Saturday, November 3, 2012

Grave Matters in Fortuna

On the weekend before Halloween, the Fortuna Cemetery District hosted "Grave Matters and Untimely Departures". Scattered throughout the Fortuna Sunrise Cemetery, actors tell the story of people who are buried there. This year, we heard tales that were touching, often amusing, and always enlightening about some of the local personalities who touched the Fortuna area with their lives, loves and losses.

Not pictured: Brian Walker as A. Ivanoff, a Russian survivor of the Czar's greed and the Red Army, who eventually hanged himself in a brothel to silence the cries he kept hearing; and Bill Ryder as Per Nelson, a Swedish inventor of a bread slicing apparatus who took a misstep in a hayloft.

Every year the characters change. I look forward to the next installment.

Don Brown as Ed Whitchurch, a fellow who was fond of chatting on the telephone

Kathleen Marshall as American Jane Moore Elliot Burge Cameron, an oft-remarried seamstress

Megan Johnson as high school sophomore Vera Linser, who contracted spinal meningitis the day before she was to play the female lead in the school play

Rigel Schmit as Silas Bezley, a veteran of the Blackhawk War

Shannon Daily as Martha Gould, a gossipy laundress who tried to revive a fire by tossing kerosene on the coals

Michael McClimon as WWII military band member and high school band teacher Sewell Lufkin

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Unusual Names

One thing I enjoy when cruising through a graveyard is reading the names. I typically find at least one unusual name among them. I recently stopped at the Ukiah Cemetery in Mendocino County, California. I found a high proportion of unusual and interesting names. I'm not even considering the Italian, Slavic, Azorean, Japanese etc. names I've seen. I'm certainly not able to say if they are common or unusual in their native lands.

I may use some of these when naming my honeybee queens.

Granted, Seraphim is the name he took upon entering the church, but it's still interesting.

A few family names also caught my eye.

Redwine seems an appropriate name for a winemaking region.

Many remind me of a refrigerator poetry magnet set.

Here are a few other interesting names I encountered elsewhere:

In Cloverdale Cemetery, Sonoma County, California

In Oak Mound Cemetery, Healdsburg, Sonoma County, California

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Unusual Markers

After visiting a number of northern California cemeteries, I've found a lot of marker shapes and ornaments that are common. Sometimes they are a bit different, depending on the maker, but I wouldn't notice except when comparing photos of them. There are also custom or homemade markers, but those are destined for another blog post someday.

Other markers are very different. They're not one-of-a kind, but often unique to a specific cemetery. They seem to be commercially manufactured, but for some reason or other weren't popular. Here are a few that I've found recently.

Arrowhead. Sebastopol Cemetery

Cradle for an infant. Cloverdale Cemetery

The arched marker is for two children. Cuffey's Cove Cemetery.

A whole family of "unique" markers in Little River Cemetery

I've seen a goodly number of Gates of Heaven carved into a marker, but this is the only stone I've seen that is shaped like gates. Evergreen Cemetery, Mendocino.

Cradle for an infant. Alamo Cemetery

Lafayette Cemetery

Hopland Cemetery

Another cradle-like marker for an infant. Little Lake Cemetery, Willits

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Vandals in Rohnerville Cemeteries

Sigh.

Man, woman charged with vandalizing Fortuna cemeteries; suspects knocked over monuments, headstones

Jessica Cejnar/The Times-Standard

Posted: 11/01/2011 02:29:58 AM PDT

Click photo to enlarge

Fortuna police on Sunday arrested two individuals who allegedly knocked over and shattered monuments and headstones and scattered mutilated deer parts across the grounds of three cemeteries in the Rohnerville area.
James McMinn, 22, and Margaret Lopes, 22, both of Fortuna, allegedly caused more than $30,000 in damage to the Rohnerville Catholic Cemetery and the Mason and the International Order of Oddfellows cemeteries, said Sgt. Aaron Starcher of the Fortuna Police Department.
Police also arrested McMinn on suspicion of brandishing a weapon and assault and battery. According to Starcher, McMinn allegedly pulled a knife on a witness who had confronted the suspects at the cemetery. This led to a confrontation during which McMinn allegedly struck the witness and knocked him to the ground, Starcher said.
”Our officers also report that (the witness) was choked when he was on the ground,” Starcher said, adding that McMinn did not stab the witness.
Fortuna police officers found McMinn and Lopes at the Rohnerville Catholic Cemetery when they responded at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Officers also found mutilated deer parts and spoke with a witness who had confronted McMinn during the vandalism. McMinn had brandished a knife and threatened the witness, according to police officers.
Deer remains were also found at the Oddfellows and Mason cemeteries, police say.
Elizabeth Jones, administrative assistant for the Fortuna Cemetery District,

estimated that the suspects had disturbed about 30 gravesites including the grave of a Catholic priest. Some of the marble pillars are between 100 and 150 years old, she said. Although preliminary estimates show that the suspects caused about $30,000 in damage, Jones said it will take time before the district's board members have a more accurate estimate. Jones said the police department notified her about the vandalism at 5:51 p.m. She was at the Rohnerville Catholic Cemetery and the others on Monday with her camera to document the damage. Cemetery district staff hasn't yet begun the process of finding relatives of the deceased to notify them of the vandalism, Jones said.
”That's going to be a time-consuming process, determining if there's a contact person for the site,” she said. “Some of the sites were historical sites, so it's not going to be easy to track down the contact person for it.”
The cemetery district does carry liability insurance that includes a vandalism clause, Jones said. Once officials have gathered all the proper documentation, the district will notify its insurance company, she said, adding district officials are allowing the police department to finish its investigation.
Jones said there haven't been any other acts of vandalism since she began working for the cemetery district about three years ago. But thefts have occurred with people breaking into buildings to steal equipment. Sunday's vandalism seems more like an act of malicious mischief, she said.
”We're hopeful that there will be a conviction and that these people will be held responsible and accountable,” Jones said. “I know that all of our board members and all of the employees were shocked and distraught. Our hearts break for those families that are going to have to endure this type of pain to see that their family history has been tainted or damaged in this way.”
McMinn and Lopes were booked into the Humboldt County jail on charges of felony vandalism to a cemetery and vandalism to items of historical value, according to the Fortuna Police Department. McMinn has also been charged with brandishing a knife, felony threats and assault and battery. According to the police department, the assault victim was treated and released from Redwood Memorial Hospital.
Both suspects are still in custody, said Lt. Steve Knight of the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office. The suspects' bail is set at $50,000 each, he said.
The investigation into the vandalism continues. Anyone with information is asked to call the Fortuna Police Department at 725-7550.

Jessica Cejnar can be reached at 441-0504 or at jcejnar@times-standard.com.

source link: Times-Standard

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

For Dia de los Muertos: Family

One of the things I enjoy looking for in cemeteries is evidence of family involvement. This can be as simple as a bouquet or trinkets left at the grave, to planted flowers or a homemade marker. They all tell a story of remembrance and love. I don't normally see these things at the larger, more manicured cemeteries that tend to be in the cities, and have rules about what is "appropriate" for a grave. They are most seen in the small rural cemeteries that probably aren't mown very often and watered even less. They are more than just a marble orchard or a bury patch. They are places for the family to come visit and to remember.