Monthly Archives: April 2012

The American Flag

Posted on April 29, 2012 by

  The flag is often found on the graves of soldiers.  In this case, the flag marks the service of English-born immigrant Chaplain Reverend W. B. Linell of Muncie, Indiana, who served during the Civil War in the 10th Illinois … Continue reading →

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Dum Tacet Clamat

Posted on April 26, 2012 by

The metal medalion from a gravestone in the Beth Israel Cemetery at Portland, Oregon, marks the grave of a member of the Woodman of the World Organization. The organization was founded by Joseph Cullen Root.  “During a Sunday sermon in … Continue reading →

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Art Deco

Posted on April 25, 2012 by

Art Deco is a design movement from the 1920s that marked a break from the fluid and flowing Art Nouveau designs of the 1890s.  The term ‘Art Deco’ is derived from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, … Continue reading →

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Art Moderne

Posted on April 24, 2012 by

The Mitchell Anthony Mausoleum in Muncie, Indiana, has long styraight lines characteristic of Art Moderne Architecture popular from the 1920s until the late 1970s.  The design is similar to Art Deco in that they both use straight lines with bare … Continue reading →

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Lily of the Valley

Posted on April 22, 2012 by

  The lily of the valley is not actually a lily.  It belongs in the family Asparagaceae, not Liliaceae.   In spite of that, the lily of the valley is treated much like other lilies in funerary art as a symbol … Continue reading →

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Home in Heaven

Posted on April 19, 2012 by

The epitaph for this 12-year old child speaks to the parent’s grief and the broken “circle” of the family.  There is also a hint that the little girl may have suffered an illness and death brought an end to her … Continue reading →

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A Crown of Victory

Posted on April 18, 2012 by

Nearly obscured by the moss hanging on this tombstone is the  crown in the center of the cross.  The crown is a symbol of glory and reward and victory over death.  The epitaph on this memorial to prebyterian ministers makes it … Continue reading →

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The Finger Pointing Upward

Posted on April 16, 2012 by

The finger pointing upward, indicates the soul traveling to Heaven, sometimes a presumptuous claim, though a hopeful one. The finger pointing upwards can be coupled with other symbols: a willow tree, a traditional symbol of sorrow indicating while the soul … Continue reading →

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Two little lambs

Posted on April 13, 2012 by

CHARLIE            BERTIE There  like an Eden blos- soming in gladness Bloom the fair flowers the earth too rudly prized. This gravestone displays twin lambs facing each other over the names of the twin brothers whose graves the tombstone marks. The … Continue reading →

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Warren G. Harding

Posted on April 12, 2012 by

“In the great fulfillment, we must have a citizenship less concerned about what the government can do for it and more anxious about what it can do for the nation.” –U.S. Senator, Warren G. Harding, Republican National Convention, 1916 Warren Gamaliel … Continue reading →

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