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The
Living Are Playing Among The Dead Again
This article is not about the Sacramento Historical
City Cemetery. It does have obvious relevance, however, so
it has been reproduced here.
By
Haya El Nasser
Tues., Sept. 8, 1998
FIRST EDITION (USA
Today)
Section: NEWS, Page 17A
It
was a romantic setting for Wendy and Roger Kaiser's
wedding last April: a chapel amid acres of landscaped
greenery, winding roads, majestic marble monuments and a
lovely lake.
But
there was also something unsettling about the bucolic
backdrop: acres of tombstones and mausoleums.
``It's
a stunning cemetery,'' says Wendy Kaiser, 40, who was
married at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo. ``It's a
place that my husband and I would go to to have lunch on
occasion. It's quiet. You can take walks and have
privacy, and the tombstones are fascinating.''
More
and more people are finding nothing morbid about
frolicking among the dead as cemeteries become the new
social gathering places in cities around the country.
From weddings, Boy Scout camp-outs and picnics, to foot
races, carnivals and concerts, cemeteries are becoming
playgrounds for the living, not just resting places for
the dead.
Many
are opening their gates not only to heighten awareness
of a community's history but also to raise money for
maintenance. And in many congested cities,
cemeteries provide rare open space and natural beauty.
On
weekend mornings, parts of Congressional Cemetery in
Washington sound and look more like a scene outside a
neighborhood Starbucks. Lawyers, journalists,
congressional aides and other residents of nearby
Capitol Hill meet for bagels and coffee, read newspapers
and chat while their dogs romp among the graves (owners
must pick up after them). They're members of a
dog-walking club that helps pay for the upkeep of the
191-year-old cemetery.
``It's
a beautiful way to start your morning,'' says Ann Quarzo,
a writer who walks her dog Maggie every day at
Congressional, the only public space in Washington that
lets dogs run without a leash. ``You can meditate,
reflect, get your thoughts together.''
These
happy gatherings in the midst of the dead may strike
some as disrespectful. But cemetery historians and the
people who are rediscovering the peaceful beauty of
cemeteries disagree.
``I
tend to think they like the company,'' says Jack McGrath
of the dead buried at Congressional, who include FBI
chief J. Edgar Hoover and entertainer John Philip Sousa.
Just
how many cemeteries allow nontraditional events on their
grounds is unclear. But the ones that do have had few
complaints. And cemeteries are careful not to schedule
events on holidays or when there are burials.
``It's
a wonderful trend because it's a celebration of the
past,'' says Susan Olsen, a gravestones and cemeteries
expert on Congressional's board.
``When
you go to the graves, it's not just the names, it's the
epitaphs. Everything carries a meaning, and people are
trying to get in tune with history.''
Many
of the cemeteries that welcome spirited activities were
originally intended to do just that. In the early 1800s,
cemeteries evolved from small, overcrowded graveyards
next to churches to majestic gardens outside the city.
The
rural, or garden, cemetery movement created beautiful
parks on hundreds of acres to provide a gathering place
for the community -- a place to pay respects to the dead
while celebrating life. Families would spend Sundays
taking carriage rides, picnicking by the lake or
birdwatching.
But
that was a time when people were accustomed to facing up
to their own mortality. Dead relatives were almost
always laid out in people's homes for viewing, usually
in the parlor. The outlook on death changed dramatically
this century. Funeral homes opened. Viewings were held
there instead of at home, and people began calling their
parlors ``living'' rooms. At the same time, advances in
medical research put the spotlight on living longer --
not dying.
So
why the sudden revival of interest in cemeteries among
the living? The shortage of open space and park-like
settings in congested areas, for one. But it's also
largely because the corporations and nonprofit groups
that run cemeteries need public support and can gain
from attracting visitors. Getting people to fall in love
with a cemetery is a good way to get them to buy a
burial plot.
Kaiser,
for example, already knows she wants to be buried at
Forest Lawn. She envisions this epitaph on her
tombstone: ``I got married here, and I got buried
here.''
Mount
Emblem in Elmhurst, Ill., is owned by Service
Corporation International, the world's largest funeral
and cemetery company. It welcomes couples who want their
wedding photos taken there and families who want to
picnic by the lake.
For
nonprofit cemeteries, visitors help with fund-raising.
Privately owned cemeteries such as Congressional rely on
donations to preserve the cemetery. When families of
those buried there die themselves, the money often stops
flowing.
Last
year, the National Trust for Historic Preservation
declared Congressional one of the 11 most endangered
historic sites in America. The grass was overgrown,
weeds masked tombstones and people were afraid to visit
the cemetery, which is in a risky neighborhood next to
the city's jail.
Volunteers
have joined to restore and maintain the cemetery. One of
the ways to raise money is the dog-walking club.
The 150 members of the dog-walking club pay dues of $100
a year, plus $5 per dog.
Crown
Hill in Indianapolis, a 550-acre cemetery three miles
from downtown and the largest urban cemetery in the
country, is a favorite of athletes. Butler University's
cross-country team trains there. Every March, the
cemetery hosts The Race Through Hoosier History, a
5-mile run and 3-mile walk that highlights historic
figures buried at Crown Hill, including President
Benjamin Harrison and bank robber John Dillinger.
At
Mount Auburn Cemetery outside Boston, visitors can buy
or rent a 60-minute audio cassette tour of the grounds.
Mount Auburn is a botanical garden that attracts
students from kindergarten to college, and plenty of
lovers. It's on a list of the most romantic places in
the Boston area.
``I've
had people tell me they were proposed to at Mount
Auburn,'' says Janet Heywood, director of interpretive
programs for the cemetery. ``I've also had someone tell
me this is where they decided to get divorced. I guess
it works both ways.''
Woodlawn
Cemetery in the Bronx honors the musical giants buried
there -- including Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and
George M. Cohen -- by organizing concerts.
And
in Cleveland, Boy Scout troops camp out at Lake View
Cemetery, a perfect site for ghost stories. Every
year, the cemetery hosts a Heritage Weekend in honor of
President James Garfield, who is buried there. But
rather than being a somber weekend, families enjoy food
and ice cream sold by vendors and children get their
faces painted.
Kaiser,
the newlywed, says, ``What better way to celebrate life,
to celebrate that we're all living.''
Reprinted
from USA Today (www.usatoday.com)
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