Category Archives: Uncategorized

Goldie

Posted on June 14, 2011 by gravelyspeaking

The photograph above is a family photo.  The couple standing next to the tombstone was my great grandmother, Sarah Caroline Anderson’s, sister, Fannie, her husband, Willie Williams, (yes, his name was William Williams) their three daughters and a pair of friends.  … Continue reading →

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Cradle gravestones

Posted on June 11, 2011 by gravelyspeaking

Cradle gravestones frame the plot and look much like a cradle without the legs, which is how they get their name.  The marble gravestone above features a sea shell with a sleeping baby nestled inside.  One end is larger and … Continue reading →

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Ode to Golf

Posted on May 15, 2011 by gravelyspeaking

Since modern golf was invented in Scotland centuries ago, men have been passionate about the game.  The monument above carved for Joe Kirkwood (1897-1970), with a bent golf club, serves as an admonition not to think too much about the … Continue reading →

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Wildlife

Posted on May 4, 2011 by gravelyspeaking

There are so many reasons that I love to wander around cemeteries–connection to history, architecture, beautiful sculptures, and so many stories.  And, occasionally I come around a corner and see a surprise like I did when I spotted this mother … Continue reading →

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Fast Mail

Posted on April 18, 2011 by gravelyspeaking

GEORGE S. BANGS Died November 17, 1877 Aged 51 Years  8 months 27 days His crowning effort The Fast  Mail Some people want to be remembered for who they are, some for what they did.  This “treestump gravestone”, so called because it looks like … Continue reading →

Posted in Treestump gravestones, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Eternal Silence

Posted on April 17, 2011 by gravelyspeaking

Lorado Taft was one of the premier sculptors of his day.  He was a widely published scholar on the topic and his work was highly sought after.  He was commissioned to produce many public works including the The Soldier’s Monument … Continue reading →

Posted in Symbolism, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Fading from Memory

Posted on March 23, 2011 by gravelyspeaking

I was reading Arts in View, a blog, written by my friend and author, Donovan Walling.  He elegantly wrote a blog about googling your own name or someone else’s as confirmation of being alive or having lived.  It got me … Continue reading →

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Jilted

Posted on March 9, 2011 by gravelyspeaking

At first glance this might look like another “Saving Grace” or surrogate mourning figure.  But the details of  Herman Luyties’ (1871-1921) monument in the famed Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis is far more interesting than mere graveyard symbolism.  This bodacious … Continue reading →

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