Richmond, Massachusetts

Mercator's Birthday ~ March 5:  Why would this couple choose a world map for their headstone? Well before the Mercator Projection, we learned that maps could be manipulated to tell stories and serve our own interests. How does a Eurocentric map projection serve the interests of this couple? Richmond Center Cemetery. [2019]

Springfield, Massachusetts

Lighthouse Theology 7:  Matthew 5:14 ~ "You are the light of the world." NIV ~ "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden." Oak Grove Cemetery. [2013]

Springfield, Massachusetts

Defined by Our Duds:  Dapper means "neat and trim in appearance" according to Merriam-Webster. Here is Mr. Dapper himself. He obviously took pride in how he looked. Wouldn't you like to see his closest? He probably really was defined by his perfectly-polished shoes and perfectly-pressed duds. Oak Grove Cemetery. [2013]

Boston, Massachusetts

Adjacencies ~ Midrise Apartments:  What is adjacent to the cemetery? The name of the cemetery tells you what used to be on its perimeter: a large building where grain was stored (a granary). Now it is surrounded by urban mid-rises. That means everyone who enters, exits, and looks out the windows gets a lesson in Puritan eschatology. Granary Burial Ground. [2010]

Palmer, Massachusetts

Identity Headwear ~ Soldiers:  The slouch hat has been associated with military forces around the world for centuries.It was also a symbol that veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic adopted to call attention to their service and valor. This veteran would have been in his early 20s when he fought in the Civil War. Oak Knoll Cemetery. [2013]

Monson, Massachusetts

Surname Initials as Identifying Logos ~ C:  The letter C is the 12th most frequently used letter in the English language. Here, it creates the base for a faux urn, symbolic of "ashes to ashes and dust to dust," which originates in Genesis 3:19: "for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Hillside Cemetery. [2013]

Chelmsford, Massachusetts

The Unitarian Churchyard:  Even though Unitarians have had heterodox views of the soul after after death, the mortal remains of those souls must be interred. So, like old churches of all denominations, they are surrounded by the graves of their ancestors. Forefathers Burying Ground. [2013]

Springfield, Massachusetts

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I did it my way."  Since the 1960s, the 'My Way' song has become a perennial favorite, so it is probably not surprising to find it showing up in cemeteries all over the United States. Oak Grove Cemetery. [2013]

Dennis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "I'd like the memory of me to be a happy one, I'd like to leave an afterglow of smiles when life is done. I'd like to leave an echo of whispering softly down the ways, of happy times and bright and sunny days. I'd like the tears of those who grieve, to dry before the sun of happy memories that I leave when my life is done." Oak Ridge Cemetery. [2010]

Palmer, Massachusetts

'The Twelve' and Their Cemetery Namesakes ~ St. Thomas:  There were twelve disciples (actually more as replacements were necessitated). Why are cemeteries (and churches) named after only three or four of them? Isn't it amazing that St. Paul, not one of 'the twelve' is honored by so many cemetery names? The same goes for St. Michael, St Patrick, and St. Louis. Can someone identify a St. Thaddeus Cemetery or a St. Bartholomew Cemetery? St. Thomas, though, does have his share of sacred space. What accounts for his prominence in the pantheon of saints after whom cemeteries are named? St. Thomas Cemetery. [2013]

Wilbraham, Massachusetts

One True Love ~ A Man and His Tractor:  Just a few generations ago, it might have been the love between a man and his horse. Then, the tractor replaced the horse. Still, it was something to ride and, therefore, something to love. So beloved was this man's tractor that he chose it as a defining element of his life, along with his wife, of course. She holds a bouquet of flowers as if ready to welcome him back from the fields. East Wilbraham Cemetery. [2013]

Worcester, Massachusetts

The Cemetery as an Aviary:  The most common bird in the aviary is the dove, often portrayed (as here) carrying an olive branch. As the rains subsided, Noah sent forth, in succession, three birds. The third one, a second dove, returned to the ark with proof that humanity's home planet had not been permanently destroyed. A rebirth was coming: a foreshadowing of the rebirth that would be possible in Jesus Christ. The dove is seen as a symbol of peace, hope, love, and in this case, the wind beneath their wings. Notre Dame Cemetery. [2013]

Charlton, Massachusetts

Say Goodbye to Your Pastor:  That doesn't mean send him or her off to the cemetery; it just means that your old pastor may have to move on this month to a new charge. In the United Methodist Church, ministers serve at the pleasure of the Bishop. They are assigned to churches, not hired by them. The minister buried here would have served under the same rules, even though he served the Methodist Episcopal Church. Itinerating is a deeply-embedded Wesleyan tradition. As for the medallion: It proclaims the preacher buried here to be a Veteran of the Cross. Union Cemetery. [2013]

Worcester, Massachusetts

Golf Forever:  He must have prayed mightily from every course he ever golfed: Please God guide the ball to the green! Now, he is in God's care. Hope Cemetery. [2013]

South Dennis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

The Promise of the Wind Waker:  "Happiness is brief. It will not stay. God batters at its sails." So said Euripides. But, the happy days on Cape Cod Bay must have sustained them through the darker days of life, the days when the clouds weren't so white and puffy. Oak Ridge Cemetery. [2010]

Barnstable, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Coming for to Carry Me Home:  "God's Highest Angel," with an angelic name, is here interred. Addressed to a beloved son and brother, the trophy says: "You are now in the hands of angels." They came to carry him home. West Barnstable Cemetery. [2010]

Charlton, Massachusetts

Free-Standing Rondelles:  This one says "Veteran of the Cross Methodist Episcopal Church." Gravely Speaking, it marks the final resting place of a nineteenth-century clergyman, a Methodist minister. "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." James 1:12. Union Cemetery. [2013]

Springfield, Massachusetts

Cemeteries as Flag Charts ~ Cuba:  Cuba's national flag first flew over Morro Castle in Havana in 1902. Today, it flies over graves in cemeteries all over the United States: wherever Cuban immigrants have made their homes. The U.S. flag inspired the design. The American stars and stripes were born as a revolutionary flag and that is exactly what was needed in Cuba: a flag to commemorate a revolution, a revolution against Spain that brought the Cuban people long-overdue independence. Oak Grove Cemetery. [2013]

Worcester, Massachusetts

W is for Wasgatt:  Do you have a name that's not so common?  If you do, it might be even easier to formulate a family narrative. With only a little research, it's easy to see a colonial migration of Wasgatts from Lancashire in England to Massachusetts.  Even today, their largest numbers are in the Bay State and its down-east daughter, Maine. How do the shamrock and maple leaf fit the narrative? Roots in Ireland (not England?) and Canada would be one hypothesis. Notre Dame Cemetery. [2013]

Holyoke, Massachusetts

Rest in Peace:  Ersatz cemeteries appear all over in the days leading up to Halloween. Front yards like this one are prime locations. We can have such fun with the dead, can't we? [2013]