Old Cemeteries

I love them, I do. I have been wandering through them, playing in them, making out in them, imagining in them and just generally having a good time in them for many decades. I feel lucky that they have never made me uncomfortable or frightened. Strangely, I have no desire to be buried in one...planted under a cherry tree or perhaps burned up and my remains tossed off the eternally windy cliffs at Big Sur is the way for me.

Top of the Old Town Cemetery in Roslyn, WA.

In my previous post I promised to spend more time on the old cemeteries in Roslyn, WA. This is because Roslyn has 26 separate but adjacent cemeteries and all of them have something to offer even to the casual visitor. Most of them tumble down forested hills outside of town. The cemeteries are organized according to ethnicity and Lodge Orders. Half the fun is reading the names and descriptions of each cemetery. Some of my favorites are:  The Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias Lodge, Wanapum Tribe 28, Improved Order of Redmen, and the exotic sounding Cacciatori d’Africa which was really an Italian club.

Old boots on a grave site -- miner's boots, perhaps?

One of the most poignant cemeteries is the one that consists of the dead killed in the explosion of Mine No. 4. With 45 dead and over 200 fires caused by the explosion, this is considered the worst mining accident in Washington's history. While perusing some of the photo achives of Roslyn I found this picture taken of 16 of the widows of that explosion. The blast left 29 women widowed and 91 children fatherless. Investigations led to a ruling that the miners died from an explosion of gas caused by deficient ventilation. More information can be found in several books that can be found at the Roslyn Museum Store (in person and online). 

A montage of Masonic Ladies.

Another interesting thing about the cemeteries, particularly the Masonic one, is the old ceramic photographs found on some of the graves. I find these pictures slightly creepy but they do stir up the imagination. I find it fascinating to look into the eyes of these women and try to discern if they were happy or fulfilled in their lives. 

One of the elements I love about the cemeteries, especially the Old Town Cemetery, is some of the decorative metal work and mossy wood work around the graves themselves. I have developed an eye for attractive, moss-covered artifacts since I moved to this rain drenched state and was delighted to find the mossy wood present in the cemeteries. 

Mossy posts

I was surprised and pleased to see that many graves had flowers or memento recently placed upon them. Even graves that had been lying there for at least 100 years often had some flowers (sometimes even real ones) or a photograph or toy. I think if I lived there I would adopt a grave or two to have a special bond with --I often did that as a child and placed flowers on "my graves". Grave adoption and cemetery maintenance seems to be a big thing in Roslyn. I found out there is an active Cemetery Commission  that seems to be doing a pretty good job.  Of course, there is some vandalism- nothing is sacrosanct in this world - but most likely its just out and out theft. 

A romantic resting place

 

I was taken by this grave site.  The metal work seemed rather romantic to me. A husband and wife lying side by side for eternity. I stood there and searched for clues of a happy or loveless marriage. There was nothing much to go on. Just a couple of scant dates. A plain "husband of" and "wife of" coupled with the hopeful "rest in peace" was all there was to be made out on the worn down marble. But as I stood there I was given a distinct mental picture of me and my sweetheart lying down hand and hand.  It has made me rethink the cherry tree or the fire--maybe being laid to rest in an old cemetery, especially an old cemetery in Roslyn, just may be the way to go after all .