this recent post by stating that the statues my mom and I saw in the Waterloo cemetery "added a sense of comfort and serenity". I hadn't looked at the photos from that day yet! The statue figures add something, but what exactly that something is, is the question!!
This angel statue is probably six feet tall and situated atop an already towering tombstone. The face and wings are frightfully blotchy, and in an attempt to cheer up her/his appearance, I added a happy color to the background. Obviously, that didn't help much!
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This cemetery surely must be one of the oldest ones in Waterloo. Near the front gate were several graves of the Hanna family, who I think were some of the first white settlers in this area. That would have been in the 1830's & '40's, and at that time Waterloo was known as "Prairie Rapids", and neighboring Cedar Falls was called "Sturgis Falls". This cemetery is sprawled across a sloping rise above the Cedar River. It seems cemeteries often end up on hills. Maybe Native Americans used this area, too, for encampments.......or burials.
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There's another cemetery I had thought of visiting that day with my mom, but we ran out of time. It is north of Cedar Falls, and buried there, I believe, is the author Bess Streeter Aldrich. She wrote about the early settlers of this area of Iowa. Two of her books are A Lantern In Her Hand and A Song Of Years. I read the first one back when I was in high school, and recall bawling my eyes out at the end. Abbie Deal's deceased husband, Will, had returned in spirit to escort her from this world.......it is a very moving scene:
She turned to the doorway. "It seems a little dark. You know, Will, I think we will need a lantern. I've always kept the lantern.....". Her voice trailed off into nothing. For Will was still smiling at her, questioningly, quizzically,-----but with something infinitely more tender,-------something protecting, enveloping. Slowly it came to her. Hesitatingly, she put her hand up to her throat. "Will......you don't mean it!......No THAT.......not DEATH......so EASY? That it's nothing more than THIS.......? Why, WILL!"
Abbie Deal moved lightly, quickly, over to her husband, slipped her hand into his and went with him out of the old house, past the Lombardy poplars, through the deepening prairie twilight,------into the shadows.
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"Because the road was steep and long,
And through a dark and lonely land,
God set upon my lips a song
And put a lantern in my hand."
---------Joyce Kilmer
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Bess Streeter Aldrich's book A Song Of Years contains the fictionalized account of a true story that happened in the life of the great-grandfather of a good friend of mine. The great-grandfather, as a young man, had come to this area, on foot, to acquire land to homestead on, and found a nice section that he wanted. Two land speculators driving a buggy wanted that piece of land, too. It would become the property of whoever could get back to the land office in Dubuque first (around 100 miles to the east). Remember, my friend's great-grandfather was travelling ON FOOT, and the other two men had a horse and buggy. Guess who got there first.........yup, that's right.......my friend's great-grandfather! Its a well-known story around here. My friend's family still owns and farms that land, and it is a very beautiful area, with good soil, timber and a lovely creek.
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One last photo from the cemetery........this tree seemed to shout, "Hey, I fit right in here......I'm dead, too!! And don't you DARE try any stunts to cheer up MY image........such as a pink background, GOOD GRIEF!!!"
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3 comments:
Great stories. ANd that's a fascinating tree.
Nice history stories, Jeannelle!
That's the first time I ever saw a song (mournsome as it is) as a tombstone. Very interesting. I like to read old tombstones.
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