January is when most of us spend some time in reflection. While we strain to gaze into the crystal ball of the future, we also revisit the past to see what lessons might be learned from it as we move ahead.

Family legacies are the backbone of our Silverbrook Legacies. By looking at our history, through the eyes of those who once lived and worked here, we learn much.

A winter’s walk through Silverbrook might lead you to pause at the Kingston family plot. At first glance the site may not strike you as all that much different than others and then you see it. A small marker that simply says: “Papa.”

Who is buried in Silverbrook Cemetery? What does that rather cryptic inscription mean?

This and other questions will be answered as the Niles Daily Star begins a series entitled "Legacies of Silverbrook." A short article, accompanied by a photo will feature one of the interesting gravestones currently being catalogued, restored and cleaned by the Friends of Silverbrook Cemetery.

"It is one way to bring attention to this wonderful historical site. It has already piqued a good deal of interest of the junior high students who got involved in the cleanup days," said Ann Flora, local history/genealogy librarian at the Niles District Library.

Candace Skalla, president of the Friends of Silverbrook Cemetery, said the project has proven to be so interesting to those who volunteer, many return on their own to clean stones and work on the landscape. Often those who have painstakingly cleaned one of the old stones are then interested in researching the story behind the stone.

Click here for the full article on the Niles Daily Star website

Published May 4th, 2007

Memorial Day itself was established in 1868, just as the Civil War concluded. The day meant to honor the fallen soldiers of that war, has grown to be a solemn recognition of all our nation's war dead.

Memorial Day is a time the dead speak through the memories of those left behind to tell the stories of their lives. In recent weeks, the Niles Daily Star has been running a column called "Silverbrook Legacies."

"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

The beginning lines of Lincoln's Gettysburg address are some of the most famous ever penned. The speech was delivered at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 19, 1863, during the American Civil War.

Click here for the full article on the Niles Daily Star website

Published May 26th, 2007

Not all of Silverbrook Cemetery's most interesting stories have to do with people.

The Common Council on May 6, 1897, on motion of L.A. Duncan, fixed the salary of the sexton at $40 per year. An additional $75 per year was allowed for his horse.

The hitching post, which rests near the French family plot, is one of two located in the cemetery for the use of the sexton during the 1890s.

Circular concrete watering troughs are also scattered throughout the cemetery, suggesting the importance of taking care of the animals in the early history of Niles.

The care and upkeep of the new cemetery required a great deal of clearing of the land. A motion was made by the Common Council of the day that all proceeds from the sale of wood cut in the cemetery would be added to the cemetery fund.

The French family, whose family stone stands magnificent in the oldest part of the cemetery, is still represented in Niles. The paper company is the oldest family-owned business in Niles and is the oldest family-owned paper company in the country.

Click here for the full article on the Niles Daily Star website

Published June 9th, 2007