Remembering

There have been quite a few deaths in this past week and a half, and those are just the people I've heard of. In total, the deaths that have reached me are nearly twenty. One was a plane crash in Montana, killing 14 instantly. Another was the slaughter of a pregnant mother and her teenage son. Still another, the aging mother of two dear friends. I know thousands more have breathed their last on this earth, and I can't know them all. Perhaps many reading this post today have experienced a loss recently. Or maybe one that feels recent because the pain is so fresh. In memory of these loved ones lost until our Christ comes again, I post a shot of a memorial placed on Mt. Hope, a cemetery located on a hill on the western edge of College Place. I don't know who these adorable animals were placed here for, but may they represent the thoughts and memories all of us hold dear of so many we have had to bid goodbye. May they never be forgotten.

Tour of the Back Roads 4

If I'd started this tour of the back roads just two days later, this would have worked out perfectly. The young person buried here died on February 2, 1903, so Monday will mark the 106th anniversary of his death. I think it's safe to assume that no one who knew him personally is still alive today, though it is possible. This little one died at age 11. When wandering through cemeteries - new or old - I always have to stop and think of the parents of these children who didn't live to fulfill their life dreams and goals. Join us again tomorrow for more of the back roads of the WWV.

Tour of the Back Roads 3

As we continue along our tour of the back roads of the WWV, our next stop is Valley Chapel Cemetery. With the snow on the ground, it's hard to tell how many graves actually fill this small place of memories and loved ones, but those headstones that rose above the ground numbered less than 20. Most of them marked graves that were between 100 and 120 years old, making this yet another pioneer cemetery. (See my previous post on Pioneer Cemetery on the outskirts of Milton-Freewater.) Tomorrow we'll take a look inside of the cemetery, at some of the very old gravestones laid with love and tears.

Pioneer Cemetery

I realized after yesterday's post that I didn't follow through with my promise of a photo of the entrance to the Pioneer Cemetery I talked about on Sunday. So here it is a day late...with my apologies. To read more about this cemetery, see my previous post.

Stormy January

I suppose some would consider this a better picture for Halloween than early January, but oh well. This was taken in January 2008, and it shows what the winter weather is usually like in the Walla Walla Valley. This is an old graveyard my husband and I stumbled upon while geocaching in a wheat field on a hill not too far from our house. It's called Pioneer Cemetery, probably because the graves are all for some of the first people to settle in the WWV. Most of them are illegible by now, and weather (and probably some "helpful" teenagers with nothing else to do) has taken its toll on the stones. You can see the WWV in the background, down at the base of the hill. Tomorrow I'll post a photo of the entrance to this somewhat spooky old cemetery.