Last summer, my sister and I took photos at 9 area cemeteries of
all the tombstones/markers in those cemeteries.
This was part of a project for the Otter Tail Co.
Historical Society, and a daunting project it is!
Many more cemeteries are yet to be visited by volunteer photographers.
This past winter, I spent many an evening
indexing/cataloging photos that were taken by myself and
other volunteers at various cemeteries of the county.
As I was looking at the photos and entering the information,
I was amazed at how many of these long-gone and not-so-long-gone
people I knew. There were acquaintances, family friends,
relatives, classmates and co-workers. It is nearly mind-boggling just how
many people drift in and out of our lives!
The thought occurred to me of the tremendous amount of tears shed over
all the deaths through the years.
I would wonder how the person died, especially if they were very young.
I wondered if the person believed in God.
I don't know if there is any scientific study taken, but I noticed:
A lot of people died on their birthday, or very close to it.
Many, many married couples die within a very short time of each other.
The most common verse on the tombstones seems to be: "Together Forever"
For children: "Our Little Angel"
I developed a pretty good system for indexing all these photos.
I printed the names and stapled them in groups of 5 or 6.... this gave me
a "false sense" of accomplishment, especially with the very large cemeteries.
As I compared the photo (online) with my list,
I noted any changes and when I completed the entry, I would
run a highlighter through it to prevent (hopefully) typing information from the
wrong line. Then, when I noted any changes to OTCHS, I could just read
my notes under the highlighted area.
Is this brilliant, or what? (sarcasm)
With the long winter and lousy TV programs, this project kept
me busy. Yesterday, I finished the last entry until more photos are taken.
So, how many entries did I do over the winter, you ask?
I created 7,189 entries - but who's counting?!
Two colors of highlighters - and there was a reason for this!
2 comments:
OMG! I must have missed this post. I really commend you on this effort, Lolly! People like you make it possible for the people like me who can't get around physically to hunt down gravesites, etc. I've helped do a little bit of indexing, etc., on FamilySearch.com, but I can't physically get out and go through the graveyards to photograph them. THANK YOU!
It is actually a fun project, going to all the cemeteries to take pictures. I have taken pictures of most of the cemeteries in this area. Since it is a volunteer project, I can't travel too far to do this, but others are busy on the project also.
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