Buffalo, NY has its Forest Lawn cemetery, in which many notable individuals rest. While I haven't noticed anyone of any level of fame in Pultneyville, it's always interesting to see some of the old town names. In the case of p-ville, there are names such as Lagoner -- one of the oldest gravestones. The family has been in the area going way back -- and they are the same family that still owns a farm today. I shop at Lagoner Farms.
The cemetery my family is buried in is where Walt Whitman, Christopher Morley, and William Cullen Bryant -- lots of writers, now rest. Obviously, you can tell a lot about a town by the people buried in their cemetery. The community where I was raised was very literary. The city I live in now was the second biggest city in the country at one point -- hence presidents, big businessmen, and wealthy landowners from that time rest beneath massive sculptural memorials. Oh yeah, and Rick James is there too -- just to shake things up.
I really enjoy small town cemeteries because of their simplicity. My plan is to spend more time this summer taking pictures in graveyards and then seeing what I can do with them. I doubt I will turn out any real masterpieces or learn anything earth shattering, but it's nice to have an odd creative hobby!
The Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow is a must. Not only are there famous russian writers, actors, composers, politicians, burried there, but the headstones are exquisite works of art. You should at least read about it.
ReplyDeleteI am going to look that up! I love Russian architecture and design too. Such beautiful embellishments. Thanks for the tip!
DeleteI too find cemeteries lovely and peaceful. I especially like small family cemeteries that are on private farms.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of old farm homes around here with a graveyard on the side. I'm going to get brave and look at some on deserted land.
DeleteYou could help findagrave with their mission of documenting old graves.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds interesting!
DeleteI have a real thing for cemeteries too.
ReplyDeleteI spent one summer working in Amherst, MA - and a friend and I liked to hang out in an old cemetery there. One day when we were there we noticed that cars kept driving over to one grave where people would get out, snap a few photos and then drive off again. We went over to investigate, and it turned out that Emily Dickenson was buried there!
Anyhow, old cemeteries in Colorado mining towns are really interesting too. It always makes me sad to see graves marked as "Baby Smith" or something like that - babies who died without ever being named. And then there are entire families who died together. I always wonder what sort of calamity befell them. It certainly gives one a sense of perspective.
I notice those things too. Then you see some graves with no death date but a spouse who died many decades before. I always hope the other spouse is surviving and enjoying family. Those are the types of thing your mind starts spinning!
DeleteBoth Millard Fillmore and Rick James are buried at the cemetery at the end of my street. What does that say about our community?
ReplyDeleteRick gets more visitors!
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