Stones With a Story

Bollinger County Memorial Park 11-11-2013I love roaming around in cemeteries. It’s a good way to get a feel for communities: how old they are; who the prominent families are; when epidemics swept through… Most tombstones are pretty ordinary: birth date, death date and a standard inscription.

Sometimes, though, you stumble across stones with personality. This beautiful shoe in Bollinger County Memorial Park caught my eye from five rows away. I just had to see what that was all about. (Click on the photos to make them larger.)

Husband: “I Made It”

Bollinger County Memorial Park 11-11-2013It turned out to be a pair of tombstones side by side for Roger Elmer Damlow and Wilma Lee Damlow. His stone has the symbol of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America on it.

At the bottom is the inscription, “I MADE IT,” which you would think appropriate for a craftsman.

Wife: “I spent it”

Bollinger County Memorial Park 11-11-2013His wife’s stone, though, gives his phrase a different spin. “I SPENT IT,” it proclaims. Her stone is decorated with logos for designer products. (I have to wonder if those companies will go after her for trademark infringement or if they will be flattered to be remembered that way?)

Since neither of the stones has a death date on it, the couple is probably still alive and could tell the story behind the stones, but I’d rather speculate.

Penny Lou Klingel

Klingel grave - Lightner & St Joseph Cemtery Scott City 11-08-2013Penny Lou Klingel’s marker in Scott City’s Lightner & St. Joseph Cemetery was strikingly unusual from the front. I spotted its shape from a distance, grabbed a telephoto lens to get a closer look, then had to walk up to see what the back looked like.

“Later, Dummies”

Klingel grave - Lightner & St Joseph Cemtery Scott City 11-08-2013

It was worth the walk. The back side of the stone that had the kicker: “Later, Dummies.”

I can only guess that was one of her favorite sayings.

Here is a link to a set of tombstones I found in Athens, Ohio, this summer. One was heartrending; the other had a touch of whimsy.

 

 

Veterans Day Flags 2013

Bollinger County Memorial Park 11-11-2013While I was prowling around Bollinger County Memorial Park last week, I noticed flag holders along the driveways. Unlike Cape County’s North Park, these have markers honoring the servicemen and women. I don’t know if the flags match the markers, but I suppose it’s the thought that counts. Anyway, I made a note to take a look back there on Veterans Day.

Of course, to get to Marble Hill from Cape, you have to pass North park, so I had to pull in there, too. It wasn’t the greatest day for pictures. Unlike some of the other times I’ve shot the flags, the sky was mostly overcast and the wind wasn’t whipping the flags very much.

Past Flag photos

Veterans Day photo gallery from Cape Girardeau and Bollinger counties.

Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the sides to move through the gallery. (The first two shots are from Cape County; the rest are from near Marble Hill.)