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This Sunday morning, March 2, at 9 a.m., some of the Friends will commence a comprehensive survey and mapping of tree species within cemetery grounds with the city arborist. Diseased and dead trees will be noted as well as thriving species types and location. This will be the first step in a carefully scheduled plan of new plantings for the cemetery.
| (Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep sung by Ben Crawley, with Boys Choir Libera, text below) |
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| Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow, I am the diamond glints in snow, I am the sunlight and ripened grain. I am the gentle Autumn rain.Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. When you awake in the morning hush, I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circling flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. |
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For many years, the small, tiled-roof building directly opposite to the office inside the main gate was used as a lavatory and lounge for the lady visitors to the cemetery, and a convenience during funerals for attendees. Currently it is a break room for cemetery staff. It once had the dubious distinction of being the space where the grisly autopsies of Abby and Andrew Borden took place under the eye of medical examiner, Dr. Dolan, city doctor J.H. Leary, Clerk of autopsy, D.E. Cone, and Dr. F.W. Draper of Boston who was called in by Attorney General Albert Pillsbury.
The stained glass lancet windows have been broken and are currently boarded up, but the original deep wainscotting, moldings, and lavatory tiles with a Greek key pattern are still intact.
Click on thumbnails for enlargements of wainscotting and tile
Long before the backhoe, the six-foot deep hole for the coffin had to be dug by hand with pickaxe and shovel. In the nineteenth century, during the iron cold winters in New England, sometimes it was necessary to store the coffin until the January thaw or Spring when the frost was out of the ground. There are several of these Egyptian Revival style holding tombs which were built into hills or mounds, each containing shelving on either side of the interior to hold 6-8 coffins. Today this particular tomb houses lawn mowing equipment. This holding tomb, which is at the west side of the cemetery near the main entrance, housed the two coffins of Abby and Andrew Borden for a week while city medical examiner, Dr. Dolan, arranged for a complete autopsy on the bodies to be held at Oak Grove in the Ladies Comfort Station. It was there that the two skulls were removed and held for trial evidence on August 11, 1892.
One type of monument especially popular from the Civil War through 1900 is the white bronze or zinc monument. White bronze is a misnomer, for the monument is not made of bronze, but rather zinc or more rarely, iron. The final patina is whitish to pale blue to darker blue, and the great benefit of this type of monument is that the embossed metal panels and ornaments hold epitaphs and images in sharp relief for a very long time. They seem to take the weather, moss and lichen growth and acid rain exceptionally well. The only drawback is that attached elements, such as a top urn, can be easily snapped off, and seams, especially at the base, can separate. With the proper method of repair, however, this is not much of a problem, but trouble results when concrete is used as a filler. The zinc monument offers a good crisp image for monument rubbing using rice paper and soft heelball wax. For more information on zinc monuments, visit these two links below. Oak Grove has many beautiful examples of this monument type.
http://www.si.edu/mci/english/research/conservation/zinc_sculptures.html
http://www.tngenweb.org/darkside/white.html
n. pl. mau·so·le·ums or mau·so·le·a 1. A large stately tomb or a building housing such a tomb or several tombs.
There are three mausolea built in the favored classical Grecian style at Oak Grove and one in a distinctly Gothic Revival mode.
The Turner Mausoleum can be found near the main entry , slightly to the center behind the Civil War obelisk and cannon memorial.
(west facade)
Typical triangular pediment (south facade)
The Sears and Charlton Mausolea are quite close together in the south end.
Earle Perry Charlton became a Vice President of Woolworth’s dimestore chain, a position he held until his death in 1930. Charlton Hospital, just down the street from Oak Grove is named in his honor. Mr. Charlton was a great philanthropist and benefactor to the city.
The Gothic Revival Mausoleum
Several page additions made today, including a membership form, may be seen by clicking on the pages section just to the right. A pdf. file of the Friends of Oak Grove membership form to print out, information about the Friends, and some of their projects completed to date can be found. Another slide presentation on various types of cemetery maintenance issues and challenges can be found under the page section entitled Cemetery Maintenance.
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