It’s a small world after all…

I don’t remember why I originally snapped this photo months ago, but when I was flipping through my work looking to write about it, I saw something new there. One of the classes I attended at Pennsic was about Canterbury Cathedral in Great Britain, and the instructor had become interested in the area partially because she was able to trace her family to the nearby Isle of Thanet. Imagine my surprise when I realized that Edward Gifford, buried in Strongsville, Ohio, began his life across the sea in the same small place as her ancestors.

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What could be sweeter than this?

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Collins Wordless Wednesday

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Why seek ye the living among the dead

Hannah Martin’s quote is an expression of her faith. “Why seek ye the living among the dead” is from Luke 24:5 of the Bible, asked by angels of the women who come seeking Christ in his tomb.

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Killed in battle

Based on some research on the 124th OVI that Thomas Gifford was a part of, I think the inscription here says that he was killed in the Battle of Dallas, Georgia. The battle was actually a series of smaller engagements that occurred in late May and early June of 1864 that were part of the Atlanta campaign.

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The Empty Chair

The symbolism of the empty chair isn’t limited to cemeteries. It’s how the likelihood of Tiny Tim’s death is revealed to Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. Those who have ever watched Les Miserables know the song “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,” sung by one of the few survivors of a failed revolution to his fallen comrades. An unoccupied chair is a silent reminder of those who are not with us.

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I found another tumulus!

Just like here, except that this one is from Woodland Cemetery in Dayton.

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Angel and stars

It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for old tombstones. There are a number of modern cemetery conventions that I’m not fond of, like the memorial gardens with only flat markers. But sometimes current technology produces amazing works of art.

I can’t get over the beauty of the angel etched into this stone. She’s strikingly realistic – possibly based on the woman below. The little gold stars placed strategically on the stone are perfect.

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Flag retirement repository

This probably isn’t the first time I’ve seen one of these, it’s probably just the first time I’ve gotten up close and personal enough to recognize what it is. It’s a flag retirement repository. According to Woodland Cemetery’s website, anyone who has a United States or Ohio state flag that is no longer in good enough condition to be flown can bring the flag to the cemetery office during normal business hours. The flags are stored until Flag Day (June 14) and then burned as part of a formal retirement ceremony. The repository is located adjacent to the G.A.R. section of the cemetery.

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Paul Laurence Dunbar Wordless Wednesday

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