24 September 2008

Dear Friends of Spring Hill Cemetery,

I am pleased to say that Jeremy was able to meet with Ken Blom of Norcal Geophysical on Friday to show him the cemetery. I spoke with Ken today to see what he thought of the state of our ground, and to see how he would like to proceed. Ken's idea is that we mark a line along the eastern border of the cemetery; another line parallel to the first and 50 feet west of the first; and a third 100 feet west of the first. Each line would be delineated by pin flags placed every 20 feet or so. Norcal would scan north - south lines every 2-3 feet along the entire width of the cemetery, using our pre-placed pin flags for reference points. As the graves lie east-west at Spring Hill, this method should cut across any hidden graves. Ken felt that much of the eastern part of the cemetery is prepared well enough for a successful scan. Once the scanning data has been collected, it will be analyzed and a map produced showing the scan's results.

Ken has had quite a bit of experience using GPR at cemeteries. Among other cemeteries he has worked with, he scanned several in El Dorado County where he used GPR to support Sue Silver's work with Saving Graves. In walking through Spring Hill, he said that he saw many spots where the ground resembled places he had found in other cemeteries that had later been determined to be hidden graves.

Our plan is to mark the cemetery with the pin flags as part of our October 3 workday. Ken said that Monday, October 6th would be the optimal day for Norcal to come out to survey the cemetery. Norcal requires minimal support from the "volunteers" during the scan. On scan day (Monday, October 6th) our main task would be to move obstacles (such as the logs lining our paths) out of the scan's path, and then to move them back once the scan has moved through. Jeremy, Larry and I are all planning to support the scan on Monday, October 6th. Let me know if anyone else would like to join us (it is optional, as the three of us should be able to handle the minimal amount of support Norcal will require). I have not yet been told Norcal's schedule for the 6th. Once Ken gets back to me on the time, I will pass it on to those of you who email me back expressing interest.

I am very excited by the upcoming scan, and am eagerly looking forward to seeing just what the scan can show us.