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INFANTS & CHILDRENS' GRAVES:
          Unlike many other graveyards that I’ve visited, Haynie Chapel cemetery doesn’t have a specific area set aside for infants and small children.  I’ve selected a few child graves to focus on in this section.  Out of all of the graves I saw, I found these to be the most disturbing.  Although many of the babies I saw died a hundred years ago, I also saw a couple of babies who had died recently.  In all of our centuries of science and learning, some things still cannot be mended and some diseases still cannot be cured.  In every contest, death eventually beats even the best and strongest of us all.  I don’t know how these children died, but because of their age, I’m guessing that their deaths were from unusual disease or some unexpected, unforeseeable tragedy. 
         The caption etched on the grave of Kenneth Johnson (July 8th, 1910- September 28th, 1911), the son of L.J. and Lizzie Johnson reads: "He carries the lamb in his bosom."  Kenneth was only a year old when he died.  His parents and some of Kenneth’s other family members are buried a few feet away.  Even though this child died nearly a hundred years ago, someone still leaves flowers on his grave as well as the other sites nearby.
         This marker for Dillon Chase Schobey (December 5th, 1996) was one of the first sites that I photographed. In addition to the formal marker, two homemade crosses have been constructed and the grave has been decorated with a bouquet of silk flowers.  I'm not sure if the color is significant, but light blue is often associated with baby boys.  The image of a smiling teddy bear icon on a swing with the phrase "Playing in God's Playground" adorns the top of this marker and  at the bottom is the caption: "Our beloved son and brother".  Because Dillon's death occurred in December, Christmas and Thanksgiving might be especially difficult holidays for the Schobey family.  Though there are several infant graves in this cemetery where the babies died the same day that they were born, Dillon is youngest and the most recent infant death that I observed on my visit.
         This baby only was five days old (July 13th, 1898-July 18th, 1898) when he died.  During his lifetime, he lived a Texas very different than the Texas that we live in today.  He was the infant son of W.T. and N.T. Hunt.  This baby was probably born into a farming or a ranching family and in the era that he lived in, it was much more common for young children to die, especially from diseases and infections that most babies today are vaccinated for.  On this grave, the stone itself is extremely weathered, but the caption "Sweet Rest" is still discernible at the bottom of the stone.  Several of the tombstones in this area of the cemetery have been neglected and have fallen or are leaning and will fall someday just as this tombstone has.  The white area on the bottom of this stone is less battered, presumably because it was underground for several years and was protected from the erosion that the top portion of the stone suffered.
         This effeminate little stone cherub solemnly watches over the grave of the infant daughter or Mr. and Mrs. Lee Boatright.  Carved into the actual marker is the image of a second little angel.  This infant died on the same day that she was born, May 23rd of 1913.  This child is one of several Boatrights that I saw on my visit to the cemetery.  A family who lives down the road from me has the last name of Boatright and the grave you see here is probably a great aunt or cousin of theirs that they never got a chance to meet because she died in infancy.

NEWEST GRAVES:

         These blue flags designate that a grave is about to be dug, though I don't know whom is to occupy it.  The headstones immediately surrounding this site are for the Gattis family, so unfortunately, that family may have had a recent death.  In the background of this photograph, you can see the well-worn dirt path that winds through the cemetery as well as bright clusters of flowers dotting other graves.
         Though no date has been carved into the headstone yet, there is a fresh mound of earth.  James Scotty Childress, Jr. (January 25th, 1905-June 19th, 1973) was buried here almost thirty years ago and now it appears that his wife, Irene S. Childress (September 7th, 1919- ?) has recently joined him here in Haynie Chapel cemetery.
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