Oak Grove Cemetery

[dalcanton]

Here are some photos from my visit to OGC in May.
Entrance gate:

[dalcanton]

Borden family monument, inscriptions & still visible evidence of recent paint vandalism on monument:

[dalcanton]

Single markers. On Lizzie's headstone, someone had placed flowers, coins & rocks. I'm not sure what the coins & rocks are meant to symbolize though. Does anyone know?

[dalcanton]

Cont'd:

[twinsrwe]

You have some great pictures here, Dalcanton! I find it interesting that Lizzie's grave stone is the only one adorned with flowers. The other Borden grave stones appear to be unkempt.

... On Lizzie's headstone, someone had placed flowers, coins & rocks. I'm not sure what the coins & rocks are meant to symbolize though. Does anyone know?

I have no idea what the coins and rocks symbolize. Very odd!

[debbiediablo]

I'm surprised that either there's a "typo" on the large family stone or Lizzie changed her middle name, too.

[MysteryReader]

Great pictures, Dalcanton! Not sure what the coins and rocks symbolize.

When I Googled coins on grave sites, the only answer was military related and can be read about here:

http://www.snopes.com/military/coins.asp

[twinsrwe]

Thanks, Mystery, great information! I Googled 'coins rocks grave stone meaning', There are several web sites listed, so the following information is from a few:

A coin left on a tombstone or at the grave site is meant as a message to the deceased soldier's family that someone else has visited the grave to pay respect.

Leaving a penny at the grave means simply that you visited.

A nickel indicates that you and the deceased trained at boot camp together,while a dime means you served with him in some capacity.

By leaving a quarter at the grave, you are telling the family that you were with the solider when he was killed.

According to tradition, the money left at graves in national cemeteries and state veterans cemeteries is eventually collected, and the funds are put toward maintaining the cemetery or paying burial costs for indigent veterans.

In the United States, this practice became common during the Vietnam war, due to the political divide in the country over the war; leaving a coin was seen as a more practical way to communicate that you had visited the grave than contacting the soldier's family, which could devolve into an uncomfortable argument over politics relating to the war.

Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/nweg2hm

Why do people put rocks on grave stones? Some time ago, I learned that the rocks signified a visitor. That is true enough, but I decided to learn a little more about the custom and share my findings with you.

Putting rocks on tombstones is most often described as a Jewish custom. There are many "Ask a Rabbi" columns out there, but I did not find one that knew for sure where the custom originated. They all agreed, however, that a rock symbolized a visitor and when put on a tombstone said, "I remember you."

Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/q2l6oc3

There are several explanations as to why visitors leave small stones or pebbles on someone’s grave. And it is not strictly a Jewish tradition. For thousands of years, people were buried in tombs or directly in the earth where they had fallen. Stones were then rolled in front of a tomb as a way of sealing it from scavengers and keeping evil spirits from escaping out into the world.

Another reason rocks were left on the grave was based on an Eastern European folklore belief that the dead could haunt their burial place, or return to their family and cause trouble. Stones and rocks were used to prevent the deceased from rising up and escaping the body as a spirit, to torment others.

It is also a Jewish custom to place a stone or pebble on a headstone to indicate that you have visited the grave and to indicate respect for the deceased.

Symbolically, the stones can indicate many things; that love and remembrance are as strong and as lasting as a rock. That as a stone lasts forever so to does love. Even a belief that the deceased is with God, since the Old Testament refers to God as a rock, as in Psalm 18:2 -- "The Lord is my rock…”

Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/m89qehs

Flowers, though beautiful, will eventually die. A stone will not die, and can symbolize the permanence of memory and legacy.

Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/ndoxmgs

Coins: The practice started in the United States during the Vietnam War because of the political climate throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s. Many times friends of those fallen comrades left coins on the headstones so that the families would know someone had paid their respects.

Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/olog5kg

[Franz]

Thank you fore sharing, for both pictures and information!

[MysteryReader]

Thank you, Twins for the other information. I did come across the first link you shared but not the others, regarding the rocks.

[debbiediablo]

Remember the end of the Schindler's List. A Jewish friend of mine who was a professor of European history always left a stone on the graves he visited - Jewish or gentile. He said this tradition originated in the Middle East where stones are almost always available whereas flowers may not be....and that the stone is forever emblematic of remembrance.

[twinsrwe]

You're welcome, Franz.

[twinsrwe]

Thank you, Twins for the other information. I did come across the first link you shared but not the others, regarding the rocks.

You're welcome, Mystery. It was very interesting and fun to learn what the stones and coins symbolize.

[augusta]

That is a shame that the Borden monument was vandalized.

Thanks for the info regarding rocks and coins on graves, twinsrwe. The last time I was in Fall River I heard why it was good to put coins on Andrew Borden's grave, and I have forgotten. Something about it would please him, since he was frugal. It sounded like someone made that up.

When visiting my husband's grandfather's grave someone had draped a long, black necklace over his monument. It was not a rosary. It looked weird. It made me think of a Satanic type of thing. His was the only grave in that cemetery to have that on it.

In Savannah, GA, there is a cemetery in town called Colonial Park. During Sherman's march to the sea, the cemetery was used as a campground for his troops. Since they were Confederate graves, some of Sherman's soldiers altered the info on some of the tombstones. Like they'd scratch or carve out the real ages of people to make them read falsely. A stone for a married man read that he was ll years old. A stone for a woman read that she was three when she died, and she had married and had children. I read in a novel that took place there that on some tombstones the deceased's real name was scratched off, so their families would not be able to find them. I didn't notice any of those. That is known to be a very active cemetery as far as the paranormal goes.

[twinsrwe]

That is a shame that the Borden monument was vandalized. …

I agree, augusta, vandalism, particularly of a grave stone or monument, is a blatant display of disrespect for the deceased. It doesn’t matter how one feels about the deceased that are buried there, to vandalize their grave/monument is an extremely evil thing to do. Usually, this type of vandalism is done by teenagers out having ‘fun’, but I just ran across an article about a 43-year-old woman who vandalized several graves at the Papakura Cemetery, in New Zealand, on May 16th, 2015. Flowers and crosses of deceased children and stillborn babies had been strewn across the lawn!!!

scczen_a_180515splgraves99_620x310.jpg

1432087014036.jpg

1433996278581.jpg

papakura_cemetery_desecration_Master.jpg

http://tinyurl.com/ptrz6fp

http://tinyurl.com/nry5v3n

http://tinyurl.com/nwntrgr

… Thanks for the info regarding rocks and coins on graves, twinsrwe. The last time I was in Fall River I heard why it was good to put coins on Andrew Borden's grave, and I have forgotten. Something about it would please him, since he was frugal. It sounded like someone made that up. …

You’re welcome for the information I found regarding the rocks and coins on graves. It was interesting to do the research on them, it’s amazing what you learn.

[augusta]

Thank you for posting the photos, twinsrwe. What destruction! I agree that you'd have to be evil to do something like that.

[twinsrwe]

You're welcome, augusta. As far as I can tell, the name of the 43-year-old woman, who vandalized these graves, has not been released. It's probably a good thing, since I think there are many relatives of the deceased children who would love to get their hands on her!

[augusta]

Twinsrwe, do they know why she did that? Drunk? On drugs? Emotionally disturbed? At least they caught her. Otherwise it would probably be blamed on teen vandals. I think if she goes to court, her name will be public info. But in this case where, like you say people might like to get a hold of her, I wonder if they'd seal it to protect her.

[twinsrwe]

No, according to several articles that I found on Google, her name and the reason for this destruction has not yet been released. Apparently she appeared in court today, (July 11, 2015), and was charged with intentional damage. She is also due to appear in court again next month, so it makes sense that no details have been released at this time. I’m sure her name has been withheld for her protection. I put a Google alert on this story, so that any new information regarding this incident will be sent to me via an e-mail.

Here is the link to the best article I found regarding this occurrence:

http://tinyurl.com/oteaz8n


Here are the links to other much shorter articles:

http://tinyurl.com/pus5a4o

http://tinyurl.com/o6rw3wl

http://tinyurl.com/petnz7t