“The historic plantings found in Scots – Irish cemeteries is somewhat universal.”
In my early adulthood, I met Mr. Joseph Hart, a distinguished Southern bachelor, who on many Wednesday afternoons took to the woods hunting abandoned cemeteries. To me this was somewhat akin to my own father’s schedule of taking Wednesday afternoons to either quail hunt or work in his yard. So, as Mr. Hart and his friend, T. J. Caldwell became older, they asked me to accompany them on jaunts across three counties to uncover long forgotten “Anglo” cemeteries. T.J. drove his old farm truck, I sat in the middle, and Joe directed us to a locations of which he had been told by someone, that a unmarked or abandoned cemetery was located. Once there it was my job to help find it, read the inscriptions, and cut down green devil thorns.
It was an interesting experience being with these two men, here I was raising a young family, restoring houses, and a general work-alcoholic. Joe and T.J. were retired, taking care of a sick wife, but clearly interested in continuing a lifetime of contributing to society. Though T.J.’s name is not on the collection, the Hart Genealogy Collection continues being used routinely decades after his death.
The point of this blog is that as we visited nearly one hundred cemeteries across the region; I realized they all had common tombstone styles, plantings and similar geographic locations. The historic plantings routinely used were; English boxwood, Crepe Myrtles, Periwinkle, and Snowdrops. Does anyone know why these were used over and over? Were these rooted in Scots Irish culture or just plants this region loved using? Frankly, these plants don’t commonly appear in African American cemeteries or as often in urban settings. What is your experience?
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Would it be plausible that Southern nurseries instructed their traveling sales staff to offer these varieties or were they featured in 19th century publications such as Godey’s Lady’s Book? No matter their source, it is undeniable that a walk in the woods in 2017, often results in stumbling across an old site featuring these plantings, often without visible tombstones. Where these are found you may also stumble across old Cedar trees and Magnolias.
These traditions are often unrecognized or people are unaware of the importance of these plants to the cemetery setting. Those who planned these sites lived in a rural environment and planting a garden so to speak, honored the dead as well as created a lovely resting place for future generations. When a local road was extended, the old Robertson Cemetery in York County had to be carefully avoided but this didn’t help when the new industrial owners of the corner property instructed their maintenance staff to clean up the cemetery. Within hours the two hundred year old boxwood were gone, the Periwinkle was poisoned and the tranquil setting make akin to the neighboring industrial park. Has your community taken legal action to protect abandoned cemeteries? They too need protection and preservation!
R&R Can’t Say More: Member, Kay Esberger wrote and said it all: “Daddy used to make “sticky bikits” leftover biscuits were recycled by putting them in a cake pan [or similar] and covering them with butter & syrup. Heat them just enough to melt the butter & re-heat the biscuits. Those sure were good. He was raised in East Texas, near Winona, but his folks had left Abbeville Co, SC, back in 1854.”
It was wonderful hearing from so many members concerning your interest in Southern Stickies. It seems many of us have cherished memories of them but no, I can’t share my wife’s recipe!
From the Porch – Blog @ RootsandRecall.com – 3.30.17 – Share R&R with your fiends and family, they too may enjoy preserving local history……