Tag: Cemeteries

Visiting cemeteries on Manitoulin Island

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The beautiful summer weather has finally arrived in my area and I am very excited to be able to go on some cemetery adventures once again. I have many road trips planned out for the upcoming weekends and my summer vacation. I’ve mapped out lots of fun sightseeing spots and new cemeteries to visit, that are surprisingly close to home. It should make for some fun road trip stories. So while I continue to plan for those, I thought it might be fun to share a road trip adventure from last year.

Last October, in 2021, I took advantage of some time off and took a little road trip to Manitoulin Island. Manitoulin Island, or the island as some locals call it, is a large island in Lake Huron. It’s also home to Canada’s first European settlement, the town of Manitowaning, and the historic Anishinaabe settlement.1 It’s a beautiful place to explore the outdoors and of course, cemeteries.

My mother came with me on this trip and got to experience what a real cemetery road trip is like. We visited 9 cemeteries that day. Not all of them were located on the island though. We left fairly early in the morning, and after stopping for our Tim Horton’s coffee, we were on our way. We stopped at 5 cemeteries on our way to and from the island, while visiting 4 cemeteries directly on the Island. 

  • Cold Springs Cemetery, Cold Springs ON ©2021

  • Gordon Cemetery, Gore Bay ON ©2021

We weren’t very lucky with the weather on our trip as it was quite rainy for the majority of the day, but it did make for some nice photos. Of the 9 cemeteries that we’re on my itinerary, we only ended up stopping at 7 of them, due to some bouts of heavy rain. But, it worked out as we happened to find 2 more cemeteries that were not on my list when the sun did decide to show itself. One of those cemeteries was in Cold Springs and turned out to be a very nice find. It’s technically a graveyard because sitting in the middle of it is a century-old log Presbyterian Church, that is dated A.D. 1887. The building was locked, but we could look inside the little one-room church through some windows.  

  • Cold Springs Cemetery, Cold Springs ON ©2021

We stopped for lunch at Main St. Express in Kagawong. They have a great little drive-thru set-up. We brought our lunches to the waterfront, just across from the Old Mill Heritage Centre. We took advantage of some nice covered picnic tables. It was quiet on the waterfront, as the tourist season was at its end. 1 or 2 couples were walking around, enjoying the sights. If we had gone during peak summer hours, the waterfront would have been bustling. I think we went a good time, even though it was rainy. There was another advantage to having our lunch on the waterfront—it was also next to Kagawong Cedars Cemetery. After our lunch, we took some time to visit that cemetery and take some photos. 

  • Kagawong Cedars Cemetery, Kagawong ON ©2021

Kagawong is also home to the Kagawong River Trail. It’s a beautiful trail, running beside the river’s edge the whole time. There are some lovely sculptures scattered throughout the trail as well. These sculptures and heritage plaques were installed as part of the Billings Canada 150 project.2 The crown jewel of this trail is Bridal Veil falls! In nicer weather, you can walk behind the falls, and even take a dip.

Kagawong River Trail and Bridal Veil falls, Manitoulin Island ON ©2021

Because tourist season was done, we did miss out on a few things, like visiting the Old Mill Heritage Centre and the Manitoulin Chocolate Works. I was disappointed when we found the doors locked to the chocolate shop. I will make sure to stop in there the next time we are on the island. There were some things we did get a chance to visit though, like the East Bluff Lookout, that was somewhat close to Gordon Cemetery in Gore Bay. The East Bluff Lookout offers some amazing views, and we also happened to see some wildlife; a red squirrel and some white-tail deer.

Even though I did have to cut my time short at a couple of the cemeteries due to heavy rain, I would say it was a great trip. We enjoyed the beautiful fall scenery, ate some delicious food, and visited some lovely cemeteries. I enjoy exploring the island and look forward to making another trip out there this summer to explore more of it. 

Have you visited Manitoulin Island? I would love to hear about your visit in the comments.

Thanks for reading! 

References:

  1. An Insider’s Guide to Magical Manitoulin Island | Keep Exploring
  2. About Bridal Veil Falls | Explore Manitoulin

Find a Grave

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I have been spending more and more time on Find a Grave lately. I have been a member for years now, but just recently started being a more active member. This winter, I have been spending a lot of my free time going through my digital files and thought it would be a great opportunity to add some of them to this great website.

Find a Grave, if you are not familiar (if you are a taphophile, I’m sure it needs no explanation) is a great resource for burial information from all over the world. It’s a great tool for those looking for genealogical information, as well as those curious about famous graves. It’s filled with cemetery information, burial details, photos, biographies, and more. It’s also a great community of volunteers, all brought together by this online tool, helping others complete family tree details, sharing a hobby, but also creating an online memorial space to remember lost loved ones. 

“Find a Grave got its start in 1995 when founder Jim Tipton built a website to share his hobby of visiting the graves of famous people. He found that many people shared his interest and quickly opened the site for all individuals (famous and non-famous) with a mission for finding, recording, and presenting burial and final disposition information worldwide. Since then, millions of contributors have been entering memorials, photos, GPS locations, biographies, and other rich content to the site. As the site grew, the community grew also. Find a Grave houses the largest international graving community in the world. In 2013, Find a Grave became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ancestry® and launched a new iOS mobile app. The Android app was released in 2014. Ancestry redesigned the website and released it in August 2018. The community continues to add and update memorials every day. We look forward to an exciting future for the site and the community!” – findagrave.com

I’ve been a member for almost 8 years, and often use Find a Grave when researching road trips for famous graves to visit. As I mentioned above, I recently have started being more active on the site, uploading photos to existing memorials and creating new ones that have not yet been listed. It is also possible to take on photo requests. These are requests submitted by anyone, to photograph a specific grave. The requests include all the details that are available; like cemetery location, full name, and birth and death date if known. As a Find a Grave member you can claim these requests and take photos to fulfill them. It’s a great way to contribute. Did I mention, it’s free to become a member?

Find a Grave also has other features such as their News & Announcements page that lists new website features, tips on how to use the site to its full potential, features on volunteers of the month, and all sorts of cemetery related articles. One of my favorite little touches is the On this day feature on the main page, showcasing famous deaths. There is also a forum to connect members. It features threads on all sorts of different discussions on cemetery research, famous graves, translations, and site support among other things. They also have an online store where you can purchase a small selection of merchandise. I wish they offered a Find a Grave button or stickers. I would love a button to add to my camera bag. 

To learn more about Find a Grave or become a member, you can visit their website at findagrave.com, or find them on Facebook and Instagram.

Are you a contributor to Find a Grave? Feel free to share you experience in the comments.

Thanks for reading! 

The Association for Gravestone Studies

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I found out about The Association for Gravestone Studies years ago, while doing some online shopping. I was looking at gravestone rubbing kits at Pushin Daisies, the mortuary novelty shop. Each kit comes with information on becoming a member of AGS. I was curious. I didn’t end up purchasing a rubbing kit, but I did end up getting myself a membership for AGS. After being a member for a few years, I let my membership lapse due to financial reasons. I missed being part of the Association and missed receiving gravestone-related mail though.

When I decided to focus more on my cemetery photography a couple of years ago, one of the first things I did was renew my membership. I am very happy to be a member again! 

“The Association for Gravestone Studies (AGS) was founded in 1977 for the purpose of furthering the study and preservation of gravestones. AGS is an international organization with an interest in grave markers of all periods and styles. Through its publications, conferences, workshops and exhibits, AGS promotes the study of gravestones from historical and artistic perspectives, expands public awareness of the significance of historic grave markers, and encourages individuals and groups to record and preserve gravestones. At every opportunity, AGS cooperates with groups that have similar interests.” – gravestonestudies.org

What drew me to the Association, was finding other like-minded individuals, and all the resources they offer. There are quite a few AGS chapters throughout the United States, and when I first joined there were a couple of Canadian chapters. Unfortunately, none were close to me, and those chapters have since closed. There are lots of opportunities to get to know your fellow members and taphophiles though, like the AGS Conference for example. This annual conference takes place in a different location each year and features events like field trips, conservation workshops, hands-on sessions as well as panels, evening lectures, and late-night presentations. Last year the conference went virtual! I think it was a great approach. It’s mindful of the current pandemic, and a great way for those of us that are far away, to attend. I do hope they continue to offer some virtual events for the conference.

In addition to that, there are a lot of publications available. The AGS Quarterly is the bulletin of the Association for Gravestone Studies. It’s published 4 times a year and is delivered right to your door if you are a member. The Quarterly features articles, and regular columns on conservation and International gravestone studies. I love the articles in the Quarterly, they are always fascinating. Another publication AGS offers is Markers, the annual journal of AGS. During the winter months, what I consider my off-season for cemetery photography, I have been diving into the back issues of Markers, reading them cover to cover. It’s a beautiful perfect-bound journal that features definitive illustrated articles on cemetery and gravestone topics. It’s very in-depth and very informative. It also features international content. A bonus of AGS membership is that now you can read and download past issues of Markers online. They offer a lot of other online resources as well, in their knowledge centre. There you can find information on symbolism and the archives of past Markers and AGS Quarterly issues, as well as past e-newsletters. They also have a database of websites that pertain to the preservation of gravestones.

New this year, AGS has added a virtual book club. Starting in January, the book club meets on the third Sunday of each month and focuses on books about cemeteries, gravestones, mourning customs, funerary practices, and death and dying. The book for January was 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die by Loren Rhoads. I attended the first meeting and had a great time. There were about 30 participants, including the books author. We were split up into 2 smaller groups for discussions. In virtual break-out rooms, the moderators inspired conversation by asking questions about elements of the book. There was a great range of participants from all over the world. It was really interesting to hear everyone’s thoughts. Having Loren in attendance was a pleasant surprise. It was really interesting to get some extra insights from her. I’m looking forward to February’s meeting, where we will be discussing City of Immortals: Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris by Carolyn Campbell.

I highly recommend joining the Association for Gravestone Studies if you have an interest in cemeteries, and gravestone preservation. It’s a great place to find others with a passion for cemeteries and a great resource to learn more about everything cemetery related.

To learn more about the Association for Gravestone Studies, please visit their website. You can also find AGS on Facebook and Instagram.

Thanks for reading!