Miss Sadie Waters, Saint Louis, Missouri

Miss Sadie Waters...since first seeing her life-sized monument in Saint Louis'

beautiful Victorian/Edwardian "Garden" cemetery, Bellefontaine, in 2003,

I have been fascinated.

Until just a few days ago, however, when my Instagram friend Amy asked

 me if I knew her history, I had to say I did not.

~

Oh, I had wondered about her...she was so young, and there was an artist's

palette at the head of her tomb; that detail resonated with me and I decided 

that she was my "muse"... thereafter taking photos of her reclining bronze 

figure in all seasons, from all angles. Always adding to the pennies

folks left in her hands and on her gown.

Still, I hadn't really questioned who she was...

(although a beloved daughter to have such an exquisite tribute...)

Then, when stopping in the cemetery's office one trip, I bought both

books they offered ~ Bellefontaine's own booklet, "A Journey Through History",

and Carol Ferring Shepley's "Movers and Shakers, Scalawags and Suffragettes ~

Tales from Bellefontaine Cemetery"...those were both interesting reads,

but nary a mention of Miss Sadie in either of them... I was sure she would be,

if only for the uniqueness of her monument!

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So, I went online to see what I could find...

(First, if I had an extra $350k lying around, Miss Sadie's portrait

would be mine...)

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Miss Sadie's portrait is in Adelson Galleries in New York City, and can be seen directly, here.

Artist; Francis Davis (Frank) Millet
(American, 1846-1912)

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Title: Portrait of Sadie P.Waters
(April, 1888, New York City)

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Medium: Oil on Canvas
(31" x 49" ~ 124.5 x 78.7 cm)

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Price: $350,000.00

Executed during the years Millet divided his time between America and England,

the artist painted Sadie, the nineteen-year-old daughter of prominent Saint Louis

industrialist William H.Waters, before she left to study art in France.

Although Millet concentrated on genre scenes at the time, he was likely encouraged

to paint Sadie because she possessed the open, rather dreamy look of the models he

often used, as well as because of the prominence of her family (her father founded

the Waters-Pierce Oil Company with Henry Clay Pierce, which eventually became

part of the famed Standard Oil Trust).

Noted critic Marianna Van Rensselaer singled out the present work in her review

of the National Academy's 1889 annual exhibition. describing Millet's submission

as "a delicate and refined figure of a charming maiden in a lavender gown".

"In addition to capturing the pensive, rather faraway expression on Sadie's youthful

face, Millet depicts her costume in meticulous detail. Here, the rich texture and

soft folds of the pale lavender-grey fabric contrast with the lighter floral print of

the layer below, reflecting and absorbing light in a display of painterly skill.

Though small, the exquisitely detailed fresh rose on Sadie's hand gives emphasis

to the colors in her face, creating a vibrant and luminous composition from the

basic elements of a society portrait."

~

Soon after the present portrait was painted. Sadie Waters left to study painting

in Paris. She apparently resided there for most of her remaining years,

achieving the notable success of an honorable mention at the 1900 Paris

Exposition Universelle for one of her miniatures. Sadly, she experienced what

must certainly have been the high point of her career in the same year that she

died, prematurely, at the age of 30.

(Other records show that Sadie's age should have been 32; she was born in
1867 instead of 1869.)

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Millet, a Harvard University graduate who studied at Antwerp's Royal Academy

of Art, traveled the world as a war correspondent and illustrator. In 1884, he

visited the art colony at Broadway, Worcestershire, England, and soon purchased

a house and studio in the village. For years thereafter, he divided his time between

England and his native United States, meeting an untimely death as a passenger on

the ill-fated Titanic crossing of 1912.

~

Provenance: Private collection, 1945, Elkton, Maryland

By family descent, to the present.

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Sadie attended the Mary Institute for Young Ladies

(affiliated with Washington University, Saint Louis),

and was in the Fifth Academic Class of 1880-81.

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 I found this photo of Sadie ~ although a poor-quality scan ~

(Photographer; L. Alman, New York City)

 (you can still make out her signature braid) that had been sold on eBay by a Belgian seller...

Can you imagine? 

What I would have given to have done this research a little sooner...

The photo sold for only a few dollars.

 The seller said in the listing that it had been included with "some wills" that he had

purchased, and that there were other photos that he had sold to an antique dealer,

 but this had been the only one with identification on the back; "Sadie P. Waters, 1888". 

(It looks as if she is holding a scroll; probably her diploma.)

He was hoping a family member might spy it...

I wrote to him, on the off-chance he might still have a scan ~

It had been long enough that the photo had been removed from the listing,

but a tiny image still showed up in Google Images.

A long shot, I know.

~

The photo of Sadie's artwork, below, and the accompanying text is from

Project Gutenberg's "Women in the Fine Arts From the Seventh

Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.", by Clara Erskine Clement, 1904.

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LA VIERGE AU ROSIER

Sadie Waters

Her picture of the "Vierge aux Rosiers," reproduced here, was in the Salon, 1899, and in the exhibition of Religious Art in Brussels in 1900, after which it was exhibited in New York; and wherever seen it was especially admired.

Miss Waters' pictures were exhibited in the Salon Français, Champs Elysées, from 1891 until her death. From the earliest days of childhood she was remarkable for her skill in drawing and in working out, from her own impressions, pictures of events passing about her. If at the theatre she saw a play that appealed to her, she made a picture symbolic of the play, and constantly startled her friends by her original ideas and the pronounced artistic temperament, which was very early the one controlling power in her life. Mr. Carl Gutherz thus speaks of her good fortune in studying with M. Merson.

"As the Master and Student became more and more acquainted, and the great artist found in the student those kindred qualities which subsequently made her work so refined and beautiful,... he took the utmost care in developing her drawing—the fidelity of line and of expression, and the ever-pervading purity in her work. The sympathy with all good was reflected in the student, as it was ever present with the master, and only those who are acquainted with M. Merson can appreciate how fortunate it was for Art that the young artist was under a master of his character and temperament."

One of her pictures, called "La Chrysanthème," represents a nude figure of a young girl, seated on the ground, leaning against a large basket of chrysanthemums, from which she is plucking blossoms. The figure is beautiful, and shows the deep study the artist had made, although still so young.

The following estimate of her work is made by one competent to speak of such matters: "In this epoch of feverish uncertainty, of heated discussions and rivalries in art matters, the quiet, calm figure of Sadie Waters has a peculiar interest and charm generated by her tranquil and persistent pursuit of an ideal—an ideal she attained in her later works, an ideal of the highest mental order, mystical and human, and so far removed from the tendencies of our time that one might truthfully say, it stands alone. Her talents were manifold. She was endowed with the best of artistic qualities. She cultivated them diligently, and slowly acquired the handicraft and skill which enabled her to express herself without restriction. In her miniatures she learned to be careful, precise, and delicate; in her work from nature she was human; and in her studies of illuminating she gained a perfect understanding of ornamental painting and forms; and the subtle ambiance of the beautiful old churches and convents where she worked and pored over the ancient missals, and softly talked with the princely robed Monsignori, no doubt did much to develop her love for the Beautiful Story, the delicate myth of Christianity—and all this, all these rare qualities and honest efforts we find in her last picture, The Virgin.

"The beauty and preciseness of this composition, the divine feeling not without a touch of motherly sentiment, its delicacy so rare and so pure, the distinction of its coloring, are all past expression, and give it a place unique in the nineteenth century."—Paul W. Bartlett, Paris, 1903.

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Sadie (Sarah) P. Waters; September 26, 1867 ~ August 13, 1900

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Miss Sadie's monument is so unusual in this part of the world...

But I like to think of her, during her years in Paris

(where she resided at 49 Rue des Belles-Feuilles),

as a taphophile like me, wandering the beautiful Père-Lachaise cemetery.

Certainly the reclining bronzes there influenced her (or her family's, for her)

choice of memorials...

Such as the unfortunate Victor Noir, below ~

(killed in a duel by Pierre Bonaparte, great-nephew of Napoleon).

(Google him, he is "famous" beyond that...)

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Or the tomb of Felix Faure...

(Both photos from TripAdvisor.com)

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Artist's palette and laurel leaves at the head of Sadie's monument ~

(always difficult to get this shot due to the proximity of the large obelisk

that marks the Waters plot) ~ "Ars Longa ~ Vita Brevis"

"Art is long, life is short".

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Visitors leave coins in Sadie's hands and on her dress...

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That's all for now...

Much of Sadie's life is still a mystery.

I don't feel I have really done her justice

with this post, but I will keep searching!

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Cairo City Cemetery; Villa Ridge, Illinois

Until recently, I hadn't given a thought as to why I had never seen a cemetery in Cairo, Illinois...

 No matter what one's thoughts are on the plight of little Cairo,

 it is the site of some of the most gorgeous Victorian/Edwardian homes and buildings in the area.

 Yes, still. 

 It is because Cairo is at such a low elevation, and sandwiched as it is between the

Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, that the "City" cemetery is not within the

 city itself, nor is any other graveyard.

~

If you are not from the area, the city of Cairo (pronounced "CAREoh", unlike that of the

Egyptian city for which it was named), Illinois, is the southernmost municipality

in the state, located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.

It is the county seat of Alexander County.

Cairo was established in 1818 and was one of several towns in the region that were

named for locations in Classical civilization. Thebes and Karnak are nearby, in Alexander

and Pulaski Counties, respectively; further north are Sparta, Lebanon and New Athens,

and about one hundred miles south is Memphis, Tennessee, also named for a major

Egyptian city. Due to the resemblance of Southern Illinois to the Nile River delta

(and the aforementioned towns), the region gained the name "Little Egypt".

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The gently sloping drive up to the ""Cairo City Cemetery", established ca. 1864.

This cemetery, as well as the adjoining Calvary Catholic Cemetery, are located just

over the railroad tracks (and to the left) off State Highway 51 (just past the Post Office)

in Villa Ridge, Illinois. I'm writing this because if you ask at the Post Office (as I did),

they may not have a clue as to what cemetery you are referring...and, to be fair, there

are many cemeteries in this area). I have become a "have GPS, will travel" girl,

and am quite dependent on it...however, I need to remind myself that

I should do my research first (and write it down...with archaic pen on paper )...

or enter the information into the GPS...beforehand ~

instead of relying on the internet connection on my phone when I'm out searching...

(I finally drove around until I got a signal, and was able to determine the location of

the cemeteries, so I backtracked...I had been SO close to begin with!)


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A first look at Cairo City Cemetery...

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Can you believe the size of these "Cemetery Trees"?

I believe they could have easily been here since the cemetery was established in 1864,

making them 150 years old.

 Cypress trees are classic Cemetery Trees...in fact, here is something I found on

The Art of Mourning 

Cupressus sempervirens, or the "Graveyard Cypress" is one of the oldest 
classical mourning symbols used in Western and Eastern 
societies and its importance and longevity are just as timeless as the tree itself.

Known as the "mournful tree" by the Greeks and Romans,
 the tree was sacred to the Fates and Furies as well as the rulers
 of the underworld. The tree would be planted by a grave,
in front of a house or vestibule as a warning against outsiders
 entering a place that held a body. Romans would carry branches of cypress
 as a sign of respect for the dead; bodies were also placed on cypress branches prior
 to interment. It is for reasons such as this that the symbolism of the cypress tree
 survives in our culture; it designates hope, as the tree points to the heavens."

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The Kaufman mausoleum; the only one in the cemetery.

Stars of David flank the name on the mausoleum's lintel;

 in front is a little patio with a bench ~ "Friends, in passing by, stop and rest".

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The tomb of Charles W. Frank.

A very nice example of a headstone in the Victorian Rustic Movement style ~

Note all the naturalistic symbolism; the trunk of a tree with cut-off branches

(quite literally, a life "cut short"); the letters of the name are also formed with smaller "branches".

Upon the trunk are climbing roses (love), vines and ferns (humility, sincerity),

and calla lilies (potted ones as well, at the stone's base); as with many other symbols

of the 19th century, calla lilies represented the Resurrection, or the Light of Christ dispelling

the darkness. Their trumpet shape, in the spiritual context, represents the trumpets of

angels heralding Jesus' victory over death.

And finally, a dead dove ~ pretty straightforward!

These "Nature Lovers" stones, with all their lovely details, always draw me to them!


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Another view...note the stylized "cairn" (a man-made pile of rocks) as the

base for the tree-trunk headstone.

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A smaller tree-trunk headstone decorated with ferns and ivy.
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A double obelisk honors Dr. Daniel Arter, left, and his wife Milly, right.

During the Civil War, the Surveyor of Customs (Cairo Customs House) was

Dr. Daniel Arter, who, after his medical career, held several government positions in

Pulaski County. Arter was appointed Surveyor by President Lincoln at the beginning

of the war, and remained as such until 1869 when he retired.

~
Source;  Perrin, William Henry: History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois. (1883)

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The wheat-sheaf on Dr. Arter's stone symbolizes a long and fruitful life.

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Dr. Arter was a charter member of one of Cairo's two Masonic Lodges.

This block connecting the two obelisks features the Masonic square and compass here,

and the letter "G", for God, on the reverse.

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This stone is one of the main reasons I wanted to find and research this cemetery;

certainly the most unusual and distinctive monument here ~

(I've begun Googling cemeteries I want to visit so I can get a "heads up" on

monuments I don't want to miss...too many times I've done this after-the-fact and

regretted not spending a little more time exploring...hopefully this blog will be a help

to my fellow taphophiles in that respect!)

A

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The tomb of William and Mina Alba, which features Mr. Alba's portrait in high relief ~

wreathed in beribboned laurel-leaf branches (triumph over death) ~ on one side.

His hair and extraordinarily large mustache and interesting little beard ("soul patch"?)

are exquisitely detailed, as are his eyes, which are rather...riveting.

One can only hope that time and the elements have taken their toll on Mr. Alba's gaze, however,

and he really didn't have any similarity to Johnny Depp's Sweeney Todd character...

(No disrespect intended, Mr. Alba!)

William Alba was born in Grosenbuseck, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany,

in June 13, 1837; son of barber Daniel Alba (1807-1857),

William was the only one of Daniel's five children by his first wife to accompany his

 father to America - along with Daniel's second wife and their children. Daniel Alba died

in Saint Louis in 1857, the same year they arrived in America.

~

Upon moving to Cairo, William followed in his father's footsteps by opening his

own barber shop; he also employed his half-brother Conrad, who would go on to

become a prominent Cairo businessman.

William's marriage to Miss Minnie Lohmeier took place on February 25, 1872.

Minnie (or "Mina", but probably actually "Wilhelmina", as this was also their daughter's name)

 was born in Prussia in 1835, coming to America in 1857 along

with her sister. She and William were the parents of five children; their youngest,

Wilhelmina ("Minnie"), died of diphtheria at age four (article here).

William Alba died in Cairo on November 9, 1882 (at age forty-five),

 and was buried with full honors by the fraternal organizations to which he belonged;

the Masonic Fraternity, I.O.O.F. (Oddfellows), Knights of the Golden Rule,

and the fire department.

The following article is from The Cairo Evening Citzen, August 4. 1906.

MRS. MINNIE ALBA HAS PASSED AWAY.

Died Last Evening at 6:30 O’clock at Her Home, No. 604 Commercial Ave.

DECEASED WAS A NATIVE OF GERMANY.

Came to This County in 1857 and Located at Cairo in 1858—71 Years Old

Mrs. Minnie Alba, widow of the late William Alba, passed away at her home, No. 604 Commercial Avenue, last evening, about 6:30 o’clock. The deceased was 71 years of age.

Mrs. Alba had been in poor health for some time and her death was due to the infirmities of old age.

The deceased was a native of Germany, having been born at Minden, Westphalia, Prussia, May 15, 1835. Her parents died when she was a mere child. With four sisters she came to this country and located at St. Louis in 1857. The year following, she was married and removed with her husband to Cairo, where she has resided ever since.

Five children resulted from this union, four of whom are living. They are Mrs. P. W. Kobler, Misses Matilda and Ida Alba, and Benjamin W. Alba. All reside in this city.

Mrs. Alba was a member of the German Lutheran Church but had never joined any secret organizations.

By her kind and sweet disposition, the deceased won many friends, who always held her in the highest esteem. She was a faithful wife and a loving mother and her death will be greatly deplored by her relatives and friends.

The funeral will be held tomorrow afternoon. The remains will be buried at Beech Grove Cemetery, beside her husband and child.

~
So, the Albas and little Minnie were re-interred in Cairo City Cemetery

 at some time after August, 1906. This reinforces my thinking that the shadow box

 memorials (in the photos to follow) were placed there for

 William and Mina by their remaining children.



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From the Cairo Daily Bulletin, March 16, 1871;

(I love the way this is worded!)

"William Alba's barber shop is patronized by a vast number of our citizens,
and the universal judgement of his customers is that he can "polish off"
the human face divine with a skill that few barbers possess.
His brother, who presides over one of the chairs, can handle a razor as
skillfully as Von Moltke can his sword, but it never brings blood.
The shop is neatly furnished, and is located on Commercial Avenue
near the corner of Eighth Street, next door to Hannon's book store."

See the original article and newspaper here.


Also from the Cairo Daily Bulletin, July 1, 1871;

"William Alba's barber shop is growing in public favor every day. It is neatly
fitted up, and can boast of the most skillfull [sic] workmen in the city.
The proprietor has had many years' experience in this business and is 
recognized as one of the most expert shavers in Southern Illinois.
While young Alba is a master in his profession, citizens and strangers who
wish a painless shave, a luxurious shampooing, or their hair cut in the latest
style should patronize Alba. His shop is on Washington Avenue
next door to Hannon's news depot."


Click here to see the actual newspaper. Mr. Alba's article is in the third column from the left.

 Just reading the ads is worth it!

Also, on July 4, 1879, this blurb was in the Cairo Evening Citizen;

"William Alba is putting the finishing touches on the 
handsomest barber shop in the West."

Wow! That's quite a claim! Here's the actual piece.

This is also on the same page of that edition...

"William Alba will open his new barber shop in a few days.
New, clean, airy and commodius. His prices will be put down to suit the times.
Shaving, 10 cents. Haircut, 25 cents. Shampooing, 25 cents.
Hair and whiskers dyeing in proportion. He invites all his old customers to
call on him in his new quarters, and new friends and the public, generally,
will find good workmen and satisfactory work."

(I guarantee you will enjoy this site...I have been putting various family names in
the "search"; most  of the keywords are highlighted, making it very user-friendly!)

(Provided by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, Illinois, for the
Library of Congress' "Chronicling America - Historic American Newspapers" program.)


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The Alba names are listed on the central obelisk, but they also have individual stones.

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This side of the Alba monument honors Ben; October 20, 1869 - January 18, 1920

and little Wilhelmina ("Minnie"), July 7, 1872 - September 17, 1878.

Under little Minnie's name it reads,

"Her eyes were wide as the bluebell flower
her mouth like a flower unblown;
we could not think that oh, so soon
God would recall his own"

And, beneath that, a continuation of the sentiments for William...

"Gone, gone the bright spirit fled, the loved husband and father lies silent dead.
We never knew one more noble and kind ~ no more pure in heart;
and we feel the he has found his ease from the pain from which he has suffered so long.
And we know that the noble soul of our loved and lost is waiting in joy
 the coming of those he loved so well."

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Sadly, the obelisk's cap and urn are just lying on the ground.

Amazingly not carted away.

And I say this because when I see broken things like this, to be honest, I want to take them

home with me to "take care" of them, and I'm sure I'm not the only one with good intentions...

(not to mention the folks with not-so-good intentions)

but I don't touch them ~ and hopefully the "don't EVER take anything from a cemetery"

adage will continue to hold here...

It wouldn't be easy, but someone who knew what they were doing could repair this, I believe.

Cairo City Cemetery needs "friends"...

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These two unusual "shadow box" monuments are also in the Alba family

plot; they are honoring "Father" and "Mother", but whose parents' graves they mark isn't clear ~

 William's mother died in Germany and his father died and is buried in Saint Louis.

Parents-in-law, perhaps? (Find a Grave has them listed as if for additional ~

but unknown ~ family members.)

There are no names...maybe there were originally plaques that are long gone?

What I'm thinking, though ~ just my opinion ~ considering that other family members had

individual monuments as well as their names on the main obelisk, and no expense

seemed to have been spared, I think they are just additional tributes to William and Mina.

You can see here in a photo from Graveyards.com what the two looked like prior to

the one for "Father" being broken.

At first glance they appear identical, but on closer inspection, the tops and carved

flower-urns are slightly different, suggesting that they were done at different times

and by different artists; maybe the second one working from a drawing of the first.

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"My Dear Husband and Our Father" was unreadable before the glass was broken.

There are still bits of the faux-flower wreath left, faded to gray.

I'm amazed there is anything remaining at all, exposed to the elements as it is.

The plaque appears to be made of slate.

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"Our Mother" is barely legible through the glass on the one still intact.

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The broken top rests against the shadow box, and shards of the original glass still lie inside.

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The backs are removable...I wonder if this was to be able to change the displays inside?

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The Alba family plot.

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The tomb of Conrad Alba (brother of William).

This type of gravestone is called an "Emerging Crown"; one portion of the stone has been
fully carved, while another portion remains "undressed" or only "partially dressed",
giving the impression of  a stone that has been incompletely carved. 

The emerging stone was most common in the late 19th century 
and early 20th century and symbolized a life partially completed but cut short. 
Emerging stones are nearly always made of granite.*

(*This, as well as information on cemetery restoration, was found here.)


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The tomb of Louis and Emma Katherine Kleb, at the edge of the woods.

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"Phillis"...the rest was unreadable.

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The tomb of Adolph and Selma Swoboda; the symbols are for Oddfellows,

("F-L-T" in the chain links stand for "Friendship, Love and Truth")

and Knights of Pythias ("Friendship, Charity and Benevolence")

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Poison Ivy graces this tombstone...

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Irene and William, children of A.& A.Roth;

note the Hebrew script at the stone's base.

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Cairo City Cemetery is surrounded by deep woods on all sides except the south,

where it adjoins Calvary Catholic Cemetery.

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A child's (most likely) headstone sits precariously on its base...

I couldn't read the small script; not sure if "Thomas" is the first or last name...

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A Woodmen of the World monument in honor of Augustus Winter,

"Egypt Camp" from the nickname given to the southernmost part of Illinois.

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The tomb of G.P. Friedrich Kohler, only 17 years old.

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Friedrich's stone has script in German (that I have not attempted to translate) on the base.

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The massive size of the cypress trees is evident in the above photos...

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The tomb of Charles Pfifferling.

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"Rosena, wife of..."

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Unreadable, but there is a lamb... (innocence).

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A small and simple stone for Martha and Sidone Hahn.

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I love this design and I don't even know what to call it...

I see a simplified version often on tent-tops, as well...it always reminds me of something medieval.

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"Miles W. Parker"

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How long before "nature takes over" and topples this monument

(which also features the square and compass of Masonry)?

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The Gilmore monument. A hand points Heavenward, but the rest was illegible.

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"Daughters of the American Revolution"

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Unreadable, practically...I can find no "V"s in the Find a Grave data base

for Cairo City Cemetery, so will try to decipher this at a later date.

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"Rebecca L., Wife of P.A. Sutton, Died May 11, 1875...I believe.

I doubt if this was Rebecca's final resting place, here at the edge of the woods,

but this is where her headstone has ended up.

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I did not even venture out to this one...although I'm only seeing Virginia Creeper

in this photo, Poison Ivy was there too, trust me.

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In the woods...

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A home-made headstone for Charles Cross ~

(Oct. 4, 1867 - Jan. 4, 1924)

"Age 66 YRS. ~ AT REST"

They even carved a lamb.

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Near Charles...Christopher Cross.

Both at the edge of the woods.

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The tomb of Henry Owens...

In the background headstones can be seen actually in the woods.

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More views of the cemetery.

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"Farewell"

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"In memory of Henry Schmidt"

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Random broken stones propped against a cypress tree...

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"Ann E., Wife of  Wm. Harrell;
Born April 27, 1827
Died Nov. 9, 1877
Aged 50 Yrs.,2 Mos., 12 D's.
Our Angel Mother
Weary, so weary, but now she is at rest"

I could only make out a few of the rest of the words...

Many stones like this have "last lines" that have been covered by earth and vegetation.

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A retaining wall in one section of the cemetery, crumbling.

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"McNulty"

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Another view.

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Little Edna Easterday, 1889-1895.

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Clara Teighman. 

Her broken stone was resting against another, so I'm not sure where

hers actually belonged.

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Poignant, I thought. Reaching across the muddy water.

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There's a quite a bit of this, sadly.

Surprising, the number of pieces that actually make up what we might consider a "solid" stone...

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As I mentioned before, Cairo City Cemetery needs friends...

Some of these monuments are crumbling and are past conventional "repair",

 but could still be set in concrete,  jig-saw puzzle-style (better than nothing)...

Some, on the other hand, just need to be reassembled

 before the pieces truly do disappear forever.

I'll be happy to be its "friend"...I just need to wait for frost to take out the poison ivy!

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Critters love cemeteries! 

Maybe they feel safer there...

Cairo City cemetery and Calvary are home to many BIG crows!

They weren't keen on getting their pictures taken, though...

These two called to each other back and forth after one flew to a tree

 on the other side of the cemetery.

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My first actual "Graveyard Rabbit" ~ (since beginning this photography/blog project, anyway)!

He wouldn't let me get any closer!

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So, there you have it. As usual, after I get home and go through my photos, I see things

I wish I'd photographed differently, or inscriptions I thought I would be able to read and can't.

It's fairly close, though.

 I'll definitely visit the cemetery again...hopefully with some of its friends?

Next time!