Archive for Cemeteries
St. Patrick Cemetery- Crosses at Dawn
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It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything cemetery related over here- it’s all been going up at the Graveyard Rabbit site, so if you’d like to see more, that’s where to find it!
Anthropomorphizing as all getout, but…
Posted by: | CommentsTell me this cloud doesn’t look like another angel floating over the Italian Benevolent Society Tomb in St. Louis No 1?
Michael Jackson Second Line
Posted by: | CommentsWell, the King of Pop didn’t really have a New Orleans connection, but we threw him a party anyway. Like we do.
Normally, a Second Line follows after a funeral or memorial service, but since he’s not being buried here regardless, I guess they decided to just go ahead and do it now. After all, is he even being buried? I remember hearing talk about a cryogenic process, but who knows if that was truth or tabloid fodder.
Whichever, it was held on Sunday afternoon in ungodly, stifling heat, but that didn’t stop everybody from dancing up a storm and having a great time. (to be fair, not everybody. I wimped out at home, in the AC, which is why I’m cheating and using the Times Picayune’s video.)
| VIDEO: Huge second-line honors Pop King Michael Jackson |
New Orleans Graveyard Rabbits
Posted by: | CommentsJust a brief programming note…
I was honored to be accepted as the new New Orleans Graveyard Rabbit, the Rabbits being
(an) association dedicated to the academic promotion of the historical importance of cemeteries, grave markers, and the family history to be learned from a study of burial customs, burying grounds, and tombstones; and the social promotion of the study of cemeteries, the preservation of cemeteries, and the transcription of genealogical/historical information written in cemeteries.
One of their members reached out to me on Facebook, and for now I have a sub-domain set up on my other blog but will likely move it out to its own URL soon.
I’m not going to cross post everything graveyard related here, soNOLAGR will carry more detailed info on cemetery/burial traditions from here on out.
There are already a few things that are over there that haven’t appeared on NoteworthyInNola, so if that’s the kinda thing that floats your boat, or maybe you’d like to know just what the hell this is about:
Head over to LifeInTheLandofDreamyDreams.com/NOLAGR and let me know what you think~
Thanks, everybody!
Offner Lighthouse- Chevra Thilim Cemetery
Posted by: | CommentsFounded in 1858, this Jewish cemetery is the first one you come to when riding the streetcar out to the end of Canal Street to the cemeteries, but it’s easy to miss. There are no tombs, and most burials are low to the ground and in the more traditional American style- one body per plot.
Without any big marble structures, Chevra Thilim is easy to miss, especially since it’s dwarfed by a huge white mansion along side it- once a funeral home in it’s, now home of a ‘para-complex,’ where they give ghost tours and test your potential for ESP.
With the low-lying landscape, there’s one tomb that stands out, the Harry Offner lighthouse.
At 11 feet high and including much detail, it’s hard to miss. Mr. Offner was a president of the Lighthouse for the Blind, and chose to be buried under their symbol.
Louis Prima Tomb- Lakelawn Metairie Cemetery
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Louis is one of those New Orleans icons who goes through a resurgence every few years, and I confess that I just love the guy.
A larger than life personality, he’s remembered as much for his movies and his Vegas act as his music. Prima was born and raised in downtown New Orleans, working in the pit of the Saenger theater before moving onto Bourbon Street’s Red Door and the big time after Benny Goodman had him write several songs for him which became hits.
Five wives and several fortunes won and lost later, he fell into a coma due to a brain tumor in 1975, hanging on for three years before his death. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery briefly before moving into this fabulous tomb, with the Angel Gabriel atop it to welcome him home. (EDIT: Thanks to the fabulous Kim, we know the sculptor was Alexei Kazantsev and it was placed in the mid-90s.)
The inscription reads:
Dec. 7 1910-Aug 24, 1978
A LEGEND
When the end comes
I know
they’ll say,
“Just a Gigolo”
As life goes on without me.Lovingly, your little family
Gia
Lena Ann
and Louis Jr.
Gia was his last wife, and although he had five children only those they had together are on the inscription. She now manages LouisPrima.com, and keeps his name alive.
Sadly, there aren’t many videos out there of him performing live, but here’s one of the song from the inscription. The sound doesn’t quite match the action, but it’s a lot of fun anyway.
St. Louis No. 2
Posted by: | CommentsThis society tomb’s marble is long gone, but I’d guess the recent brick- loss was from Gustav, since the inside is in really excellent shape and likely hasn’t been exposed very long.
You can see the roof beams are still in place, and the bricks quite solid, but the amazing thing is that sheet of slate that served as a shelf for the coffin. This particular tomb held four coffins at a time, each (even the bottom) on one of those shelves, with an open area below.
Of the many open tombs you see around the city, this is the first with a liner still inside that I’ve seen. The fact that it’s up high will help it last a little longer, and maybe (tho not likely) they’ll patch it up before it starts to crumble.
It’s also lost half of the bottom tomb, thanks to our super soft soil and high water table.
Perseverance Fire Co. No. 13
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Perseverance Fire Co. No. 13
Cypress Grove was opened in 1838 specifically for the volunteer firemen and their families. Many surviving family members had their dead disinterred and moved here, once it was in operation.
Located at the very end of Canal, this is one of the smaller cemeteries, but still really interesting.
The above is a society tomb originally opened for one of the fire companies, built in 1840. It’s located close to the entrance and is so white it absolutely gleams.
Holt at Dawn
Posted by: | CommentsSorry for all the cemetery pix lately, I’m working on a story about them, so I’ve been spending a lot of time in and around them doing research.
Country Cajun Cemetery
Posted by: | CommentsWhen we were on our road trip around the coast of Louisiana, we stopped into Rayne, a teeny tiny town that happened to lead to Hawk’s, a locally famous crawfish place in the middle of nowhere.
Along this country road was this cemetery- it, like everything else around, was pretty small, but as we passed by I wondered why there was a carport in the middle of the thing. Since it was still light when we came back through, we stopped for a bit.
Despite having only a few dozen graves, there were some really interesting things. They like their statues in Rayne, they do. Lots of them about. And several had quotes and such on them, something that doesn’t seem to happen much in New Orleans.
And there was certainly a sense of style. Take Gertrude Hamilton Johnston’s marker, complete with dog etchings:
A slideshow gallery follows after the jump with more, including the carport that originally caught our eye.
