Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

"In cocoons, a hidden promise: Butterflies will soon be free!"  His butterfly seems to be a moth drawn to the light or to the lights of Three River Stadium in Pittsburgh. He might have lived a life cocooned in Steeler culture, and now as free as a butterfly. Mechanicsburg Cemetery. [2014]

Kennett Square, Pennsylvania

Unicorns on Parade:  Add two more rearing unicorns to the parade. They honor a woman in her late 20s when she died. There is no indication she was married, which would fit the unicorn legend that states only a virgin (with bared breasts!) can catch a unicorn. In fact, the Virgin Mary was depicted in a famous painting, in Poland's National Museum, holding a unicorn, presumably one that she had caught. Note, however, how much longer the horn is in the painting. See below. St. Patrick's Cemetery. [2014]

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Burial or Cremation?  That price is probably for the burial space alone, not for opening the grave or the funeral. Remember that the purchase of a burial space does not mean you own the land, you own a single-use permit to use the land for burial in perpetuity. Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens. [2014]

Thomasville, Pennsylvania

Picture-Perfect Farmsteads:  Welcome to Paradise. That is the name of the churchyard where they are buried. That is also probably what they considered their farm. And, that is where at least one of them (and maybe two by this time) is right now. One thing is for sure: The farm is absent of people, so something must have happened. Paradise Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery. [2014]

Hummelstown, Pennsylvania

Picture-Perfect Farmsteads:  What constitutes a farmstead? Barn, house, and outbuildings. If you grew up on one, your farm was your castle. It was probably more like heaven than anywhere else on earth. This month, expect a tapestry of farmsteads, the places many Americans called home. Hanoverdale Church Cemetery. [2019]

Wellsboro, Pennsylvania

Give Me That Old-Time Technology: At one time you played a typewriter like you played a piano: It took physical force to move the keys. Then came the electronic typewriter where only a light touch was needed to imprint a letter on the page. The transition decade was the 1960s. Wellsboro Cemetery. [2013]

Mercersburg, Pennsylvania

Portraits Etched into Granite:  A family of four became a family of three with the loss of a son and brother. Not a day passes that they do not reflect on what might have been. Fairview Cemetery. [2010]

Schellsburg, Pennsylvania

Portraits Etched into Granite:  She was proud to be a Christian and is now gone: whisked off by an angel and delivered into the arms of God. What did the angel say on that fateful day? "Fear Not!" It is all angels' signature phrase. Old Log Church Cemetery. [2018]

Abbottstown, Pennsylvania

Adjacencies ~ Churches:  What is adjacent to the cemetery? The most common answer, and certainly the most traditional, is a church. The church and cemetery are coupled components of landscape tapestries all over the Christian realm. Whatever is next door to the cemetery gives it character. April is the month to look at "adjacencies." Mummert's Church Cemetery. [2017]

Duncannon, Pennsylvania

Identity Headwear ~ Football Players:  The football helmet is worn only for short periods of time and under very specific circumstances. Yet, even though no one ever wears one but on the gridiron, it is among the most common emblems on cemetery headstones. Evergreen Cemetery. [2013]

Newville, Pennsylvania

Log Cabins Forever:  That cabin is big enough for the whole family. Who wants the room upstairs? Who wants to build a treehouse in the branches overhead? Who wants to claim the front porch? A month of cabins has come to an end. Make sure you caught them all. Newville Cemetery. [2015]

Strinestown, Pennsylvania

Log Cabins Forever:  Around Strinestown, there are no mountains like the ones on this headstone. In fact, the winters end up being more rain and slush than a continuous blanket of white. That doesn't matter though. The cabin and its setting are renditions of what's in the mind, not what's on the ground. Strinestown Cemetery. [2014]

Shiremanstown, Pennsylvania

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  How literate are you in the language of headstones? On this one, there is not much information, but enough to tie it into the sweep of world history. You may not recognize the national origin of the name Zandieh, but if you are logo-literate, you can figure it out. Just pay attention to the enneagram that attracts more attention than the name. It is a common symbol of the Baha'i faith in which 9 is considered "the sign of perfection." With that in mind, here is someone who may have fled the episodic persecution of Baha'is in their country of origin. What country would that be? Peace Church Cemetery. [2018]

Shiremanstown, Pennsylvania

The Last Shall Be First, and The First Last:  Far more common than Zimmer is the family name Zimmerman. In fact, it is the most common Z name in the entire U.S. That must mean there were a lot of carpenters in the "old country." What is just a bit unorthodox about this grave is that the wife is buried to the right of her husband. That is probably not the way they stood facing the altar when they got married. While we are at it, let's acknowledge other Pennsylvania Dutch Z names: Zerbe, for instance. Peace Church Cemetery. [2018]

Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania

End-of-Year Epitaphs:  "Wow! What a Ride!" It's what we all want to be able to say when we see that divine light at the end of the tunnel. Mt. Tunnel Cemetery. [2014]

Pine Grove, Pennsylvania

Surname Initials as Identifying Logos ~ Z:  The letter Z is the 26th most frequently used letter in the English language: both last in letter order and last in letter usage. If your last name begins, with Z, you've had a lifetime of being last. But, remember: The first shall be last, and the last first. Jacobs Lutheran Church Cemetery. [2017]

Greencastle, Pennsylvania

Bequeathed to the Living ~ Biker Wisdom:   "It is what it is. Live to Ride. Ride to Live." Cedar Hill Cemetery. [2018]

Newberrytown, Pennsylvania

Bequeathed to the Living ~ Final Philosophies:  "Life is a voyage, homeward bound." Paddleford Cemetery. [2017]

Pine Grove, Pennsylvania

The Lutheran Churchyard:  In the agrarian past, denominations (Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, whatever) were united by their spatial form. Small churches along well-traveled country roads, often at intersections, gave birth to burial places right outside the sanctuary door. Here both church and churchyard survive, but sometimes the churches disappear while the churchyards go on forever. Jacobs Lutheran Church. [2017]

Duncannon, Pennsylvania

Voices from the Grave ~ First Person Singular Subjective Case:  "With all my tattoos I know I scared people, but that's how I am. With all my piercings that's how I am. With my belt between my legs that's how people know who I am. I am with my color hair that's how I stand out. With my outfits people look at me weird but that's how I stand out one more time. Just say with me that's just how I am." Duncannon Cemetery. [2014]