| Lumberton
These were taken at a beautiful old cemetery in Lumberton, NC a few weeks ago. I’ve always been drawn to old cemeteries for reasons that I don’t even want to explore, and this one was so gorgeous, and the day so perfect, that I stayed for a good long while while my son recuperated in the local hospital. Many of the graves were from those who had died over 100 years ago, some as old as 160 years. There was one family plot that was guarded by the lovely Clare, who died at twenty-two. She watches over the graves of her parents and 5 or 6 siblings who never made it out of infancy, as well as their “beloved parrot, Polly”. It seems she was their only child to grow to young adulthood and she was obviously cherished. I was drawn to the grave of two-year old Thomas Edgar who died at the turn of last century and whose little angel wings had been broken and fixed several times. I sat with him for a while and then walked, and then came back again. And again. I also found that changing some of the photos to black and white made the details of the faces more prominent, as you didn’t get distracted by the colors. |
cemetery in Lumberton, NC
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This is my favourite of your photos, SN. Looking at the thumbnail, it first struck me as an impressionist painting!
Cemetery in Lumberton, NC
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cemetery in Lumberton, NC
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what a lovely monument. And I like how the tree behind it has some dying leaves.
These were growing all around the perimeter of the cemetery and birds were feasting on them. Gorgeous.
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Beautiful! Love the color contrasts.
Lumberton, NC
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Good morning SN,
I like this one best. And the black and white really captures the underlying grief and saddness that floats through cemeteries. I’m fascinated with them myself. Here in the town where I live we have graves dating back to the mid 1600’s because this area was settled at the same time the Pilgrims settled in Plymouth. I can’t explain why I’m fascinated by them, but I think it has to do with the sense I get of how fleeting and insignificant life can be when measured in centuries. You’ve captured that feeling for me really well.
Thanks, Super. Life is so fleeting and so damn sweet, and that’s what I was feeling there that day. It made me rethink the whole plan to be cremated and scattered. I want there to be some little mossy stone with my name on it so someone a hundred years from now can stop by and visit and wonder about my life.
Lumberton, NC
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I was smitten by this one
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The monuments for children are so touching – the little worn lambs, cherubs, and in more recent times, often a curled up dog. They are heart-rending.
Lost his lantern sometime in the last 100 years
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Gosh, life was short
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The look on his face is priceless. It’s like he’s thinking — well, there goes my career as a guardian angel …
LOL – exactly!
I love the curve of wing
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I have actually been to that cemetary. Lumberton is can be beautiful!!!
Hey RF – maybe I sensed your friendly presence there and that’s why I kept coming back! 🙂
Old cemeteries are really fascinating.
My secret fantasy is to have a huge sculptural monument when I’m gone. In reality, I’ll probably be scattered around several places.
Thanks for the great photos and I hope you son is doing well.
That’s one of the things I was pondering while I was there. There were a couple of enormous monuments of obviously rich people, and hundreds of just “ordinary” people – but the rich ones were still just as dead as the ordinary ones. Death – the great equalizer.
I love old cemeteries, too. Never found them frightening or off-putting. When I was in Austria, I saw people carrying their lunches into a small town’s cemetery, sitting on the stones, and in some cases, hold conversations with those passed on.
I could see myself doing that.
Cemetaries…Many of the cemetaries here in LA are used as walking/jogging paths. There’s a cemetary in Westwood that is filled with famous people. I worked there for three years before I heard it was there. Went back there and even though it’s tiny, maybe about 50’x50′, there were about 30 people walking the “track”.
These are wonderful photos, SN.
My Father is buried in a new, large cemetery in Dallas, TX. Having grown up on the East Coast, it feels wrong. It lacks the hills, trees, old monuments and black iron fence that to me defines cemeteries. Its name, Restlawn, says it all. When I close my eyes and imagine a cemetery, I see a place that looks much like the beautiful one in Lumberton that you captured so well.
The newer ones are so sterile and devoid of any personality. I’d much rather think of my loved ones someplace like this.
It feels very Dallas — half business park, half mall.
These are all gorgeous. Thanks.
Great shots. Old cemetaries are so fascinating (but where are the flower photos?)
Gorgeous. I loved the ‘bummed out angel’ photo, because who knew an angel could looked so bummed out. I really adored the ‘Clare’ photo. Wow! Going to old cemetaries like that really make me want to have a big huge statue on my headstone, but really, I’d probably have some granite piece blasting Beastie Boy songs while showing musicals and Pulp Fiction. I plan to annoy in death as I annoy in life.
Sounds like a great plan, fabooj – and what adorable children you have!
I like the B&W shots best. Being able to switch from color to B&W is one of the cool advantages of digital.