ROGGEN — The wind-blown prairie has sustained the farmers and ranchers in southeast Weld County for generations, so it’s little wonder they want to be buried there.
They have nothing against the irrigation-fed city cemeteries in nearby Brighton or Greeley with their freshly mowed Kentucky bluegrass. It’s just for the longest time, families who carved out livings on the dry-land wheat farms near Roggen, Keenesburg and Hudson never felt a kinship to the land where they laid their moms, dads and friends to rest.
So a little over three years ago, they took a 5-acre piece of land donated by Gerald and Alberta Sigg and began turning it into sacred ground more suited to the land and people of the area.
They worked shoulder-to-shoulder, molding the soil with their own tractors and backs.
They planted buffalo grass and native flowers, erected a carved archway built with their own hands to greet mourners. They used donated granite to put in benches memorializing loved ones, inscribed with events in the life of Christ.
A heart-shaped walking path encircles the Heart of the Plains Cemetery, which also includes a cross-shaped plaza in the center, which will be used for graveside services and observances of Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Soon, a fence will encircle the cemetery. But it won’t look like anything in the city, because it will allow tumbleweeds to roll over the 2,000 burial spaces available for families.
“There is no irrigation. It’s very low-maintenance, just like us,” said Linda Epple, whose family helped conceive the idea of the Heart of the Plains.
“The land is the heart and soul of the people out here,” said the Rev. Frank Garcia of the simple but stately Sacred Heart Catholic Church, which manages the cemetery. “This is what this cemetery stands for.”
It was dedicated in November 2007 with a simple flourish, officiated by Denver Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput.
The first to be buried there was Nancy Jane Epple, the younger sister of Linda Epple’s husband. Nancy Jane died in July 1964 and was buried in Brighton. But her family wanted her near the farm she grew up on so they moved her to Heart of the Plains.
“We wanted the family to be together,” Linda Epple said.
Seven others are now buried there, including Alberta Sigg, who recently died. There also is an area reserved for children and cremated remains.
Just last month, American Legion Post 180 in Keenesburg raised the flag on a brand-new flagpole for the cemetery. There was a 21-gun salute and a rendition of “America the Beautiful.”
“It was all goose-bumpy,” Linda Epple said.
She is quick to point out that the cemetery is open to anyone and was built as part of a community effort.
People in the area appreciate the work, said Keenesburg Mayor Danny Kipp. “The farmers and ranchers here needed a place for their loved ones, a place they could remember them by,” Kipp said. “This helps.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
