Kentin Waits is a writer and small business owner living in Des Moines. His work has appeared in Inc., Christian Science Monitor, U.S. Airways Magazine, and Kiplinger. 

If the thought of a stranger using your loved one’s cemetery plot as a campsite upsets you, proceed with caution.

In late July, I checked Facebook postings from my hometown of Knoxville, Iowa. On Wednesday, July 24, the community of 7,500 hosted an estimated 18,000 RAGBRAI riders overnight. I was curious to see the turnout and marvel at the willpower of those fit enough to participate in this two-wheeled endurance test.

Various threads began to mention that the city had quickly run out of available green space for campsites. The decision was made to open a section of Graceland Cemetery for the night (an empty hayfield and future site of the new Graceland Chapel). The lot abuts the historic cemetery and is separated only by a small lane that’s not open to traffic.

Before long, campers wandered into other parts of the cemetery, undeterred by limited volunteer staff and a police force stretched too thin by the event. Photos show camping near and among Graceland’s headstones, the final resting place of generations of local families.

Knowing how big events like this go, thoughts of eating, drinking, and other forms of…”merriment” came to mind. Was someone using my parents’ headstone as a dining table, a footstool, or a headboard?

Subsequent conversations I had with Knoxville Mayor Brian Hatch and city council member Megan Day offered little psychic relief. Both seemed resigned to the idea that these things happen, and it was nearly impossible to monitor the movement of so many campers.

Still, I think allowing access to any portion of the property implied a tacit approval that all of Graceland’s rolling hills, lovely mature trees, and manicured lawns was fair game for the night.

To me, this blunder reflects several trends in American culture: a coarsening of feelings, and a growing disregard for our neighbors (both living and dead), in the endless pursuit of more revenue and “increased community visibility.” There seems to be little room left for common sense, simple humanity, and honor.

Further, large and complex events such as RAGBRAI seem to offer little on-the-ground support to the communities they rely on. Local police, fire, rescue, and traffic control all shoulder the burden—or break under it—while wearing public smiles and posing for celebratory photos.

Perhaps communities should develop and standardize a set of guidelines to help manage large events like RAGBRAI. Here are a few suggestions:

• Recruit volunteers early and consider incentives if response is low.
• Identify sensitive locations protected from camping and other event-related activities.
• Apprise authorities of sensitive locations so they can be added to patrol routes.
• Print, digitize, post, and share route maps that clearly designate event-related areas and areas that are off-limits.

And most important, offer communities the chance to come together after large events to discuss successes, failures, and lessons learned. This “forensics”-type event can empower locals throughout the process and give voice to concerns that would otherwise go unheard.

Though I moved away from Knoxville last year, I was comforted by the knowledge that the graves of my parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles were secure and well maintained among the acres of Graceland’s green space. That trust is now broken. Like many Knoxville residents, I’m left wondering what future political rally, concert, or flea market might need the kind of well-maintained overflow space this and other cemeteries present.

The souls and memories interred at Graceland Cemetery—and cemeteries everywhere—deserve better. And though our dead loved ones cannot raise their voices to protest so gross a trespass, we can. Knoxville leadership shamed itself this summer and should work to assure the community that this type of casual desecration is never allowed to happen again.

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Editor’s note from Laura Belin: Bleeding Heartland reached out to RAGBRAI leadership with questions about the organization’s policy concerning camping in cemeteries. There was no response.

UPDATE: Shortly after publication, I received the following comment from Anne Lawrie, director of RAGBRAI’s cycling division.

RAGBRAI works with each community committee to determine campground locations suitable for registered riders only. In this instance, with permission from the cemetery the RAGBRAI Knoxville committee offered camping space on the perimeter of the cemeteries property to select teams. Those teams worked with the community and cemetery to ensure they were following necessary guidelines. Neither RAGBRAI or the Knoxville RAGBRAI committee promoted the cemetery as public camping grounds either prior to or the day of the ride. If folks were camped at the cemetery it would have been at their own discretion. Both RAGBRAI and the Knoxville RAGBRAI committee were not made aware of campers on the cemetery grounds until after the event was over.