Sad things happen. And, one of the saddest, and definitely horrific, was a drowning that happened in 1928. A mother drowned her son one late afternoon -- no explanations, no forewarning (although after the fact some spoke about how the mother was acting odd). A year and a half later, the remorseful mother hung herself.
The lad of six was buried in between his grandparents -- Charlotte and John Snell.
And then the years advanced, with the family not wanting to talk much about this murder.
Years later, step in Barb Thumudo, a local resident many will know. A couple years ago, she began research on this family, remembering how her own grandmother -- who used to live next door to the family when the murder happened -- would occasionally mention that horrible event. In Barb's search, she found a family member living in Washington and they were soon in e-mail contact.
Very long story told short, Barb made it happen to have a headstone made for Paul Snell and two family members were in Fowlerville this last Thursday, and a small, intimate ceremony was conducted honoring a young lad, long forgotten but no more. The new headstone has been nicely placed between his grandparents' headstone. If you would like to see it in person, head to the northwest corner of the old portion of Greenwood Cemetery.
Those in attendance at the honorarium were two family members of Paul Snell, Barb Thumudo, Wayne Copeland, myself, and Scott Niblack, offering a couple of prayers and comments.
So many people work behind the scenes, unrecognized and and quiet in their help, making lives better in today's world. Some, such as Barb, work behind the scenes to remember those before us. Isn't it wonderful there are so many types in this world?
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