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13 Important Questions to Ask When Choosing a Cemetery Plot
Choosing a final resting place is more than just the bottom-line cost and location. You want to be sure you’re getting what you pay for and that you have a clear understanding of everything that’s included in your contract. Before you sign on the dotted line with any cemetery, ask these 13 important questions: How much does the plot cost, & are there additional fees? This is a pretty standard question, but an important one to ask. You may get a quote that, at first glance, seems high. But when you inquire further, you find out that number includes everything…
How to Make a Headstone Inscription Rubbing
Whether you’re a history buff or just want to be able to see that long-deceased relative’s headstone inscription a little better, taking a tombstone rubbing is a great way to preserve even hard-to-read headstones. Follow these 6 steps for a great grave marker rubbing on your next trip to do some genealogical research: Step 1: Make Sure It’s OK to Do a Rubbing Before you ever set out to make an inscription rubbing on a grave marker, make sure it’s allowed within the policies of the cemetery. Some cemeteries, especially historic ones with lots of precarious headstones, don’t allow the…
5 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Headstone
Selecting a headstone for a loved one is a big responsibility. You want to find something that’s representative of the deceased but won’t be out of place with the rest of the cemetery while sticking within your budget. While style and price may be at the front of your mind, there are several considerations you need to keep in mind early on to avoid headaches down the road. Here are 5 questions you need to ask before choosing a headstone: What’s Included in the Engraving? One of the biggest problems that comes into play for many families is mistakes on…
6 Tips for Speaking with Someone Who Is Grieving
Death, while a natural part of life, is no less jarring for the loved ones closest to the person who passed. Whether the death was sudden and unexpected or had been prepared for, the effect on those who remain is profound. One of the challenges for the friends and family of someone who is grieving is knowing what to say. You don’t want to avoid conversation of their loss altogether, but you also don’t want to open any fresh wounds in the person’s heart. If you have a friend or family member experiencing grief, here are 6 tips for speaking…
What Happens During the Marble Restoration Process?
Marble headstones and memorials take a beating from the elements. They withstand wind, rain, snow, extreme temperatures, and dirt, year after year. Over time, however, these conditions can lead to cracking, chipping, shifting, and even complete breaks to headstones, impacting the impression the public has of your loved one. Thankfully, careful, experienced marble restoration can help restore your loved one’s headstone to its former glory, allowing generations to come to learn more about your loved one. Here’s some of what happens during the marble restoration process: Evaluation The first step to repairing any damage is determining exactly what needs to…
3 Methods for Reading Hard-to-Read Tombstones
The grave markers and headstones that populate old cemeteries are often of great interest to a variety of people. From family genealogy buffs to local historians, being able to read the information on older headstones is important to understanding the past and linking those who lived to the present. Over time, however, the natural elements cause tombstones to become dirty and worn, with many eventually growing unreadable because the wear and tear is so bad. If you’ve visited a cemetery in search of a specific headstone, only to find it impossible to read, you know the frustration. But it doesn’t…
Why Do Jewish People Leave Stones at Grave Sites?
(Photo courtesy of Ramstein Air Force Base) If you’ve ever been to a Jewish cemetery or grave site, you may have seen stones of all sizes piled on the grave, creating haphazard piles. Or, if you’ve ever seen “Schindler’s List,” you surely remember the final scene where lines of mourners file past Oskar Schindler’s grave, each person leaving a stone behind. Why do Jewish people leave stones behind at grave sites instead of flowers or other remembrances? The Roots of Stones in Judaism Stones have long been a part of Jewish worship and custom, with many important references to stones…
6 Famous Works Set in Cemeteries
Cemeteries have long been the location of everything creepy and suspenseful in popular culture. From artwork to books, plays to movies, the mystery and atmosphere surrounding a cemetery is something that keeps calling artists back. We’re big fans of a lot of cemetery settings in popular culture, so here are some of our favorites: “The Spoon River Anthology,” Edgar Lee Masters This series of free verse poems, later turned into a stage play, narrates the lives of the residents of the fictional town of Spoon River. Masters modeled his collection off the epitaphs found in the cemetery near his home…
5 Ways to Remember a Loved One During the Holidays
The holidays are supposed to be a happy time, full of special memories of time spent with friends and loved ones. But if you’ve recently lost a loved one, those happy memories often are replaced by painful reminders of absence. Whether your grief is new or you’ve been through multiple holiday seasons without your loved one, it’s never easy to feel festive when someone important is missing from your celebration. To help keep your loved one’s spirit alive this holiday season, here are 5 ways for incorporating your loved one’s memory into your holiday celebrations: Save a Seat Did your…
Using Cemeteries for Genealogy Research: 3 Steps to Take
Finding ancestors is an important task for many people. They want to know where their relatives came from, where they lived, and other details that make them feel like the real people they were instead of distant memories. In most genealogy projects, there is a need to visit a cemetery to aid in the search for ancestors. Rather than just showing up at your local cemetery and hoping for the best, there are a few steps you can take to make your cemetery research project easier and more successful. Here are 3 steps to take when using a cemetery for…