William C. "Dub" Miller can remember when they were. He grew up with many now buried in Oakland Cemetery. One day, he says, it will also be his final resting place, alongside late wife Nell, whom he married back in 1936. And he's optimistic that when that time comes he will be buried in a cemetery whose glories have been restored.
Mark Graham
Sallie Martin's headstone, top, is indicative of the fine sculptures found at Oakland Cemetery, while the grave markers with names such as Dealey and Belo speak to the cemetery's connection with Dallas' powerbroker families.
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President of the Oakland Cemetery Lot Owners Association Board of Trustees, the 95-year-old former city councilman (1953-60) and still-active real estate executive does not see the current problems as unsolvable. "We're in the process of seeking out foundations and individuals with an appreciation for the importance of the city's history who might be willing to help us accomplish our goal," he says.
And while tight-lipped about any signs of progress, he hints that in the near future the financing needed for restoration and proper maintenance--an estimated $3 million--might be coming.
"One of the main difficulties we've faced in the 14 years I've been associated with the board," he explains, "is that we're now into the third and fourth generations of many of the families buried there. And times have changed. People today are too busy, too occupied with too many other things, to make a trip out to the cemetery to visit the grave of their ancestors. It's one of those American traditions that seems to have passed."
But not for Miller, who visits Oakland regularly to remember his family, who launched a realty business in 1874. "Today," he proudly notes, "we're the oldest business in Dallas."
He sees the frayed and leafless limbs of trees badly in need of trimming, the vines that have wound their way over headstones, the weeds that now hide too many of the more modest graves. Yet in his mind's eye, he sees the way it was. And the way he hopes it will be again.
"For years," he says, "our main objective has simply been to keep Oakland Cemetery going. We've shown that we can do that and have now set more ambitious goals. It is important that the people of Dallas, regardless of color or heritage, have a sense of this city's history." In fact, he says, the board has set in motion the process to file an application for a historical marker. It is something long overdue.
Another day has passed, and caretaker Williams is slowly driving along the mazelike roads that wind through the cemetery. Birds, noisy throughout the day, have settled quietly into the branches of overhanging trees. A rabbit lifts its head above the grass to stare in surprise at the passing human. A small fox, sleek and startled, dashes from its hiding place behind a tombstone and scurries across the rain-softened road.
The only visitor to the caretaker's office had been an elderly woman in search of the location of an ancestor's grave. All she knew was that his name was Peacock and he had been an Army captain during the first World War. Williams, after a careful search of his antiquated files, was able to direct her to the grave site. Another connection with history made.
