For today's edition of Cemetery Sundays, I traveled to the nearby town of Hudson, Ohio. Although, this wasn't my original destination...
My original plan was to travel to Peninsula, Ohio and finally tour the infamous Boston Cemetery. The cemetery that played a part in the regional legend of Helltown. And while most parts of this legend have been debunked (like the fact that I actually attended the church "with the upside down cross" for many years growing up, without any lasting ill effects), the cemetery does in fact exist.
Unfortunately, for the second time now, I arrived early with camera in hand only to find the gates locked up tight and large video surveillance postings everywhere. I briefly considered hopping the fence, but thought otherwise in the end and simply grabbed the phone to check for other cemetery locations in the general area.
And that is what led me to Markillie/St. Mary's. I had never heard of it before, nor had I ever seen any photos of what it might hold. The single photo on Google Maps looked somewhat promising, so I decided to take a chance and go check it out.
As I pulled into the grounds, I immediately knew that my gamble had paid off. Row after row of beautifully ornate old tombstones and obelisks, some leaning in all directions from years of settling. I swept the shared cemetery grounds from one side to the other, documenting a ton of amazing stones. I walked the grounds for over two hours alone, with a somewhat brisk wind blowing the fall leaves about. It was incredible! Time stood still and I was able to completely remove myself from the outside world for a bit. A wonderful, and completely unexpected benefit, to doing this continuing series.
When all was said and done, I had almost completely filled my camera's card. So I have decided to break this up into two parts. The first half of my photos are below. Check back next Sunday for the final Cemetery Sundays segment of 2017, and the second half of my photos. Throughout the years that I have been doing this, the trip to Markillie/St. Mary's has been one of the better cemeteries that I have visited.
So sit back and enjoy the first half of my photos of Markillie/St. Mary's Cemetery...
This was in the far corner of the cemetery, tucked into an unkept wooded section. I'm guessing that Spumoni was someone's pet, although these two handmade wooded crosses were the only ones dedicated to pets in the entire cemetery.
Incredible detail, especially for a tombstone made of concrete. It is one of the more unique stones that I have ever come across. And I'm guessing that there must have been a large cross in the center that had broken off at some point. Unfortunately, the stark epitaph had become a victim of time and was no longer legible, and what little I could make out was an Eastern European language of some sort.
As a complete surprise, I came upon the tombstone of Dante Lavelli, World War II veteran and Hall of Fame football player for the Cleveland Browns! His stone was of average size and only had a small token from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Had I not walked right by it, I probably would have walked right by it!
I always stop and take special note of the tombstones of children. There is always such sadness...
I love this particular shot. The evergreen branches hang down so that it looks more like Spanish Moss from a cemetery in the south...
I decided to clear this tombstone a bit, and give Jessie M. Bell a few more years of remembrance...
Amazing tombstones everywhere I looked. And this is only half of the photos from this cemetery. Stop back next Sunday for the second half of my tour of Markillie/St. Mary's Cemetery!!
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