Ralph Everett, a caretaker with the Chattanooga National Cemetery, mows a section of the 120-acre grounds Tuesday afternoon.Chattanooga is blessed with an abundance of natural beauty and with plentiful points of historical interest.
But arguably no site in the city more thoroughly fuses those elements than Chattanooga National Cemetery.
The cemetery, dating to the War Between the States, embodies solemn yet simple graves; large, stately trees; memorials and monuments; rolling, grassy hills; and other important features. The effect, even on those who may not be related to any of the tens of thousands of veterans buried there, is profound.
That makes it all the more gratifying that questions about whether the cemetery will run out of space appear to have been resolved at least for several more decades.
You may recall that the cemetery once was scheduled for closing in 2015.