Early Gravestones! Upcoming talk & READ THIS BOOK!

What: Early Gravestones of Southern Maine Talk!
When: Thursday, August 18, 2016 @ 7:00pm
Where: Maine Charitable Mechanic Association, 519 Congress Street, Portland, Maine
Cost: Free and open to the public
FMI: email MCMA1857@gmail.com or call (207)773-8396

Meet Portland author, Ron Romano, and hear him discuss and read from his new book! Ron is a MCMA member and Spirits Alive Board member. He will discuss, sign, and read from his new book as well as present slides highlighting the incredible skill of Portland’s first gravestone cutter, Bartlett Adams. Light refreshments will be served.

This event is sponsored by Maine Charitable Mechanic Association (MCMA), The History Press & Spirits Alive.
http://www.mainecharitablemechanicassociation.com/
https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/
http://www.spiritsalive.org/

For those of you who don't yet have this book in your gravestone-loving hands, let me tell you -- you do NOT want to miss it. Ron Romano has outdone himself. After following Bartlett's career, and giving tour after tour in Portland's Eastern Cemetery highlighting his stonework, Romano was encouraged to write his account of Bartlett's life and craft. Luckily for us, he really did it!

It is a fascinating story from start to finish, and interwoven as it is with Romano's account of his search for the tale, it had me wanting to go out and search out Bartlett's signature in Maine's graveyards myself ASAP.

This is the gauge of quality of Romano's work -- he explains the finer points of gravestone studies in a way that makes you want to join in the gathering, and at the same time paints a picture of Bartlett's own life and times that brings them to life in your mind's eye.

This is a rare thing in a history book. I recommend you buy it and experience this for yourself.

EVENT: Tomorrow! Gravestone symbolism

WHAT: William Macomber reveals elements of 'Gravestone Symbolism'
WHEN: Wednesday, March 16, 2011, 6:30pm
WHERE: Augusta City Center, 16 Cony St., Augusta, ME
FMI: Call Kennebec Historical Society (presentation sponsor) (207)622-7718 or visit http://www.kennebechistorical.org/

Taphophilia is a passion for and enjoyment of cemeteries, and many interested in local and family history find themselves joining this group as they do field research.

Also of interest for taphophiles is Macomber's membership in the Maine Old Cemetery Association, and the Association for Gravestone Studies, which will hold its 34th annual conference June 14-18 at Colby College in Waterville.

Macomber noted that certain flowers and plants carved on gravestones have particular meaning. A broken tree trunk, for example, symbolizes premature death, while a weeping willow symbolizes grief, death and earthly sorrow. A wreath symbolizes victory in death, the indestructible crown and eternity.

Macomber will discuss these and other symbols during his presentation. “Hopefully, they’ll get a better idea of what they’re looking at,” he said.

If you would like to visit the Kennebec Historical Society, sponsor of the event, they are located at 107 Winthrop Street in Augusta, and are open to the public 10:00AM to 2:00PM from Wednesday through Friday, with additional research hours by appointment. They can be reached at (207) 622-7718

About Maine Old Cemetery Association
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~memoca/moca.htm
The Maine Old Cemetery Association, M.O.C.A., was founded in 1969 for the main purposes of locating old cemeteries in the state of Maine, encouraging the care and preservation of those cemeteries, and the gathering and preservation of historical information regarding these cemeteries.

The Maine Inscription Project (MIP) is THE primary project of MOCA. This entails transcribing all old cemeteries in Maine. MOCA is continuing to prepare its county cemetery listings for publication. This has been an ongoing project since MOCA's beginning. There are still many cemetery listings undone or incomplete. Contact us as to format and data collection procedures. Volunteers are urged to submit listings, updates and corrections for this project.

About the Association for Gravestone Studies
http://www.gravestonestudies.org/
he 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 gravemarkers 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 gravemarkers, and encourages individuals and groups to record and preserve gravestones. At every opportunity, AGS cooperates with groups that have similar interests.

Haunting South Oakfield graveyard

This is a brief but excellent photo essay by Nate (a.k.a. Ravenwing) about the South Oakfield, Maine, cemetery that I found online at fourthirdsphoto.com

South Oakfield met decline and finally oblivion soon after the advent of the railroad, with a few farms holding on into the 1930’s, but is now wholly forested, marked only with a few cellar holes, and a small cemetery. Since moving here some 25 years ago, the South Oakfield cemetery has held a certain fascination for me.

If ever a place can be haunted, this place is. I don’t mean haunted in the ‘scary’ sense, but when I visit this little cemetery, the feelings of dreams unfulfilled, geographical isolation, and human despair seem thick in the air. It is quiet, peaceful, even beautiful in a way, yet an indescribably sad place. I went there the other day, my first visit in several years, and found it much as I left it, though if anything more lonely and perhaps a bit more dilapidated than ever.

It is rugged, and stony ground surrounded by forest, accessible only by several miles of rough and narrow gravel road over steep hills and across northern bogs.

Read full essay and view all the photos here: [Source]

EVENT: Stranger Stop & Cast an Eye

WHEN: Saturday, February 23rd, 10:00am till 11:15am
WHERE: One Longfellow Square (Congress & State Streets at the Longfellow statue), Portland, Maine
WHAT: The 2nd installment of Spirits Alive's three-part Winter Lecture Series. The public is welcomed and the lecture is free.

Dr. David Watters, Professor of English and American Studies at the University of New Hampshire, will present an illustrated lecture entitled "Stranger, Stop and Cast an Eye: A Cultural History of New England."

Dr. Watters will explain how New England's burying grounds tell the stories of four centuries of religious beliefs, family patterns, and social change. Starting with the earliest English markers from the 1660s, we can see in gravestone imagery and hear in epitaphs the hopes and fears of individuals and societies facing the facts of death and life. In tracing changes in gravestone imagery and in cemetery design from Colonial time to today, we see the larger cultural history of New England, as the cemetery reveals stories of immigration, war, social class, all leavened with the wit and wisdom associated with the New England epitaphs.

Watters received his doctorate in American Civilization from Brown University and is a specialist in the study of early American Culture. He was co-editor of The Encyclopedia of New England Culture, and among other publications is his book, Puritan Gravestone Art.

Spirits Alive is the group that has been doing a great job at restoring and revitalizing Portland's Eastern Cemetery. Please see further details of their lecture series online.