Brownsdale, Minnesota

The Last Camping Trip ~ From Tents to Trailers and Beyond:  Mountains like that in Minnesota? or mountains in their minds as they fished the state's 10,000 lakes? He and his wife probably had a favorite one, though, and there they parked their RV for all eternity. You do remember Minnesota's nickname, right? The Land of Ten Thousand Lakes. Greenwood Cemetery. [2019]

 

Austin, Minnesota

Burial or Cremation?  If you are going to be buried, one possibility is to be buried underground. A memorial marker is not required, but if you choose to mark the interment, the lawn-cemetery option is a popular one. The marker is flush with the ground, so that riding mowers can do their job efficiently. Grandview Cemetery. [2019]

St. Charles, Minnesota

The First Shall be Last, and The Last First:  Why a month of A-names, you ask? Because we had a month of Z-names at the beginning of the year. As the ZZZs led the parade into annum 2019, the AAAs are going to take us out. Such reversals are, of course, a violation of natural order, but we will all get through it. Any questions? Just ask. [2019]

Osakis, Minnesota

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  Zins (and Zinn) are names that denoted tenant farmers in medieval Germany. As of the turn of the 21st century, almost 40 percent of Minnesota's population listed German ancestry on their Census questionnaires. When the Germans, with their Z names, came to the U.S., they changed not only locations, but also pronunciations. In German, initial Zs are pronounced as TS. (not Z). Calvary Cemetery. [2012]

Lancaster, Minnestoa

L is for Larter:  A bell: it seems like a natural fit for graveyards. Bells are used in life to mark and memorialize beginnings and endings. But, they are rare in cemeteries, even though their purpose is memorialization. Maybe bell ringing contradicts the quietness that is supposed to set the tone for grieving. The best thing about this bell is that it can be rung, perhaps at night while someone is explaining how the term "graveyard shift" came into use. Riverview Memorial Gardens. [2012]

Lancaster, Minnesota

Equophilia:  Love of horses is known as equophilia. It afflicts a lot of people who dream of seeing their beloved steads on the other side of eternity. At least, that is what Brenda Riley-Seymore posits in her poem "Don't Cry for the Horses."  Read the last three stanzas below. Riverview Memorial Gardens. [2012]

    "Look up into heaven
You'll see them above
The horses we lost
The horses we loved
    "Manes and tails flowing
They Gallop through time
They were never yours
They were never mine
    "Don't cry for the horses
They will be back someday
When our time has come
They will show us the way”

Lancaster, Minnesota

Be My Valentine:  Did you remember your mom today? Here's a headstone that seems to have jumped off a Valentine's card. Hey, Hallmark: Does this memorial give you any ideas for investment? Headline of the future: "Hallmark Takes Its Sympathy Cards to the Cemetery With a New Line of Permanent Memorials For Your Loved Ones' Graves." Riverview Memorial Gardens. [2012]

Our Angel in Heaven
Forever in our Hearts
"We Miss You Mom"