Many people have Bucket Lists of things they want to see/do before they die. I’m not one of those people.
Instead I have what I call a Measuring Cup List of things I’d like to see/do if I get around to it and can do so without too much inconvenience.
The following is an example of a Measuring Cup List item.
~ ~ • ~ ~
ON A WHIM AS WE were driving by Union Cemetery in Symmes Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, we went into it to see what we might see.
I knew of this cemetery because many years ago there was an article about it in our local newspaper. In the article the reporter interviewed a township trustee about this historic cemetery, asking specifically about the size of the chapel that you can see from the road.
The trustee said something to the effect of: the chapel is big enough to hold a dozen Brownies or seven Girl Scouts.
Naturally with a memorable description like that I knew I needed to see this building in person. Sometime. And now that I have, he did not lie.
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WHAT I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT this cemetery is that there are Revolutionary War Veterans buried there. It was only after we walked around the exterior of the chapel that I/we began to wander through the cemetery.
Close to the chapel I saw the following tombstone and was immediately drawn to it. It’s in good shape, which suggests family or some organization is tending to it. Also as you can see, John Ross died 200 years ago in 1820.
That’s trippy if’n you ask me. He died centuries ago, yet there I stood looking at the grave of someone who helped shape the world in such as way as to allow me to live in a democracy, instead of a monarchy.
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AS WE CONTINUED TO MOSEY around the cemetery we realized we had parked in the oldest section so we walked over to a newer section, that is to say an area with burials dating around 100 years ago.
Here we found a mausoleum with a healthy peony bush growing beside it. On the mausoleum, a rather basic one, were the following two plaques with thoughts that are relevant today.
Mother’s plaque says: “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” [This a quote from Luke 6:31 in the Bible.]
Father’s plaque says: “Love worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.” [This is a quote, complete with a semicolon, from Romans 13:10 in the Bible.]
~ ~ • ~ ~
And with that we left the cemetery to get on with our day. I felt inspired and pleased with myself for taking the time to notice what’s been in front of me for years.
You may consider this item crossed off my Measuring Cup List.
You’ve got to love a cemetery plaque with proper punctuation. I don’t think we have any Revolutionary War vets in our Texas cemeteries (at least, I’ve not found any) but there are plenty of War of 1812 vets. Just as interesting are the birth places of so many buried here: England, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Poland. Later, as Texas was opening, the immigrants came from Kentucky, Tennessee, New Jersey, New York. There were some risk-takers back in the day.
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shoreacres, I agree about the proper punctuation. Considering today it’s a burden for some people to add a period at the end of a sentence, the use of a semicolon charmed me.
Your TX cemeteries sound interesting. I didn’t see any War of 1812 veterans and I didn’t see any tombstones designating interesting places of birth either. BUT many of the tombstones were so worn down that the information could have been there at one time and is now not readable.
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Which raises an interesting question. If the punctuation was is not proper, was it proper for its time?
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Almost Iowa, that is a good question. As a punctuation nerd and English Lit major I’m going to say that if the punctuation was proper for its time, then it is only respectful to continue using it now. Therefore regardless of current punctuation standards, the inscription on the plaque is proper. Still. and forever.
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And of course there’s another question: what was its time?
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I’d say the plaques are around 100 years old. When I researched the verse, the source I found used the semicolon still.
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My family used to visit old cemeteries around Boston for picnics when we were young. They’re fascinating and a reflection on the human side os history. Love your photos.
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madeline2020, my husband and I enjoy visiting old cemeteries to take a walk while looking at the tombstones and landscaping. I agree that they are a reflection on the human side of history. Some of the tombstones and inscriptions on them are memorable and thought-provoking.
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Our ancestors were made out of tough stuff. It gives you pause to think that if the country had to be crossed and settled today who would come forward to do that. Hmm. 🙂 I’ve been to several older cemeteries for a variety of reasons including having one friend who loves to visit. If she sees an old cemetery, her car just seems to steer right over. 🙂
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Judy, you said it! And considering how long some of our ancestors lived, under conditions that’d do me in, I’m in awe of them. I can understand your friend’s need to visit old cemeteries. I’d go to more of them, but getting a turn into them can be tricky around here.
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Old cemeteries are so intriguing to wander around, except at night! I venture to guess that Mr Ross was given a new headstone at some point as that one in the picture is just too new looking to be so old. A Veterans organization would be the most likely I suppose, so as to continue to honor the man, as it should be.
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Deb, I hadn’t thought about how the tombstone might be newer. I imagine you’re right because while it was old it was not as worn down as many other tombstones around him. I was truly amazed to find it.
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I love wandering around old cemeteries. They’re such beautiful peaceful places…
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Rivergirl, this was a well-maintained cemetery and relatively flat, which is unusual around here. It was pleasant to mosey through it.
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I’ve always been fascinated by cemeteries. Reading the memorial markers, I wonder about their families, their career, mistakes made, dreams unfulfilled. If you’ve never visited Arlington National Cemetery, you should put it on your bucket list.
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Jill, old cemeteries fill me with wonder, too. I like the exercise of walking around them as well as reading about the deceased. I’ve been to Arlington National Cemetery and it is a profoundly moving experience. So much history there.
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We must be mind-melding because I was just thinking about walking in a cemetery and how learning about people’s lives is so fascinating to me. Maybe it’s an Ohio thing because I grew up going to the cemetery ALL THE TIME.
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Kari, it might be an Ohio thing to visit cemeteries for a walk. I grew up doing it, too. And with so many small, rather personal, cemeteries around, there’s never a lack of possibilities.
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People here think it’s creepy and I always laugh. It is the least creepy thing I can think of doing! 😉
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Creepy? Interesting take. I think it’s respectful and lifts my spirits. Life takes on a new perspective.
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I agree with you. ❤️
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The measuring cup list! I do like that idea, especially during our time of limited travel. Los Angeles probably has thousands of those items. The Wax Museum, old restaurants from the height of the studio system (if the Pandemic didn’t put the last nil in their coffin).
Undoubtedly my child has no interest in these things…
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AutumnAshbough, by keeping a running list of small things to see/do, I eventually get to them. Bucket lists are fine, but being a pragmatic soul I’m more of a measuring cup list person.
I’d love to see the things you mention, but I imagine you’re right– the kid would be bored. Maybe keep the list for when he’s in college and you have more free time?
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Every time we pass an Ohio or Pennsylvania cemetery with my mother or my Aunt Shirley in the car, one of them says, “You know you have a relative/relatives buried in that cemetery.” I swear, I have family buried all over the place, and those women know the location of every last one of them. It’s frightening.
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nance, my mother and her sisters knew where everyone was buried, too. They did the same thing when we’d be out for a drive. I’d just nod my head and politely smile.
Of course today I couldn’t find the old cemeteries we passed on the road let alone the graves of the ancestors in the cemeteries. Different times, different priorities.
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I love that you stopped. (And smelled the Peonies)
I too love an old cemetery and don’t find them to be scary or creepy but as piece of history.
The description of the size of the chapel made me giggle too.
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Suz, if it weren’t for that description of the size of the chapel I wouldn’t have taken a second notice of this cemetery. BUT once I read that I knew I had to visit sometime.
The peony bush was vibrant and considering how long it’d probably been there, I was in awe of it. Visiting the cemetery was a good way to stroll through history.
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Very interesting. We live near a town that has so many cemeteries they joke that the dead outnumber the living 1000 to 1. Wyatt Earp and Joe Dimaggio are among the residents and we’ve thought about going to take a peek around but haven’t. Maybe it’s time now. Pretty sure we’d be able to social distance 🙂
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Janet, you made me laugh. I agree that visiting a cemetery is about the best way there is to socially distance while being around people. I’d like to see Wyatt Earp’s grave, and Joe Dimaggio was no slouch either. If you visit, I hope you take photos.
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I love the concept of a measuring cup list, for a bucket list feels overwhelming & a tad intimidating. I’m a fan of old churches and their graveyards – they’re great spots for atmospheric photography 🙂 and your offerings are good examples of just why that is. That note on the chapel made me chuckle – much needed at the moment, so thanks for sharing & brightening up the day for so many of us.
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Deb, you’ve explained why I prefer my measuring cup list. The bucket list idea requires a PLAN while my measuring cup list is about SPONTANEITY. You’re right about how cemeteries are atmospheric and lend themselves to photography.
If I hadn’t read the chapel description I know I’d have never thought to stop at this cemetery. Glad I did, finally.
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Did you notice the dates on Father’s stone ~ at first glance, I thought he lived until 1985 (134 years!). Then I realized there was a shadow and he actually died in 1935.
I’m with you ~ no real “Bucket List” must do items . . . just some intriguing ideas for day trips and diversions to do when time permits. After all, if we live to the ripe old age of 134, we have to have a few things in mind to kill the time. 😀
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Nancy, that’s funny what you thought you saw about Father. They were hardy people back then, but not THAT hardy!
I understand the idea of a bucket list, but for me I do better with my measuring cup list. A few trips here or there, a few fascinating day adventures out and about. And like you said, if we live to 134 where’s the rush?
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I’m not a bucket list kind of person either. I have enough other lists — groceries, house projects, etc. My mom loved old cemeteries and we often would wander around one on a glorious Sunday afternoon and follow up with an ice cream sundae. I loved the tombstones with old pictures. Sometimes they were very faded but sometimes not.
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Kate, I didn’t see many of the tombstones with old pictures. There were a few, but like you said they were faded. Overall this cemetery was well kept, but it was old and had that feel to it. We didn’t have an ice cream sundae afterwards, but that would have been nice.
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I love the idea of a measuring cup! I’m fascinated by cemeteries, especially old ones, and all the stories and lives they represent. You found some great tombstones.
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Margaret, thanks. I find that thinking about adventures in light of a measuring cup rather than a bucket works for me. It’s an in the moment kind of list, I guess. I agree about the stories in cemeteries. I find myself wondering about and musing upon the families buried there.
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That’s great that you have a measuring cup list. I laughed at the size of the chapel, measured in Brownies and Girl Scouts. Most amusing!
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Anne, that description of the size of the chapel has stayed with me for years. When I read it I couldn’t stop laughing. The trustee who said that was a witty man.
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He was witty, indeed.
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What an idea of the term “Measuring Cup List”. The Chapel looks good, I am glad you explored the place and strike it off the measuring cup list.
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Nanchi.blog, the chapel was sweet as can be but very small. I’m not into bucket lists, so I shall stick with my measuring cup list.
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Oooooh, I like this Ally Bean thank you. I’m also enchanted by cemeteries. We came across one a few months ago when we were just meandering in an unknown part. Beautiful church and alongside a well maintained cemetery. There was a time when we were looking for a holiday home down at the sea, probably about 30 years ago and there was the perfect house backing onto a cemetery that I was very keen we bought, but my family was (were?) not so keen ..
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Susan, there’s something compelling about visiting a cemetery just to see what you can see. No particular reason, no family or friends buried there, just to look around. I’m sorry you didn’t get your perfect house, but not everyone is comfortable living by a graveyard. Case in point, eh?
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I love your description of the measuring cup list–when you get around to it. Ha! And old cemetery stuff is super cool. I love old historical things. Thanks for taking us on this trip with you.
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Betsy, I’m glad that my description of my list made you laugh. 😉 It was fun to see the chapel up-close. All the rest was an added bonus.
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The description of the chapel size was also quite darling. 🙂
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If it weren’t for that description I’d never have given this cemetery a second glance. It’s not easy to get into off a busy road, but it was worth it.
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Glad you did!
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Ally,
It’s been a while since I’ve walked through a cemetery. I think the last may have been in New Orleans. Boy, their cemeteries are like a different world! I enjoy taking pictures of angels. They’re beautiful and it’s amazing how no two look just alike. Unfortunately, around the DFW area in Texas where I live, people were stealing the angels from cemeteries and selling them. This was years ago, and they had to start closing cemeteries at night. You see fewer and fewer angels in our cemeteries now; but every so often, I’ll come across an old cemetery in a small Texas town and find some really beautiful statues still intact. When the weather cools down, I might just go angel hunting again.
I’m so glad you got to enjoy something you’d been wanting to do for a long time. I really enjoyed the sayings. Have you ever thought what message or saying you’d want on your headstone? My sign off would more than likely be TTFN 🙂 Mona
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Mona, I’ve seen photos of NO cemeteries. They are unique. I didn’t know about angel theft. It might be going on around here and I’m unaware of it. Or maybe we have fewer angels? 🤔
I’ve never thought about what I’d like on my tombstone, but it’s a good question. If you put TTFN someone 200 years hence will be researching what that means. Something tells me he or she will be amazed by its source.
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I like to mosey around old cemeteries as well. I suspect at some point in the future there will be fewer and fewer of them to mosey around.
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Jan, I wonder if you’re right? Things change, of course. In the meantime I’ll enjoy the ones I can visit.
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This sounds like a fun adventure. I have visited very old cemeteries while visiting Ireland and checking out ancestor gravestones. It does make you think. So funny to measure the size of a place based on how many brownies could fit in it.
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Ernie, I can imagine old Irish cemeteries are something way beyond what we saw here. I thought the trustee’s description of the size of the chapel was perfect. He was right, it is a small space.
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I love history, especially American history and grave yards are filled stories and lore! I visited Salem, Massachusetts years ago when I lived in Bedford and I found the cemetery the most interesting place with tombstones hand carved with old English phrases. You’ve inspired me to check out the cemetery in my new little mining town. I’m sure the ghosts have stories to tell 👻👀
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Sue, I’d enjoy seeing the cemetery in Salem MA. I think there’s something intriguing about figuring out what is carved in the tombstones. I’d guess that your local mining town cemetery might have some interesting folks buried there. Plus who doesn’t like chatting with a few ghosts?
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Love the idea of a measuring cup list. We regularly drive by two very old cemeteries, and I guess there are some interesting stories there. Thanks for the suggestion. – Marty
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Marty, I prefer to think about doing things in small ways rather than planning, planning, planning all the deets for items on a bucket list. Thus I have a measuring cup list. If you decide to go to your old cemeteries, you may find something unexpectedly interesting. The Revolutionary War veteran was a surprise to me.
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Yes, I love a good cemetery and the older the better!!! Our younger daughter and I used to go to a wonderful one in Cleveland Heights, OH, and just wander around looking at all the headstones and mausoleums. President Garfield and his wife have a rather substantial building for themselves there, too.
I like the measuring cup list take on the bucket list. I never really made a list but I have a forever list that has “Travel” prominently at the top. Since I read all the time, I don’t bother to put that on the list. 🙂 “Get better with my camera” should be on there but I need to get working on that, rather than just taking photos the way I do now. Ah, well, if that’s my biggest problem, I’m blessed.
Cheers!
janet
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Janet, I’d guess that in Cleveland Heights you’d find all sorts of unique tombstones and monuments. That area is older than here and was [is?] quite the address at one time.
I decided on my measuring cup list idea when I realized that a bucket list sounded like too much work for me. Considering lists are meant to lead to action I figure I’m getting things done, so there. Ha!
I like your photos, but I understand your desire to try something new. I don’t use my camera as often as I could, so my item would be “remember your camera” which seems obvious… but… 🤷♀️
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Yes, there are some rather famous people other than President Garfield buried there, people famous in and out of Cleveland. It’s a very cool place. People are just dying to get in. Ha! Couldn’t resist that.
As for the photos, it’s more getting to know how to use the camera in ways I can control more, other than just auto-focus. I take a lot of photos with my phone, but now that I’m at the Preserve, the birds need a camera and telephoto, except for some of the ducks, who will come right up expecting food. 🙂
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I wonder what it is that draws us to the graves of famous people? No answer, a rhetorical question.
I am a fan of auto-focus because I am lazy. There I said it. However I know there is more to photography than that. Someday I may learn about how to make more use of my camera and my iPhone camera. Ducks make me smile, they know what’s what, don’t they?
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Cemeteries are interesting places that usually have me leaving with lots of questions about the people whose names I read there.
I have found they are pretty great places to go birding too.😀
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Deborah, I never thought of cemeteries as a place for birding but that makes perfect sense. I have lots of questions, too, about the people who are buried in the graves I saw. It’s a good mystery, really.
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I like your approach to a bucket list. That makes a good deal of sense. I love old cemeteries. Those are great finds.
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Dan, thank you. Forget the bucket list, go small with the measuring cup list and feel good about yourself when you accomplish something on it. The Revolutionary War veteran surprised me. Who knew?
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Hi Ally Bean! (I so love saying your name every time.) The old sections in cemeteries are the coolest. And the grave of soldiers in the Revolution! I am not sure I have seen one of those in our neck of the woods.
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Kathy, I agree that the oldest sections of cemeteries are the best. It surprised me to find the grave of a Revolutionary War veteran. And considering he died exactly 200 years ago, it gave me pause.
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I will rarely pass up a cemetery (although I’m not anxious to be an actual resident). The older and more decrepit, the better. The trustee’s comment about the Girl Scout/Brownie unit of measurement reminded me of a boss I had years ago. She measured everything in Volkswagens (as in a room might measure two and a half Volkswagens by four Volkswagens).
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Janis, I agree that decrepit cemeteries can be the most intriguing ones. This one was in pretty good shape, but some of the tombstones were beyond recognition.
I love your boss’s Volkswagen measurement system. It makes sense to me in the same way as the trustee’s Girl Scout/Brownie measurement guide. I do like creative people!
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No question that I love to explore cemeteries. Even before I had an inkling about genealogy, too. I remember a tiny, hidden gem in Pennsylvania with graves mostly from the 1700s. There was a nice one in Columbus, Ohio, on my way to wrk from my apartment near campus.
Punctuation is so important. I’m glad you pointed it out.😁
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Spelling, on the other hand, is thwarted at every turn these days…(work).
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Eilene, I thought of you as I posted this. I knew from reading your blog that you loved cemeteries. I don’t know if I’ve seen a grave from the 1700s in the US. Have seen them in England, of course.
Nice pun. I see you are another punctuation nerd.
For me the problem with correct spelling is that spellcheck rewrites many of my words and I don’t catch it before I hit send. I try to be a good editor, but honestly spellcheck and I have a love/hate relationship.
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With you on the spellcheck. Looking for my own typos is one thing. Looking for spellcheck’s is annoying.
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Exactly.
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What a cool old cemetery! I love poking around old cemeteries too, looking at the tombstones and imagining the lives of the people buried there. Over Memorial Day weekend, Hubby and I visited the cemetery where my grandparents are buried. I hadn’t been there in almost 50 years. We found their graves and my great-grandparents’ too. They were born during the Civil War.
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Laurie, I like your term “poking around” because that’s exactly what we were doing in this cemetery. No rhyme or reason to where we went, just total curiosity. How cool that you found the grave of your grandparents– and your great-grandparents born during the Civil War. That’s trippy to wrap my head around.
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A ‘Measuring Cup List’ is such a great idea.
Glad to see that this historic cemetery was on your list.
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Donna, I like to do things, but maybe not big enough things to warrant a Bucket List. Hence my Measuring Cup List. This was a good item to mark off my list.
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Interesting post Ally. The headstones in this cemetery were in good shape for being so old. I like the bronze that has oxidized and the little chapel that is indeed little. I went and revisited an old cemetery where I went over fifty years before with a sketching class. I first of all was kind of in awe thinking about my own life 50 years later … then seeing the very old tombstones. I went the weekend after Memorial Day so there were some flags there for remembrance and we had had a very rainy May so everyone was having a tough time keeping up with the mowing, but even more difficult here in this cemetery, so I didn’t explore as much as I would have liked to for fear of tick bites. There is another old cemetery near Elizabeth Park, very small and surrounded by tall black wrought-iron fence which I’d like to visit sometime as well. Here were my ancient tombstones:
https://lindaschaubblog.net/2018/06/03/tiptoe-through-the-tombstones-with-me/
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Linda, this cemetery was well kept and I was amazed. While the engraving on some of the tombstones was no longer legible, the tombstones were in good shape. A few had been cemented back together after something, or someone, broke them.
The flags by the veterans’ graves surprised me because we’re past Memorial Day, but maybe they don’t take them down once they put them out for the holiday? I don’t know the deets about that.
The cemetery you visited was spookier than this one. Lovely photos of what you saw. A fun adventure I dare say.
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The cemetery you visited was well kept and much more elaborate than this one. Because this one is just maintained by volunteers, they appeared to have shirked their duties.
Like you, I found it interesting there were that many flags placed for Memorial Day a week or two before, then I wondered if it was relatives of those long gone, or maybe a veterans group that places the flags. I will go to the smaller cemetery sometime, maybe to get photos to use around Halloween – it is called “The Old Burial Ground” and has Civil War vets buried there, as well as some pioneers. It has to be a sunny day to visit as it always looks dark when I go by from all the trees. It is in the middle of a residential neighborhood. I enjoyed my trip there as well – something different.
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Good point about relatives putting out the flags. I know my mother & father did that religiously every Memorial Day. But I don’t know if they went back to take down the flags. I was a kid, who knows what the adults were doing, you know? 🤔
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We have a lot of people putting wreaths and grave blankets to decorate for Memorial Day too. We never questioned our parents’ actions did we, but back then. we did not grow up as quickly as the kids today either.
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So true. Different times, then. Different time, now.
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Measuring Cup List – love it. Old cemeteries are so cool.
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The Travel Architect, thanks! I’m not much for buckets I guess. Measuring cups are more my speed/size. This old cemetery was a delightful surprise.
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A Measuring Cup List ~ I love it! And because I’ve been doing family history research all my life I have spent many hours exploring cemeteries. Sometimes the headstones are so fascinating I can get distracted from locating the one I came looking for. I still have some left on my list.
That is a very tiny chapel. It’s interesting that John Ross was born in an original colony, fought in the Revolution as a young man, and then started a new life in a new state at the age of 55. It’s always a wonder how much history is contained in one lifetime.
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Barbara, thanks. I like my term measuring cup list, too. It makes sense to me so I decided to share it here.
I agree about John Ross. He lived during a turbulent time and lived a long life that you’d think must have been interesting albeit difficult– at least in the sense of being devoid of creature comforts that we take for granted.
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A measuring cup list seems much more attainable to me. Bravo! And if you check off enough items, you might just be able to make a killer cake.
Old cemeteries rock.
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Swinged Cat, good point. Enough measuring cups filled would make a great cake. And who among us doesn’t like cake?
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I’d be down for pie, too.
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Agreed. No need to be fussy.
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I also have a fascination with cemeteries, Ally. ;0)
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Pam, there’s a peacefulness to visiting a cemetery during the day. The inscriptions on the tombstones draw me in every time.
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I walk the dog through a local cemetery several times a week for that very reason, Ally.
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One of my favorite vacation memories is visiting a cemetery with my mom in Kentucky. We were on the way to Florida and needed a break from other people – the civil war headstones were fascinating! How cool to find some from those of someone during revolutionary war times!
I like your measuring cup list idea. (Though I’m still a fan of the bucket list.)
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Katie, I can imagine in KY there’d be many Civil War veterans, many from the confederacy I suppose. I’ve seen Civil War tombstones at another larger cemetery around here, but this Revolutionary War one was a first.
While I continue with my measuring cup list, you carry on [pun intended] with your bucket list. Whatever works, works. It’s all good.
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The last time we visited my parents’ gravestone, there was mildew all over it. I live 850 miles away and don’t get to PA very often. Next time I go, you’ve reminded me to take a measuring cup full of mildew remover and scrub the marble. Those neat-looking tombstones are a rebuke to me.
Of course, I will do something about it; it’s on my bucket list!
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Marian, very clever word play. You take your measuring cup with you, sure. And by all means remember to check it off your bucket list. Of course, from the sounds of it you may need a bucket of mildew remover. Just saying… 😉
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Love that: that love is fulfilling the law! It’s not only the highest, but also the most difficult to fulfill! Although the small chapel is very cute, the first would be my treasure on your visit there:):)
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DrJunieper, the inscriptions were a treat to find. And they seemed timely. The chapel was a plain building but the trustee didn’t lie. It was small.
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I totally understand this item in your measuring list. I’ve always enjoyed walking around cemeteries and where we live we have a beautiful one called Sleepy Hollow. It has rolling hills and many old cemeteries starting in the 1700s. I like walking up the hills to find authors row where Henry David Thoreau is laid to rest with his family as well as Louisa May Alcott and her parents and sisters. It’s a peaceful and restful place as all cemeteries should be. Walking amongst a cemetery I think helps us realize how short our lives are and how assured we can be of our mortality and therefore how important each minute is.
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Pam, I agree! You said it: Walking amongst a cemetery I think helps us realize how short our lives are and how assured we can be of our mortality and therefore how important each minute is.
We stopped to see this particular cemetery because of the trustee’s description of the chapel, but in the end it was a quiet way to contemplate how fleeting our days are.
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Yes. Some people think it’s a “depressing” way to spend a day – walking around the cemetery. I think it’s as you describe: contemplative and serene. xo
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The cemeteries vary so much. The giant formal ones on Galveston Island to the tiny hidden way back in the piney woods that you could never find unless you are kin and have been there for funerals ( and wondered if you should drop bread crumbs ignorer to find your way back out. And those family ones with just a few graves that were on homesteads. There’s where you can find the heritage flowering plants. Hardy and still growing with abandon and cheer.
I love the really old grave markers and those with angels (which are at risk as much as the bronze flower vases – so sad). I can image how it felt looking at John Ross’ marker. History. He was real. And as you say, time for all of us is fleet here.
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philmouse, you’re right about cemeteries. Around here some are huge, on hills, and parklike, while others are little flat rectangles of land. I don’t know that we have as many angels on tombstones as you do. Another commenter from TX mentioned angel theft. I see more urns than angels.
John Ross stopped me in my tracks. Both with his life story and with the realization of how amazing it was that 200 years after his burial he was influencing me. We all connect with each other in some way.
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These are great pictures. I love old cemeteries like that, and wonder about the people who are buried there and what their lives were like.
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J, I know what you mean. I get lost in my head and heart while wandering around old cemeteries. I can’t help but wonder about the details of their lives. Were they happy? Or at least, happy enough?
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“the chapel is big enough to hold a dozen Brownies or seven Girl Scouts.” Best. Measurement. Ever.
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Marian, I agree. You can understand it in a flash. I had to see the chapel in person. The man didn’t lie.
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The measuring cup idea is so cool, Ally. It seems like the best way to do nice things without pressure. So easy-going. I love that! Consider your idea stolen.
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Markus + Micah, it’s the “without pressure” part of the measuring cup list that makes it perfect for me. Enjoy creating your own list then checking off some items, whenever.
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A visit to the monuments of human resilience – we all live, and we all die, and we carry on decade after decade. Each one leaving behind memories to reflect and learn from.
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Shelley, well said. These were monuments that caused me to reflect. Didn’t expect to find them, but once I did I felt like I’d stumbled into something unique.
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Thanks. How about this for an interesting cemetery story. The neighboring town of ours has always hosted Fireworks in the ballpark. People come from all the neighboring towns to see the show. Since we can’t have gatherings of more than 50, the town board decided the best place to host the show would be in a cemetery where people could spread out more? WTH? No chance of vandalism there, I guess?
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That’s wild! I guess they have a point about the space, but fireworks in the cemetery? I dunno… I guess…
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Yes, indeed. That’s how I feel about it too!
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I think it is wonderful that people are caring for the graves of relatives from 200 years ago. Nice to meet you, Ally, and discover your blog.
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robbiesinspiration, I agree with you. It is wonderful that someone is caring for the grave of someone who died 200 years ago. It was a quiet well-tended cemetery, worth the time to stop and see what we could see. Thanks for dropping by to read and comment.
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Always so interesting as a Canadian to read an American perspective. We Canadians did achieve independence – we just took the longer, more circuitous route. (Passive-aggressive?) (Polite?)
This is a timely topic for me because I am at my cottage near Penetanguishene, ON, which was a British naval and military outpost during the War of 1812, and I just finished reading “My Dear Hamilton” about Alexander Hamilton. I feel like I have a foot in both worlds.
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Arlene, you raise a good point. I didn’t intend to find a Revolutionary War veteran’s grave, but once I did I wanted to share the photo of it. You certainly live somewhere interesting considering its significance during the War of 1812, then to have read about Hamilton– well, you’re going to get a good grade on your North America history test! I’m not that well-informed. 🙄
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I love to visit old cemeteries. There’s something about imagining the life that they must have lived. Perhaps it’s the storyteller in me. I wandered through numerous ones in Scotland and the last one I visited was in Charleston. You’d think that living in Virginia, I’d have visited some nearby since I’m sure they’re steeped in history. I need to put some of those on my own measuring cup list!
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Amy, this cemetery was a pleasant surprise. I’d driven by it many times, but never went in. I’d think that in Virginia you’ll find more Revolutionary War veterans than around here. Like you said, your storyteller self will love seeing the tombstones steeped in history.
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I love old cemeteries. They are such interesting places to visit. While I can sense the stories there just waiting to be told from the names on the stones and sayings engraved upon them, I don’t have the talent to actually hear them. I wish I did.
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I don’t hear the stories either, but I enjoy it when other people do and write them. Perhaps it’s enough to acknowledge that such stories exist?
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I am also glad you took the time to see the tiny chapel and to give some reverence.
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joey, thanks. It was a fun little adventure on a beautiful summer afternoon. Win, win.
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