Friday, August 21, 2009

Remembering



Learning about the past can take place in a museum, or by reading a good book. But sometimes going to where history was made provides us with the most connection to those who lived before and created history. The rural areas of the west can be barren and dry, appearing to those not really observing that nothing is there but sagebrush, scrub trees, and dried grasses. But with attention and care, pockets of history can be found in the most unusual places. Old cemeteries are common next to ghost towns and set amidst otherwise abandoned places. Visiting them, even though they are usually filled with weeds, broken headstones, and dirt paths, is interesting and teaches so much about the past. Many of the headstones reveal pioneers who traveled by wagon train, or tiny children who died in epidemics or a birth. Sometimes the headstone of a young mother marks where a young mother lies next to her child; they were both lost with childbirth. Beautiful carved headstones are sometimes the only reminder of who was before. Created with detail, attention, and care --- they represent the devotion of those who loved them.

Sally and Rylan are pictured, reading headstones at a cemetery on a lonely hillside near Maryhill. Photo by Brandon.

Click on the photo for a larger view.

3 comments:

  1. Well, I thought I was the only one who loved roaming through old cemetaries...guess not! I always find it so fascinating for some reason. I guess it's thinking about the people who have lived before and what their lives were like.

    It's especially touching to find the headstone of an ancestor. I think it keeps us connected to the past.

    Sandra

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  2. I too enjoy walking through good old cemeteries. Great photos!

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  3. I have often listened to the story of Maryhill. It's kind of a sad story....but charming at the same time. You have peaked my interest in seeing the grave sites of earlier times.

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