Cemetery Tour- 9-18-10

Happy Wednesday-- I can't use the wordless Wednesday Blog Title-- because... i have something to say! :-)

All are welcome for the tour at Historic Oakwood Cemetery, Raleigh NC on Saturday September 18 at 1pm. This tour is the Monument Art and Symbolism II route-- and i'll take you through the cemetery as we visit several permanent residents and examine the symbols and their meanings on the stones.

Hope to see you there!

Spring has Sprung- graveyard exploring back on the agenda!

Good afternoon, dear graveyard rabbits! It's been 10 months since my last post... A lot has happened--- This graveyard rabbit has multiplied! (it is spring, isn't it?) A new bunny has been born into our family-- and hopefully he'll be as interested in exploring graveyards as I am!

But-- now that he is nearly 10 weeks old... and life has calmed down a bit-- I'm back on the hunt! This weekend I'll be checking out the Nichols family cemetery here in NC...for findagrave.com and I'll post pictures of what I discover....

happy exploring!

Wordless Wednesday

Grave of Wade Edwards
Oakwood Cemetery
Raleigh, NC

Tombstone Tuesday: A blog about a graveyard frog.....

How many of you examined my previous post carefully enough to catch a glimpse of the frog in the background? As I was marveling over the white bronze markers at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia (see previous blog), off in the distance I thought I saw a frog... but then I told myself that it was not possible. That no way, at this historic rural cemetery was there a frog amongst the monuments. So I scampered up the hill even further until I arrived upon this frog. Really. A frog.

I wish I could identify who the frog memorializes. I wish I could explain what the frog means. But all I can do is tell you the frog stood about 3 feet high, it was holding an American flag (a patriotic frog, apparently), and on it's stand were two photographs. The top one was a picture of the Beatles. On top of the photo was a candle, and 2 coins; one foreign and one a US penny.

Upon examining the back of the monument, there was a beer can jammed into the back open portion of the frog. He was aged, but not markedly so. Around the base of the frog were small stones/pebbles. The frog looked up, towards the sky.

If I were to pull out my trusty cemetery symbolism book, it would tell me that frogs are a symbol of armageddon. But somehow, that doesn't seem right! :-) This frog means a lot more then a cemetery symbolism book can tell us. This frog, in a cemetery with 18,000 Confederate Civil War dead, with US Presidents, and amazing monuments with symbols that tell us what whole communities valued, in a city that has an avenue of monuments to honor its heros, means more to someone then any of those things combined. It's not as simple as what a cemetery symbolism book can tell us. Maybe it's not for us to know.

But on a bright sunny summer day in Richmond, the frog caught my eye, and for a moment, I honored that frog and all it may symbolize.

Hollywood Cemetery: graveyard with a view

Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond Virginia...Picture this: a hot summer day with cool breezes from the James River... and rolling hills as far as the eye can see... with monument after monument honoring Richmond's dead. Here in Hollywood cemetery, many of the permanent residents enjoy a beautiful view... for eternity. The skyline, the river... the hills... what more can one ask for?

The above picture is just one of a kazillion shots I took while at Hollywood Cemetery on Saturday. The Graveyard Rabbit of the Triangle ventured out of NC into VA... and was in awe over the small glimpse of this vast cemetery that I experienced.

According to Wikipedia (i question the source, but it's a direct link off of www.hollywoodcemetery.org)

"Hollywood Cemetery is a large, sprawling cemetery located at 412 South Cherry Street in Richmond, Virginia. Characterized by rolling hills and winding paths overlooking the James River, it is the resting place of two United States Presidents, James Monroe and John Tyler, as well as the only Confederate States President, Jefferson Davis. It is also the resting place of 25 Confederate generals, the most of any cemetery in the country. Included are George Pickett and J.E.B. Stuart.

Hollywood Cemetery was opened in 1849, constructed on land known as "Harvie's Woods" that was once owned by William Byrd II. It was designed in the rural garden style, with its name, "Hollywood," coming from the holly trees dotting the hills of the property.

In 1869, a 90-foot (27 m)-high granite pyramid was built as a memorial to the more than 18,000 enlisted men of the Confederate Army who are buried in the cemetery.

Hollywood Cemetery is one of Richmond's major tourist attractions."

The above photo is of 2 white bronze markers....which caught my eye so I ran up the hillside to see them. The hands shaking, while husband and wife, in this case could simply mean hello or good bye- as the cuffs are both gender neutral. Remember white bronze markers are not white nor bronze, but really have a blueish tint and are made of zinc. They could be ordered from catalogs during their hey day, primarily around the turn of the century and into the early 1900s. I've been a fan of the white bronze marker since my days in Hawai`i.

Normally I would crop the photo better, but I want you to look closely at the the monument up the hill from the white bronze markers.... that will be the subject of my next post... til then, fellow graveyard fans.... have a great day!

Hollywood Cemetery Here I Come!

Hello, loyal readers... While I will make my way to Woodlawn and Maplewood Cemeteries in Durham this afternoon for findagrave.com requests.... tomorrow the Graveyard Rabbit of the Triangle will be headed to Richmond, VA...for a day of sightseeing! Top on my list of places to see is Hollywood Cemetery... so be sure to visit Sunday for new pictures...

have a great weekend...be sure to visit your local cemeteries!

Wordless Wednesday

Headless Angel, Maplewood Cemetery, Durham, North Carolina