In Memoriam: Where We Say Goodbye- Place 21: Pine Plains Cemetery in The Town of Clay

 Pine Plains Cemetery

Of Columns and Obelisks

Tucked away in the farmland north of Syracuse 
is a cemetery founded in the early 1800s 
as the land began to fill with farmers on the land. 
Tobacco, wheat, corn, hops, and other cash crops began to 

to dot the fields not far away from the main road.

The plank road could take wagons loaded goods south to Syracuse 

and the canal.

Eventually the nearby rails at Cigarville 

could carry those goods there even faster.

But even in this rural farming community,

the question remained:
Where do we bury the community?

People die.

It's the cycle of life.

And a very expected

and anticipated part of being on this earth.

By 1812, the first resident was buried here 

at Old Town Cemetery, later elegantly: Pine Plains Cemetery.

On the 1874 map,

the cemetery's lines are delineated,

carved out of the land owned by

Allen Gilmour. 

The names on the old headstones 

read like a who's who on this map.

Why bury here?

"On April 9, 2012, the cemetery celebrated its 200th birthday to honor the first burial on April 9, 1812 of Peter Young, a member of the Young family, one of the first Palatines who settled in Clay.  At that time it was called Old Town Cemetery.  The Palatines later renamed it Pine Plains after the area where they were settled in camps by the British to make pine tar and other munitions to pay back Good Queen Anne for their passage to America in 1709.  It is believed that the original land was acquired from Allan Gilmour’s farm.  It was selected because it was soft earth and easy to work, just as was farmland."
~Town of Clay

https://townofclay.org/departments/historian/history-mysteries/pine-plains-cemetery-history?fbclid=IwAR0vb-zeEDgSHOebRfG5_tQ3JR-X6IZ_zXYU99RhP3vZyxjT0pL1E883c1Q

A trek through a cemetery can lead to many interesting finds,

giving insight to the person remembered,

making a stranger seem more like a friend.

These are carved granite on a granite base.
The base is what (hopefully) stabilizes the 

monument and provides a platform for the beautiful commemorative art
for:

A beloved father, son, & brother who died suddenly
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/37198882/john-michael-henning

Some people who were Free-Masons who loved the being in the country

A public servant who served in many capacities and died too young

(hence all the vehicles on his headstone)
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/235147910/michael-j-stassi

An aircraft engineer who loved golf...
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18728598/thomas-a-richer

...and someone who left a tribute to him

A rose that will not wilt

Someone who lived in Syracuse, 

but buried a bit north to be buried with other family
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18910316/marion-frances-haas

And a drowning victim found who also died too young

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35161774/john-g-reiner

There are the family plots: 

The Eno Family

with lovely tasseled chains

where family is once again reunited in death

And the Moyer Family

And the Haas Family

And the Herricks---which have a Zinkie Monument!

One of many here

The oldest monuments are toward the back of the cemetery.

Here you will find founding community members,

including...

Those whose stones are upright

A war of 1812 veteran
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/42979525/john-warner

Those are that are broken

due to being brittle due to age

and those that have sunk so much they are hard to read

Without a base to stabilize these monuments, 

they are prone to break, sink or heave.

As this land was chosen for its easy digging,

 these ones sank.

Then there are the more unique ones...

Like one who marks a Organ Donor...

In death, Matthew Hodge still lives on 💙

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22651363/matthew-g-hodge

A replacement headstone for a Revolutionary War soldier

who may have exaggerated his age a wee bit...

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52506931/john-lynn

(note the base that keeps it from sinking)

A sweet carving of a dove

for siblings Marilyn and William Haas
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18911129/marilyn-agnes-haas

There is a rare recent mausoleum
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24232015/karen-ann-bissell

A monument that looks like a bathtub
The center of the ring was for planting flowers.

(pic from Find A Grave)

It also prevented people from walking over the site.

But this one made me smile...and think of the prologue quote

Fahrenheit 451

"If they give you ruled paper, write the other way"

Well done Channing, well done!

If Bradbury had seen this he would have smiled too 😎

But a common feature in cemeteries, 

including this one, are obelisks and columns

But why so many?

Three reasons:

First, this cemetery was founded around the time

of the craze of all things 

deemed "Ancient Civilizations"

These civilizations,

Greek, Roman, and Egyptian,

were idealized as the

height of society,

something our young nation wanted to strive for:

Wisdom and Provenance.

If we didn't have it,

we'd create it!

Houses sported Greek and Roman columns.

And so did graves.

Live Mourning Dove Finials upon availability 😏

The beginning of the 

"All Things Egypt" craze began not with the Roaring 20s,

but with the new nation.

Obelisks, like the ones in Egypt, became fashionable

A short video about obelisks:

Most obelisks consisted of local cut stone base for durability

and stability.

On top of this is a another base (usually marble)

another carved cube block,

and a pointy pillar.

Depending on how tall or how fancy you wanted it,

 it could look like a beautiful stacked blocks of stone.

But don't let their apparent behemoth size fool you.

They are actually delicate and deadly

when weight is placed upon them.

They topple...well, like blocks!

Second, you could list a lot of family members on them.

Keeps family names together and it saves money 

on headstones in  the long run

Even this Zinkie has a cut limestone base!

Third, it was a honor for Freemasons to be buried with one.

If there was a Masonic Lodge in the area,

chances are many of the original members

had obelisks as a quiet way to honor them.

https://gravelyspeaking.com/2012/09/10/the-obelisk/

http://iliganlodge207-freemason.blogspot.com/2014/04/obelisk-and-freemasonry.html

Today, most Masons and Eastern Star members are remembered

with the Square and Compass ...

...and the Star

Each family here wanted their loved one to be remembered,

whether it was humble...

or grand

(pic from Find a Grave)

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19140197/jared-mogg

Their 14 children showed 

their love after death by commissioning this grand piece.

Not everyone adheres to anything beyond this life

And Lafayette Hackett

Wanted to be sure  

EVERYONE

...knew this when he was gone.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/59761796/lafayette-hackett

But others hold to a hope that this is an
Adieu

--till God--

that death is not the end

only a interlude until they join their departed loved ones

It's hard to say goodbye

to stand at the grave...

....a momentary meeting of the living and dead.

The hope that Life has two sides, like the headstone,

one here

and one on the other side:

"Until we meet again in our Lord's House"

And in the end,

it is that hope

that allows the living 

to carry on 💗

or