Haunting Cemeteries

The poet Baudelaire's cenotaph, Montparnasse Cemetery Paris. A cenotaph is an empty grave. Baudelaire is actually buried in a different division of the same cemetery.

For as long as I can remember, I have loved visiting cemeteries. Growing up on the East Coast, the graveyards there tend to be pretty old, and as a history buff, I would love to read the inscriptions and see the beautiful statuary. Out here in the West, the graves are not so old, however, where I live here In Laporte, many Native Americans are buried all around us, in unmarked places. This area was a large gathering place for many tribes, including the Arapaho and Cheyenne, who were welcomed by Anglo fur trappers who made their living here. Many of the trappers would take their skins to Fort Laramie, to the east, to trade for other goods. These men often married Lakota and Dakota women from that area, as females tended to be scarce out here, and brought them home to Laporte, back then known as the town of "Colona." Colona was a thriving town and community long before Fort Collins existed, and we have a fascinating history. (I'll save that for a future blog post.)

But what does this have to do with cemeteries? Well, it was a practice with some Native Americans to erect scaffolds high up in the old cottonwood trees and leave their dead on them, so that nature could take its course. Once the body became mummified, they'd retrieve the bones and bury them someplace else. So my entire neighborhood might be a giant graveyard.

This month, NPR, National Public Radio, has been doing pieces on interesting cemeteries around the world, in a program called "Dead Stop"--"A summer road trip visiting strange, funny, historic and notable gravesites and cemeteries." This is right up my alley, and I've enjoyed each and every one of their installments.

Old grave (note the symbols of the hour glass and skull) in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Ephrata, PA.

Holocaust Memorial to those buried in unknown places, Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Paris

Possibly the oldest graveyard I've ever seen (I haven't gotten to the pyramids yet)--"The Alyscamps" in Arles, France. This was a Roman stronghold, and these are their empty sarcophagi.

To this day, I always check out the local cemeteries when I travel. To me they are not somber places, but quiet, reflective spaces where you can imagine the lives of those who went before you, read enigmatic inscriptions, and consider your own mortality and hopefully decide to make the most of the time you have left. Here are a few pics of some notable cemeteries I've seen. I hope that you'll consider a stop at the churchyard, graveyard, cemetery, mausoleum, or whatever you call it, the next time you're in a strange town.

Wild Bill Hickock's grave, Deadwood, South Dakota