Member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Saint Helena Cemetery

Turning left in Downtown Saint Helena onto Spring Street and traveling down a country road, Mike and I almost passed this quietly hidden cemetery. There seems to always be a soundless hush in cemeteries; this one had it even more so than most. Many of the departed have been resting for a very long time. We were extra careful not to disturb them.

In this small farming community, parents worked as one...

 ...and chose to spend an eternity together...

...with their children by their side.

 
Meticulously preserved, these gravestones seem
to stand proudly in tidy little rows.

Even wooden markers have been left undisturbed by time so 
the dearly departed can be remembered.*

 And those who were forgotten in life have
a place of remembrance. 

Gone from our sight, but not from our hearts. 

* I would love to be able to honor Mr. Thomas TOOMEY (aka TOOMY) by finding out more about him.  I thought perhaps he was the same Thomas who lived in Sonoma County, but he is not.  Did the little wooden marker originally belong to him, or perhaps a loved one is buried by his side?

Thank you, honey, for the wonderful pictures.