On Sunday, I drove north beyond Newport in order to visit a prospective host family for a young French boy who will be coming to visit later this week. It was a pleasant drive along the Susquehanna and then crossing the Juniata River, through the tidy square in Newport and then out into the countryside.After a nice visit with the family, I headed back to Harrisburg. On the way, I stopped into the Newport Cemetery, because, as you learned in the last blog entry, I am a sucker for a good cemetery.
In this particular graveyard, the oldest stones were in the center section, with the newer ones of the perimeter. The most recent expansion took place to the rear of the property, where the markers were all the flat bronze type. There were even some that were a little avant-garde for such a quiet, rural place. Here's one of them. I wonder if the stone came from someone's yard or had some personal meaning.
I had seen the "handshake" motif before, but the carving on the two stones shown at the top of the page had particularly "manly" hands as opposed to some more delicate ones I have seen.
This stone caught my eye, although I am not sure why.
As I drove past the stones and read the names, I was struck in one particular "neighborhood" with a cluster of names mirroring peoples' professions. You know, like Shoemaker or Cartwright. Take a look at what I mean:
A home decorator.
A pharmacist.
The weatherman.
Equine shoemaker.
With or without cuffs?
Wheat and corn grinder.
Micro-brewer.
Kitchen worker.
Fisherman.
Lawyer or judge.
Well, I saved the best for last. It's the one that got me started on this whole train of thought. How'd you like to have this for a last name?
Urologist.
Now do you see why I like visiting cemeteries?
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