Sunday Selections # 296 (cemetery photos)



Welcome back to Sunday Selections!

This once-a- week-meme was originally begun by Kim of Frog Ponds Rock, as a way to showcase some of the many photos we all take, but don't get around to showing on our blogs.

The rules are very simple:-
1. post photos of your choice, old or new, under the Sunday Selections title
2. link back to me, River, somewhere in your post
3. leave me a comment so that I know you've joined in and can come over and see what you've posted.
4. hop on over to Elephant’s Child to see more of her wonderful photos.
 
I usually go with a theme for my Sunday Selections and this week we have photos of a cemetery I visited a while ago.
on the map it looked like a small cemetery and being in an older part of town, I thought it might be a little quaint.
I was wrong.

I'm standing across the road from one of the walk-in entrances,
 
compared to our two largest cemeteries, the total area is smaller, a couple of suburban blocks maybe,

but the inhabitants are packed in like sardines in a can. It's a very popular local cemetery.

a little disturbing that a sign like this should be necessary.


this is a newer section, the headstones are very nicely made, most are granite, a few are marble.

but here you can see just how tightly packed in they are. You will notice each row has back to back headstones, with the grave on each side and a walkway between.

many of the plots, old as well as new ones, are multiple use; this one has a husband and wife,

while this one has three family members, different generations.

There are masses of flowers, mostly plastic, but all in good condition.

I imagine each arrangement is replaced as it deteriorates due to weather. As I stood taking photos, I noticed quite a few people visiting loved ones and placing fresh flowers to stand next to the plastic ones, graves were tidied and prayed over, with one lady sitting on a chair and talking to the person residing there.

I've never seen this many beautifully kept arrangements before, the living clearly remember and cherish the dead.

The older sections are not so well cared for, with many graves looking like this.

collapsing due to sinking soil as the coffin disintegrates, or perhaps being broken by falling headstones as in the photo above this one.

some are storm damaged, some simply no longer cared for,

many have notices attached stating that the lease on the plot has expired and remaining family members should contact the cemetery authorities. After a decent interval of time, if there has been no contact, I'm not sure what happens to them, but with limited space available, perhaps the plots are recycled. Many of the dates on these older graves go back a couple of centuries.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Comments

  1. How sad to think some of the older graves might be "recycled"; I hope they keep the grave markers, those are wonderful historic relics. Nice how the new sites are lovingly maintained and visited.

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    Replies
    1. Terra Hangen; I think recycling the plots is far better than continually expanding the cemetery boundaries. The grave markers are the property of any remaining families, that's why there are notices attached to graves that have expired their lease. If no family members come forward in a given time, (I'm not sure how long that is)I don't know what happens to the markers.

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  2. I have never seen sch a 'full' grave yard. Leases run out? Good grief. I must check and see if this happens here. We have some stones in our cemetery from the late 1700's. I can't imagine anyone is renewing their leases.

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    Replies
    1. only slightly confused; yes, leases do run out. usually I think the lease is for 99 years, that's plenty of time for future generations to renew and keep the plot if they wish. There are some graves there a couple of hundred years old and still being maintained. I don't know if it is the same for all graves; if a family buys a plot instead of leasing, that's a different story I suppose.

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  3. Sometimes my memories elude me, but I vaguely recall that years ago, a friend said something about her parent's graves. Their lease was up and she didn't have the money to pay it. I don't know what the next action would have been. This was in Germany, somewhere that space was at a premium.

    That's a beautiful resting place, but I still think it better to scatter my ashes in the wind to places unknown. At least I wouldn't be "Moved."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. S.J.Qualls; in your friends case I would think she has the option to retrieve any marker stones and keep them, while the grave is recycled. My mum once told me recycling is far more common in Germany; after such a long time their is usually nothing left in the grave, maybe a few bones. These get cremated. I'd get cremated if I wasn't leaving my body to the medical school for learning purposes.

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  4. It certainly is tightly packed. Cemeteries are nice places to wander. Some religions are strongly for burial but most of us will be burnt. We should have a nice plaque in a wall at least.

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    Replies
    1. Andrew; i enjoy wandering in cemeteries, but there aren't any around here where I live. Most are two bus trips away. With space at such a premium these days, I don't fully agree with burials and a lot of people would argue with me, but a remembrance plaque that a family member could keep at home is preferable to me.

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  5. I too have never seen a cemetery as tightly packed as that one. I am hoping for an eco funeral with a tree to mark my resting place rather than a plaque or a resting place. I do love to wander through cemeteries though. Beautiful peaceful places.

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    Replies
    1. Elephant's Child; it really is the most tightly packed cemetery I've ever seen. I like the idea of eco funerals, but I've already signed papers to have my body sent to the medical teaching hospital. If they can't accept it for any reason, I'll leave the final decision up to the kids and I'll probably be cremated. They know I don't want a lot of money spent unnecessarily.

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  6. I find cemeteries fascinating. Even when we travel we usually visit local cemeteries. A lot of historical information can be had as most places have online info about the local cemeteries.

    WOW...they really are packed in like sardines. I have seen a number of cemeteries in Europe like that but didn't realize that other places also had that density as well.

    Such a shame that some of the graves are in such disrepair. That makes me sad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheryl; the graves in disrepair are really really old ones for the most part, some have been vandalised and need fixing up, most are just collapsing inward because there is nothing left in the burial space.
      I think this cemetery is in one of Adelaide's oldest suburbs; one of the areas where the original people settled and succeeding generations have stayed on.

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  7. I will be burnt and scattered but I don't mind a afternoon wandering around graveyards interesting places.
    Merle...........

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    Replies
    1. Merle; I will be used for teaching doctors, so hopefully will be useful for quite some time after death. I find it fascinating reading the older gravestones.

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  8. No one living around that area is buried there...

    I hope the week ahead is a very pleasant one for you, River...cuddles to Angel. :)

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    Replies
    1. Lee; ha ha:) the week ahead promises to be peaceful. Cuddles to Remy and Shama.

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  9. .. I was so sure that I posted here yesterday.. glad I checked. lol..
    I think it's sad to see the damage caused by soil subsidence and broken headstones...
    I liked your tour River, thanks.... Barb xxxx

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