Carson fourth-graders tour cemetery

As part of a Nevada history unit, fourth-grade teacher Darlene McClurg took her students Thursday to the place that holds nothing but Nevada's history - the Lone Mountain Cemetery.

"I thought this would be a really good, up-close-and-personal place for them to see some of the history of Nevada," McClurg said. "What I want them to see is the ages that people lived to and what kind of lives they lived just by seeing what it said on their tombstones."

The students from Mark Twain Elementary wandered among the grave sites adding up the ages to find the oldest and the youngest person, the most unusual headstone and other interesting stories.

"Having to explore and look at the tombstones is making them think about what happened to these people a long time ago," McClurg said.

Classmates Jessica Contreris and Ulissa Chaverria said they were a little nervous when they found out that they would be taking a tour of the cemetery.

"I thought it would be freaky," Contreris said.

But it wasn't.

"When you're here, you don't feel like that," Chaverria said.

Jessica Adams, 9, was interested in the ages of those buried in the cemetery.

"Some people were really old and some babies died when they were born," she said. "There's a mixture of people."

It was those babies that most drew 9-year-old Tyler Wert's attention.

"It makes me feel sad," he said. "They didn't even get a chance to live."

The earliest graves in the cemetery date back to the early 1960s.

"They're interesting because they're very old," said Eric Lopez, 11. "They have all these old tombstones."

The Lone Mountain Cemetery was originally seven different cemeteries but combined in 1971.

The pillars marking the entrance were moved about 500 feet from their original place in 1979 when Roop Street was expanded.

Nicole Whited, 10, said she has been looking forward to the field trip.

"I was excited because I like learning history about people," she said.

The state mandates that all fourth-graders learn about Nevada history. McClurg said she brought her students not only to learn about history but to become comfortable with cemeteries.

"I want them to know that it's not a scary place," McClurg said. "They need to be respectful but it's not scary."