There are many magnificent monuments at the Memorial Cemetery in St. Genevieve, MO. I spent quite awhile there one afternoon and only realized later that I forgot about getting pictures of the town. The cemetery completely captured my imagination. But, despite all the imposing headstones, I’ll be honest – the ones that really garnered my attention were much smaller and less significant…
Who was D.L.G.? Was the massive tree there planted in memory when he or she died? Was it always someone’s intent to place a more impressive marker once they had the money? Or was this lowly marker the benevolence of a town that knew little about the person they were burying? How long has that broken little brick been resting there like that? How long since anyone has known what D.L.G. stood for? How long has it laid ignored in the shadow of its grander neighbor to the north and the even more imposing neighbors nearby?
More examples after the jump…
Or, how about this one?
You can tell there are words there, but they are almost completely unreadable. And why are the broken pieces laying against the larger, intact headstone? Obviously, the restorers of the cemetery determined to some degree that they were related. Was this a loving couple? Parent and child? Whoever they are, one is still supporting the other, a hundred-plus years later…
Or, perhaps, the most poignant one of all…no other visible graves nearby…all by itself…and just off the main walk path. Beautifully rendered. Fully readable. And very, very sad.
I processed this picture the same way I would process a shot from a newborn session. For some reason, it felt…appropriate. A baby picture is a baby picture, after all. And all babies are precious and beautiful…Always to be cherished, never forgotten…
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