Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Religious Symbols in the Cemetery


It seems appropriate, with this upcoming religious holiday weekend, to take a closer look at what religious symbols can be found in the cemetery.  Here are several of them, listed alphabetically.
 
Alpha Omega – The first and last letter of the Ionic Greek alphabet.  A verse from the Book of Revelation, “I am the alpha and omega,” - the beginning and the end.






Anchor – The anchor has been a symbol of steadfastness and hope in the Christian religion.  Early Christians used the anchor as a secret symbol to guide the way to religious meetings.






Anchor with Cross – Another Christian symbol referencing a verse from the book of Hebrews referring to God as “hope we have as an anchor of the soul.”




Angels - Believed to be the spiritual messengers in most major religions.  Angels are seen as the guardians of death.  We will take a more in-depth look at angels in next Tuesday’s blog.




Book – It may be opened to indicate the Bible or The Book of Life.  A closed book may indicate the completion of a life's story.

Book with finger pointing upward indicates faith. 

Chalice – The cup represents the sacraments, especially in the Catholic rite of Communion.  Often a chalice marks the head stone of a priest.






Christ – Symbol of Christian religion.  The Savior or Redeemer.




Clergy – Those ordained to perform the duties of ministering in the Christian religion also have symbols that indicate the branch of faith they followed.






Columns joined with an archway – Portrays the entrance to heaven.

Cross – There are numerous versions of a cross.  We will take a more in-depth look at them on Friday.  For today, the cross is the most recognized Christian symbol.  Shown here are the Latin cross, used mostly in Protestant religions, and the Crucifix, used in the Catholic religion.




Crown
– A symbol of victory and righteousness, triumph over death.



Dove – The dove is a symbol of devotion.







Grapes, Grape Leaves, Grape Vines– All indicate the Christian faith.







Hands – We use our hands to communicate.  Two hands held in prayer show reverence and devotion.









A hand with a finger pointing up indicates a soul’s ascension to heaven.

Therefore, you might surmise that a finger pointing down would bode ill, but actually the meaning is mortality or sudden death.

  
Harp – A symbol of music and worship in heaven.



I H S – The three letters usually appear on a cross and are derived from the first three letters of Jesus’ name in Greek – Iota, Eta and Sigma.  This has also been said to stand for the Lain words “Iesus Hominum Salvator – “Jesus, mankind’s savior.”
 $ - In the Latin alphabet, I H S O Y S, again, Jesus’ name, is combined and interwoven.

Ivy - A plant that never losses it’s color and clings tenaciously symbolizes immortality and eternal life.









Lamb
– The lamb is used on the stones of children because it is a symbol of innocence.  It has been used to mark children’s graves since Egyptian times.  The lamb is also a symbol of Christ.




Lamp – Usually it has a flame rising up from it.  The lamp indicates a love of knowledge, wisdom and faith.






Lily - A lily or lilies may be used to symbolize innocence and purity.  Often they are associated with the Virgin Mary.







Rock
– May be used as a headstone and is a Christian symbol of St. Peter or the resurrection of Jesus.





Scared Heart - A heart encircled with thorns indicates Christ’s suffering.

Star – A 5-pointed star is symbolic with the five wounds of Christ.




Star of David – A symbol of Judaism.  This six-pointed star represents divine protection.







Thistle – A symbol of sin and earthly sorrow.
 








Woman hanging on cross – This was originally the drawing that accompanied the hymn “Rock of Ages.”  It indicates unwavering faith.  Commonly used on Masonic graves.





 Wreath – Symbol of eternity.






Many gravestones are a combination of religious symbols that look well thought out and artistic. 


On Friday, Good Friday in the Christian religion, we will explore the variations, designs and meanings of crosses in the cemetery.

~ Joy

Friday, April 15, 2011

Burl Ives – American Folk Music Legend

Jasper County, Illinois

Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives died sixteen years ago yesterday, on April 14, 1995.  He was known as one of America's most beloved folk song singers.  Ives was born on June 14th, 1909 in Hunt City Township, located in Jasper County, Illinois.  Ives was the son of Levi “Frank” Ives and Cordelia “Dellie” White Ives.  The migrant farming family had a musical bent.  Ives and his six brothers and sisters were taught English, Irish and Scottish folk songs while growing up.

Eastern Illinois University
Ives attended Eastern Illinois State Teachers College (now Eastern Illinois University,) in Charleston for three years before dropping out in 1930.  He decided that he would be happier wandering the country playing his banjo and singing ballads, than attending school.  Years later EIU would unveil the Burl Ives Art Studio Hall on campus, a tribute to their famed dropout.

Burl Ives
During the 1930’s, Ives was jailed in Mona, Utah for singing a ballad called 'Foggy, Foggy Dew.' Officials of the town felt the lyrics were too risqué to be sung in public.  Ives continued to wander around the country, singing and performing in summer stock. In 1940 he ended up with his own radio show called ‘The Wayfaring Stranger' on CBS affiliate, WBOW radio station in Terre Haute, Indiana.  He also began attending Indiana State Teachers College (now Indiana State University) in Terre Haute.  {Years later, when I worked at WBOW, Burl Ives stories were still favorites for the old-timers to tell.}


Decca Records - 'This is the Army' LP
In 1942, Ives was drafted into the Army and joined the cast of Irving Berlin’s musical, ‘This is the Army.”  He was honorably discharged in September 1943 due to health reasons.  From there, Ives moved to California, where he met and married Helen Peck Ehrlich.  They had one son, Alexander, born in 1949, the same year Ives had his first major hit song with his rendition of ‘Lavender Blue' a 17th century ballad.

Ives went on to appear on numerous radio and television programs of the 1950’s.  He also appeared in several films and on Broadway.


Tennessee William's favorite play
Burl Ives and Paul Newman in
'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'
He won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1958 for his portrayal of Big Daddy Pollitt in the film ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.’  He also won a Golden Globe Award for the same film. In 1959, he garnered a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in ‘The Big Country.’
He had three folk ballads that made the top ten list in the U.S.  
They were ‘On Top of Old Smokey’ – 1951 (#10), 
‘A Little Bitty Tear’ – 1961 (#9)
And 'A Funny Way of Laughin’ – 1962 (#10), which won him a Grammy.

Rankin/Bass 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
IIves is best remembered by my generation as Sam the Snowman, the narrator in Rankin/Bass’s 1964 animated holiday TV special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  Sam’s animated character bore a striking resemblance to Ives, complete with pipe.  In this program, he made popular two holiday classics, ‘Silver and Gold’ and  ‘Holly Jolly Christmas.’  Both songs are still receiving airplay every Christmas, 47 years later. Rudolph has been broadcast every year since it’s debut in 1964, making it the longest running Christmas TV Special.


In 1971, Ives married Dorothy Koster Paul and gained three stepchildren.  A lifelong Mason, he was elected a Grand Cross by the Supreme Council in 1993.  The Grand Cross embalm was engraved on his monument.

Burl Ives publicity photo
In a quote from the Burl Ives website, http://www.burlives.com/
Ives said, The way I figure it, when I die I'll simply be changing a raincoat, moving on to another level of energy, because I'm confident that energy never dies. If a piece of wood will never die, this bouncy thing called Burl will never die as well.”






Mound Cemetery,
Jasper County, Illinois
During the summer of 1994 Ives, a lifelong cigar and pipe smoker, was diagnosed with oral (mouth) cancer.  Burl Ives died on April 14, 1995 in Anacortes, Washington.  He was 86 years old.  He was buried in Mound Cemetery, just east of Newton, Illinois, in his home county of Jasper.  Liz Hartrich-Goss of Newton, Illinois did the etching of Ives that is on his monument.


The inscription on Burl Ives monument reads:
One of America’s legendary entertainers,
whose career spanned more than a half-century
crossing all international borders.
Equally at home before the royalty of Europe
and the farm folks of Midwestern USA.
A performer whose unique style adaptd to all media
Literary, Radio, Movies, Recordings, Night Clubs,
Broadway and Concert Stage.
Carl Sandburg called him
“The mightiest ballad singer
Of this or any other century.”
He lives on through his art.
June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995

Ives once said of his craft, "Ballad singing has been going on ever since people sang at all. It comes up like an underground stream and then goes back again. But it always exists!”

All I can say is  Play is again, Sam - (the Snowman : )

 ~ Joy








Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The Start of the Civil War

Today marks the 150th Anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. The conflict between northern and southern states had been brewing for over ten years.  In February of 1861, seven southern states withdrew from the United States and formed the Confederate State of America with Jefferson Davis as their president.

Twenty Union states supported the U.S. Federal government and acknowledged Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States of America.

The War Between the States, also known as the War of the Rebellion, the War for Southern Independence, and the War Between the North and South, officially began on April 12, 1861 when Confederate forces attacked a U.S. military installation at Fort Sumter in Charleston County, South Carolina.  After this battle, four more southern states would secede and men from both regions of the country would begin enlisting by the thousands.

There were numerous reasons given for the Civil War.  Those included the social and economic differences between the northern and southern states, the election of Abraham Lincoln, states’ rights verses federal rights, and slavery and the Abolitionists Movement.


The Civil War lasted four years.  During that time over 210,000 men died, fighting for their beliefs.  




In all, 140,414 Union soldiers were killed in action, with a total of almost 365,000 Union dead from the war.

For the Confederacy, 72,524 were killed in action, with fewer than 260,000 Confederates killed during the entire war.

The first national order to mark military men’s graves came in 1861 from the War Department.  After the war, uniformly designed stones for the Civil War dead were erected.  


Private stones could also be placed and might differ significantly from the standard curved top, white marker seen in military and national cemeteries throughout the U.S.  Inscriptions on the stones could vary.  Most showed a name, along with the unit served in and a death date.  More details might include rank, military decorations or religious emblems.  

It is interesting to note that stones marked ‘citizen’ or ‘civilian’ were actually markers for escaped slaves who fought on the Union side. They were known as ‘contraband’ during the war.  The markers for Union African-American troops have the designation ‘USCT’ over their names.  This stood for United States Colored Troops. Civilian employees of the U.S. Army were also buried in the military cemeteries.

Many Confederate tombstones have a peon or pointed top.  Legend has it that Confederate soldiers joked about the pointed tops, saying that it would “keep the Yankees from sitting on them.”

The first National Cemeteries were created after the Civil War by Edmund B Whitman as a way to honor the war dead.  There are now 146 National Cemeteries in the United States, at least one in each state in the country, with the best known one at Arlington, Virginia, near Washington D.C. 

On the back of the Confederate Monument at Arlington National Cemetery there is an inscription attributed to Reverend Randolph Harrison McKim, a Confederate Chaplin.  It reads:

Not for fame or reward
Not for place or for rank
Nor lured by ambition
Or goaded by necessity
But in simple
Obedience to duty
As they understood it
These men suffered all
Sacrificed all
Dared all – and died.


To find out more about the soldier of the Civil War, their records, and the battles,  visit –

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System at http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/

The National Park System at http://www.nps.gov/features/waso/cw150th/

And the National Archives at http://www.archives.gov/

* Special thanks to Terry Cox for the use of her Civil War Reenactment photos!

~ Joy