Monroe Presbyterian Cemetery

My husband and I decided that it would be a sin to stay in today as the weather was absolutely perfect (though we were still feeling the aftereffects of celebrating the completion of my master's program with some of my awesome coworkers last night).

We often take drives out in the country when we are bored, looking for old cemeteries to explore. I am always surprised how many we've driven past and never noticed. Monroe Presbyterian Cemetery is one such place. It was here I found several good examples of symbols I've seen before and one I had read about some time ago and had to look up again.

Garland or wreath: Victory or triumph. I have read two different interpretations as to what is being triumphed over or won. One explanation is that it symbolizes the triumph of death over life and the other is the exact opposite--everlasting life winning out over mortal death. I think I like the idea of the second one better, as it would seem like something a mourning relative might find comfort in.






















This is a variation of the Union shield, found on the graves of soldiers.















Drapery: Represents mourning. Notice the finial propped up on top. Someone takes really good care of this cemetery and makes an effort to match up broken pieces.






















The sleeping lamb, symbolic of innocence. Usually found, as in this case, on the graves of children.















The Mortal Coil. This is the first time I have seen the symbol on a stone in person. In addition to other meanings, I've read that it is an old Irish symbol of the universe or sun. Notice the engraved age of the child; when lives were often so short, they made note of every day of life. I notice this a lot in cemeteries with lots of epidemic burials as well.

Temple Church

Visiting temples, cathedrals or churches is part of my not-so-top-secret equation for an awesome vacation: house of worship+historical cemetery+local pub+botanical garden+local oddity+art and natural history museum=a trip where I do not let anyone sleep because there is SO MUCH TO SEE!

I admit I'm a whipcracker on vacation.

When my husband and I spent 3 1/2 weeks in London, Temple Church was high on our list of visiting priorities. We knew about this place long before The Davinci Code came out and though I am not personally a huge fan of the book, it was cool to see this church in the film later. In the U.S., anything over 100 years old is considered ancient. When standing in Temple Church, it blew my mind that it was built in 1185. It is one of only a handful of round Normal churches in England. The history is long and complicated and I will not attempt to go into it here, but this church was built by the Knights Templar in the time of the crusades. Later, the round part of the temple was constructed and this is where initiation rites took place. The stone knights in the floor are not graves (though this is a common misconception); they are simply effigies with mysterious positioning of the figures, the symbology of which has never quite been figured out.

Other interesting symbols can be found in the older part of the church where the effigies are. Typically, gargoyles are on the outside of buildings and sometimes serve as water spouts. In the case of Temple Church, however, the gargoyle faces appear inside the church and symbolize the evils of hell that await unrepentant sinners. Here, some sort of demon gnaws on an unfortunate soul's ear.

I think one of the most exciting things about this church is that it was somewhat difficult to locate. It is down an alley off Fleet Street in the financial district. There is a sharp contrast once you head down the alley away from the business suits and delicatessens. Nuns brushed past us as we traveled down the cobbled walk and suddenly the whole area opens up and there it is. It was actually quite shocking to see this huge open courtyard behind modern London buildings.

Visiting Info

Obama Mama

Traffic seemed a bit heavy this morning and I now know why--McCain's bus was parked in front of the Hilton Netherland Plaza, along with a good dozen or so police cars.

I just have one short message.

Words

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Originally uploaded by True North Two

I spotted this piece of graffiti while visiting Oxford University in the summer of 2003. I can't make out what most of it says, but I remember that it caught my eye because the word "Mister" looked like "Aleister" at first glance and I had just visited an Occult book store.

A Faithful Friend

From Forgotten Ohio:

"This is the grave of Johnny Morehouse and--according to legend--his dog, a pair who are Woodland's most famous ghostly residents. The story might be rooted in nothing more than an unusual tombstone, but this is what they say: Johnny fell into the Miami & Erie canal and froze to death, despite his faithful dog's efforts to pull him out. After he was buried, the dog laid on his gravesite and wouldn't be moved. Eventually it died from starvation and sadness. A special stone was made in 1861 to commemorate Johnny's dog's devotion. People leave toys, candy, and other trinkets on the stone--a ritual the cemetery management tolerates, as you can tell from the photo above."

I've visited this stone twice now (once in the winter when the cemetery was covered in snow and again the following summer). Both times, the monument was decorated with small trinkets and flowers. Someone even tied a bandanna on the dog's neck.

Symbols like this monument are important to perpetuating local legends. I suspect there is some truth to the story, though the Victorian penchant for all things dramatic makes it very likely that there was strong elaboration involved somewhere along the line.

I find it interesting the way in which physical objects with sketchy histories spawn stories that are passed down through the generations. It seems like every small town has a cry baby bridge, haunted cemetery or Satanic church. A creepy old building, a dangerous intersection, or even an abandoned playground likely has a story attached. The fun part is finding the kernel of truth behind the symbol.

If you would like to visit Johnny and his faithful dog, head to Dayton's Woodland Cemetery.
Sadly, the dog's head was recently cut off and stolen. A photo of the damage can be found on the Forgotten Ohio site.

Red Plum Run

I find this creek to be an interesting symbol of war, or rather, the aftereffects of battle.

This is Plum Run, located near Devil's Den, Slaughter Pen and Triangular Field on the Gettysburg Battleground. As history buffs may know, this area was the site of a brutal collision between Union and Confederate forces, with the former being trapped in the craggy boulders and catching their feet in the large fissures. The famous Dead Sharpshooter photo was posed on the rocks. Bodies lay decomposing in the hot sun for nearly a week after the clash.

According to legend, this creek, which was swollen beyond its banks when we visited one rainy early March week, ran red with blood after the fighting. While I'm not entirely convinced that is true, I think it's an interesting piece of legend that symbolizes not only the horrors of war, but also the symbolic cleansing powers of water with allusions to baptism.

Read more about this area of the battlefield here:

http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/getttour/tstops/tstd2-11.htm

Hooves and Heroes

This is one from the archives.

Way back when I was in eighth grade, we went on a class trip to Washington D.C. I remember a tour guide telling us that military statues of men mounted on horses were symbolic of the ways in which they died. All you had to do was look at the number of feet the horse had on the ground to tell how they met their fates. This bit of information was given to me several times over the years in various high school and college history classes.

I recently had the occasion to research the validity of this bit of folk wisdom when I was going through some pictures from a trip to Gettysburg. After doing a quick Google search, I landed on a site I use often, www.snopes.com. As you may know, this site is dedicated to addressing urban legends and rumors, giving each story a rating of true, false or unconfirmed. According to the site, this rule for statues is sometimes, though not always, true. However, an exception is the statues in Gettysburg, which seem to fit the rule with a known exception of a single statue—that of James Longstreet (last photo).. He did not die in battle, but passed away from pneumonia later in life.

The code is generally as follows:

• One hoof raised: The rider was wounded in battle and may have died from his injuries with some exception

• Two hooves raised: The rider perished in battle

• All hooves on ground: The rider came out of battle unscathed

While Snopes calls the code false, it offers many examples of statues that follow the rule. My theory is that it started somewhere but became loose after time or we simply apply the code to memorials that were not thought out in this manner.

The Talented Mr. Ripley

This is the bust of abolitionist John Rankin of Ripley, Ohio. This monument stands over his grave, just minutes from his house, which was part of the Underground Railroad and can still be visited today.
















Unlike the monuments that usually attract my attention, this one is far from subtle and not at all symbolic, but it still something I always look for when visiting. In fact, my husband and I sometimes take rides out past Ripley and play a game of who can spot Mr. Rankin first.

If you are ever passing through this sleepy little river town, I encourage you to stop by the Rankin house. The hours are seasonal and the road up there is long and winding, so plan ahead if you can. Nothing worse than getting all the way to the top to find it closed!

Rankin Information

Lamb and Willow

This is a lovely example of two traditional Victorian symbols of mourning, the lamb and the willow tree. While the lamb on its own is often symbolic of a child, in combination with other symbols it is common on monuments of people of all ages. I spotted this beauty in Red Oak Cemetery in Georgetown, Ohio. This is one of the most peaceful and quiet cemeteries I have ever visited. There is a newer section at the front of the property, with the older stones behind a fence in the back.

Aunt Jemima (Rosie Riles) is buried in the newer section. When I was little, I remember her grave being laden with a makeshift memorial with stick-on mailbox letters and fake flowers. At my last visit, she had a nice stone with her likeness on it.

Short hiatus...back soon

I was busy studying for and then taking my master's degree exams in the past few weeks so I have been out of touch with the real world outside of work.

More posts coming soon, but until then check this out:

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=156464&in_page_id=34

Very clever. I would love to find one of these. When we were little, my mom would paint our names on the shells of box turtles we caught and released. I always wondered what happened to those little guys.