Greenwood Cemetery, Cedar Falls, Iowa

View from the bluff in Greenwood Cemetery

In the 15 years I lived in Black Hawk County after arriving here from Germany where my parents lived during my dad's service, I had never been to Greenwood Cemetery in Cedar Falls. It wasn't until I moved back and started my genealogy work that I even figured out exactly where it was. Then I started some of the easiest nearby relatives for my genealogy introduction.

I've been working on my dad's side of the family almost exclusively for the past 2+ years, but Greenwood is the eternal home of many of those on my mom's side. Among them, Lars Peder (Peder Lars) Hansen and his wife, Ida Marie "Mary" Olson, my 2nd great grandparents as, well as Sophia (no marker), John George Hansen, and Edna Hansen Morcum.

They are buried very close to my great grandparents, Oscar Hansen and Leah Moore, in the older part of cemetery. And, it turns out, there is an extra plot that Mary had purchased that was never used. I've been working on securing permission to use that plot from the surviving grandchildren of Peder and Mary, which has been a story in itself that has reconnected me with people I have not seen since childhood. I hope it pans out.

Today, my daughter and I went to a Cedar Falls Historical Society event at the cemetery where they had actors present information on the inventors of Cedar Falls who were buried in Greenwood. For $5, it's well worth the money and my kid enjoyed it as well. While there, I thought I'd locate the place that might be my forever home.

It's a corner plot. I kind of like that idea. Quick in and out if anyone ever wants to come visit me. I'm all about efficiency.