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A Grave Situation
Margy, FSTC’s longtime employee, received a telephone call recently
notifying her that one of the headstones in the Colony Cemetery was caving in.
This call confirmed the reports she had just received from the unofficial
cemetery custodian. A visit to the cemetery, where many of Fairhope’s founders
are buried, left Margy with no doubt that burrowing turtles had invaded the
grounds. There was evidence of a large tunnel that had been dug under one of the
headstones, creating a hazard to visitors to the cemetery – not to mention
that the headstone was in danger of falling into the hole! There was a further
mystery to be solved: it appeared that someone had been leaving food and water
for the "grave robber".
Margy called FSTC’s landscape service that mows the grass in the cemetery
to fill in the tunnel so that the headstone could be returned to its original
upright condition. After visiting the cemetery to comply with her request the
landscape people called to say they could not honor her request as they
suspected the turtles were a protected species. Their suggestion was to call the
City of Fairhope’s Animal Control Department. Animal Control instructed Margy
to throw mothballs down the hole to drive the turtle out! That’s when she
decided we needed professional help.
A call to the State of Alabama Fish and Wildlife Division put Margy in touch
with Roger Clay, who agreed to pay a visit to the cemetery to see just what was
what. Mr. Clay determined that yes, indeed, there were two large Gopher
tortoises (commonly referred to as burrowing turtles) in residence under the
headstone in question. Gopher tortoises are, indeed, a protected species, and
his suggestion was to humanely trap and remove the turtles to a more appropriate
location. Mr. Clay was in the process of doing just that when he was approached
by a native Fairhopian known as Aunt Flo, who was outraged that "her"
turtles were going to be evicted. The mystery was solved; Aunt Flo had been
feeding and watering the turtles in an effort to get them to stay. She wanted
the young school children of Fairhope to be able to see the turtles in the wild.
But the story doesn’t end here.
On one of her daily trips to feed the turtles, Aunt Flo was calling
"come out, come out, I have an apple for you". She happened to notice
a young man who was visiting the nearby grave of a friend. Sporting a look of
horror, he leaped on his bike and sped away, no doubt thinking that Aunt Flo was
trying to raise someone from the dead!
Imagine Margy’s surprise when a television crew arrived at FSTC office to
get the story of the soon-to-be-homeless turtles! It seems that Aunt Flo
contacted a local television station for assistance in keeping the turtles safe
from relocation. A brief clip appeared on the local news that night about the
turtle controversy. The power of the press is illustrated by the fact that the
turtles are still in residence. Once the children from the Fairhope K-1 Center,
located within walking distance of the cemetery, have had an opportunity to view
the turtles "in situ", Mr. Clay plans to relocate the turtles to a
more suitable location, the tunnel can be filled in, and the headstone can be
restored to its original elevation. Everybody wins.
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