THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 24, 1995 TAG: 9505230124
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Coastal Journal
SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
The Hunter House Victorian Museum in Norfolk is offering a Memorial Day celebration like no other.
You can picnic at noon Monday in Elmwood Cemetery on East Princess Anne Road in Norfolk and celebrate Decoration Day, a forerunner of Memorial Day. Lunch will be followed by a tour of the historic cemetery. Fresh flowers and greens will be available for decorating the unadorned graves.
As macabre as it may seem, folks in the Victorian era did not even need a holiday to picnic in the cemetery, said Margaret Elinsky, Hunter House director. Victorians thought of death as a restful, peaceful sleep and cemeteries were restful, peaceful places.
Cemeteries of that era were actually designed with that concept in mind. They were so beautiful, in fact, that they became models for city parks. Little knolls and vales were constructed on the flat coastal landscape. Long, grassy tree-shaded lanes, perfect for strolling, divided the rows of graves.
A visit to Elmwood Cemetery recently on a warm sunny day shed new light on picnicking in a cemetery. Built in 1853, Elmwood was designed to be a restful, peaceful place. With its huge old trees and fresh well tended green grass, it's an oasis in the middle of the city.
``A picnic in the cemetery was quite normal,'' Elinsky said, ``after the Victorian ladies and their children spent the morning tidying up graves, scrubbing stones, trimming shrubs and arranging flowers and greens.''
In those days a snack and a little rest was actually welcome. Tending to the family plot was hard work and it was a chore that had to be done several times a year. Perpetual care cemeteries didn't come into being until after 1900.
``Care was the duty of the family,'' Elinsky said. ``Perpetual care was almost considered a scam at the turn of the century.''
Many gravestones from the Victorian era at Elmwood are carved with ornate roses. Roses, symbols of faithfulness, were reminders never to forget your loved ones and that included scrubbing those stones, too.
Other symbols traditionally carved in Victorian gravestones included the shell and the lily of the valley, symbols of the Resurrection, the anchor, symbol of hope, and ivy, like the rose, a symbol of fidelity and faithfulness.
``The Victorians had a sentimental view of death and dying,'' Elinsky said. ``A large and romantic and symbolic stone was the rule for anybody of means.'' Some of the romantic stones at Elmwood include a carved figure of a baby sleeping across a raised slab at the grave of ``Dear Little Johnnie,'' who died when he was almost 2. Some children's stones are designed as cribs with a head board, foot board and side rails, ``since death was a long sleep,'' said Elinsky.
Little Willie is a very life-like statue of a toddler in button shoes and eyelet gown. He's holding the ever-present rose.
``Everyone is just amazed when they see this,'' Elinsky said.
Adult graves often have a carved, life-size mourning figure of a beautiful woman. One with a mourning figure also has a wreath of roses at the footstone and a headstone of carved roses and a drape, another Victorian symbol of death. Others are marked with statues of angels writing in the book of life, recording the deceased's contributions.
Still others are marked with the stump of a tree, symbolic of life cut down in its prime. And many of the graves are covered with mounds of carefully tended ivy, the living symbol of fidelity.
To tour Elmwood Cemetery with Elinsky and participate in Decoration Day, make reservations with the Hunter House at 623-9814. The fee is $5 and covers a box lunch and flowers for decorating the graves. Children are welcome.
P.S. GO DOLPHIN WATCHING with the Virginia Marine Science Museum from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Call the museum at 437-4949 to reserve a space and pay at the boat which leaves from the Virginia Beach Fishing Center. The cost is $12 for adults; and $10 for children, 11 and under. MEMO: What unusual nature have you seen this week? And what do you know about
Tidewater traditions and lore? Call me on INFOLINE, 640-5555. Enter
category 2290. Or, send a computer message to my Internet address:
mbarrow(AT)infi.net.
ILLUSTRATION: LEFT: Little Willie is a very lifelike statue of a toddler in
button shoes and eyelet gown. He's holding a rose, a symbol of many
of the Victorian era gravestones at Elmwood Cemetery.
BELOW: Among the romantic stones at Elmwood Cemetery is a carved
figure of
a baby sleeping across a raised slab at the grave of ``Dear Little
Johnnie,'' who died when he was almost 2.
Photos by
MARY REID BARROW
by CNB