Maybe I am strange, but I have always LOVED old headstones. Some people mighty think it is creepy, but the history, poetry and artwork can be very interesting. For example, we live in the first town ever in our county, so we have old headstones, like Henrietta in the the photo above on the left. She died in 1876 at the age of 21 years, 7 months and 8 days. No one list death to the day any more, just saying!
And cemetaries have all sorts of art, like these statues. I must admit, the dog one got me wondering. And if you notice in the photo, neither of the headstones owners have passed yet. Headstones also have art, such as symbols on them, like these examples.......
So what can you do for "fun" at your local cemetary?
1.) You could make up a kind of game by trying to see how many of each symbol you can find. You could make a bar graph out of the information (shhh don't tell the kids they are learning math skills.) Find out which were the most popular and go online to find out what they mean.
2.) Look for local historcal figures (aka civil war, founding father, artist/actors, etc.)
3.) Read some of the poems on older headstones. They used to write a lot more then name, born/died! If you are having a hard time reading a headstone you can always do number 4.
4.) Make a rubbing! All you need is paper and a crayon. It is just like doing a leaf rubbing when you where little. Just make sure to be careful not to get crayon on the headstone. Darker colored crayons work best.
So get out there and have some fun. I mean come on, it's FREE...headstones, not just for Halloween anymore!
I love old cemeteries! My dad's a history buff, so every childhood vacation was spent walking through some old cemetery or battle field--and I learned how peaceful they can be. Makes me wonder sometimes, what the rest of some of the stories are though....Oh, and my sister in law and I found some wonderfully engraved stones way up on a hill once--we figured the stone mason had so much time in the winter that he would spend it carving. Thanks. This is all more than you wanted to know, I'm sure. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteI have a history degree so your dad and I would have gotten along great. I love to hear your stories! Don't everfeel like you have to hold back. You stories brought a smile to me this morning, so hank you!
DeleteMindie,
ReplyDeleteCemeteries are so peaceful and seem to inspire thoughtfulness. You are so smart to develop a trip to the cemetery into a learning experience.
~Becky
Thanks Becky! I believe no matter where you are, you can always sneek a little learning in on the kids :)
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