Today was Decoration Day at Davis Cemetery. My people are buried there. I have brothers, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on under those markers.
I was there with breakfast biscuit and a steaming cup of coffee before the sun rose. It was my shift to man the booth that takes up donations from people who have people buried in the cemetery. We use the donated money to keep the grass cut throughout the year.
Some people reach in the ashtrays of their cars and scratch out a few coins to drop in the bucket. Some write checks for hundreds of dollars.
The old cemetery is a historic place. One of my ancestors who fought in the Spanish American War is buried there. There are also soldiers buried there who fought in the Civil War.
I take the early Sunday morning duty. It's the same shift my father did. He started in the 1960s and was there on the second Sunday in June for as long as he was able.
There aren't many young people that come to the cemetery these days. I'm not sure who will be sitting at the booth on the second Sunday in June when I am no longer able.
I was there with breakfast biscuit and a steaming cup of coffee before the sun rose. It was my shift to man the booth that takes up donations from people who have people buried in the cemetery. We use the donated money to keep the grass cut throughout the year.
Some people reach in the ashtrays of their cars and scratch out a few coins to drop in the bucket. Some write checks for hundreds of dollars.
The old cemetery is a historic place. One of my ancestors who fought in the Spanish American War is buried there. There are also soldiers buried there who fought in the Civil War.
I take the early Sunday morning duty. It's the same shift my father did. He started in the 1960s and was there on the second Sunday in June for as long as he was able.
There aren't many young people that come to the cemetery these days. I'm not sure who will be sitting at the booth on the second Sunday in June when I am no longer able.
I don't think we have an equivalent day here. Congratulations on continuing your father's work.
ReplyDeleteSome people never know how cemeteries are 'KEPT UP' if not a 'city or gov't' location. Great job y'all do and the donations are were someone's great idea. Nice to know there are the OLD ones kept up!
ReplyDeleteDecoration Day is a wonderful tradition. Unfortunately it no longer means as much these days.
ReplyDeleteIn my country, cemeteries are taken care of by the Municipality. So it should be. We pay city taxes, and the cemetery is an integral part of the city. There are boxes, though, where visitors can slip in coins and even paper bills.
ReplyDeleteBegging is forbidden; food, drink, and money 'transactions' (donations) within the boundaries of the cemetery are not considered respectful, and so rarely seen.
Sadly, fewer younger people come each year.
The needs of our cemetery is being looked after by volunteer parishioners. We have no decoration Day but once a year, a mass is celebrated in the cemetery The grass is kept cut by a group of volunteer men and new graves are reseeded when needed. The parish council has rules in place of what is allowed and disallowed in the cemetery so no one will impose their own version of what they think is acceptable... Everything is kept clean.
ReplyDeletePeople are allowed to place silk flowers saddles on tombstones but they are asked to remove them for winter as the wind blows them down and they end up all over the hay field near by. (I have found some tombstone silk flowers in bales of hay many times in the past) but not lately.)
Our church has a special collection envelop once a year where people can donate for the upkeep of the cemetery. If the men who care for the cemetery finds a tombstone that has fallen, the family is contacted and the company who placed the tombstone comes and repairs the tombstone. Everything is well taken care of.
Hugs, Julia
Maybe you can teach Jordan to honor the past and he'll man the booth.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
At the start of the month Sandgate Cemetery a very large local cemetery had an open day to raise money and to show people what goes on behind the scenes. It isn't where dad is buried though.
ReplyDeleteI would gladly sit and take donations. I love cemeteries and think that yours is so beautiful and what a great idea to keep it looking so nice. I hope it's a success this year.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful cemetery which reminds me of the place my parents are in. It’s surrounded by cornfields and it’s so peaceful. I bet, since it is historic, that there will be younger people who will continue the tradition
ReplyDelete