Duck River Cemetery, Old Lyme, CT.

Hello Moon

The little bright circle is the Moon.

Tis the Season

Soon cemeteries will be decorated for the holidays.  I see some of the most beautiful flowers and arrangements during the month of December. I'm just starting to see the holiday wreaths showing up on the stones.

A Simple Statement

I saw this one day and thought it was a recent grave that would soon get a tombstone, but I was surprised to see the deceased had been interred back in 1997. As is usually the case, I was left to fill in the blanks on my own. This could've meant many things, like  maybe the family just didn't have the money to purchase a headstone, or maybe there were no close relatives around when this lady died, but it's clear that someone at least took the time to construct this rough style cross. For a moment I was reminded of the old Westerns I'd seen where a person would end up buried just about anywhere and the grave marked with a cross constructed of sticks. In the end it really isn't about how fancy a tombstone one gets but how well they're remembered by the friends and family still living.

Angels

Wind Song

Rocks on Stones

I would walk through the cemetery and see things left at the graves that would indicate what the deceased had loved in life. I would see sports trophies, pictures of loved ones, dog or cat figurines, bird feeders and toys. The list is endless, but what I would also see were rocks lined up on the tops of many of the headstones. I thought these people must have been serious rock enthusiasts and geology buffs. I'd had no idea there were so many rock lovers, but then I learned that was not at all why so many tombstones were decorated with small rocks. I learned that many people follow the tradition of placing a rock on the headstone every time they visited so others would see that someone had been to the grave of their loved one.Where the tradition started is not clearly known. One book I read indicated that it might come from centuries back when graves would simply be marked with rocks instead of tombstones. I also read that it was originally a Jewish tradition. People who were unable to attend the burial would place a rock on the headstone as an indicator that they had eventually gotten to visit the grave. Wherever the tradition came from, it's one of those things that keeps us connected to the people of the past. And who knows, maybe some of them really were rock enthusiasts.

Tombstone Art; Then and Now

Tombstone Art; Then and Now

Remembering the Lives...

You can just imagine all the fond memories this lady left as a legacy to her family.

Remembering the Lives...

Angels Everywhere

Remembering the Children...

The saddest part of cemeteries are the deceased children. It's hard to see the names of children and infants carved into cold stone. I begin to imagine the horrors that once existed that may have caused these unfortunate deaths. Consumption, influenza, measles, diphtheria, smallpox, etc. Our fear of most of those things have long been laid to rest, like the victims they all took. I also imagine the grieving parents who once stood on the very spot where I now stand, their hearts forever broken. For a moment they live in my mind's eye, until I see their own resting place nearby, and then I remember those moments are long, long over. But there's a positive side to this because I once again have the opportunity to feel thankful that my own kids are alive and well, and so am I.

Old Church Cemetery, Glastonbury, CT.

Old Church Cemetery, Glastonbury, CT.

So far, this is the only grave I've come across with this decoration. I've seen a lot of similar signs for former servicemen, firemen and police, but this is the first one I've seen to designate a former member of the Union Army.


This designates membership in an organization for honorably discharged veterans of the Union Army, Navy, Marine Corps or the Revenue Cutter Service, who had served between April 12, 1861 and April 9, 1865.

Casey Daniels/ Pepper Martin Series

I'm a fan of mysteries and I can tell you there are pretty much no Agatha Christie caliber whodunnit writers out there anymore, and this author is no exception, but I really liked this book which is the first in the Pepper Martin series by Casey Daniels. Most mystery stories these days seem somewhat formulaic; some kind of chef/cook/caterer or quaint little business owner with too much time on her hands becomes an amateur sleuth when her quiet rural little village becomes the murder capital of the world. On the other hand we have the cantankerous ex-cops turned unwilling investigators after they leave their big city police departments under a cloud of disgrace. The Pepper Martin book will appeal to both taphophiles and mystery lovers since it involves both murder and a cemetery. Pepper is a fallen upper-middle-classer who takes what she sees as a dead-end (no pun intended) job as a cemetery tour guide (actually a job I would love). Due to a head injury Pepper can see and interact with ghosts and is asked by a deceased mob boss to find out who killed him. I won't tell any more than that, but as a writer myself (I only managed to get paid for one published piece so far) I found myself doing a mental slap of the forehead while my voice shouted in my mind "why didn't I think of that!" A cemetery worker enlisted by the ghosts of the dead to solve their murders, what a great idea!  So far I've only read this first book, but I really enjoyed it so I'll be working my way through the entire series. In my opinion it's worth a read and I hope you'll like it too.

Dawn of the Dead (Pepper Martin Series) by Casey Daniels

James Armando

I'm not sure about the difference in the first name, but it appears the Green Cemetery (Glastonbury, CT.) has a former Olympian. And since Veteran's Day will be celebrated in a few days this man should also be acknowledged for his service to our country back in WWI. Take notice of the rock on the top left side of the tombstone indicating that someone has visited this grave.

1924: Paris, France
Armando, John: 4000m Team Pursuit, did not place
Bonlicault, John: Road Race 188km, third @ 7:15:51.6; Team Road Race, 11th
Braet, Rene: Reserve
Fenn, William S.: 1000m Scratch, eliminated/semis; 2000m tandem, did not place; 4000m Team Pursuit, did not place; 50km, did not place
Gronkowski, Ignatius: 50km, did not place; Road Race (188km) 45th @ 7:34:41.8; Team Road Race, 11th
Hentschel, Gus: 4000m Team Pursuit, did not place; Road Race (188km), 49th @ 7:52:59.6; Team Road Race, 11th
Hopkins, Victor: 4000m Team Pursuit, did not place; Road Race (188km), 59th @ 8:29:02.0; Team Road Race, 11th
Staff: D.J. McIntyre; manager

 http://www.usacycling.org/us-olympic-cycling-rosters-1900-1996.htm

Green Cemetery, Glastonbury, CT.

Green Cemetery, Glastonbury, CT.

St. Mary's Cemetery, Windsor Locks

There are so many artistic and interesting tombstones and statues that can be seen in cemeteries but equally interesting are the chachkies that visitors leave at the gravesides that go beyond the usual beautiful flowers. Angel figurines are a favorite as are votive candles, birdhouses, little lighthouses and animal statues. I once saw a grave with a fully decorated Christmas tree. I'll be sharing some of my favorites as I find them during my cemetery walks. This one made me a little sad because it decorated the grave of a one year old baby.

Introduction

­Many years ago I lived in a little town known as Thompsonville. It was actually a small mill area that is part of a bigger town called Enfield. The mills were long closed and the employee houses were now rentals. The streets were small and compact and there were churches, an old drugstore, pizza shops, etc. It was like the outskirts of a small city. Way out behind our town we could see the slow moving Connecticut River. My house was the last on a dead end at the very edge of town and was right next to a church cemetery. I love to walk and that cemetery was a place I often chose to stroll around to enjoy some peace and quiet. There was an area for sitting that had a statue of Jesus and I would sit and admire  the manicured landscaping, beautiful flowers and pastel colored ornamental trees. It was truly the only beautiful spot in Thompsonville.
Now, many years later I live in a picturesque town far from Thompsonville and when I came here 8 years ago the first thing I did was adopt a dog (sadly he's gone but I adopted another little dog) and began taking him for long walks at the town Green. Right alongside the Green is a cemetery that spans from a very old section to a modern new section.  I began to take notice of the artistic and sophisticated carvings on the modern stones and the crude, though striking, artwork on the very old stones. I started to realize that each stone told a story. The name of the deceased, the era in which they lived, if they were parents or siblings, if they had been married and even what they most enjoyed in life. There were depictions of sailboats, golfers, farms, birds, cats and dogs, even houses. Many stones had some sort of picture of the deceased or a religious icon. Things written in stone that made the person real and for a few  moments, as I stood there thinking about them, they were remembered. Even though I never met any of them in life, for a few seconds, in my mind they were alive again. So let's journey through some cemeteries together and enjoy the art and beauty and celebrate the lives that have been lived.