This article also appeared in the Canton Repository.

Ghost hunters to clean Canton Cemetery

By Lori Monsewicz
Photo by Stan Myers


Posted May 19, 2010

CANTON, OH — As many as 65 people, with a love for ghosts and respect for the dead, will invade the city Saturday to clean up its oldest cemetery.
The N.E. Ohio Ghost Society will begin working at Rowland Cemetery at 8 a.m. They plan to clean the grounds of litter, mow the grass, and place about 40 toppled headstones back on to their bases.
“I visited the cemetery and was appalled,” said Andy Pearson, of Medina, who’s president of the Society.
The organization, he said, has completed similar projects, including complete restorations, in the past.
Rowland is located along Tuscarawas Street E., just east of Hartford Avenue. With burials dating to the early 1800s, it’s believed to be the oldest cemetery in the city. It’s the final resting place for members of some of Canton’s earliest families, such as the Trumps and the Sherricks.
The most recent burial on the 2.3-acre site was in 2002. Funds for its upkeep come from a small endowment fund controlled by a volunteer association. Pearson wants to get neighbors involved in the cleanup, too.
Anyone interested in helping can contact him at: haunthunter2000@gmail.com

Here's a nice little story i came across on the web.

Statue of boy in Green Lawn Cemetery gets dressed for the season

Wednesday, December 23, 2009 3:11 AM
By Jamila T. Williams
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
As a light snow fell yesterday at Green Lawn Cemetery, someone made sure 5-year-old George Blount was dressed warmly. George, who was decked out in a Santa hat and plaid scarf, has been a fixture at Green Lawn since 1873. For years, visitors have decorated his grave site, which is marked by a life-size stone statue of a young boy. No one who works at Green Lawn knows who decorates the grave.
Sandi Latimer, volunteer coordinator at the cemetery, said George's grave is near the back, making it easy for decorators to slip in unnoticed.
George was born on Sept. 26, 1867, the only son of Eli and Sarah Blount. Mr. Blount owned the American House Hotel, where 5-year-old George slid down a banister and crashed into a steel potbellied stove, hitting his head. He died a week later, on Feb. 14, 1873.
Latimer affectionately refers to him as "Georgie" and says his grave is a frequently requested stop when she conducts tours of the cemetery.
Since 2002, Latimer has served as the cemetery's unofficial historian, regularly conducting research on the people buried there.
Linda Burkey, the cemetery's general manager for 13 years, said that as long as she has been there, George's grave has been decorated.
"Out of all the other graves, his is the most decorated," Latimer said as she removed the hat and scarf.
She said she has to remove the items because they can hold in moisture and harm the statue.
Yesterday, stuffed animals lined the base of the marker. Water guns, action figures and Hot Wheels cars were scattered around, as well.
A fresh candy cane rested in his lap.
"I've found all kinds of things: Mardi Gras beads, baseball caps -- even sunglasses on him in the summertime," Latimer said.
Gary Best, a German Village resident, was there yesterday, walking his dogs, Gabriel and Wheezer.
"I think it's interesting that, after all these years, people still put stuff out there," he said. "It's a sad story, and I guess people are just fascinated with that."
Latimer added: "Almost every cemetery has something that plays on the heartstrings of the public. And here, it's little Georgie."

Symbolism: Tombstone trees

One of my favorite styles of grave markers is the stumped tree, a representation of a life cut short.  I came across this fantastic example of such a stone on Kimberly Powell's  tombstone symbolism site (http://genealogy.about.com/od/cemetery_records/ig/tombstone_symbols/tree.htm ).  What a cool idea-- inscribing the names of individual loved ones where the branches have been sawed off.

The Wilkins family tree in Pittsburgh's Allegheny Cemetery.

© 2005 Kimberly Powell

Lio by Mark Tatulli

You can befriend him on Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/mtatulli .

Death comes for everyone...

Lio by Mark Tatulli

You can befriend him on Facebook @  http://www.facebook.com/mtatulli .

Fraternal Symbolism: CMBA--Catholic Mutual Benefit Association

From the tombstone of EGAN, St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery, Massillon, Stark County, Ohio. Photo by LSPratt.

For more info on this fraternal organization, check out http://www.museeacadien.ca/french/archives/fonds/cmba.htm .

AP article: Long goodbye: Edgar Allan Poe gets proper funeral

Whilst this article isn't about cemeteries per se, it is in the realm of interest...

Long goodbye: Edgar Allan Poe gets proper funeral


Oct 6, 10:34 AM

By BEN NUCKOLS

BALTIMORE (AP) - It's been a good 200th anniversary year for Edgar Allan Poe. The master of gothic horror has been celebrated at events in several cities to mark the bicentennial of his birth.


And on Sunday in Baltimore, he'll get the funeral he never had.


Fewer than 10 people attended Poe's funeral when he died in October 1849 at age 40. His cousin, Neilson Poe, never announced the great writer's death publicly.


Because of intense interest, Baltimore will host two funerals. Each is expected to draw about 350 people to Westminster Hall, the former church adjacent to Poe's grave. Actors will portray Poe's friends and contemporaries as well as writers and artists who cited Poe as an influence.

The Poe House and Museum will also host a viewing of a replica of Poe's body on Wednesday.

I found this last bit of info...macabrely interesting.  In that vein, here's a link to view his actual corpse from the real viewing (warning...whilst this image isn't particularly grotesque, the website on which it is found--rotten.com--is.)  http://www.celebritymorgue.com/edgar-allan-poe/