USA > Indiana > Allen County > Fort Wayne > Lindenwood cemetery: articles of association, rules and regulations adopted, 1885 > Part 3
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A plan for a lodge with bell tower, office, etc., was also proposed, and Messrs. Wing & Mahurin instructed to furnish a plan, which with some modifications was adopted as follows, and built on contract by Messrs. Wm. & J. J. Geake, at a cost of $6,961.29. It is a beautiful and attractive structure.
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DESCRIPTION OF BUILDING.
The "Gate Lodge," built in that picturesque style of Gothic architec- ture, not romantic in its expressions, but impressive to a solemn degree, is located just inside the entrance gates, covering a space thirty-five feet by thirty-one feet, and contains a private office for the Board of Trustees, a reception or waiting-room for the public, and ladies' and gentlemen's private retiring-rooms, the floors of which are laid with black and white marble tile, and the varions rooms wainscoted with marbleized slate in imitation of red Scotch and green serpentine granite, while the walls and grained ceilings are neatly frescoed in a tasteful manner. The base of the building is of Bedford, Ind., Oolitic lime-stone, and above this, to the gut- ters, of Stony Point, Michigan, sand-stone-soft quarrie or rock face. A circular bell-tower breaks out in one of the angles, and at the base is an open loggia leading to both the private office and reception-room. A steep pitched roof, covered with dark and ornamental slate, with terra cotta cresting and finials, the whole forming a graceful mass, and assuming a solemn and dignified appearance, which, on the first approach of all who visit " Lindenwood," it bespeaks the hallowed grandeur of the final rest- ing place of the relatives and friends sleeping the eternal sleep beyond its walls.
THE HEBREW SECTION.
On the 17th day of March, 1884, the Trustees sold and deeded sec- tion "Y," containing about three acres, lying on the west border of the Cemetery grounds, to the "Achduth Veshalom Congregation," for their exclusive use for burial purposes, but to be governed by the same general rules and regulations as those adopted by the Trustees in other cases. This section is handsomely located, having a commanding view of the "Twin Lakes" and other improved portions of the grounds. The well- known characteristics of this class of our citizens is an assurance that after they complete the removal of their dead from their old burial grounds, they will fit up their new, beautiful, natural location in such tasteful manner as will make it as attractive as other and older portions of Lindenwood.
THE LAKES IN LINDENWOOD,
Two in number, or rather three as they are constructed and appear on the plat of the ground, are of unassuming proportions, but sufficient for the extent of the other improvements. The plat attached, as well as the
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lithographed view of the entrance, shows the location of Glen Lake as we enter the grounds, passing it as we drive along the avenue toward Glen Circle, at the junction of sections F, G and J, so named because of the peculiar characteristics of ground and surroundings, by John Chislett, Esq., the surveyor and landscape gardener of Pittsburg, Pa., who laid off the sections and located the avenues just as nature had provided, as he expressed it, leaving very little for him to do-adding this in his report to the Trustees after his work was completed :
" Your ground is so admirably suited for the purpose that at first sight I was quite charmed to find a spot so varied and picturesque in your otherwise level country, and one combining so many qualities to render it a beautiful "rural cem- etery." Upon a closer examination I found all these qualities true to their appear- ance. The soil is light, porous and sandy, and of that anti-septic nature so much desired by many. The effect of water in landscape scenery should not be over- looked. Whether it be in the running brook or spread out in the form of a miniature lake, it always adds a charm to every scene, refreshes an open view, and animates a shade. In this respect you have a resource for producing some of the finest effects-
" ' The rivulet spread Into a liquid plain there stood unmoved, Reflecting the expanse of Heaven above.' "
Returning to the subject of Glen Lake, it is proper to say that it is supplied with water from never-failing springs and other sources that sometimes heretofore have given us more than we need, and to our injury ; but the excess is now permanently provided for by the construction of a substantial culvert of ample capacity. A small natural island with a still smaller rustic house upon it, for the shelter of the Superintendent's water fowls, which is mostly hidden by small trees and underbrush in their wild state, giving the whole a picturesque and romantic appearance. The lake is stocked with German carp, which are doing nicely.
Besides this lake on the east border of the grounds, there are on the west side of the grounds, immediately fronting and skirting the border of Section H, there lies, nestling in the lap of nature, where the setting sun smiles sweetly on the waters of the "Twin Sisters," two lakes in one, sep- arated by a narrow strait, or passage of water from one to the other, in its circuitous route to the river, which, when there is an excess of water, flows over a protected waste-way constructed for the purpose of prevent- ing the resident fish from floating out of the lake, as well as to prevent the bass and other flesh-eating fish from running up and over into the lake during high water, and feasting upon the non-combative carp, with which these waters have also recently been stocked.
These lakes can be readily enlarged cheaply by adding an area of several acres, which will doutless be done at no distant day. The surface
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soil taken out in excavating for that purpose is, for several inches in depth, composed of a deep, rich, vegetable mould, which can be profitably util- ized as a top dressing on lots that need fertilizing.
At the separation of the two lakes here referred to, a small rustic bridge spans the strait, as a crossing for the new attractive avenue that stretches up the gentle rise to the Hebrew section, Y, making an interest- ing and pleasing drive for those wishing to visit and observe all the beau- ties of Lindenwood.
GRAVEYARD NEGLECT AND DESECRATION.
The following sad commentary upon the condition of Greenlawn Cemetery in Indianapolis, published in the Herald, having such a peculiar application to our own Broadway Cemetery (except that theirs is yet en- closed, while ours is an open waste), that we publish it for the deep and sad, yet beautiful, thoughts it contains :
"Greenlawn Cemetery is a neglected garden of the dead. Separated from the busy city which surrounds it by a rude board fence, high straight and grim, it is a gloomy forest of broken grave-stones, ruined vaults, dying sycamores and tangled vines. Steaming engines shriek around it; the roar and rattle of the streets per- vade it; the noise of hundreds of whirling wheels of manufactories re-echo through it; and the smoke from the towering chimneys covers it like a pall. Within its gates is the gloom of desolation. The grass grows year after year, and dies uncut. The rank weeds that neglect cultivates flourish defiantly over the buried forms of its many sleepers. Green ivies mingle their glossy leaves with the autumn- tinted woodbine and the purple berries of the deadly nightshade. All day long the sparrows twitter and chirp in the sweet security of its neglected trees. The ground- squirrels chatter saucily at each other, and courageously wander over the unkempt ground. The spiders weave their webs unmolested in the tangled bushes; the bees hum about the few flowers that dare to rear their heads above the rank decay; and the voices of myriads of insects continually murmur their sad refrain. Decay has touched this field of graves with his withering hand, and its beauties change to ruins. The graves which once were banked high, covered with flowers, and marked by imposing monuments, are now sunken, the flowers smothered in poisonous weeds, the monuments shattered and in ruins.
"As the years went by, and Greenlawn was fast becoming condemned ground, many removed their dead to Crown Hill. Hundreds who sleep the dreamless sleep in Greenlawn are no longer held in sweet remembrance by any living being. All that were dear to them have, like them, gone the dim way of destiny, through the shadowy gates of death. We stand by their neglected graves and wonder at the mysteries which were before them, and are about them, and are around us all. We remember that once they were 'moving shadows' on the stage of existence, like ourselves. The infinite egoism of the soul was as strong within them. They lived, and loved, and toiled, and suffered. They died; and all our knowledge and
SIMONSE
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longing can pursue them no farther. In all the silent city there is no voice to tell us the secret of death. We can think of their brief lives, and see them, as they once were, ahead of us in the grand procession to the grave; but we cannot wring from their mouldering lips one word of infinite knowledge.
"' They loved ; but the story we cannot unfold ; They scorned; but the heart of the haughty is cold; They grieved; but no wail from their slumbers will come; They joyed; but the tongue of their gladness is dumb."
LINDENWOOD CEMETERY-NOT A PARK.
The following inquiry was once made by a newspaper correspondent : " What is Fort Wayne doing in the way of a park? It is hardly fair to call Lindenwood Cemetery a park; and yet it is the only thing of the kind about Fort Wayne." The correspondent still referring to the cem- etery, makes the following significant inquiry : " Why should it be made a place of public resort for the promiscuous and common use of the citi- zens of the city at large?" And then adds: "It is said that the city has never yet contributed a dollar in any manner towards it; but perhaps it has never been asked to do so. It is, however, quite certain that a very large amount of money and skill has been expended there, which makes it the feature of attraction about the city. Strangers visiting the city who have seen it are at once captivated by its many attractions, notwith- standing it is but the city of the dead. It is not properly a park, and should not be so considered."
With reference to the above it is eminently proper to say that there has never been a city, county or township contribution towards the pur- chase of the grounds, or in payment of any of the improvements. Hence it is strictly a cemetery for the burial of the dead, owned exclusively by the Lindenwood corporation, and should be regarded and treated as such by all visitors, and not as a pleasure-ground for everybody to congregate at any and all times for purposes of amusement, as if it were in fact a public park, for joyous and hilarious meetings at their convenience.
In the absence of any place for recreation and mutual enjoyment, this has been tolerated heretofore to the extreme limit of propriety, and must be discontinued. Fort Wayne can afford it, and ought to have, one or more public parks, free and open to any and all of its citizens. It is one of the great needs of the city, which ought to be promptly provided for-a sentiment that surely will meet with a ready response from every good citizen and thoughtful person.
In referring to Lindenwood Cemetery, it must be kept in remem- brance that it is not merely a place for the burial of the dead "out of our
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sight," as some would have it. Although it is but a quarter of a century ago that it was a wild and unsightly forest, covered with heavy timber and an astonishing growth of underbrush, with occasional wet and marshy places and unsightly swales, yet it has nevertheless all been reclaimed and beautified by converting its swales and marshes into beautiful lakes, mead- ows and lawns, and the rolling upland into appropriate seetions of various sizes for sepulchral purposes and for ornamentation, and the whole beau- tifully carpeted with nature's richest green velvety covering.
This reclaimed ground, that has been made so beautiful by artistie hands, was duly consecrated to the solemn use of a common sepulture, where sorrowing friends are expected to visit the graves of departed rela- tives and friends for quiet meditation, at such times as may be convenient, undisturbed by hilarious crowds of thoughtless visitors. When properly considered the rural cemetery, such as Lindenwood is, should be regarded as a school for meditation and thought, to cultivate the mind in the pres- ence of the beauties of nature combined with art, as seen in the surround- ings, that may teach some of us in our thoughtful moments, as we look upon the green covering with which nature has covered the grave in which lies the dearest treasure of the heart, we will unconsciously ask ourselves the question, "Shall we meet again?" Then the response will come, as we stand beneath the giant oak, the monarch of the forest stretching up toward heaven, or the evergreen trees, symbols of immor- tality, around us; and the arched mound at our feet, that is kept green and fragrant with the tears of affection, "Yes, we shall meet again." Thus new hopes and aspirations enter into the crushed heart, and the dark, silent grave is looked upon as containing life immortal springing into being, and the sepulcher but a chamber of repose.
Sed fugit, interea, fugit irreparabile tempus .- VIRG., Georg. III, 284. "Tis a mistake : time flies not, He only hovers on the wing : Once born, the moment dies not, "Tis an immortal thing ; While all is change beneath the sky, Fix'd like the sun, as learned sages prove, Though from our moving world he seems to move, 'Tis time stands still, and we that fly.
There is no past ; from nature's birth, Days, months, years, ages, till the end Of these revolving heavens and earth, All to one centre tend ; And, having reach'd it late or soon, Converge,-as in a lens, the rays,
Caught from the fountain-light of noon, Blend in a point that blinds the gaze :
- -What has been is, what is shall last ; The present is the focus of the past ; The future, perishing as it arrives, Becomes the present, and itself survives.
Time is not progress, but amount ; One vast accumulating store, Laid up, not lost ;- we do not count Years gone, but added to the score Of wealth untold, to clime nor class confined, Riches to generations lent, For ever spending, never spent, Th' august inheritance of all mankind. Of this, from Adam to his latest heir, All in due turn their portion share, Which, as they husband or abuse, Their souls they win or lose.
-MONTGOMERY.
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PROPERTY OWNED BY THE CEMETERY COMPANY.
The following report from the Superintendent gives a complete de- tailed description of the property owned by the Cemetery Company, with its present and pospective uses, which will be interesting to compare with the map of the ground that was also prepared by him :
I. D. G. NELSON, EsQ., President of Lindenwood Cemetery :
SIR-In compliance with your request, making sundry inquiries, I herewith submit the following :
No. of sections laid out in lots, exclusive of Hebrew section.
Sections H, B, D, F, G, J, R, S, and part of U.
No. of lots in all, 1,303.
No. of lots and subdivisions sold, 1,023.
No. of lots and subdivisions unsold, 259.
Total area covered by lots in all sections, 18,13 .. To'6 aeres.
Amount of ground occupied by single graves in potter's field, Sec- tions F and S, 1,60 106 acres.
Amount of ground occupied by single graves, other than potter's field, 3,180 square feet.
Area in avenues, 715% acres.
Length of avenues, 4 miles and 180 feet.
Area of baek lot, 262 acres.
Low ground, unfit for interment purposes, about 25 acres, but well adapted to lawn and meadow purposes, for which it is used.
Amount of ground remaining available for interments, 70 acres.
Total area of Cemetery at present time, 124 acres.
Very Respectfully,
DECEMBER 31, 1885.
JOHN H. DOSWELL, Supt.
CARE OF LOTS.
We have heretofore called the attention of lot owners to this subject, and now repeat it, that to secure a general good effeet in the cemetery it is essential that every lot should be well cared for, as a single neglected lot, overgrown with tall grass and weeds, mars the beauty of a whole sec- tion. It is a duty which every lot owner owes to the Cemetery Company, to every other lot owner, and to himself and his family, to preserve from neglect the home of his dead.
The work of mowing all the grounds, including the lots, two or three
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times during the summer and gather the fallen leaves, limbs and other rubbish, is a large item of expense that has heretofore been mainly borne by the Company-a generous custom not practiced by most other eeme- teries. In the commencement, when the improved grounds were small and other portions exposed to view were in an unsightly condition, and for the purpose of preserving as much harmony of appearance as possible, it was thought advisable to dress the lots that were sold, as well as the rest of the ground. This has doubtless added much to the reputation of Lin- denwood as being one of the finest, best kept, and most attractive new cemeteries in the country. Lot hoklers, however, must bear in mind that the grounds are now quite large, and are growing larger, and the expense of taking care of them very great, so that if any extra mowing or other work is asked by lot owners that is not given in course of the regu- lar mowing and cleaning, an extra charge will be made, at the bare cost of the work, by arrangement with the Superintendent.
As the season of the year is approaching when lot owners' attention is very naturally drawn to their burial lots, and especially those whose dear- est and sweetest treasures are deposited there are moved with a desire to add some further token of love and regard; the first, if not the chief thought is to plant something that will grow and flourish over the graves of dear ones. However satisfactory such planting may be for a time, it not unfrequently is found in a few years to become unsightly, and mar, if not wholly destroy, the natural beauty of the rich, green, soft, velvety grass that the sun loves to shine upon, and which we all so much admire.
At a meeting of the Trustees, held February 14, 1884, the following proceedings were had, and the order published and posted on the grounds with such good results that we append the same as being worthy to be kept in constant remembrance :
NOTICE TO LOT OWNERS AND OTHERS.
WHEREAS, In addition to providing a suitable place for the burial of our dead in Lindenwood Cemetery, it was also a leading feature of the original incor- porators, that it should be made a cheerful and pleasant place for the living as well-which feature the Trustees have aimed to keep in view, and still wish to see observed. Accordingly they have witnessed with regret the disastrous effects the cold of the past few winters has had upon certain evergreens and other trees and plants on the grounds, and especially the arbor vita hedges enclosing burial lots, giving them a ragged and unsightly appearance. Therefore, it is hereby
Ordered, That no further planting of the same be permitted, except to repair breaches in hedges heretofore planted, and even then, in most cases, their entire removal would add greatly to the appearance of the lot, if only covered with a well-kept blue grass sward. It is also further
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Ordered, That the planting of Irish juniper and other tender trees and plants by owners of lots be discouraged in all cases, and where trees, plants or shrubbery of any kind have died, the Superintendent is required to remove the same and charge the cost of such removal to the owners of the lots, as other expenses and improvements are charged and collected.
And it is suggested as being in the line of economy and good taste, that, before giving orders for ornamental trees and shrubbery, it would be well for lot holders to consult the Superintendent in regard to how little, instead of how much, money should be expended in improvements best suited to the purpose; for the truth is, that only few very choice, strictly ornamental trees are in harmony with good taste, when applied to our own beautiful burial grounds. Nature has supplied us with her choicest treasures to make the scenery of Lindenwood both appropriate and attractive.
COMMON ENEMY OF CEMETERIES.
" The mole that scoops with curious toil Her subterranean bed, Thinks not she ploughs a human soil, And mines among the dead."
One of the greatest pests the Superintendent of Lindenwood has had to contend with has been the ground mole, a threatened destroyer of the cemetery's special charms. A few years ago the whole ground seemed becoming alive with them, rooting and loosening up the sod wherever it seemed the most thrifty and healthiest, which threatened, if not the total destruction, to seriously mar the chief beauty of our fine blue grass sward, the attractive feature of all handsomely kept lawns, parks or cemetery grounds. From the ready adaptation and free growth of this species of grass it was expected to make it, at least, one of the leading features of beauty, so highly prized by all cemetery managers.
The destructive work of these little animals went on from bad to worse, rooting up and honeycombing the whole ground wherever grass was growing the most luxuriantly, well nigh discouraging Superintendent Doswell, who tried many recommended schemes of destruction without any satisfactory results. He at last saw a newspaper description of two different kinds of " mole traps" that looked like meeting the necessities of the case. He ordered samples of each, the "Isbell" and the " Hale." They both proved to be what was needed, and for the past two years have caught large quantities of these precious little rascals. The disastrous work of these moles is not confined to cemeteries, parks or lawns, but the products of thousands of acres of pasture and meadow land is now annually destroyed in this section of country alone by the depredations of these little voracious, subterranean creatures, who are always "as fat
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as a mole." And the time is not distant when farmers, as well as others, will be compelled to hunt them more vigorously than all other pests that annoy them. These depredators' home and food are both in the earth. She does no foraging, nor is she ever seen above the surface, of her own volition ; but, on the contrary, is very sensitive to the presence of a tread over or near her, and her movements of retreat are too expert for any dog, and her suspicions apparently too intelligent to take poison, so that on every account she is a troublesome customer to deal with.
FUNERAL EXTRAVAGANCE.
Its career has been checked in England, where it has been most profligate and where reform has been most needed, but least expected. The spirit of extravagance has been creeping into American society at a shocking rate, until at last a halt has been called. Of late, funerals in large cities, among what is considered the wealthy and aristocratic fami- lies, have in many instances been of the plainest and least expensive char- aeter. The example is a praiseworthy one.
Of the reform in England the London Daily News speaks of the third annual meeting of the society called the " Church of England Funeral and Mourning Association," which aims to promote the following results : First, to encourage the adoption of such observances only as are consist- ent with a hope of resurrection to eternal life; second, to discourage feast- ing on the day of burial, and all useless or extravagant expenditure in the coffin and its furniture on the occasion of the funeral, and in the wear- ing of mourning. The Society adopts the broad ground that the funerals should be conducted and mourning worn without the unmeaning pomp, vain ostentation and dismal pageantry of hat-bands, scarfs, plumes, mourning coaches, heavy erape trimmings, and the like, which are quite inconsistent with a hopeful belief in a future state, involve unprofitable expenditure, inflict severe hardship upon persons of limited means, and neither mitigate grief nor manifest respect for the dead. It offers as sug- gestions : That every part of the solemn rite of burial be made a labor of love, to the exclusion, as far as possible, of paid labor; that the body be buried in a plain wood coffin in the earth itself, with nothing to arrest its return to earth whenee it was taken ; that perhaps the best plan that ยท has been suggested, that both men and women wear a band of black cloth on the arm to indicate that a death has taken place in the family ; and that all headstones and memorials be Christian in character. It is stated that Peers ( the Archbishop of York, the Marquises of Abergavenny, Aylesbury and Ripon, Earl Fitzwilliam, nearly all the bishops and many
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