There are dozens upon dozens of fantastic cemeteries in the Chicago area, and we really enjoy getting out into the peace and tranquility and spending time together.
We also get fresh air and exercise. I highly recommend this hobby to anyone with the time. It's so important to these people (often shut-ins or elderly or people who just can't afford to fly across the country to see their great grandma's grave) to get concrete evidence of their loved one's existence.
You can become a member for free, then search the cemeteries in your area to find out if there are any requests for photos.
Here are a couple of good stones we saw:
Mildred's inscription: (Can I just say I LOVE her?)
She knew not how to complain,
nor how to speak ill of others.
Frederick's inscription:
Mothers, old men, children, true hearts and feelings souls -
a friend sleeps here.
Judith's:
She was the next of kin to the wayward wind.
You see an awful lot of baseball-themed stones in Chicago, mostly Cubbies, but then again, I'm only ever in North Side cemeteries. I'm sure the Sox have their fair share of stuff on the South Side. I thought this one was hilarious. I'm not sure if Frank meant to imply he was hell-bound ("Hey up there...") but it's cute anyway.
And "Pacific" is an awesome middle name.
(I did indeed take a moment to tell him how the Cubs were "do in". Bet he wished he hadn't asked.)
2 comments:
Oh my gosh! My grandma used to do this for people! She died 19 years ago, but she was a crusader for upkeeping old cemeteries, and also for finding graves and taking pictures for the families. She would simply have loved this!!
And, when I was a girl, she would take me to cemeteries, to see the history, pay respects, and clean up. I miss her! Thanks for a great post!
People are always surprised when I tell them how much I love cemeteries. Truth is, I'd rather be in a pretty cemetery than almost anywhere else. The only thing about this is it's kind of sad when you are in a cemetery where the upkeep is lacking.
We've loved going to cemeteries all my life, too - not just to visit but like you said, to clean, to see history, etc. You can learn a lot from a cemetery.
I will never for the life of me understand the "fear" of them - you're safer in any cemetery in Chicago than you are on any street in Chicago, I guarantee that.
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