Monday, June 24, 2019

Tree Shaped Tombstones - Missing Pieces in Cadillac Michigan

When I am traveling I sometimes have a few free hours to just wander about a small town.  I have gotten pretty good at figuring out the history of a place by a walk down Main Street, with side trips to "the other side of the tracks", any open construction sites, and of course the local cemetery.

Cadillac Michigan I had figured out early on.  Logging community, post Civil War, later re purposing as a resort area.  I figured the local cemetery would have more than its fair share of "Tree Shaped Tombstones".  And it did.  Sort of.

It is fairly common to see a larger family marker, in a typical tree trunk shape, surrounded by smaller markers for the individuals.  Sometimes these would have names, sometimes just designations like "Mother".  Here's a few.



Note the interesting flower basket made with smooth pebbles.  This seems to be a local style.  And here below another odd planter, once a sort of tree shape now with the applied plaster flaking off.



And another batch of the small subsidiary tree/log forms.  But notice something missing?


Not a single example of the larger and more interesting family markers.  Just these little guys that you really never see in isolation.  Except in Cadillac Michigan.

I guess different cemetery associations can make whatever rules they like, but these would seem an odd stance to take.  Nor can I see any evidence that the family markers used to be in situ but are now gone.  Usually at least some trace of foundation would remain.


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