Ken Cornett This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. thedailytimes.com - Volunteers begin clearing Mt. Moriah Cemetery

   www.thedailytimes.com/sited/st - [Cached]

   Published on: 8/14/2004   Last Visited: 8/15/2004

   "I started clearing my way along the road here to get a sense of where things lay," Cornett said.
   ...
   "My only granddaughter turns 12 months old this month," Cornett said. "When I saw that stone, my heart just sunk."
   
   Since rescuing that first small grave from the thick cover of vines, brush and trees, Cornett has unearthed 51 stones in the abandoned cemetery. Fourteen of those are of infants and children.
   
   Emerging from jungle
   
   Cornett has begun the arduous task of clearing the historic cemetery with the help of another history-minded Blount County man, Drew Hennessey.
   ...
   Before Cornett and Hennessey began volunteering their time to the cemetery's reclamation, Blount County Historian Jane Thomas described the cemetery as a "jungle."
   ...
   Cornett said as he cleared a path through the cemetery he saw periwinkle covering the ground.
   
   "I thought that was the main part of the cemetery, and sure enough, it turned out to be that," he said.
   
   As brush and trees, mimosa in particular, are cut, Cornett piles the debris near the gravel road for ease of disposal. No grave markers were found in that area although Cornett is certain graves are located there.
   
   About a fourth of the cemetery has been brought to light by use of chain saws, commercial hedge trimmers, weed trimmers and hard, physical labor. Still more remains to be done, including removing tree stumps, filling in sunken areas with soil and resetting stones in the portion already cleared.
   
   "I left the tree stumps up a little high because I hope I can get somebody in here with a Bobcat and get them up by the roots," Cornett said. "Look at these -- this stump here has moved the stone to the side and this has moved this (stone) enough so that it fell over. There were huge mimosas all through here."
   
   Cornett has been careful to leave any gravestones lying exactly as they are found. Later in the reclamation process, he hopes volunteers will help reset each one at the appropriate grave.
   
   The dedicated historian has spent three to six hours, three days each week, working at Mt. Moriah. As he uncovers gravestones, he makes a note of any information contained thereon and is especially interested in the infants' and children's graves, which are not listed in "Blount County, Tennessee, Cemetery Records" compiled by Edith Burns Little and published in 1980.
   
   Fortunately, Cornett has not been plagued with snakes or bee hives hidden in the undergrowth. He said he has seen only one snake "and it was a small one." Neither has he been afflicted with poison ivy.
   
   Historic challenge
   
   Cornett has been a history buff ever since he was a kid picking up arrowheads, he said. Now, in addition to sweating in Mt. Moriah Cemetery, he indulges his passion for history by serving as first vice president of the Blount County Genealogical and Historical Society and secretary of the new Blount County Museum Board. He hasn't found any of his own ancestors at Mt. Moriah; he's doing the work simply because it needs to be done, he said.
   
   "I'm just hoping we can generate enough interest in the community to get this cleaned off, and then once it's cleaned off, somehow establish maintenance through donations or an endowment," Cornett said.
   ...
   Cornett would like to issue a challenge to all the folks paying a fee to work out in health clubs.
   
   "Go with me to the cemetery just one day," he said with a big grin. "I guarantee they'll lose five pounds."
   
   To get involved
   
   Volunteers who wish to help in reclamation efforts at Mt. Moriah Cemetery off Singleton Station Road in Louisville may call Ken Cornett at 982-3594 after 5 p.m. daily.

2. 2. www.thedailytimes.com

   www.thedailytimes.com/article/ - [Cached]

   Published on: 12/9/2007   Last Visited: 12/9/2007

   Society President Ken Cornett and Vice President Lorene Smith are chairing the event.

3. 3. Officers

   www.historicalmason.homestead. - [Cached]

   Published on: 2/3/2006   Last Visited: 2/3/2006

   Ken Cornett - Past President