This blog post will be of the most interest to our family. And before you read it, you need to understand that we used to own a funeral home; John grew up in a funeral home; his dad, his brother and he were all funeral directors; the family used to own two cemeteries.
Today we drove to the Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati to visit the graves of John's great-great-great grandfather. More about that in another blog. We have been in many cemeteries over the years and this is the most beautiful one we have ever seen.
Our first stop was in the cemetery office. As we approached the front door, a woman walked out and said, "I've never seen a cemetery with a visitor center!" We went and asked for directions to the grave we wanted to visit. David Simon, family service advisor, said "I can help you." He asked us to have a seat, gave us a map to find the grave, and graciously gave us much more information than we had expected.
We were given a sheet of information on the iconography used in cemeteries. He also gave us a list of revolutionary soldiers and Civil War generals that are buried there. He directed us to the Cedars of Lebanon Chapel and Mausoleum, which has 33 magnificent stained and faceted windows. Here are just a few.
The mausoleum also has several sections of crypts for urns holding cremated remains. We had seen such crypts with marble or brass fronts. These were all glass and the urns inside were beautiful and allowed families to reflect a little of the person who has died.
The cemetery grounds are also lovely. Spring Grove was dedicated on August 28, 1845. Members of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society formed a cemetery association to provide proper interment facilities for the city. Today, it is named Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum. The public is invited to not only visit the graves there, but also to enjoy the peace and beauty, to learn about the trees and plants growing there, and to use the roads for walking and running.
The gravestones are beautiful sculptures and monuments, works of art on their own.
The weather today was hot and as we were walking around the grounds, the security guard who patrols the cemetery stopped and gave us each an ice cold bottle of water.
We came away impressed with the beauty of the place, with the work they go to maintain the grounds for families whose loved ones are there, and how friendly and helpful and caring the staff are. We admired and appreciated all that Spring Grove is.
If you want to see all the photos we took in the cemetery, you can access the online album
here.
Don't know if you've been to VT, Hope Cemetery in Barre VT where stone carvings depict the deceases favorite hobby. I have a cousin whose family has been in the funeral business for a few generations, always interesting going to their house.
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