
DATE: Thursday, May 22, 1997                TAG: 9705200119

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 05   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY SANDRA J. BARKER, CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:   68 lines

HOLIDAY PICNIC IN CEMETERY PLANNED VICTORIAN TRADITION OF DECORATING GRAVES WITH FRESH FLOWERS HAS BEEN REVIVED.

Victorians celebrated Memorial Day in a graveyard. And the idea is not as ghostly as it seems.

Memorial Day parades used to end in cemeteries with flowers and speeches at the tomb of the unknown soldier. Margaret Elinsky, director of Hunter House Victorian Museum, would like to see such an observance revived.

``Decorating the cemetery is an old tradition of visiting graves of all who have passed away,'' she said.

To remedy that oversight, Hunter House and newly created, Friends of Norfolk's Historic Cemeteries are co-sponsoring the third annual Elmwood Cemetery Decoration Day.

Elmwood Cemetery, on Princess Anne Road at Monticello Avenue in Norfolk, has 60,000 graves spread over 64 park-like acres. Peaceful winding lanes, singing birds and scampering squirrels, flowering trees and ornate statuary in the cemetery that dates back to 1853 all reflect the Victorian's positive view of death. On Sunday afternoons, Victorian families often picnicked in the cemetery, visiting the graves of their dearly departed.

According to Elinsky, the Victorians did not fear death, and even romanticized the idea. A verse engraved on the tombstone of Rosnina Vieth in 1877, eloquently expresses the Victorian sentiment of death: ``Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth.''

During the Memorial Day tour conducted by Hunter House docents, visitors will discover interesting bits of Norfolk's history from unique and sometimes elaborate tombstones.

Some of the memorials highlighted on the tour will be:

The regal 1910 mausoleum in memory of John H. Core and wife, which boasts large bronze statues in Greco-Egyptian style and would cost nearly a $1 million to duplicate.

The ivy covered plot of the true Norwegian lady, Frau Pauline Jorgensen, and her 3-year-old son, who drowned off our shores when the ship Dictator sank in 1891.

Several yellow fever victims from 1855 under a monument with the inscription, ``died of the prevailing epidemic.''

The LeKei family mausoleum, built in 1854 and designated as a gothic church. Stained-glass window, copper urns and railings complete the impressive memorial.

The marble statue of 3-year-old Marie McKay, stolen in 1995 and returned to its base just last month, standing under a huge magnolia tree between the graves of her mother and father.

``We point out funery art and mourning figures that are symbolic of the time, and we talk about what these different symbols meant during the Victorian era,'' Elinsky said.

``A number of the graves are very old and have no family left. This one reason we do this. People will often choose a pretty stone or a bare lot and put their flowers on it.''

Festivities will begin at noon. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by SANDRA J. BARKER

Flowering shrubs make Elmwood Cemetery a lovely spot for a picnic.

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AT A GLANCE

What: Elmwood Cemetery Decoration Day

When: Monday, picnic lunch at noon (bring your own picnic, plus

blanket or folding chairs). Forty-minute tour at 12:30

Where: Elmwood Cemetery, Princess Anne Road at Monticello Avenue

Cost: $3 admission includes tour, fresh flowers to decorate

graves and cold drinks. For reservations, call: 623-9814.