GRAVESIDE MEDALLIONS: I.O.R.M.

One of the things that I noticed when I first started taking cemetery photos
were the assorted medallions placed near gravestones. So I thought I'd feature
some here from time to time. Due to the recent rash of thefts of such items
from cemeteries I won't disclose the location of these items to protect them from
metal thieves.

This first one has the initials I.O.R.M. which stands for the Improved Order of
Red Men. This was a fraternal group organized back in the late 19th century that
claimed it was descended from the Sons of Liberty from the American Revolution.
The Indian theme was based on the Boston Tea Party when the Sons of Liberty
disguised as themselves as Indians,

"No 153" is the lodge of which the deceased was a member.

When I researched this medallion I thought I'd read about the I.O.R.M.
somewhere before and a quick google search reminded me of where it had
been: an article on Heather Wilkinson Rojo's Nutfield Genealogy about the
Boston Tea Party that you can read here!

AFTER THE STORM: MT. VERNON CEMETERY, ABINGTON, MA..

Many of the oldest trees in any neighborhood can be found in the local
cemeteries. Because of their age and height they are at risk in severe
weather and several trees at Mt Vernon Cemetery here in Abington
suffered damage during Tropical Storm Irene.

What was striking about it was the type of damage. Officials had warned
that because of the heavy rain trees would be pulled out by the roots by
the high winds. Such was not the case here where it looks like the trees
were snapped or split by the force of the winds.Luckily it did not
appear that any headstones were damaged by the fallen tree trunks.
I hope the same is true in the other cemeteries I've photographed over the
previous months.

SUMMIT RD , MT VERNON CEMETERY, ABINGTON

Last Thursday I returned to Mt Vernon Cemetery. By now the heavy
snow cover of this past Winter was gone and luckily the grounds were
fairly dry. So at last I had the chance to get out of the car and wander
about with my camera to take pictures.

Mt Vernon is a sprawling cemetery laid out in roads. One of these
is Summit Rd, which is at the southern entrance and, as the name
suggests, at the highest point of the terrain. It's not paved and wasn't
plowed out at all this Winter so this was the first time I'd been able to
walk up it, although I'd taken many photos of the hillside from my
car the past few months.  Most of the gravesites there are among the 
oldest in the cemetery and there's not only a nice view across the interior
of the cemetery but also of the athletic fields at the nearby junior high
and middle schools: (click twice on each picture for best view)

At the top of the hill. Those pine trees on the right are actually on the ground below the hill. 

A gravestone with a bench to match

The view down onto the athletic field from the bench