Every Cemetery in Oregon...

topic posted Wed, December 5, 2007 - 7:07 AM by  S. Archer
"The Oregon Burial Site Guide" purports to list every burial site in Oregon.
Often not much historical information is given, just locations and some pertinent dates.

There are some pictures, and occasionally information is given, such as the following;

"UNKOWN An unidentified man, described as being 5' 4" tall was struck and killed by a train
0.5 of a mile north of Kent. He was buried on the spot where he was killed."

(Pg. 789)

More info:

www.oregoncemeteries.org/Cemet...ks.htm
posted by:
S. Archer
Portland
  • Re: Every Cemetery in Oregon...

    Wed, December 5, 2007 - 7:41 AM
    How fascinating - thank you! Can we take a field trip or two to some of the Portland cemeteries some time soon? www.cemeteryinfo.net/or/cems.html

    BTW, I *may* have, er, "relocated" a little headstone from the Barlow Pioneer Cemetery in 1985 . . . It had only the initials "S.M.", and it was about a foot high (it had been broken off at ground-level), and 6 inches across. I had it for a long time, but not anymore. If I have to explain what happened to it, well, another day. Maybe. ;o)
    • Re: Every Cemetery in Oregon...

      Wed, December 5, 2007 - 8:45 PM
      It's a date!
      I'd like to go to the gypsy cemetery sometime. (Roselawn~

      content.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cgi-bi...wer.exe )

      Maybe we should try and track down that fragment sometime and return it, if feasible.

      Here's an excerpt about a guy and his wife who endeavor to document all 'Woodsman of the World' grave markers;

      " ...On a whim, he mentioned to his wife that he would photograph all the Woodmen of the World markers in Colorado. Little did he know what this comment would turn into. Says Jim, "My wife is used to my crazy ideas, but figured this would be a better hobby than collecting farm implements or old lawn mowers, and it seemed like fun thing to do".

      When asked what other people think about his hobby, he responds, "Some folks think that I'm crazier then a pet coon, but then one day while watching some of the rare TV that I do, I saw them interviewing a fellow who was trying to go to every McDonald's in the USA and eat something there. He has this big spiral notebook of every one that he had been to with the date and what he purchased there!"

      interment.net/column/feat...md/index.htm

      I knew somebody who wanted to photograph Dunkin Donuts all over the United States and make a big coffee table book out of it.
      So, Why not? , I guess.



      • Re: Every Cemetery in Oregon...

        Wed, December 5, 2007 - 9:20 PM
        Please, please, PLEASE - I'll even do a little bellydance ritual once we get there! That'd *rock*!

        The fragments (how did you know it got fragmentized in my care?) may be at a couple of blocks ?South? of the intersection of S.W. Garden Home and Oleson Roads, in the back yard, marking my kitty, Sukah's, grave. Worth a look to me! :o* I wouldn't have been shocked if the current residents made the headstone fragments disappeared, though, frankly.
  • Re: Every Cemetery in Oregon...

    Tue, December 11, 2007 - 8:24 PM
    definitely go to a cemetery with misha! it's time spent with misha, first of all. plus you may find yourself assisted by a black cat cemetery guide. that's what happened when she took me to visit the dead in portland. cemeteries have been a favorite haunt of mine for decades, but before my outing with misha, i'd never had the pleasure of a quite sentient seeming fe-lion guide before.

    : )
    • Re: Every Cemetery in Oregon...

      Tue, December 11, 2007 - 10:47 PM
      Oh, sweetheart - that was so beautifully sweet and *surreal*! What an angel of a cat, and what a fabulous cemetery (or anywhere) companion you are!

      Love, hugs, and Blessings,

      ~ Misha :o)
  • Re: Every Cemetery in Oregon...

    Sun, December 16, 2007 - 11:20 AM
    Some tips for reading old gravestones, from a genealogy website;

    * Using a large mirror to direct bright sunlight diagonally across the face of a grave marker casts shadows in indentations and makes inscriptions more visible.

    * If the writing is too faded to read, use a 75 watt black light bulb in any lamp that casts light directly on the written message. The writing will miraculously appear.
    - - - ->
    I'm going to get a portable blacklight to take camping with me. I like to go for short walks in the dark, and I'd be curious to see if anything illuminated under blacklight. They make a nice LED headlamp one that is supposed to be fairly powerful.
    Imagine how weird it would look to see a blacklight bobbing around through the woods...
    • Re: Every Cemetery in Oregon...

      Sun, December 16, 2007 - 12:49 PM
      i'm going to invite this amazing woman mossie i met in portland to this tribe. as i recall, she and her mom would go to graveyards and her mom had some kind of special technique for reading the old ones. maybe involving some kind of dusting or something???
      • Re: Every Cemetery in Oregon...

        Sun, December 16, 2007 - 1:09 PM
        It's fun to take some big pieces of paper, and some charcoal, place the paper over the lettered/symboled part(s) of the headstone(s), and gently rub the charcoal on the paper. Sometimes you can lift details that aren't obvious to the naked eye (and it can make for some neat wall "art", too).

        It would be lovely to have Mossie here, honey-girl! ~ Misha
        • Re: Every Cemetery in Oregon...

          Mon, January 7, 2008 - 9:56 PM
          Hi! It took me a couple weeks to get my act together, but here I am, and so happy to be reading about OR cemeteries.

          So I grew up with a genealogy nut. Summers spent in the big Mormon genealogy library in Salt Lake City. My mom was pretty freaked out by nature, but put her on the scent to an old cemetery, and she'd go tromping through fields and forests to find an ancestor's final resting spot. It was pretty cool to see my depressive mama actually excited about something. And to see her in nature was downright thrilling.

          And yes, just like Misha describes, we'd take paper and use pencils or charcoal or chalk or pastels to make rubbings on the headstones that were too decrepit to read anymore.
          • Re: Every Cemetery in Oregon...

            Tue, January 8, 2008 - 12:13 PM
            Hi Mossie,
            Did you grow up in Oregon? Any memorable cemeteries or cemetery trips?
            It's good that your mom found a hobbie that she enjoyed...!

            I've done some genealogy, and it was pretty fun.

            I've thought about offering my services to people who live in other states who want to look for information in or about Oregon cemeteries.
            • Re: Every Cemetery in Oregon...

              Tue, January 8, 2008 - 7:29 PM
              Yippeee! Mossie's here!!!! :oD Hooray! Welcome, babe!
              • Re: Every Cemetery in Oregon...

                Wed, January 9, 2008 - 8:26 AM
                Hi all, there's an organized tour of Lone Fir this very weekend:

                www.metro-region.org/index.c...id=25627

                Looks interesting, but probably a bit staid for this group. I want an unofficial tour. ;-)
                • Re: Every Cemetery in Oregon...

                  Wed, January 9, 2008 - 7:15 PM
                  Innerestin. I'd go, but I work Saturdays.

                  I used to live in the neighborhood, and I'd go there on summer afternoons when my apartment was too hot.
                  You could usually find a slight breeze if you searched for it on the right side of a some little hill, along with some shade.

                  I spent a night in Lone Fir once when I'd given up my apartment, but wasn't quite ready to embark on a road trip I'd planned.
                  No ghosts were sighted. I slept pretty well, actually.

                  From D.A. Lund (pen name of Charles O. Olsen), "Lone Fir - Silent City of the Dead";
                  "The Chinese burial section embraces about an acre and was conferred without deed...Curious customs surrounded these Chinese burials....All the deceased's papers were burnt in the brick oven which still stands at the corner of the cemetery acre. Food was provided and set out on the newly made grave so that the departed might not go hungry....Vagrants an other perennially hungry and impecunious were not above visiting Chinese graves right after a funeral to feast on the roast pig or duck, chicken , noodles and whatnot of tasteful viands set out for the benefit of those underground."
            • Re: Every Cemetery in Oregon...

              Fri, January 11, 2008 - 1:06 PM
              I grew up in Utah, but my mom is from Eugene and her dad grew up in a logging camp outside Powers, Oregon. Lots of the cemetery-tromping adventures with mama were in NorCal, near Santa Rosa.

              But I do remember my grandfather insisting we find a cemetery back in the woods near one of the logging camps . . . I'm pretty sure it was near Powers, but it's been about twenty years and my memory fades. Maybe closer to Roseburg? I'm not sure.

              My maternal grandparents are buried in the Belcrest Cemetery in Salem on Browning Avenue. It's pretty; not as sterile as some places I've been, but also sort of typical in that boring-modern-cemetery sort of way.
              • Re: Every Cemetery in Oregon...

                Thu, May 22, 2008 - 6:16 AM
                An announcement from METRO reminded me of this thread. I'm sharing in case anyone's interested:

                www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cf..._id=26565

                Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery master plan and Block 14 Planning open house
                Saturday, May 24, 2008
                10:00 am to 2:00 pm

                Review three proposed options for a new commemorative public open space for Block 14 (at Southeast 20th Avenue and Morrison Street) and comment on site improvements for the historic Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery. Project staff and Friends of Lone Fir will be on hand to answer questions.

                Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery
                Southeast 21st Avenue and Morrison Street, Portland

                Sponsored by Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery, Metro.

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