Little Hope Cemetary

It seems like every time I visit the quiet old graveyard in Mammoth Cave National Park where many of my kinfolk are buried that I see something else to focus on.

Click here: Little Hope Cemetary, Mammoth Cave National Park is the entry from last year, when mortality was weighing rather heavily on my shoulders following a cancer diagnosis.

This year I felt rather light hearted and happy as I wandered through the gravestones, looking at the old headstones and footstones. Many of the graves are of children--life was much shorter and less certain in the late 1800's/early 1900's than it is now, and I felt blessed for my children and my own life. Some of the aching epitaths moved me deeply...people were less afraid to be sentimental and grieving back then. Many graves have birth, death, baptism, marriage, and anniversary dates engraved on the headstones, and the exact number of years, months and days someone lived.

And this time I seemed to focus on the number of hands on the headstones...many were clasped, and some had just one hand, pointing the way. I wonder what the clasped hands signified? Farewell?

As usual, I spoke to the people resting there, reassuring them that a daughter of theirs still remembers to visit them, among all the tourists that come through the Appalachian cemetary. We were there for the Doyel/Doyle family reunion, which ultimately we did not attend since I fell down some steps inside of the Frozen Niagra tour and was so sore the next day that we headed home...

Written by hestiahomeschool Blog about this entry

This entry has 5 comments: (Add your own)

#5 Comment from kimijosi
10/2/06 9:54 AM | Permalink

The gravestones out at the cemetaries on the Camp Ernst property also have hands pointing to Heaven and hands clasped. I always loved them, especially the one pointing to Heaven. I think that I would prefer to see grave markers like that, as opposed to the modern ones we have...there's something so much more openly loving and hopeful about it...more joy in the mourning, I guess.
#4 Comment from hewasolddog299
10/2/06 6:17 AM | Permalink

Kas, I think you'll find this article of interest:

http://www.ancestry.com/columns/george/07-23-99.htm

wil
#3 Comment from queeniemart
10/2/06 1:35 AM | Permalink

i have always liked how in the old days they would put that Sally lived 54 yrs, 2 months and 3 days. They made every day count....do we?
love,lisa
#2 Comment from my78novata
10/1/06 10:18 PM | Permalink

just back from camping so had to read and listen to all your netries now. Thanks for all the pics and water pics to share and the boat ride. I will have live deer video and me tryingt o pet one when I do my next entry on my camping. At kincaid thedeer walk all around *yes evne with the dogs) yur camping place.
#1 Comment from sugar1337
10/1/06 9:34 PM | Permalink

I so do love cemetaries myself. Maybe the closed hands are a sign that the person buried there will one day be met again with open hands by those that they left behind and will be met on the other side by other sets of friendly hands, welcoming them home....?
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Little Hope Cemetary