We tend to think of burial practices as being pretty standard across the country. But this is not actually the case. Major urban areas trend towards cremation as open space is at a premium. Alaska has permafrost. And then there is Louisiana.
Louisiana is more than its chief city New Orleans. But N.O. tends to dominate our images of the state. And in New Orleans most burials are above ground. Hey, go figure, build a city below water level, a city that is kept from becoming a big frog pond only be elaborate levees, and you'll have difficulty digging an honest six foot deep grave.
Recently Jay, a frequent correspondent, sent me several pictures from Houma Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. Thanks Jay!
The "Two Fork" style of tombstone is fairly common here up north, but this one is odd in that it is both on the chubby side and has the inscription flat almost at ground level. Up this way you'd sometimes not see it if the caretaker would not mow the lawn on schedule. Note the hard gravel surface in this cemetery. Note also the nifty brass inscription plate which is seriously leaching metal salts into the surrounding stone due the the wet environment.
So there's your quick tour around one Southern cemetery. Trees generally, and Woodman examples specifically seem to be fairly common down that way. With the popularity of this style among Civil War soldiers it is no surprise that various Confederate Cemeteries are particularly good hunting. Perhaps for another day.
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