I have been to cemeteries all over the world. Famous ones like Père Lachaise in Paris and Colonial Park in Savanah Georgia. When we were in Lisbon, my siser and I almost got locked in a cemetery for the night because we did not pay attention to the time when we were poking around. But I had never been to the oldest public cemetery (founded in 1857) in Kansas City Missouri ... until last Friday.
Union Cemetery is a peaceful spot in the middle of the city. There are no flowers on the graves and the grass is pretty tall in some spots. Just enough dilapidated-ness to give you that feeling of moving back in time, but not enough to make it feel neglected. A lovely setting to let the imagination roam as we worked to make out names and puzzle over the details on the markers.
I don't recall seeing markers in the form of a cut tree before. This one told a sad tale of a young woman who apparently died shortly after having a baby.
In case you decide to go, Sexton Cottage is open from 11am to 3pm on Fridays. We were there about 9am. The crows informed us they are in charge of things up on union hill when the cottage is closed.
If you ask they will tell you anything you want to know about the place. Shiny objects appreciated in exchange for information.
I also enjoy the peacefulness of old cemeteries. Our museum has cemetery walks , where we are taught the meaning of many things we see. If you google "Woodman of the World" , you will learn about the tree stone monuments .
Carol, thank you for your blog. I read EVERY one and have come to know through your words , pictures and sense of humor.
Posted by: Joan | 07/25/2013 at 06:43 AM
I love looking at the gravestones in old cemetaries. Thinking I will be in KC next week to visit a friend-we might drive up to Lawrence-will you be around?
Posted by: Janet Ghio | 07/25/2013 at 07:38 AM
You sound like me- in the cooking department. I am going to try your hummus recipe. If you like yogurt you should try making homemade yogurt. One of my kids at school told me how to do it and it is delicious. Heat a 1/2 gallon of milk until it is warm (not boiling). Let it cool. You heat it to kill off anything in there you don't want in yogurt. Then add one single serving size container of unflavored yogurt to the milk- stir, wrap the kettle (I use a dutch oven pot for this whole process) in a towel and place it in your oven for 12 hours. I don't heat the oven, it can be cold, but I think it works a little faster if I stick it in an oven heated to about 150 degrees. But do not leave your oven on while it sits in there. Heat up the oven just a tad (or after you bake some peach cobbler after it is mostly cool) and then put in the yogurt and shut off the oven. Let it be too-don't stir. Save a bit of this batch for the next batch- then all you need is to buy the milk.
Posted by: Erika N | 07/25/2013 at 10:57 AM
Whoops-meant to post this in the hummus post-sorry!
Posted by: Erika N | 07/25/2013 at 10:58 AM
Awesome post. I love graveyard photography, and conversations. The tree is wonderful!! Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Bobby | 07/25/2013 at 04:48 PM
Lived in KC most of my life, and still do, but finally got around to going here a few years back, took some good photos. We met one of the grounds keepers who told us he saw strange things there at night. He proceeded to tell us a few stories so we got out of there as quick as we could. Maybe he was the resident story teller too! I didn't see the gravestone you show here but we were hunting a cache hidden there and the groundskeeper made us want to leave sooner than we would have. Great post BTW.
Posted by: Karen | 07/25/2013 at 06:02 PM
Died in childbirth at 17! That deserves a big grand tree-shaped gravestone if you ask me.
Posted by: Kelly | 08/01/2013 at 09:35 AM