Thursday, July 10, 2014

Clam Lake, Wisconsin

I had an excuse recently to stop in Clam Lake, Wisconsin, to check out the cemetery. It's a pretty decent size so I thought there'd be a fair number of older gravestones and markers. I was wrong.

Wooden grave marker from 2001.
Although there were some markers that at first appeared to be quite old, either from weathering or from obscured by vegetation, I couldn't find anything that was pre-1960s for a date of death. 
The two flat markers in the above photo, for example, have apparently been in place for less than 10 years. 
There were some intriguing vernacular markers, like the wooden tablet pictured above (the information on it appears to have been printed with a Sharpie) and the one below:
I was touched by this marker:
The front is pictured below. The flowers make it impossible to photograph, but at this point, only one half of the couple is dead. 
And I thought the combination of the walking stick and the hat shown below was a nice personal touch. 
These markers in a corner, though, just had me baffled. Does Clam Lake allow pet interments around the edges? I have heard that some cemeteries are now allowing pets to be buried with or near their owners, but these look like they've been there for awhile. 
Then again, maybe I'm wrong in assuming "Our Precious Pepsi" was a pet. These days, you never know.