Gravely Speaking

The Robert Maxwell gray granite block monument in the Fairmont Cemetery in Denver, Colorado, displays the initials B.P.O.E (Benevolent Protective Order of Elks) and one of the most important Elk’s motifs–the clock with the hands pointing to eleven o’clock.  The clock symbol is central to one of their evening rituals.  Elks read the following tolling address in honor of their absent brethren at eleven o’clock:

“My Brother, you have heard the tolling of the eleven strokes.  This is to impress upon you that the hour of eleven has a tender significance.  Wherever an Elk may roam, whatever his lot in life may be, when this hour falls upon the dial of night, the great heart of Elkdom swells and throbs.  It is the golden hour of recollection, the homecoming of those who wander, the mystic roll call of those who will come no more.  Living or dead, an Elk is never forgotten, never forsaken.  Morning and noon my pass him by, the light of day sink heedlessly in the West, but ere the shadows of mightnight shall fall, the chimes of memory will be pealing forth the friendly message, “to our absent Brothers.”

Forest Lawn Cemetery, Omaha, Nebraska

The Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, one of the many fraternal organizations in the United States, was originally a drinking club called the Jolly Corks founded in 1866 by a group of actors, who evidently liked to drink.  The club members made the fateful decision to change their organization’s name and increase their mission from frolic to public service.  Their symbol, obviously an elk, is a majestic animal as seen above in the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Omaha, Nebraska, standing guard in the Elks section of the graveyard.

Old Holmdel Yard, Holmdel, New Jersey

 What lovesick boy doesn’t know the meaning of a single rose, standing there on the front porch, at the beginning of his first date, nervously clutching the flower while he waits expectantly for the door to open and for his date to greet him?  Romantics have waxed poetic about the rose and the connection to love for centuries which has made the rose an undeniable symbol of love.  On this gravestone, Hendrick Wyckoff expresses his love for his wife, Ann, who had been long suffering of an “affliction” before she died.  The rose on this gravestone is in full bloom with the stem broken–an adult who has died.

The rose also has a religious meaning, differing by color.  The white rose symbolizes purity while the red rose represents martydom and the messianic hope that Christ will return.

Old Holmdel Yard, Holmdel, New Jersey

Mt. Bethel Meeting House Cemetery, New Jersey

The shell is an obvious symbol of baptism because of its association to water.  In fact, a shell is often used to scoop up and sprinkle water during the baptismal ceremony and often designed as part of the decoration and symbolism of a baptismal font. 

The shell also represents the journey of a Christian pilgrim.  The journey to find salvation and rebirth of the soul.  According to the Association for Gravestone Studies Website, Christians during the Middle Ages would venture out on their pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James of Compostella in Spain.  After the pilgrimage they would wear a scallop shell as a sign that they had made the religious trek.