June 26, 2010

Flashback

Posted by Megan-Marie under Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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Okay, right after swearing we weren’t going to let the site slide, another month goes by sans posts. I’ll remedy that. Seriously. Going to grad school is hard! You can appreciate that, right? But let’s find something to post on, just to fill the time.

My Headstoning actually started quite early. My dad, an avid birdwatcher, had us down to Green Lawn Cemetery on a regular basis, and I always enjoyed that. Another fun thing was visiting various famous interments on family trips. In 1991, we took a couple of trips to the East Coast, including this one to Old Graveyard in Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania–the gravesite of legendary Molly Pitcher.

Mom, Sister, Me

Checking out Molly Pitcher

Running through Headstones

That is one of my favorite pictures because it just sums things up so well. There I am, wandering around through a maze of toppled, crowded headstones. I’m not looking for anything, I’m just hanging out, exploring, seeing what I see. Really that’s the reason to get into cemeteries in the first place, isn’t it? Anyway, moving onwardly!

Arguably one of the most important burial sites (or sights?) to see, for an American, is the tomb of George Washington located at Mount Vernon. We visited there while on our D.C. trip in 1991. To make things easier for you, I’m the white glowy thing directly in front of the flag on the left. My sister is in blue standing next to me. Admittedly, I am way more enthralled by the fencing than in the tomb itself, but give me a break! I’m six! Actually, I am probably not six yet. In any event, you’ve got to admit that the seeds are there, definitely there.

Father of the Country!

The same year–and possibly even earlier in the year because I look ridiculously young in this picture as opposed to the others–we went to Boston, Massachusetts (not Austen). Boston and Philadelphia always stick out when I remember the places I’ve been, probably because we (1) did a lot of walking both places (2) stayed there for awhile. This is a picture of me at the grave of John Winthrop–either the Massachusetts  Bay Colony Governor or the Colonial Royal Governor, I’m not sure which one. But this is at Kings Chapel Burial Ground in Boston, MA.

Young Headstoner in Pink

And pretty much that’s all there is to say about early headstoning. As you can no doubt see, my love of cemeteries started early–I love to point to the picture of me hugging a tombstone in the earlier post (see The Littlest Headstoner of Them All)–although my interest in history and genealogy didn’t come on board until much later.

 

May 1, 2010

The Process

Posted by Megan-Marie under Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky | Tags: , , , , , |
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Well, unlike some of your favorite musical groups and artists, when the Headstoners take a hiatus, we come back from said hiatus. And now we’re back. I apologize, as per usual, for the delay, but bring to you not one, not two, but three out of state cemeteries! Now, our conception was as an Ohio cemetery exploration blog, and we consider ourselves Ohio-based, but in the last few months, some things have happened to your Headstoners. It’s called the “grad school bug,” and once bitten by this bug, one must inevitably go out of state, where the promise of “the rest of your life!” is lurking behind an alien school. And I don’t mean, like a school of aliens, but an unfamiliar and strange school that you did not get your undergraduate degree from. So . . . my point behind all this? Kristine and I are going to grad school. Yeah.

As we all know, or should know, choosing a grad school is a time-consuming process that involves many factors, which is why we have spent the last four months investigating a variety of schools; now that we have come to our conclusion, there is again time for headstoning! (Yay!) And I promise we won’t let the site slide anymore :( Pinky promise.

The first graduate school we looked at was the distinguished Dominican University of River Forest, Illinois, famed home of MST3k/Rifftrax funnyman Kevin Murphy. While a nice school, it proved unacceptable on a variety of levels, beginning with . . .

Queen of Heaven Mausoleum

The creepy disturbing terror that is this place

This is the mausoleum of the Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery located in Chicago, Illinois. This entire cemetery was unpleasant by Headstoner standards: disburbing iconography, flat tombstones, swaths of open space. And of course, this monstrosity of a mausoleum. Allow me to give you this satellite photo for reference. We drove past this structure for many severals of blocks. It is the size of a small planet. And as you should probably know about your Headstoners by now, we don’t like giant mausoleums on account of all the creepy vibes they emit. This place, serious creepy vibes. (Oh, and if you’re Catholic, from Illinois, or are buried here or know someone who is, I don’t mean to offend you; this is just not how the Headstoners roll.)

Anyway, it was quickly evident that River Forest was not the place for us. And so we moved on, seeking out a graduate school that would meet our rigorous qualifications. The next place we chose to visit personally was the University of Kentucky, located in stately, historic Lexington, which is, first of all, a very obviously warmer climate. (more…)

 

June 5, 2009

Your Friday Double

Posted by Megan-Marie under Day Cemetery, Logan, national cemetery, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , |
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Well, in the first Friday post since we declared that Fridays are our update day, I will do a little bit of catching up so we can get on to the fun part of life, the universe, and everything.

The entrance sign

The entrance sign

Ever wonder what a cemetery under construction looks like? How does one go about building a cemetery, anyway? I mean, most cemeteries have, y’know, kind of been around for awhile. This isn’t an Ohio cemetery, but Headstoners must be flexible and go wherever the headstones may call! Well, while on our Topol trip (yeah, I know, February–I’ve been busy, okay?), we were driving through good old Pennsylvania when we saw signs reading “NATIONAL CEMETERY OF THE ALLEGHENIES!” So we thought, hey, why not? Check-in time isn’t forever from now. So we got off the jolly old highway, followed the “orange detour” signs, whatever that is, and arrived at 292 acres of . . . kind of nothing.

 
 

(more…)

 

March 4, 2009

In Which the Headstoners are Surprised

Posted by Megan-Marie under Guernsey, Northwood | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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Well, returning after the brief break to give you an update on more cemeteries hit during our Topolicious weekend, let me just give a few words of introduction before getting started. I will confess being very excited about this, because as much as we owe Beth over at GraveAddiction, and as grateful as I am for her ongoing support and interest, I have wanted to make sure our blog didn’t just become an echo of her website. “Oh, yes, she’s right–there is a cemetery here with a tombstone in it!” And, though granted it’s nice to get different perspectives on the same place and there are a limited number of cemeteries, I was looking forward to when we could spice up our blog with a little variety and “where no man has gone before” action. So I now present to you . . .

Northwood Cemetery--A Headstoner's Original!

Northwood Cemetery--A Headstoner's Original!

Northwood Cemetery, first of all, is huge, and it is located in the north part of Cambridge, go figure. It made the “Hidden Ohio” map and ForgottenOhio website for, if I may quote ForgottenOH briefly, “A lady in a 1920s-style white gown is seen roaming between the tombstones here on certain summer nights, only to disappear shortly thereafter.” However, the Hidden Ohio directions are poor beyond reason, and so I shall try to provide you with some. I’m not very good at directions, so perhaps my fellow Headstoner would like to update this portion of the post at some point! Anyway, here are my simplistic directions: once in Cambridge, begin by going east on Wheeling Ave., which also just happens to be Route 40. Turn left onto 10th street, which will eventually dead end into the entrace you see before you. That seems too easy, but I leave it to MFH to correct me if I’m wrong . . . or elaborate if I’m simple. Or sing if I will dance. Or . . . wait.

One of the many (closed) entrances!

One of the many (closed) entrances!

Okay, so, welcome to Northwood Cemetery, a truly massive and impressive specimen, containing a wide variety of sights and sites that range from the bizarrely ecclectic to the modern. Indeed, there is enough here to tantalize any taphophile to return. (Forgive me–I’ve spent the morning doing a Marvin Mudrick book for work and he’s infected my speech patterns with alliteration. I’ll try to tone it down.) Beyond the fact that Northwood is completely huge, with at least six entrances (please note that only the one I’ve directed you to is open–or was at our visit, it also seems to be a popular hangout for locals to either walk or jog. This may have to do with its sharing one border with the city park. Although it was too cold to get out and look around, I did note that there seem to be a variety of walking trails, and plenty of civilization close by for a not-so-dedicated explorer. (more…)

 

February 25, 2009

Off-Season Road Trip

Posted by Kristine under Guernsey, Mt. Calvary | Tags: , , , , , |
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I can safely say we’ve learned the meaning of the phrase “When in eastern Ohio, do as the eastern Ohioans do” after a somewhat crazy road trip to nowhere. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Last weekend (Feb. 21 and 22) Megan and I traveled to Pittsburgh, Pa., to see an amazing performance by Topol in his farewell tour of Fiddler on the Roof. It’s continuing for a while, and if you can go, you should. A lot of the fun, though, came from getting there. The I-70/U.S. 40 corridor through middle eastern Ohio is one place neither of us has ever really been – together or separate. Sure, a drive through years ago, but nothing major.

When we left at 6 a.m. Saturday morning, we had decided to forgo planning any cemetery ventures in favor of beating the snow/ice/rain barreling down on Ohio. Then we got off to get gas after 9 AM in Cambridge, Ohio. Since Cambridge is set back from the freeway a little bit, we had to pass a cemetery to get to the gas station and it was all downhill (or uphill, maybe!) from there. After calling mom to look at a radar and confirm there was no longer bad weather breathing down our necks, it was a go.

The entrance to Mt. Calvary

The entrance to Mt. Calvary

Our first stop of the trip was Mt. Calvary Cemetery, on the corner of State Route 723 and U.S. 22/40 in Guernsey County (or exit 176 off of 70. You can only go north from there, so there’s no getting lost!). It was decently sized and well maintained and very much still active – and very Catholic. I gotta say, even as a Baptist (or maybe it’s being a Baptist . . . hmm), something about the large number of religious statues in Catholic cemeteries disturbs me. Granted, this opinion isn’t limited to those in cemeteries, but in this case, to each his own!

Where is my face??

Where is my face??

There is a very beautiful stone here, though, of a woman weeping in front of a cross as she hid her face. It was very tall (at least five feet, maybe more) and a white that contrasted the surroundings. Whether it was a representation of the woman who had died finally meeting Jesus and bowing before him or a representation of those left behind, kneeling before the cross begging for relief from their grief (or praying the departed’s soul into heaven, perhaps). Either way, definitely worth seeing and hard to miss.

The road through the cemetery is basic (one square one around the outside, with two roads going from each side that meet in the middle) and each section isn’t very large so it’s easy to catch everything. According to Beth at GraveAddiction, there is a stone featuring St. Nicholas and the three boys he saved from being cooked, though we missed it (kind of contradicts my opening to this paragraph, eh? Maybe I should say that when it’s warmer it would be easier to not miss anything!). We did, however, see another white stone featuring a trio of figures that could be a child Jesus with his earthly parents. I can’t really think of any other signficant child-parent groupings in Scripture:

gue-calv-dscn1620

Jesus with Mary and Joseph?

If you ever do take a trip out to that part of the state, it’s definitely worth a stop since it’s so close to the freeway. There’s enough cemeteries in that area to make a trip worth it too! Our next post will feature our trip to Northwood Cemetery, actually in Cambridge.

 

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