EVENT: Eastern Cemetery rain or shine today!

The launch party for MERCY IS TAKING PLACE AS PLANNED at the Eastern Cemetery.

Join us for cloudy and possibly misty:

-Undead Makeovers

-Antiqued Photos with the Ghost of Mercy

-A Reading from Mercy: The Last New England Vampire

-Book Sales & Signing

-Edible and Tattoo'd Hearts for the Taking

Come or eat your heart out!

Fun stuff for those interested in the old New England vampire stories...

WHAT:book launch party for MERCY: The Last New England Vampire
WHEN: Saturday, October 1, 2011, 2:00pm - 4:00pm
WHERE: Eastern Cemetery, 224 Congress St, Portland, ME (Rain location: Portland Public Library, Main Branch, Teen Room)
FMI: Curious City, 207-420-1126

MERCY, the last New England vampire, was pulled forcibly from her tomb in 1892. The teen novel about this horrific true incident and the present-day girl who uncovers it will be launched at the Eastern Cemetery in Portland, Maine on Saturday, October 1st at 2:00 PM.

The author, Sarah L. Thomson will be reading and signing her novel while the ghost of Mercy walks the graveyard. Readers will have a chance to catch Mercy on film, to try out a choice of supernatural makeup (vampires, zombies, or ghosts), and to tour the graveyard with its caretakers, Spirits Alive. Spirits Alive will tell stories of other teen girls taken tragically at the turn of the century. Each reader will walk away with a memento of Mercy.

Mercy: The Last New England Vampire is published by Islandport Press and the event is sponsored by the Islandport Press, Portland Public Library, and Curious City.

EVENT: New England vampire book launch

Fun stuff for those interested in the old New England vampire stories...

WHAT:book launch party for MERCY: The Last New England Vampire
WHEN: Saturday, October 1, 2011, 2:00pm - 4:00pm
WHERE: Eastern Cemetery, 224 Congress St, Portland, ME (Rain location: Portland Public Library, Main Branch, Teen Room)
FMI: Curious City, 207-420-1126

MERCY, the last New England vampire, was pulled forcibly from her tomb in 1892. The teen novel about this horrific true incident and the present-day girl who uncovers it will be launched at the Eastern Cemetery in Portland, Maine on Saturday, October 1st at 2:00 PM.

The author, Sarah L. Thomson will be reading and signing her novel while the ghost of Mercy walks the graveyard. Readers will have a chance to catch Mercy on film, to try out a choice of supernatural makeup (vampires, zombies, or ghosts), and to tour the graveyard with its caretakers, Spirits Alive. Spirits Alive will tell stories of other teen girls taken tragically at the turn of the century. Each reader will walk away with a memento of Mercy.

Mercy: The Last New England Vampire is published by Islandport Press and the event is sponsored by the Islandport Press, Portland Public Library, and Curious City.

Summer 2011 Eastern Cemetery events

Interested in cemeteries? Intrigued by their history? If you're in Portland, Maine, or passing through sometime this summer, be sure to schedule around these opportunities to participate in the living history of the Eastern Cemetery, as hosted by Spirits Alive! This historic burial ground is located on Congress Street, just before it mounts Munjoy Hill in downtown Portland.

Summer Tours
WHEN:Sundays
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
WHERE:Meet at the Dead House near the front gate at 1:15 PM
COST:$7 per person, seniors and students $4, children under 12 free

It's summer, and that means guided tours through the cemetery! Learn about the types of stones, some of the stories of those who are interred, and some fun facts about burial grounds and funerary customs. The terrain is uneven, the sun can be warm, and the wind can be cool, so wear layers and appropriate footwear. There's so much to see and learn, so join us every Sunday! You can pre-register by emailing sa@spiritsalive.org but it's not required. Check our Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/#!/easterncemetery for cancellations due to weather.

Unearthing the History of the EC
WHEN:Most Every Saturday
8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
WHERE:In the back, down the hill

A group of us continues with the survey of every single stone in the cemetery this summer! Each Saturday we move from stone to stone, filling out a form for each that records the inscription on the stone, the location of it, and the condition of the stone itself. Weather determines whether we will be there or not, so check the Website for the most up-to-date schedule . You can also check our Twitter feed each Saturday morning – we often post updates on what we've encountered.

Maine Ghost Hunters cemetery series!

What: Sunday Cemetery Series Kick-Off - Eastern Cemetery in Portland, ME
When: Sunday, June 12, 2011 1:00 PM
Price: $3.00 per person
Where: Eastern Cemetery, 224 Congress Street, Portland, Maine (between Mountfort and Federal Streets)
FMI: http://www.meetup.com/MaineGhostHunters/

The kick-off to the 2011 Sunday Cemetery Series is here! Plan to attend the first location of the series right in beautiful Portland, ME. This Maine Ghost Hunters Series was a huge success in 2010, and promises to be even more impressive this season. Unlike some of our investigation meetups, this series is family friendly. Well behaved children 12 and over are invited to attend with their parents.

Any serious cemetery enthusiast would agree, Eastern has to be at the top of the list when it comes to "must see" locations. For many reasons, it is easy to argue that this is one of the most significant colonial cemeteries in the country. It was added to the registry of historical places in 1974. Speaking of history, a theme of this year's series is a remembrance of the 150 year anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. At each location on the tour we will be explaining that particular cemeteries tie to the American conflict that put brother against brother. Eastern has an impressive connection.

Also, for this tour, the Maine Ghost Hunters Team is proud to announce that a member of Spirits Alive will be our very special guest! Spirits Alive is a group dedicated to the preservation of Eastern Cemetery. Their work has kept this national treasure from falling into the hands of neglect, time and vandalism. Their knowledge of the cemetery and all that can be found in it, is unrivaled. Check them out at www.SpiritsAlive.org

So make sure you wear your Maine Ghost Hunters T-shirt (if you have one) and join us for an unforgettable day of cemetery exploration.

EVENT: Help spring clean Eastern Cemetery

Hello from Spirits Alive!

If you have a hankerin' to get some cemetery dirt under your fingernails, we've got a proposition for you!

WHEN: Saturday, May 8, 9am - 12pm
WHERE: Eastern Cemetery, Congress & Mountfort Streets, Portland, ME
FMI: http://spiritsalive.org/events.htm#workdays

Come help us plant, prune, tidy, and trim on Saturday before lunch! Enjoy a sparkling soda courtesy of Shipyard Brewing while you're there.

We are happy to train new cemetery gardeners -- hope to see you there!

Old view of Eastern Cemetery

This is an old postcard showing a view of Portland's oldest cemetery, the Eastern Cemetery, located at the corner of Congress and Mountfort Streets.  This view shows a considerably different appearance than the cemetery has today.  I'm planning on making a trip up to the East End to take photos there sometime this spring, so everyone will have a point of comparison to go from when looking at this old piece, which was printed by the Leighton & Valentine Company, in New York City.

EVENT: Eastern Cemetery workday

WHAT: Eastern Cemetery Workday
WHEN: Saturday, May 2, 2009 from 9am - 12pm
WHERE: Eastern Cemetery, corner of Congress St and Mountfort St (get directions here)
FMI: go to the Spirits Alive website or email sa[AT]spiritsalive.org

Join Spirits Alive at the Eastern Cemetery on Munjoy Hill in Portland for the first workday of the season! Spend Saturday morning trimming, pruning, cleaning and tidying this beautiful green space overlooking Portland harbor.

Landscape architect Barry Hosmer will join us as we prune winter damage on the trees and shrubs, remove invasive vines, weed around the stones, mulch, and plant. Bring work gloves, a hat, appropriate footwear, and any tools you may have such as rakes, shovels, wheelbarrows and hand saws. We train volunteers on how to perform gardening tasks while carefully working around the historic stones.

There's always time for laughs, a little history, and sometimes we even break a sweat! If you can't join us this time, the next workday is June 13.

Spirits Alive October tour schedule

OCTOBER 2008 EVENTS at the Eastern Cemetery in Portland:

Friday 3rd, 5:30pm -- Portland Trails " Discovery Trek"
Saturday 4th, 10:00am -- Art & the Elements
Sunday 5th, 1:00pm -- Earliest Portland: The Eastern Cemetery's Unmarked Past
UPDATE: Unfortunately, the Walk Among the Shadows tours have been cancelled for this season due to a lack of actors.

Join Spirits Alive for some outdoor meanderings on the grounds of this historic graveyard! Meet at the Congress Street gate of the Eastern Cemetery. Admission is $7, and $4 for students, seniors (62 and up) and children under 12 are free. Please have correct change or check. Tours last about 1 hour and will be canceled if it rains. All funds raised go to the Eastern Cemetery. Check the tour schedule.

History of the Eastern Cemetery - stroll through 350 years of the Eastern Cemetery’s intertwined past with the Portland peninsula in this local history-laden tour.

Earliest Portland – The Unmarked Past - in 1632, settlers began arriving at the place we now call Portland. No buildings remain standing from that time. The open land of Eastern Cemetery is an appropriate site to learn about some of the events of the 17th and early 18th centuries that occurred within sight of the cemetery while they shaped Portland’s indomitable spirit.

Art & the Elements - a fascinating introduction to the geology of the Eastern Cemetery, including markers and monuments; a brief introduction to early mortuary art (as seen on the stones), and the effects of the environment on the site.

Walk Among the Shadows - October tours featuring eerie, adventurous and hilarious stories from Portland’s past. They will feature actors appearing as famous (and infamous!) Portland characters under the luminescence of an early evening moon. Adults $10, children 12 years and younger are free.

Spirits Alive is a non-profit organization that supports public access to, events and education, and a master conservation plan for Portland’s Historic Eastern Cemetery.

Eastern Cemetery feature

The Maine Ghost Hunters recently paid a daytime visit to Eastern Cemetery, one of Portland's oldest graveyards. The result is a great post packed with historical and site-specific information, but best of all they include some great photos of the delicious headstones that populate the graves there. Read their full post here.

Photo by Maine Ghost Hunters.

EVENT: Portland's Eastern Cemetery Tours

Sorry you missed Zombie Kickball? Or perhaps in the mood for a more sedate gambol with the dead? Then try one of the many regular tours offered up by Spirits Alive! You can also scroll down further if you are more practical-minded, and peruse the list of workdays when volunteers and those who enjoy the earthy delights of gardening add their touch to the Eastern Cemetery by hand.

Sun, July 13th at 1:00pm — Earliest Portland: The Eastern’s Unmarked Past
In 1632, settlers began arriving at the place we now call Portland. No buildings remain from that time. The open land of Eastern Cemetery is an appropriate site to learn about some of the events of the 17th and early 18th centuries that occurred within sight of the cemetery and shaped Portland’s indomitable spirit.

Saturday, July 19th at 10:00am — Art and the Elements
A fascinating introduction to the geology of the Eastern Cemetery, including markers and monuments; a brief introduction to early mortuary art (as seen on the stones), and the effects of the environment on the site.

Sunday, July 20th at 1:00pm -- Earliest Portland: The Eastern’s Unmarked Past
(see above for description)

Sunday, July 27th, 5pm -- Stroll through the Silent City - The 350 Year History of the Eastern
Stroll through three and a half centuries of the Eastern Cemetery’s intertwined past with the Portland peninsula in this local history-laden tour.

All tours begin at the Congress Street gates of the Eastern Cemetery, and will be cancelled if weather is very rainy. The Eastern Cemetery is located on Congress, Mountfort and Federal Streets at the foot of Munjoy Hill.

Tours take approximately one hour. The ground is uneven at this National Trust for Historic Places site, so please wear appropriate footwear.

Tickets are $7.00 for adults and $4.00 for seniors (62+, children under 12 and students). Cash or check.

WORKDAYS
Join us at the cemetery when we spend the occasional Saturday morning trimming, pruning, cleaning and tidying the landscape. The City of Portland generously supplies us with tools, mulch, water and wheelbarrows, and we train volunteers on how to perform gardening tasks while carefully working around the historic stones. We have a good time and sometimes even break a sweat!

NEXT WORKDAY: Saturday, July 12th, from 9:00am to 1:00pm
Spice up your summer with a little planting/watering/mulching in the cemetery! All are welcomed, green thumb or not. Wear sensible shoes, bring work gloves, a bottle of water and sunscreen or a hat. Bring tools if you have them – a rake, shovel, pruning shears, and wheelbarrow are very useful. We also take loan of City tools so those will be available. Not up to planting trees? We have light pruning and trimming to do as well, and though volunteers have already done a trash pick-up, there's more to do.

Mark your calendar with these remaining workdays: August 9, and September 13.

Spirits Alive is a non-profit organization that supports public access to, events and education, and a master conservation plan for Portland’s Historic Eastern Cemetery.

FMI: www.spiritsalive.org (...and while you're at their site, click on their LINKS page for a remarkable collection of cemetery-friendly websites!)

Stroll with the Ghosts of the Past

Spirits Alive of Portland, Maine, now in its second year, announced their June schedule of public Walking Tours today.

Sunday, June 1st at 2:00pm - Portland and its “silent city” - Stroll through 350 years of the Eastern Cemetery’s intertwined past with the Portland peninsula

Saturday, June 7th at 10:00am and 1:00pm - Art and the Elements - A fascinating introduction to the geology of the Eastern Cemetery, including its markers and monuments; a brief introduction to early mortuary art (as seen on the stones), and the effects of the environment on the site.

Sun, June 8th at 1:00pm - Earliest Portland: The Eastern’s Unmarked Past - In 1632, settlers began arriving at the place we now call Portland. No buildings remain from that time. The open land of Eastern Cemetery is an appropriate site to learn about some of the events of the 17th and early 18th centuries that occurred within sight of the cemetery and shaped Portland’s indomitable spirit.

Sun, June 22nd at 4:00pm - Through the “eyes” of the Eastern
Sun, June 29th at 1:00pm - Earliest Portland: The Eastern’s Unmarked Past

All tours begin at the Congress Street gates of the Eastern Cemetery. The Eastern Cemetery is located on Congress, Mountfort and Federal Streets at the foot of Munjoy Hill.

Tours take approximately one-hour. The ground is uneven at this National Trust for Historic Places site so please wear appropriate footwear.

Tickets are $7.00 for adults and $4.00 for seniors (62+, children under 10 and students), and is payable by cash or check.

Spirits Alive is a non-profit organization that supports public access to, events and education, and a master conservation plan for Portland’s Historic Eastern Cemetery. The Eastern Cemetery is listed on the National Trust for Historic Places.
FMI:www.spiritsalive.org or (207)729-4817.

Springtime in Eastern Cemetery

Christina White of Spirits Alive sent along a note inviting interested folks to enjoy the Eastern Cemetery as spring blooms within its gates, and also to apprise us of upcoming events. Here it is! (Photo from one of the 2007 Workdays).

Good Afternoon,

The Accolade Cherry Trees are in bloom at the Congress gates of the Eastern! Pick-up the gate key at Carlson Turner bookstore (right across the street from the Eastern) and take a stroll, have a seat, enjoy! (This 6 acre cemetery is located on Congress/Mountfort/Federal Streets at the foot of Munjoy Hill.)

On Saturday, May 10th from 9a till 1p, Spirits Alive sponsors its third year of Work Days at Portland's oldest burial ground, the Eastern Cemetery. We host a Saturday Work Day each month beginning in May and concluding in October. Meet at the Congress Street gates.

We'll be planting/watering/mulching about 40 small caliper saplings and it looks like we'll also install two new flowering shrub beds at the Congress Street entrance. With the installation on the 10th, Landscape Architect Barry Hosmer and Spirits Alive volunteers will have installed about 150 trees and flowering shrubs. Each season, this historic site is transforming into an inviting site with offerings of color, light shade, texture and even habitat for birds and insects.

All are welcomed, green thumb or not. Wear sensible shoes, bring work gloves, a bottle of water and sunscreen or a hat. Bring tools if you have them-- a rake, shovel, pruning shears, and wheelbarrow are very useful. We also take loan of City tools so those will be available.

Not up to planting trees? We have light pruning and trimming to do as well, and though volunteers have already done a trash pick-up, there's more to do.

Each May 10 volunteer will receive a ticket for a free 2008 Spirits Alive tour of your choosing as a "thank you." And, once again, Shipyard Brewery is donating their delicious Capt. Eli soft drinks.

Every hour volunteered on this site makes a great difference. Join this great group of Master Gardeners, green-space advocates, history buffs, neighbors, and Spirits Alive volunteers.

Let us know if you'll be joining us!

Best,
Christina and Spirits Alive
christina[at]spiritsalive.org

EVENT: Cumberland County Gravestones Lecture

Spirits Alive is the group that has been doing a great job at restoring and revitalizing Portland's Eastern Cemetery.

Starting this Saturday, their lecture series kicks off with:

Death & Commemoration on the Frontier: An Analysis of Early Gravestones in Cumberland County, Maine, 1720-1820
Saturday, January 26
10:00 am - 11:15 am
One Longfellow Square, 181 State Street, Portland, ME

Joy M. Giguere, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History at the University of Maine, will give an illustrated lecture about 18th century burial practices and gravestones in Cumberland County. This talk will provide an examination of early gravestones in Cumberland County ranging in dates from 1720 to 1820 and what they indicate about early commemorative, social and ideological patterns of Maine residents during this period.

Ms. Giguere will discuss different types of gravestone iconography (winged death's head, cherub, urn and willow, etc.) and the distribution of these types over time and space. She will also provide a discussion of the works of two local carvers, Noah Pratt and Joseph Sikes, as well as an analysis of epitaph language and its usage over time.

Others have completed in depth research on this type of information in more southern regions of New England, but there has been little investigation into gravestones as cultural artifacts on the Maine landscape, which effectively functioned as the northern frontier of English settlement through the colonial period of American history. A question and answer session will follow.

Admission is free and open to the public (donations accepted) and beverages will be available for purchase.

EVENT: Saturday, Spirits Alive meeting

Spirits Alive is the group that has been doing a great job at restoring and revitalizing Portland's Eastern Cemetery.

Join them for their first annual meeting! On Saturday, January 19, 2008, they will be holding a meeting to review the events of 2007 and to look forward to 2008. Everyone is invited to come to One Longfellow Square (at State and Congress Streets) in Portland, Maine. The festivities start at 2:30 pm and run until 3:30 pm. Get there early and be challenged by their giant Eastern Cemetery crossword puzzle, view 2007 activities, and give them your ideas about the Eastern Cemetery on their re-imagination wall. Enter to win a fabulous Eastern Cemetery tee and tour tickets! They'll be announcing their Spirits Alive Membership Program, and you'll have the chance to join! Visit them online at http://www.spiritsalive.org/

Also of note is their upcoming lecture series, kicking off a week from Saturday with:

Death & Commemoration on the Frontier: An Analysis of Early Gravestones in Cumberland County, Maine, 1720-1820
Saturday, January 26
10:00 am - 11:15 am
One Longfellow Square, 181 State Street, Portland, ME

Joy M. Giguere, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History at the University of Maine, will give an illustrated lecture about 18th century burial practices and gravestones in Cumberland County. This talk will provide an examination of early gravestones in Cumberland County ranging in dates from 1720 to 1820 and what they indicate about early commemorative, social and ideological patterns of Maine residents during this period.

Ms. Giguere will discuss different types of gravestone iconography (winged death's head, cherub, urn and willow, etc.) and the distribution of these types over time and space. She will also provide a discussion of the works of two local carvers, Noah Pratt and Joseph Sikes, as well as an analysis of epitaph language and its usage over time.

Others have completed in depth research on this type of information in more southern regions of New England, but there has been little investigation into gravestones as cultural artifacts on the Maine landscape, which effectively functioned as the northern frontier of English settlement through the colonial period of American history. A question and answer session will follow.

Admission is free and open to the public (donations accepted) and beverages will be available for purchase.