Well, I have come to the conclusion that there is so much to tell about New Orleans, that I will do it in sections. The first one is the really cool (yes, weird I know) grave yards.
Very much unlike ours on the west coast (and I would imagine most places) in the fact that they are mostly above ground. We did see one in ground grave, but the walls were about 2 feet thick all the way around the grave itself. Very heavy, and unlikely to cause a "pop up"
This, of course, makes sense when you realize that most of New Orleans is built below sea level.
These are "family tombs". Whole families are laid to rest (some include 20 or more family members) Some are very ornate and well maintained. Notice the white washed ones. Remember that some of these date back to the early 1800's. Kinda tough to keep maintained after awile.
Some tombs are very simple and are used for other purposes besides housing complete families. These are called wall tombs. As you can see, alot of these are not maintained well at all. Remember that these tombs were for people of lesser means and as such, they aren't capable of "keeping up with the Jones" Notice the ones near the top left of the picture have been bricked in. The family name plate have fallen off in disrepair. There may be no family member living still or they have all left the area.
This notice is asking folks who have family in this cemetary to keep up their sites (they are responsible for them) or to have "perpetual care" at their site. This is a maintanence agreement done by someone else for the family.
This one is actually built out of ballast stones. Stones used in ships of olden times to keep it level when crossing over to North America. They were discarded as the ships are loaded. You will see streets and walls built with them (see Savanah, GE) and as here, a tomb.
On some of the tombs, you could see the water mark from when Hurricane Katrina came through 2.5 years ago. The water in this grave yard rose to 4 feet in some parts...But that is a whole other section for my New Orleans blog....
This is a beautiful tomb....
A small sign of Katrina...notice the lower left hand side of the picture, on the steps of the tomb. It is the cross from the top of the tomb. Think how heavy that granite cross would be!
This one is sad...on top of a family tomb. This is a woman holding a baby in her lap with her hand to her forehead. This signifies the loss of a baby to the family.
You have probably seen on TV funerals in New Orleans...where the casket is carried down the street with the band playing behind and family members waiving white hankerchiefs....well from there they head to the cemetary and the man in charge has the tomb open. The deceased is set in on a shelf to the right and the tomb is closed up again.
A year and one day (it wouldnt be polite to open the tomb on the anniversary) the tomb is opened and the decomposed body is put into a biodegradable bag and put to the back of the tomb on shelves with the rest of the deceased family.
Well, if two family members die on the same day and they have to put two in the tomb, the cant. There isn't enough room. So, one of the decedants is put into one of those wall tombs for the year and one day. At that time, both family members are put to the back of the tomb and then it is resealed.
I have about 25 more pics of the grave yard but that would be a bit morbid...LOL
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