Beneath the Frost, the Truth
We brought gloves.
We brought tools.
We brought Eva’s mom.
We weren’t ready.
The Full Marker
We started early Saturday morning. The frost was thick, but the sun was rising, and we were determined.
It didn’t take long to dig out the rest of the stone we found last week. The corner with “Cl—” was just the beginning.
What we uncovered was a full grave marker.
CLARA MILLNER
“She loved birds, and they loved her back.”
Born 1945 – Died 1956
Eva’s mom stopped digging the moment she saw the date.
“This was a burial,” she whispered.
“And this entire area is supposed to be outside the construction zone.”
Except… it isn’t.
Not on the new map.
Two Maps, One Lie
We’ve now compared the current wetland delineation map with one from the Ann Arbor archives that Eva’s mom pulled through a FOIA request.
They’re different.
Really different.
Clara’s marker—and probably her grave—used to be outside the zone.
Now? It’s under the footprint of the future “Innovation Wing.”
The maps were changed.
And not by accident.
Eva’s mom says it looks like the construction company hired a private firm to do a “reassessment.” That’s legal—but it’s shady. And in this case, it erased a burial.
What This Means
We told our parents everything. They’re organizing a formal complaint. A new site review may force the school board to delay the groundbreaking—and maybe cancel it entirely.
Clara’s grave is protected now.
We’ve already submitted the evidence to the city and to a local news station. (Yes, my dad helped. Yes, he triple-checked everything. Yes, he’s still awesome.)
The Community is Stirring
Since the blog came back online at thurstonghost.com, it’s gotten over 8,000 views.
Teachers are talking again.
Students are asking questions.
Even some board members have started making quiet calls. We hear things.
The silence is breaking.
And Clara?
She’s been quiet, too.
No sightings. No herons.
Just a sense of calm, like she’s resting. Like she knows we found her.
Like we did the thing she needed us to do.
But We’re Not Done Yet
The school year ends in seven weeks.
The fight isn’t over.
We still need the board to vote.
We still need to tell Clara’s full story.
And I still need to make things right with Ruby. (That’s a whole other blog post.)
But for now, I’ll just say this:
You can bury a stone.
You can fake a map.
You can even silence a ghost for a while.
But you can’t stop the truth forever.
✌️ Ember