Grave markers have evolved over the years. No longer are lambs typically placed on children’s graves… Now we see etchings of more modern things, like toys, starships and bicycles… Following is an excerpt from an article I ran across.
TRAVERSE CITY, May 30, 2010 (The Record-Eagle – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX):
In the old Catholic section of Oakwood Cemetery, family surnames scroll across the front of many gravestones, marked by heavy crosses. Symbols such as the menorah and Star of David repeat on stones in the Jewish section of the Traverse City cemetery.
Some of the cemetery’s recent markers boast different kinds of designs. There’s an etching of a truck on a 1996 stone and a bicycle with c-shaped handlebars on a new-looking marker. And, then, there are the accoutrements — helium-filled birthday balloons floating above a grave, Christmas decorations collected near another and a loving message written on a bowling pin propped next to a plot.
“You definitely see trends. Back in the old days, it was definitely a status symbol. Bigger was better,” said Oakwood Sexton Branden Morgan.
Now, cost and cemetery rules limit the size of monuments. Those who walk through a cemetery this Memorial Day weekend may observe a range of graves from historic headstones to distinctly modern markers that serve as a palette for personalization.
Little lambs often marked the graves of children who died years ago. A contemporary family of a child who dies might request a photograph laser-etched into black granite, or, really, any imaginable individualization of a stone.
“The most unusual thing I’ve ever done was… (a) monument with the Starship Enterprise. This young man is a very big fan,” said Marilyn Blum of Bay Area Memorials.
In her Traverse City showroom, Blum works with families to create a marker for a loved one’s grave. At least 30 percent of the time, someone chooses their own stone.
Some want an old-fashioned marker that looks as if it could have been planted a century ago. Celtic crosses may be requested, and the use of religious symbols “is making a return,” Blum said. Markers can be personalized with the deceased’s signature or a picture of a beloved pet.
“If they want something real unusual we literally will walk through the cemetery and get ideas there,” Blum said. “I see more and more of the angels and… tractors or trees. It seems to be something dear to them. If they love hummingbirds they may want hummingbirds on the marker.”
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