Changing times from days when Catholics, Protestants needed separate cemeteries

[rug]

BRET HAYWORTH
5 hrs ago

ANTHON, Iowa | In the small town of Anthon, there are two cemeteries one mile apart -- Oak Hill Cemetery on the north edge of town and the Mount St. Joseph Cemetery on the south end. The latter is where people of the Catholic faith have been buried for generations.

Separate cemeteries for Catholics have been a tradition in many Iowa communities since the state was first settled more than 150 years ago, although with some differences. Twenty miles from Anthon, for example, the town of Danbury has a single cemetery, although with widely known sections for Catholics and non-Catholics.

"Well, you go to the Catholic side," was the phrase Ruth Groth, of Anthon, said she heard from her Catholic relatives from Danbury.

The separate Catholic cemeteries are something many Siouxlanders have known about, and they'll have a reminder this weekend when many decorate the graves of relatives and friends as part of the Memorial Day holiday.

http://siouxcityjournal.com/lifestyles/features/changing-times-from-days-when-catholics-protestants-needed-separate-cemeteries/article_fcac56e4-780d-5357-a46f-a5d84e0a8035.html