As I had advertised in advance, this past Sunday was the Historic Cleveland Cemeteries Scavenger Hunt, sponsored by the Woodland Cemetery Foundation and the Monroe Street Cemetery Foundation. Monroe Street Cemetery is unfortunately closed due a the gate collapse, so the scavenger hunt started at Erie Street Cemetery.
At Erie Street Cemetery, participants received a crossword puzzle and then had to visit a dozen or so graves marked with balloons to solve the puzzle. Once the puzzle was solved and confirmed as correct, you drew three cards for your poker hand and could set off for Woodland Cemetery.
At Woodland Cemetery, which is much larger and provided a lot more opportunity for clues, the challenge was steeper. To participate, you chose a quadrant of the cemetery and then received a map of that quadrants sections and a series of photographs of epitaphs from tombstones. For each tombstone, you received the section and lot (and grave number if applicable) and the epitaph both photographed and written.
You had to locate the monument and discover the family name associated with the epitaph.
After completing that, you received the final two cards for your poker hand, as well as any bonus cards (obtained through bonus questions or purchase). There were monetary prizes for the best poker hand, dead man’s hand (which went unclaimed), and the worst poker hand.
The afternoon also included raffles and a Chinese auction for gift baskets donated by local businesses and organizations. We left with both gift certificates for a local restaurant we frequent, but I did not win the Monroe Street Cemetery gift basket that I was hoping for. Maybe next year.
All in all, it was a delightful day, and I look forward to more events like it!
A Grave Concern 