All of the cemeteries in the Amana Colonies are similar. They are areas surrounded by pines, with small rounded headstones places in neat rows. It seems that pine trees are always peacefully whispering in the breeze. I find the South Amana Cemetery a comforting place to visit.
My opa (grandfather) was a sort of cemetery groundskeeper for a time in South. The duties included digging the graves, making the headstones, and general maintenance of the area. The process for making a headstone is very interesting. More information can be acquired at the Amana Heritage Museum in main Amana. There is only one headstone that is "not Amana" as far as style goes in South. The other cemeteries have many more than this.
I would like to quote a description of the South Amana cemetery and its history from a handout prepared for a tour for a communal organization. This passage was written by Peter Hoehnle. He is one of the local torchbearers of historical information. I would like to thank Peter for permission to use this, and also for his input to other pages. Thanks Peter!
"Perhaps the place least effected by that change (1932) and the one where the spirit of the old community can still be best felt is the cemetery. Hidden at the end of a very narrow graveled alley leading from the village, the cemetery is surrounded by towering pine trees. These trees are at least a century old and form a thick hedge around the burial ground enclosing it, so that the visitor almost feels as though he has entered a building. The planting of pines is not at all an unusual practice. In the 19th century many cemeteries were so enclosed. The pine tree, which never looses its leaves, was seen by many as an appropriate symbolic reference to the eternal life experienced by the deceased."
"Although the first death occurred in 1856, the cemetery was not laid out until 1857. Maria Beyer, the first resident to die (in 1856), was instead interred in the cemetery in Amana proper. By the time Jacob Schnetzler died in 1857, a burial ground had been laid out and his was the first grave placed there."
"The early graves in the cemetery, including Schnetzler's, are located in the northern half of the cemetery. The stones marking these graves are very unevenly spaced and often mixed up. Frequently they break chronological order leading to some confusion. Primarily, the graves are in a fairly orderly fashion, deceased's name, date of death, and age. The early markers were wood headboards, which were replaced around 1890 when they began to rot with markers of concrete. As a rule, the older tombstones in South tend to be somewhat shorter and thicker than those in the other villages, a reflection of the fact that each village had its own tombstone maker."
"A single large stone monument marks the grave of Anna S. Hunzelmann who died in 1887. Mrs. Hunzelmann's husband felt his wife deserved a better stone than the plain ones provided by the community and so bought one on the 'outside'. He also requested to be buried next to his wife, an act which would have broken with tradition of burying in chronological order irrespective of relationship, which the society observed. Sometime after making his request, Mr. Hunzelmann went on a visit to Main Amana where he died. It being considered pointless to bring his body all the way to South for burial, his body was buried in Amana. Thus instead of being interred next to his beloved, he now rests some 10 miles away."
"Such treatment may seem harsh until one realizes that the society members believed that all were brothers and sisters in the eyes of the Lord. Thus, no matter where one was buried, he/she was always buried with 'family'. Despite this, many couples died near enough in time to be buried next to one another. In fact, it happened several times in South Amana."
"In the area directly north of the "old section", lies the separate section for the burial of children. Interestingly, the last child buried here was in 1960. The practice of burying children separately in the Amana cemeteries was recently discontinued."
"At the north edge of the cemetery stand three rows of graves. One of these rows (apart from all the others) was for suicides. Five suicides were buried in South and their graves all face west away from the supposed direction of Christ's second coming. This practice has since been discontinued". All other graves face in the cemetery face east.
"The other rows were for the burial of outsiders or non-church members. Buried here are some of the hoboes and farm laborers who gave a touch of color to the town in communal days. Often spending the summer here before heading for warmer climates. These individuals formed strong impressions in the minds of the local residents. One of them, Henry Strassburger known as 'Pittsburg Blackie' retired to South after his days as a hobo were past. He too lies buried here."
"In the area directly west of the outsider section and south of the old section, lies the area used for member burials from 1892 until 1945. Buried in this section are three Civil War veterans. Before 1932, and even today, the Amana Church has been pacifistic. There have been times, however, when enthusiastic younger members left the society to serve in wartime capacities."
" A few individuals with prior military service also joined the society in later years. By some odd twist, 3 of a total of 6 Amana Civil war veterans lived in and are buried at South Amana. They are: Adam Stahl (d. Jan. 29, 1905), Fred Zuber (d. Dec. 9, 1908), and Henry Zierold (d. Aug. 4, 1924). Each man's grave is marked with an official Grand Army flag stand."
"Zuber's war service included participating in the siege at Vicksburg, where he was wounded. According to family tradition, the wagon in which he was carried from the field broke down and he had to walk. In the early 1900s while sitting down to eat, the elderly veteran began to work his jaw furiously, and then, to the great surprise of those present, spat out a piece of shrapnel imbedded in his jaw for forty years!"
"Two veterans of the Spanish/American War are buried in South, as are numerous World War I and II veterans. South Amana residents are very proud of their war dead, and are the only Amana village to hold official Memorial Day services presently. This is quite a change from the days of strict pacifism."
"The third and final section of the cemetery lies to the south of the first two. This area, separated from the first by a row of pine trees, has been used since 1949. The rows in this section are exactly 27 graves long, and only three have been filled in 45 years. Facing these graves is the new outsider's section containing several graves."
"From beneath the trees one can see the railroad tracks and the farm fields that did so much to shape the town and the lives of the people who lie buried there in such precise fashion. It is a silent place, filled only with the sounds of birds and memories of a long time past."