I knew Gene and Lindy from the early 1990s when my wife Margaret Krome, who knew them through Quaker meeting, was looking for a place to “temporarily” park some of her ostrich ferns. These were to be the basis for a small business she was starting. (You can still see the ferns at the entrance to the Sanctuary!) Natural Path Sanctuary Coordinator, Kevin Corrado got in touch with me before one of the Springdale Town Board meetings on the conditional use permit, knowing I was a soil scientist.

Two of the issues that came up were the potential for groundwater contamination from decomposing bodies and the potential for frost-heaving or animals to bring bones to the surface. I did a bit of research on these topics and was able to allay the fears of the good burghers of Springdale. I also looked into another issue – the diminution of property values in proximity to a cemetery – and found that, in urban and peri-urban areas, it was just the opposite. Permanently protected open space was an amenity and increased property values. The permit was granted and most of the neighbors satisfied.

As the exact location of NPS was being considered, I had a UW-Madison senior capstone class project focus on mapping the burial restrictions within the proposed area – places where shallow bedrock would impede digging, or close proximity to trees with root systems that would interfere or could be damaged by excavations. I agreed to be chair of the NPS board to expedite the paper processing with IRS and State of Wisconsin, and haven’t been able to shake it since.