Friday, August 2, 2013

Tree Shaped Tombstones - More from Forest Lawn

My visit to Forest Lawn Cemetery in St. Paul was quite productive.  All sorts of interesting Tree Shaped Tombstones..


As previously noted, there seems to be a loose connection between this style of tombstone and membership in various fraternal organizations.  At least you see that sort of imagery turn up pretty often.  This fellow was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the above initials reflecting their slogan of Friendship, Love and Truth.


This one had me stumped for a while.  But it is not H.O.U.W. but actually A.O.U.W.  This is the logo for the Ancient Order of United Workmen!



At the base of the same monument we find....


Two little lambs nose to nose.  I hope the grounds crew knows they are there and is careful with them.


In my post on  Some Really Sad Examples I showed you the hat of a little girl named Mary who died young.  Here is another example of a "Mary's Hat".  I am not sure if it makes it sadder or less sad to know that it was a stock item that you could order. Childhood death was common then.


Wow.  The things they could carve out of stone.  A drapery like this might indicate an occupational reference.  The tassel seems atypical for the alternative explanation, a death shroud.  Unless somebody decided to go in style.


Here is a chair style, but not the more common  Widow's Chairs that were designed to sit upon and contemplate the grave of your departed.  You could not sit on this one if you wanted to.  The seat is occupied by a large scroll, said to indicate the record of one's life.  Oh, and also by this:


Yes, more tassels.  I think this is supposed to represent a pillow.  But I must admit, that is a guess.  It certainly does not look like a very comfortable pillow but what else could it be?

Finally a nifty marker that I can neither classify as a genuine Tree Shaped Tombstone nor pass on including. Just because I like it.  A Log Cabin Tombstone!


4 comments:

Lisa said...

This is a great collection of tree-themed headstones. I am particularly interested in the name on the log cabin. It appears to be McClentic (?). I recently compiled a list of log cabin headstones and included your discovery in the list: Little House in the Cemetery.

Tacitus said...

correct. And oddly it has HATRY on the other side.
Nice, but not as artistic as the ones I found down in Iowa..

Tacitus

Anonymous said...

If you should ever make it to Texas, you should go to the City Cemetery in Gonzales. They have some great tree monuments.

Tacitus said...

I would of course expect Texas to be a bit over the top in death as in life! I am getting fairly good at spotting good "targets" on Google Earth but have to report that I am not finding a City Cemetery in Gonzales. There is a nice IOOF cemetery that has promise...am I missing something obvious?

Tacitus