One might think that graving is a relatively safe hobby. After all, who is going to cause you harm in such a sacred place, and what type of criminal would be lurking around a graveyard anyway?
April 2007
8 posts
Growing up in southern Louisiana, I never thought to question our traditions of above-ground burial or the methods in which multiple family members were interred in a seemingly small crypt. These were common things; burial customs that were accepted and understood by nearly everyone.
Embalming a body for transient preservation is an archaic practice that can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians - and was used perhaps even before. Though the methods have changed somewhat, the idea of bodily preservation by removing the fluids and replacing them with chemicals (natural or unnatural) has remained the same.
Rosedale Cemetery, the site of a recent graving trip, has a set of large, brick family tombs that I noticed had been renovated in the not so distant past.
Stumbling upon the markers of two family members this past weekend was a fruitful and exciting find. Yet it also brings to bear my “story behind every marker” concept.
My mother and I went on an impromptu graving trip this weekend, and ended up in Rosedale Cemetery to snap a grave photo of a childhood friend of hers who passed in 1983. It was to be a quick in and out ordeal - take the photo and head home.