Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery out in Carson County. Now settle in, because this story starts with the land itself, and it ends, as most good stories do, with folks still showing up to do the work. The White Deer Land Company donated five acres for a cemetery on March 4, 1913.

Five acres of Texas panhandle ground, surrounded by sky and silence, set about a quarter mile north of the historically Polish Sacred Heart Catholic Church. The deed was recorded in Carson County records on April 25, 1914, making it official, making it permanent. But here's the thing.

The ground had already received its first soul before any of that paperwork was done. The infant son of Mr. and Mrs. E.N.

Czerner passed on January 28, 1913, and he was the first to be buried here. A child, not yet old enough to know the prairie wind, laid to rest in ground that hadn't even been formally deeded yet. It wasn't until three years later, in 1916, that the parish experienced its first adult death.

Mrs. Jacob Tuleja became the first adult buried in that cemetery. Her white cross still stands out there, what the marker calls a mute reminder of the young pioneer.

Those words carry weight. She was young. She was a pioneer.

And her cross doesn't speak, it just stands. For years after that, the cemetery was tended only on days that demanded it. Funerals, Memorial Day, All Souls Day.

The rest of the time, the prairie pretty much had it to itself. That changed in 1956. Father Jerome Hancox was pastor of Sacred Heart parish that year, and during a parish meeting, the people decided it was time.

They drew up a constitution and bylaws for the care of the grounds. Trees were planted to give the place some beauty. A stunning crucifix was installed right in the center of it all.

And Father Hancox, well, he knew exactly where he wanted to spend eternity. Per his request, he was laid to rest at the feet of Christ. There's a quiet kind of faith in that detail that doesn't need any embellishing.

Then came 1988, when the cemetery committee finalized plans for a new fence and entryway. Work officially began in January of 1989. Three months later, it was done.

That iron picket fence with its brick entry, the very thing you see today, rose up in a single season of labor. Among those buried within it are veterans from World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Many wars, many men.

And one of them, Sgt. Larry A. May, was the only serviceman from this cemetery killed in action.

He fell in Vietnam. The marker notes that simply and directly, and it deserves to be said the same way. The cemetery is still in use today.

Parishioners still work it, side by side, the same way their ancestors worked it. Same ground. Same fence line.

Same faith that the person beside you will show up and do their share. That iron fence didn't build itself, and neither did anything else out there. It took people, generation after generation, deciding that the ones who came before them were worth the trouble.

I'd say they were right.

What the marker says

Surrounded by an iron picket fence with a brick entry, the Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery is a reminder of those who have come before us. The White Deer Land Company donated five acres of land for a cemetery on March 4, 1913. The deed was recorded in Carson County records on April 25, 1914. The land is sited about a quarter mile north of the historically Polish Sacred Heart Catholic Church. The first to be buried here was the infant son of Mr. and Mrs. E.N. Czerner, who passed on January 28, 1913. It wasn't until three years later that the parish experienced its first adult death in 1916. Mrs. Jacob Tuleja was the first adult to be buried here. Her white cross is a mute reminder of the young pioneer. Throughout the years, the cemetery was tended to only during days of special remembrance, such as funerals, Memorial Day, and All Souls Day. Father Jerome Hancox was pastor of Sacred Heart parish in 1956 when during a parish meeting it was decided to draw up a constitution and bylaws for the care of the grounds. Trees were planted to beautify the acreage and a stunning crucifix was installed in the center. Father Hancox, per his request, was laid to rest at the feet of Christ. In 1988, the cemetery committee finalized plans for a new fence and entryway. Work officially began in January of 1989, and three months later the task was completed. Among those buried here are veterans from many wars including World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. The only serviceman killed in action was Sgt. Larry A. May in Vietnam. The cemetery is still in use, and parishioners continue to work side by side, just as their ancestors did, to maintain and improve their cemetery.