On Sunday, my mother went to place flowers at Rose Hill Cemetery in Marshalltown. What she encountered (certainly not the first time, but definitely the worst) was appalling! My grandparents headstone was completely covered with grass & weeds, as shown in the photos. You would never know it was there if not for the flower urn standing a little taller than the weeds. The subsequent photos are after my son took it upon himself to weedeat and clear the headstone. My aunt and uncles looked the same way. And my siblings’ headstone is sunk in the ground, needing to be raised and leveled. Everywhere you look, there are headstones in the same condition. Along with a memorial bench nearby that is cracked and has a broken leg from obviously being hit by a lawnmower. A while back we had a flower urn come up missing and were told it’s not the owner’s responsibility to replace it. Surely, the owners have insurance on the land, just as I do on my home and vehicle, for unforeseen incidents. That’s fine, but we paid good money for those “spaces” and trusted YOU to maintain the integrity of them! They are more than a “space” to us! If you look at Rose Hill’s Facebook page, you will see the owner, Jody Anderson, talking about how hard the staff works and the $100,000 plus he has put into improving the cemetery. The only improvements I’ve seen are the roads. He states he holds a special place in his heart for those who have served. So, he restored a cannon. What about respecting those that served by flying the flag that they fought for, and families graciously donated, for the purpose of being displayed just once a year on Memorial weekend? That isn’t happening. Another post talks about visiting your loved ones grave’s often to talk to them, read a book, share a memory. What it doesn’t say is, “may need to bring your own weed eater.” Another post talks about “cemetery etiquette.” Funny, every time I’m there, I pick up shredded flowers, papers, and trash left behind by a careless lawn mower operator. This cemetery used to be so beautiful. But sadly, it has been deteriorating over the past few years. Rose Hill deserves so much better and so do our loved ones!