BOLCH

Just a stone’s throw from Spencer Road in Hickory, NC, a long-abandoned cemetery holds the stories of one of Catawba County’s earliest pioneer families. Overlooked by the daily rush of people passing by, its location is marked only by a few remaining headstones, fieldstones, and occasional American flags. As a local, I’d driven past the Bolch/Bolick Cemetery countless times over the years. Sometimes I was guilty of being a casual passerby. But most of the time I’d slow my car to a crawl, straining my neck to catch a glimpse of the lonely headstones peeking through the brush.