A Caretaker's Home

In older times a home was built for the caretaker and his family. Usually the cemetery was far out of town so it was an important convenience. Now this is the prettiest one I have seen. If I could live here, I would do the hard work that is required of a caretaker! Well, I would more than likely try to get my husband to do it instead.

I have seen a few on my trompings but not many. I added a topic on Graveyard Stew with caretakers homes. They are so interesting. Most of the stories are about them being torn down.

Does anyone have insight on caretakers homes? Are there any books on this subject? Please let me know of anything you have about this topic. I would love to hear from you.

Los Angeles Veterans Cemetery

At one time it was called the Sawtelle Veterans Cemetery because it was associated with the “Old Soldiers Home,” called Sawtelle, which we would call today the VA Hospital.
I first got wind of this when I began to study a Civil War soldier named Andrew Wheaton who is buried in my cemetery, Sunnyslope, in Corona, California. His obituary said that he died in the Old Soldiers home and was to be transported from Sawtelle to Corona. What is Sawtelle!? The research began.
I became friends with George Wilkinson in Michigan who is a researcher and collector of anything and anybody from the Michigan 4th Regiment of the Civil War. Andrew Wheaton was with this unit and fought for the entire duration of the war. He was involved in some of the bloodiest battles, and was wounded in the right knee at Gettysburg. Wheaton will be portrayed in the next Sunnyslope Stroll that will take place October 25, 2009.
I offered to help George with anything he might need in Southern California. He asked me to photograph the gravestones of some men that were in the 4th Mich. There was special pride in taking these pictures. A good friend went with me. She is organized and persistent; I couldn’t have done it without her. Thanks Kathleen!
In spite of the arrangement of a military cemetery, these men are special individuals who served our country. They are all lined up in military order. Generals next to Privates. Rich next to poor. Some men made something of themselves after the war, others just survived with a military pension. There is a complete life story for each soldier invisibly etched on each stone.
This cemetery has no room for any more soldiers. It is in L.A. very near to the filming of movies and TV. The cemetery is very conscious of picture taking in any form; after all, it is Hollywood! Once I convinced them that we were historians, not film makers, they let us photograph the soldiers.
One interesting note was there was never the letter “J” in the rows. At first we thought it was an oversight, but not in a military graveyard! Finally I asked one of the workers. He said that it was because of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Custer’s unit was J.
There were two monuments we noticed. One was the Civil War Soldier. Not a word was written on the monument; however the image was worth a thousand words!
A couple other items got my attention. Two dogs are buried here!! (I love dogs.)
. War Dog "Bonus" buried with handler, Charles E. Temple - Ensign USNR, Section 101 Grave 1 Row A. War Dog "Blackout" buried with handler, George Lewis Oshier U.S. Navy/Sergeant U.S. Marine Corps, Section 99 Grave 2 Row A. Although this is no longer permitted, I was thrilled to see that it once was.
Another thing is, my husband and I are interested in black history. I was happy to see that
over 100 Buffalo Soldiers are interred at the Los Angeles National Cemetery. These African American soldiers were members of the 9th, 10th, 24th, and 25th Cavalry during the Civil War.
Finally, Nicholas P. Earp father of Wyatt Earp, Section 13 grave number A-18, We liked this because the Earps are associated with my neck of the woods, the Inland Empire.

Salt Lake City Cemetery, SLC, Utah

JoLyn wrote about the fun we had at the Salt Lake Cemetery. It is so much fun to be with another graveyard lover. I had a great time with Linda from Lancaster (the TV star!) when she came to my house too. Us Rabbits are so much fun! I wish we could have a Rabbit Bed and Breakfast. Oh! Oh! An idea for a book!! I know the perfect house to buy in New Orleans. But I digress.


The picture above is what we called the graveyard dog. He was happy and playful. At one time he found a flag on a grave and brought it to me to throw for him. There was not a owner is sight but he seemed happy and healthy and loving the cemetery as much as we did.


At the Salt Lake City Cemetery, which is well run by the City of Salt Lake, there are such a variety of stones. It could be a museum of graves. There are sandstone markers, which are peeling from the elements, there are zinc markers, marble markers, granite markers, and several large rocks or boulders used for markers. There are flat stones, and there are monuments. One special monument is the statue that inspired the book The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans.

There are many interesting articles about this cemetery on the web. One that gave interesting information is http://www.common-place.org/vol-03/no-04/salt-lake-city/. Although we spent a couple of hours there, we missed alot of the graves, yet saw so many that my memory is jammed. Much of the history of the Salt Lake Valley is here, many pioneers that came to SLC in handcarts are buried there as well as most LDS church leaders. There is a view of the mountains and the city from almost anywhere you walk in the cemetery. This is Salt Lake's History Book!

Hank E. Baby Boom Boom Combs Wright

Yesterday my beloved dog, Hank, passed away. Only if you knew me would you know how much I loved him. The only fights my husband and I had were over Hank. Hank always hoped that I would win! Now Dave is missing him too.
Hank went to cemeteries with me. At first I didn’t want him to go; I thought he would make his mark everywhere. One Sunday I took him to Sunnyslope to test him out. I was shocked, he was the perfect gentleman. Not once did he do anything inappropriate. Boy, did he love that walk. We walked everywhere, including the potter’s field. I wished I’d taken pictures but I didn’t want evidence then. After that we always went together.
We buried Hank in our way back, we call it the secret garden, but it really isn’t secret. He loved to lie near the walnut tree. I couldn’t bear to have him at a pet cemetery, that is much too sad. Hank would want to be here around all the action. And I can go out to the garden and finish reading the book we were reading, Dog On It.
Live on, Hank E. Baby!!!

Riverside National Cemetery

At Riverside National Cemetery, they recently put in many, many concrete vaults, just waiting for a soldier or many soldiers. They are butted together side by side with no room to spare. It looks like there are two to a plot, stacked.
When you walk on the grassy sections, it feels park like. I have spent many hours visiting loved ones there and it is always so pleasant. We put out chairs, have a snack and talk about our guy. It is a reminder of picnics at the cemetery at a bygone time. I almost wish I hadn’t seen this. I try to never think about what is under the ground, only about what happened in their lives above ground.
I know now that my feet are cushioned by about 2 feet of ground and grass, then many feet of concrete vaults. Real military order and organization.
The Riverside National Cemetery is the busiest cemetery in all of the VA National Cemetery System, yet it is always calm and peaceful. They say that they will be able to accommodate 4700 new burials. The total capacity is 1.25 million.

Looking at how it is organized and plotted takes the sentimental value out for me. Here is the grave of a wonderful man. The inscription says "A Good Man." Three words that hold so much meaning. I knew this man, Denny, and I am so glad he was a small part of my life. He was a angel sent to earth to influence the rest of us.

As I walk past rows and rows of graves at Riverside Nat'l I wonder about the people that once lived in our world. I don't know a thing about them, they could be anything, wonderful like Denny, or a grumpy old man. The person could be a women who loved canning and gardening or a man that was a hero to all his commrades. As many graves as there are, there are just as many personalities and people who still love them.

RABBITS PLAY AT THE GRAVEYARD

Rabbit Linda of Lancaster, PA made a visit to my Rabbit Hollow here in Riverside County, CA. and we had a blast. We toured three different cemeteries and could have done a lot more if we had more time. It was so much fun to see my very own Sunnyslope Cemetery with different eyes. She pointed out things I had not noticed and gave me input to stones I had passed by over and over. Of course I enjoyed giving a tour and introducing her to so many graves! We went to the Indian cemetery, Sherman Indian Cemetery, that I wrote about a while ago. She found a way in!! I couldn’t, I just poked my camera between the rails of the fence. But inside it seemed so different. We walked around and said hello to every little grave there. Most of the time I feel happy in a grave yard. I imagine the lives and history of all the people there. I imagine that they are happy to see someone remembering them, caring that they once existed. But at the Sherman Indian Cemetery I feel sad for all those young people that died away from home. Maybe I should feel happy but I just don’t, there is something depressing about it..
Next we went to the Olivewood Cemetery in Riverside. I have been there to take pictures, to attend a funeral, but not to just investigate and have fun. Linda took pictures right and left. We went to a Japanese section. Maybe Linda will tell about that. We walked among all the older stones, they were so pretty. I saw so many names that are familiar to Corona as well as Riverside. Several families from here are buried at Olivewood instead of Sunnyslope, but I don’t know why. Other families have been moved from Olivewood to Sunnyslope, the one I know about was moved on a U-Haul trailer. The exact same stone is at Olivewood as well as Sunnyslope. In Sunnyslope there is a plaque telling that it was relocated from Olivewood and at Olivewood, the plaque says the body was removed to Sunnyslope. The picture presented in this BLOG was taken by Linda at Olivewood. I do believe it is my new favorite headstone. The Indian is in mourning. It symbolizes the end of the trail

Postcard Collection, Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans

I love this postcard because of all the people in it. But it is impossible to know if the image originally showed the people or the postcard artist used artistic license when it was hand colored.

My husband is in New Orleans as I write this so I thought this was a good one to write about today.

Metairie Cemetery was previously a horse racing track. Historians seem to disagree about the details of what happened after. However during the Civil War it was used as a Confederate Camp.

Because it was high above ground it was thought to be a perfect place for a cemetery. Today there is still evidence of the race track.

There are tombs here that actually predate the cemetery because they were moved here after Metairie became the city's most prestigious cemetery.

There are many notables buried here including Generals, Governors, musicians and sports figures. Oh! If only I could have known some of these people! The story I like best is of a madam, Josie Arlington who died in 1914. Her grave was thought to be haunted for many years. At night a women would appear in front of the grave. Later it was found out that it was the way a street light reflected on the tomb. She was moved to an undisclosed location in the cemetery. Her picture is on Find A Grave, she is beautiful.

The Metairie Cemetery is on the National Register of Historic Places.