Headstone of the Week

Baby Stilwell lived a very short time, just 23 days in 1922. I am told that until after WW2, a child was given a name only after the baby had lived at least 3 weeks and was still healthy. In some cultures, the baby only received his/her name upon completion of their first year of life.

There are many "Baby" headstones at MPC.

R.I.P. Baby

The wrought iron cross in section F is a mystery since there are no names on it. It is a beautiful work of art.

I was at the New Era Cemetery in Clackamas County
on Feb. 9, 2011 and discovered that that cemetery has four of these wrought iron crosses of varying sizes.

What is the history behind these monuments?

Deeper Meanings

A deeper study into the meanings of the type of monuments we find in cemeteries reveals this interesting factoid from the pages of a Victorian book about the meaning of ancient symbols:
The obelisk represents the sacred male energy coming from heaven, connecting with the sacred female receptive energy of the earth. Where they meet is sacred. Life begins at that place, or perhaps in some belief systems, life returns there to begin again. The top of the obelisk points toward heaven, beginning the cycle of life all over again.
I think I can live with that.

A Flower in the Garden of Untimely Demise: Harvey Hibbard

It was probably a warm summer's day in August, 1920. Two young boys playing in the cool space under a house. Harvey Hibbard and his friend were doing what little boys do, playing coyboys and indians. Unfortunately, the gun was loaded and little Harvey was shot.

Unfortunate because it was a childs game we would now see as abhorant, and unfortunate because the .38 Harvey took from his home did have a bullet in it. A bullet that went through his chest below the right lung. Harvey was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital where he died from the bullet wound at 8 pm. Another flower in the garden of tears.

Headstone of the Week

William H. Fenton born 1872, died in 1914.
Here rests a Woodman of the World

Headstone of the Week

George was the son of Edison Tanquary and was 48 years old when he died on April 12, 1918. He had siblings named Millie, Nellie, C.M. and L.H. He could have been a victim of the influenza epidemic that swept through Portland in 1918.

Tracking Down the Real Ones

This stone reads "Y Shmoto. The database reads Yashi Smota. Checking with the Oregon Death Index and with an Oregonian article at the time, 1909, tells me that Yoshi Shimoto was a merchant in Chinatown when he was "died suddenly in an apoplectic fury." He died during a heat wave in Portland and was buried the same day. Yoshi's grave is along the back fence of the cemetery, the unofficial "Potter's Field" of Multnomah Park Cemetery.

Headstone of the Week

Infant mortality in the early 20th century was high. Many of the infants in this cemetery have only a cement marker as remembrance. Claude's parents saw fit to mark his brief existence with a marble stone. R.I.P. Claude Haley Cole

Eulogizer

Because of the Oregonian article detailing the 1899 funeral of Mr. O.P. Lent, one of the founders of the cemetery, we know that Mr. Plympton Kelly was a personal friend of his and "handsomely delivered the eulogy of his dearly departed friend." We also know that Mr. Kelly's carriage was in a place of honor in the funeral cortege between the hearse and the family of the deceased. High praise indeed.

Happy New Year

Headstone of the Week