Several years ago Elizabeth Beckwith, the current president of the Old Cemetery Association, spearheaded the development of a teaching packet called Stones and Bones: Using Tombstones as Textbooks. She invited four teachers Charlie Marchant of Leland Gray Union High School (interviewed in this issue), Joan Alexander of Irasburg Elementary School, Larry Coffin of Oxbow High School, and Andersen Thorp of Hartford High School to meet once a month and compile the packet, which was finally published in 1996.
[You can order Stones and Bones by calling Charlie Marchant, Secretary of the
Vermont Old Cemeteries Association (VOCA), at (802) 365-7937.]

The following are some tempting excerpts from the packet, which itself includes excerpts from many different sources (listed in the packet's Bibliography and its Resource List).

We have come to use the phrase "cast in stone" when we mean "unchangeable" but the truth is that stone does deteriorate and change. Although stone markers still stand in many old burial grounds throughout Vermont and New England, we are losing some of the valuable history lessons these stones can teach us because their messages are slowly being erased by wind, weather, and effects of modern industrial civilization such as acid rain. Gravestone carving is among the earliest American folk art, often done by itinerant or local artists. A walk in a cemetery can be the catalyst for studies of local history, trends in art and architecture, primary historical research, and all kinds of other subject matter (SEE the "Curriculum Map" ).

The education packet Stones and Bones: Using Tombstones as Textbooks contains content information about what to look for in cemeteries, cemetery symbology, glossaries, burial customs, attitudes towards death, information about marble and granite, folklore and superstitions about death and burial customs. The packet also includes skill sheets and sample activities, including important information about the "do's and don't's" of gravestone-rubbing, and a resources section that includes a list of organizations, books available from the Barre Granite Association about gravestone memorial art and architecture, and a bibliography.

Below are a few tantalizing pieces of this wonderful and useful collection of materials. We encourage you to send for the packet and try some of these activities with your students and friends. What to Look for in a Cemetery Walk "Some things to consider: Early colonial burial grounds usually had a head and foot stone. A pre-Victorian cemetery usually had an east/west burial pattern... Early graves had no liner and can cave in. Be careful when walking in a cemetery. Look out for unstable ground and unstable monuments." (p. 6) Cemetery Symbology In cemetery symbology, an anchor (attribute of Saint Nicholas, patron saint of seamen), symbolized hope and steadfastness. The image of a bird symbolized the soul, and a butterfly or frog represented resurrection. The shape of many gravestones represents a door or portal, sometimes with columns, signifying entrance to a new life, or passage to the unknown. A fig meant happiness or prosperity, while a hart (male deer) represented either faithfulness, thirsting for God, or Christ slaying Satan. A peacock symbolized the incorruptibility of flesh, resurrection, beauty of soul, immortality, as did the Phoenix. A scallop shell represented man's earthly pilgrimage, or was a symbol of birth and resurrection, a traditional symbol of the Puritans, while a squirrel with a nut meant religious meditation or spiritual striving. A winged wheel symbolized holy spirit. (pp. 8-13) Burial Customs and Cemeteries in American History "Early Puritans rejected churchyard burials as they rebelled against other "papist" practices, as heretical and idolatrous. Instead, many 17th century New England towns set aside land as common community burial grounds. Headstone images from this period also reflect the rejection of formal Christian iconography in favor of more secular figures, such as skulls representing fate common to all men." (p. 18)

"...In the early "rural" cemeteries and in those which followed their pattern, hilly, wooded sites were enhanced by grading, selective thinning of trees, and massing of plant materials which directed view opening onto broad vistas. The cemetery gateway established separation from the workaday world... Such settings stirred an appreciation of nature and a sense of the continuity of life. By their example, the popular new cemeteries started a movement for urban parks..." (p. 20) Our Attitudes Toward Death "About the time the first English settlers began to move into Vermont, New England was swept by a major religious revival called the Great Awakening.This "powerful wave of religious enthusiasm" (The Puritan Way of Death, p. 143), challenged the Puritan attitude toward death by offering a more optimistic view. As many New Englanders began to view God as a deity of love and mercy, their fearful anticipation of death was somewhat replaced by eagerness... These changes in attitude are reflected in the gravestone symbols as death heads gave way to more optimistic symbols such as the tree of life, flowers, or soul effigies." (p. 23) What Caused Them to Die? In 1775-1776, a smallpox epidemic killed many of the soldiers around Lake Champlain. In 1805-1812, periodic outbreaks of spotted fever killed as many as 20 to 30 people per town from a single outbreak, and in 1812-1813, lung fever produced the largest number of deaths from a single epidemic in Vermont's history... (p. 32)

Making Photographic Records of Gravestones This four-page article, culled from over fifteen years experience photographing over six thousand gravestones, provides important information about lighting, use of mirrors, equipment, cleaning stones, viewing the subject, considering background and using a backboard to eliminate background. (pp. 48-51) Documenting Cemeteries ..."The best time to find "lost" cemeteries is in the early spring right after the snow leaves and before the weeds grow and the leaves come out.; also there are fewer bugs. Late fall after the leaves fall is also good." (p. 52)

Classroom Ideas Here are just a few of the great projects students can do in a cemetery. (p. 60-64) Cemetery Math: After gathering data on name, date of birth, death, and age at death students can graph information about time of death, comparing male to female, and then analyze date to discover which decade had the most deaths, the fewest deaths, or at what age most deaths occurred. They can make predictions about whether or not this cemetery might be typical... Other analyses can lead to probability discussions (how many people might have the same birth date/death date?) Are there patterns in months or birth/death?

Are there patterns in names used over time? (You could also chart causes of death, occupations, etc.) Write Your Own Gravestone: Ask students to think about what they'd like their gravestone, if they decided to have one, look like. What shape would it be? What would it say? Would it have artwork? Students draw their tombstone and then write their own epitaph that would describe them to friends, relatives and any passer-by. Time Capsules: Students fill a box or bag with items form a year in the life of a person whose grave they have visited, and share with the class. Compare with a time capsule the class compiles for the present year. The Day of the Dead: In Central and South America, several countries observe All Soul's Day and All Saints Day with celebrations and customs that last for days. There are several children's and adult books dealing specifically with these Dia de Muertos celebrations. Sweet shops sell confections in the shape of skeletons and skulls, families prepare outdoor altars of food and gifts for departed loved ones; families picnic in cemeteries. Students find these customs and practices fascinating! Incorporate a study of them on All Soul's Day, or with units on Mexico, Latin and South America.