2/23/14

The highlight of this week was the fieldwork on Friday, for it was my coworker and I racing to complete cemetery assessments before we were inevitably rained out.  It was an array of cemeteries from small familial cemeteries to massive often used cemeteries; it was interesting to see how even the upkeep and decorations differed from each location.

            The first cemetery we visited was Purdom Cemetery, which was off of the highway and tucked away on a winding road. It is a massive cemetery that has very obvious mixes of older tombs and recent. The decoration, flowers, and additional trinkets left on the newer tombs made it appear to be well taken care of and visited often. It was nice to see that care was taken to making sure the tombs looked presentable and not withering away. One can easily tell that this is a place for some to come and commemorate and in a sense be with their past love ones.

            Afterwards we ventured to Clifton Cemetery, which was one of the prettiest locations I have seen besides Harris Cemetery. The drive to the cemetery involved driving under a beautiful canopy until one reaches the small and quaint cemetery  There was a carving on one of the headstones I enjoyed for the simplistic nature and another had near the headstone a circular stone with I am assuming their collegiate affiliation. Two very drastic carvings, but I believe they both embodied the persons entombed quite nicely.

The majority of those buried there are related to the Clifton family, so it was interesting to see a true familial cemetery and the differences. I found there was not as many trinkets or decorations as I have seen either at Purdom or even Bethel Cemetery.

A small look at the massive cemetery

           

The final major cemetery we visited was Oakdale Cemetery in Deland, which I discovered has on site maintenance that I appreciate for not only do the grounds look spotless, but it aids in reducing the amount of vandalism as well. I discovered they have their own website which entails events, such as reenactments that are done twice a year, photographs of unique burials, and cost to be buried there as well. (You can check it out here x) The last item I have never really put much thought to and was surprised by the cost and am very curious to research more about cost of burial practices with other prominent cemeteries in the area. By the time we arrived to this cemetery a storm was fast approaching so we had to quickly do the assessment for the massive cemetery, while additionally taking pictures for not only documentation but to have for future projects. I could wander that cemetery for hours and still find fascinating headstones and obelisks! The mausoleum was incredibly striking, but I found my self more entranced by the obelisks and unique memorials such as a bench for example.

 Not only are their tombs, but also there is a memorial for Confederate Soldiers that are buried in Oakdale Cemetery. Very simple and does not truly draw attention to itself but it is there nonetheless as a silent tribute. I hope to go back to this cemetery so I can spend more time looking and less time worrying about being rained out.

Next week is my last week before Spring Break and I cannot fathom how fast this semester has been going by! However, as they say “time flies when you’re having fun” and that is most certainly the truth. I have seen in such a short period a fascinating array of tombs and I’m working on strengthening my technical writing skill, but that has been an unexpected challenge. I am excited to see what else is in store for me this semester.

2/17/14

      I hope everyone had a Happy Valentine’s Day and enjoying the additional day off with President’s Day as well! This post will highlight my experiences out on the field on which resulted on more fun then should occur in a cemetery. (Also I figured out how to make the layout more dynamic and may have gone overboard with pictures!)

 I was being a good driver by using a form of the "10 and 2" grip

  

            What allowed for Friday to go smoothly is that our application for driving the Volusia County vehicles was finally approved! I was just a little nervous about driving a government car, but I did get a kick out of the fact that even when driving the speed limit vehicles that wanted to pass never would. A little thing, but it made me chuckle that even the county insignia welds that much power.  

                                        

            My coworker and I traversed northwards to Seville where we managed to visit five of the eight cemeteries we’re working on that are located in that area of the county. Some of the cemeteries we visited were Seville Cemetery, Harris Cemetery, and Mt. Zion Cemetery. All were very different from the feel, racially, and even by materials used in the cemeteries.

            Seville Cemetery is a massive cemetery that was segregated after one African American man was buried amongst white citizens.  The white side is orderly arranged and has immaculate obelisks for Woodmen of America and additional Masonic symbols as well.

My favorite was the Woodmen of the World obelisk for it looked like a hewn tree trunk; I thought it was an incredibly unique and clever design.

However once you cross over to the other half of the segregated cemetery it is obvious it is much less organized and the weather is eroding the grave materials very rapidly. There are some graves as recent as 2011 that looked as decrepit as graves from the 1930’s. It was incredibly depressing to see the vast difference between the adjacent cemeteries. At one point while wandering the cemetery, I came across piles of brick, which I found to have a very eerie vibe and could not figure out what it was for the life of me. Just like in every feel-good movie once I moved farther away and looked at “the big picture” I realized the bricks made up the cornerstone of an utterly decrepit church.

The next cemetery, which was my favorite, was Harris Cemetery. Though it’s hard to find unless you’re headed south of Seville, but it was absolutely beautiful and relaxing. 

Very few graves here, mainly family plots but they were definitely tended to and had an array of decorations and memorabilia around the burials.

An additional aspect that I really enjoyed was the discovery of citrus trees scattered around the inside perimeter of the cemetery. My coworker, a true Floridian, took it as an opportunity to explain some of the vegetation and try to figure out if the fruit were oranges or persimmons. Regardless it just added to the natural beauty of the cemetery.

                                                

The last cemetery I will regale you about was the Mt. Zion Cemetery, which had a picturesque church with bathrooms in a separate outside building.

If there were no graves or if that wasn’t a factor for some, it would make a great setting for a wedding. Very idyllic and it is obvious that someone or a group is replacing sunken or eroded headstones with simple granite instead. It was nice to see that there are those apart of the community who take graveyard preservation as seriously as Volusia County Government.

            

Before I sign off until my next riveting post I want to mention this awesome website I discovered while doing some extracurricular research on the Volusia County area and local landmarks and wander upon this fascinating site, Haunted Places! I love reading about ghost stories, especially for places I have been and it gave me additional things to think about that I never considered such as the Devil’s Chair is located in the Lake Helen & Cassadaga Cemetery. Without that website I would not have put that together until I visited the cemetery later down the road. If you’re as interested in ghost stories and haunts as much as I am then check out the link x

2/7/14

This week was an example of when preservation is about due diligence and administrational work as opposed to continuous fieldwork. Due to the weather this week, I went to the Deland Public Library to take pictures of Daphne Brownell’s catalogue of the Lake Helen-Cassadaga Cemetery.  Brownell catalogued a majority of cemeteries in Volusia County for the Daughters of the American Revolution.

            

          Since this was a fairly document heavy week, I spent Wednesday compiling the names from the Bethel Cemetery from my site visit into a more comprehensive list for the Florida master site file. While adding names newly found while in my visit to Bethel Cemetery onto my list I found this poem that was inscribed unto a tombstone and what I found unique was that it was penned by the man interred. It goes:

            “The Memory of Life-Life is based on feelings and ideas and when you put these thoughts together you experience either sadness or happiness. If you loose your thoughts and dreams you loose the feeling of life-Alan Sumner”

I really loved this for poetry is believed by some to be a window into one’s soul. It’s a great way for others, who may or may not know the person entombed, have a glimpse into the ideals of the man or woman laid to rest. I would encourage everyone to leave a poem, either written by oneself or another, it is more impactful than any visual imagery that can often be found when perusing cemeteries.

          

        Next week I will be able to work from home and then hopefully on Friday the weather will be nice enough that we can start doing fieldwork again. Even if it means I have to drive the government vehicle, but with my coworker and GPS we should not get lost only sidetracked. 

       Before I finish I want to mention that if you are interested in becoming more involved in graveyard preservation, especially in Florida, you should check out the CRPT Alliance on Facebook. The group covers an array of discussion topics, posts fascinating pictures of tombstones, and even recipes for cupcake tombstones. If you're interested you can check it out through the link (x). It's a great way to learn about new theories or discoveries and is a great topic for dinner parties.