zagar said.

City officials mowed a path to the headstones for Sunday's ceremony, but Zagar said mowing at the cemetery regularly could result in damage.

"Especially when some of them are very small. There's markers as small as a cigar box," Zagar said.

Luther Parker Cemetery in Muskego



"These veterans both died in service. They came home. Their bodies were carried home and the least we can do is tend to their graves," Graf said.

City officials use controlled burns to maintain the prairie in the cemetery.

Luther Parker Cemetery in Muskego



The Sons of Union Veterans want to see more mowing and pruning and the grasses transplanted to another location if need be.