Cemeteries - The cheapest entertainment in any town

[josephusminimus]

The Texas Historical Commission says it of 'historical' cemeteries, but they're all historical to one degree or another.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thc.state.tx.us/cemeteries/cemdefault.shtml">http://www.thc.state.tx.us/cemeteries/cemdefault.shtml</a><br /><br /><em><em>

<em>Cemeteries are like open history books whose pages are tablets of stone. Historians consult cemetery records to confirm past events. Sometimes there is no other recorded information about an area except what can be found in cemeteries. Each one provides clues about the people who settled an area.</em></em></em><p align="left"><em>Cemeteries tell us about the ethnic background of people, their occupations, how long they lived and, sometimes, what caused their deaths. They provide us with insights into cultural practices and beliefs. Some monuments are simple &mdash; a slab of wood or a carved piece of concrete with a name and dates scratched in. Others are elaborate sculptures</em><br /><br /><em>Of the approximately 50,000 historic cemeteries in Texas, the precise location of only a small portion has been recorded. This information is scattered in various sources and is not complete.</em><br /><br /></p><em>

<br /><br /></em>Once a person becomes addicted to perusing cemeteries in a community the difficulty's getting out of them and getting back on the road.&nbsp; They'll snag you, browsing around in there, finding the line of 1918 flu victims, reading the remarks people had put on their own stones hoping to be remembered for [and weren't], reading what those who survived them had to say [sometimes surprising surprising surprising].<br /><br />

 

[josephusminimus]

Here's an example of a part of a day spent wandering around the cemetery in the tiny Texas town of Junction:<br /><img rel="lightbox" src="http://sofarfromheavendotcom.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/7-junction-cemetery-rusty-old-halo.jpg" class="bbc_img" /><br /><br /><br /><h1 class="entry-title"><span style="font-size: medium;">The TimeWarpVille Saga &ndash; Junction, Texas&nbsp;Cemetery&nbsp; <span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://sofarfromheaven.com/2012/08/22/the-timewarpville-saga-junction-texas-cemetery/">http://sofarfromheaven.com/2012/08/22/the-timewarpville-saga-junction-texas-cemetery/</a><br /><br /><img rel="lightbox" src="http://sofarfromheavendotcom.files....metery-confederate-ranger.jpg?w=500&amp;h=375" class="bbc_img" /><br /><br /><img rel="lightbox" src="http://sofarfromheavendotcom.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/1-junction-cemetery.jpg?w=500&amp;h=652" class="bbc_img" /></span></span></h1>

 

[offroad]

My dear departed loved to visit them. Thanks for reminding how interesting they are.&nbsp;

 

[McBe]

<p>81-year-old world class runner Ed Whitlock actually trains in a cemetery.&nbsp; He finds it quiet, safe, and convenient.&nbsp; I&nbsp;enjoy funny tombstone inscriptions like, "I told you I was sick..."<br /><br /><img src="http://citytv.rdmmedia.topscms.com/images/c3/00/d57214254a648054687cdbd28795.jpg" /></p>

 

[josephusminimus]

McBe:&nbsp; Cemeteries might be the safest places in any town.&nbsp; <br /><br />Anyone a person encounters in one is usually there to visit a grave and frequently end up being a source of a good conversation could lead almost anywhere about the graves, their particular one, the community history... pregnant truths about this, or that person under a tombstone, the best eating joint in town or something about the courthouse or some house or neighborhood.<br /><br />Even a guy out there with a backhoe to dig a new grave gets talky.<br /><br />If a person's taking pictures or making rubs of gravestones they'll sometimes take you by the arm to show you their grannie's stone or some axe murderer got lynched in 1922,<br /><br />Used to be, might still be that was a way to find the grave of outlaw Sam Bass in the Round Rock, Texas cemetary the first time.&nbsp; It was grown over and the limestone marker badly deteriorated.Might take hours to find it without guidance.<br /><br />Incidently, there was an above ground crypt in that cemetary falling at one end.&nbsp; Had a boot with a leg bone exposed, and a friend at the time, Bruce Jean, couldn't resist reaching in there to feel around.&nbsp; That evening he was the great poison ivy/ringworm magnate of the State of Texas.&nbsp; Covered him head to foot, took him weeks to recover.<br /><br />Some things better left undone in this life.

 

[offroad]

And and and bad people seem to be seriously scared of grave yards. Which I find funny. Maybe the whole accounting for your life thing freaks out bad folks. Just my wild opinion on this of course.&nbsp;

 

[VanTrekker]

<p>Cool pics!<br /><br /><br />I enjoy visiting cemetaries...&nbsp; It sounds strange but it's interesting to read the family names and see whose families&nbsp;you know.</p><p>A couple of weeks ago I was in a&nbsp;cemetery of mostly&nbsp;European&nbsp;families&nbsp;and ran across several stones that simply said "Vater"... I thought wow, there are a lot of Vaters buried out here till I saw a stone next to a Vader that said "Mutter"...&nbsp; Okay, I don't speak that language but figured out that Mutter and Vader was mother and father.&nbsp; I had to look it up online to find out that Mutter and Vater meant mother and father.&nbsp; *shaking my head*<br /><br />Dad and I once visited Marilyn Monroe's burial site in downtown L.A.&nbsp; it was very difficult to find.&nbsp; Now he's got me hooked on cemetery exploring.<br /><br />V.T.</p>

 

[longjohn]

<p>There's a site called Find-A-Grave&nbsp; &nbsp;<a href="http://www.findagrave.com/">http://www.findagrave.com/</a>&nbsp;&nbsp; where you can look up famous people or your not so famous friends and relatives that have passed on. While traveling the country you can look up famous people and find their graves. I found that singer Johnny Horton and Dan Blocker (Hoss Cartwright of Bonanza) are buried near me.</p>

 

[sparky1]

My Head stone is on Find a grave web site...

 

[sl1966]

I love it too! Digging them up and playing the Walking Dead game is pure awesome!<br /><br />

 

[yesican]

I love the history in cemetaries.&nbsp; Sometimes...all that's left of towns is the graves.&nbsp; You can find out so much about life way back when from them...Not to mention, they can be down right beautiful and peaceful...<br /><br />Rae

 

[josephusminimus]

Steve:&nbsp; Looks as though you might have visited this one.<br /><br /><img rel="lightbox" src="http://sofarfromheavendotcom.files....ction-cemetery-crypt-ruin.jpg?w=500&amp;h=273" class="bbc_img" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />You find all sorts of people, sometimes in the same grave.<br /><br /><img rel="lightbox" src="http://sofarfromheavendotcom.files....nction-cemetery-checklist.jpg?w=500&amp;h=683" class="bbc_img" /><br /><br />Longjohn:&nbsp; I've been searching my mind trying to think of people I'd like to know where they're buried after I read your post.