It's a small cemetery but it's been there for over a century; after all, Skull Valley has been around for a long time, at least in Arizona terms. Location: on the west side of Iron Springs Road just before the underpass as you approach the little community. Very sere, but then the pictures were taken in December when the dotter visited. The grass never gets very green, but often brilliant red-orange mariposa lilies bloom in and near the cemetery in early spring.
The carved rock is somewhat unusual; note the cowboy on the right and the horse below. After all, this remains a ranching community.
Many multi-generational family plots.
For example, Alfred Shupp lived from 1834 to 1897; not in the picture is a smaller stone of another family member who died in 1945.
In addition to flowers, favorite things are found at the cemetery... including the curious balloon-ish object held by fairies (below).
Other objects, as well, including a beer can. Dotter removed the can for one photograph, but we decided that the beer belonged and was probably a gift from a hunting buddy of this fallen marine.
Another memorial to a service man, in this case one who served in World War I. Someone has given him a fresh flag.
More Blog Links: Remember reading about those remarkable glass sculptures down at the Desert Botanical Garden? Well, Catalyst was just there, lucky guy. With his camera, lucky us. Take a look. Next, friend Georgene has suddenly really gotten into blogging, with not one, but two new sites: Victorian Vices, focused primarily on beading, and Simplewise, on simplifying and organizing one's life.
It's a small cemetery but it's been there for over a century; after all, Skull Valley has been around for a long time, at least in Arizona terms. Location: on the west side of Iron Springs Road just before the underpass as you approach the little community. Very sere, but then the pictures were taken in December when the dotter visited. The grass never gets very green, but often brilliant red-orange mariposa lilies bloom in and near the cemetery in early spring.
The carved rock is somewhat unusual; note the cowboy on the right and the horse below. After all, this remains a ranching community.
Many multi-generational family plots.
For example, Alfred Shupp lived from 1834 to 1897; not in the picture is a smaller stone of another family member who died in 1945.
In addition to flowers, favorite things are found at the cemetery... including the curious balloon-ish object held by fairies (below).
Other objects, as well, including a beer can. Dotter removed the can for one photograph, but we decided that the beer belonged and was probably a gift from a hunting buddy of this fallen marine.
Another memorial to a service man, in this case one who served in World War I. Someone has given him a fresh flag.
More Blog Links: Remember reading about those remarkable glass sculptures down at the Desert Botanical Garden? Well, Catalyst was just there, lucky guy. With his camera, lucky us. Take a look. Next, friend Georgene has suddenly really gotten into blogging, with not one, but two new sites: Victorian Vices, focused primarily on beading, and Simplewise, on simplifying and organizing one's life.
Lots of forgotten history here. Many stories go untold. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteYou're timing is amazing... Omegakiddo and I have have been talking about going down the cemetary that's tucked away nearby and doing some stone rubbings.
ReplyDeleteDoubt we'll find any interesting old stones... Alaska just turned 50, and many of it's graveyards are younger. (Note that many of our institutions are named after people who are still alive or were at the time of naming. It's a bit of a hassel for folks... build a new park or civic hall... and dammittohell good ol' Joe just isn't dead yet.)
Another interesting post, GJ. Cemeteries hold such intriguing hints of days past..
ReplyDeleteBy the way, a very Happy Birthday to you..to you!
ReplyDeleteWell that's a helluva post to put on your birthday blog! Thanks for becoming such a good pal, GJ, and have a very, very happy birthday and many more!
ReplyDeleteIt's your birthday?
ReplyDelete!!!
Happy, happy, to you GJ!
You always brighten my mornings, and I'm grateful for you!
Cemeteries hold memories of loved ones. I just wish people would write autobiographies, or biographies of loved ones. The "ordinary life" of a loved one is actually extraordinary when read by a relative 3-4 generations down the road.
Hugs,
~Anon in AV.
steve -- fortunately, there are many small memoirs published about early life hereabouts and several active historical societies.
ReplyDeleteSIL -- is that the little family cemetery that we visited when I was there?
lindag -- it's the continuity that impressed me, with well over 100 years of family life represented...
lindag & cat-A -- thanks for the good wishes. Number 82, BTW. I may do a brief post about last night's dinner.
anon av -- I know what you are saying -- I've dropped hints to my autobiography in odds and ends of posts & a little bit about Mom, tho maybe one of these days, I'll have to write more. But. What a chore!
Granny J..I love walking around old cemeteries. Once, I made some stone rubbings in one way back in the woods, where there were many Civil War soldiers buried--but I lost them along the way, somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI'm taking this opportunity to wish you a very Happy Birthday! May you have many, many, more to come!
Happy Birthday Granny J and wishing you lots more to come.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Granny J and wishing you lots more to come.
ReplyDeleteYou can learn a lot about history by visiting old cemeteries.
ReplyDeleteI actually have a plot reserved in the SV cemetery. Kitty Balow was a dear friend of mine.
Brilliant post on this Skull Valley landmark! I travel past there several times a month, often after dark, and will add one interesting item left behind for loved-ones -- solar-powered garden lights. The dim lights hovering over the grave sites gives a downright eerie aspect to it at night. At least, I HOPE those are garden lights I'm seeing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog, Little House. Visiting cemeteries is one of my hobbies. If you would like to see a some of my cemetery pictures (I am not a professional) you can go here http://littlehouseonwheels.com/linkpage/iconology.htm. I am also not an internet guru since I don't know how to put a link in correctly. My favorite headstones are the homemade ones.
ReplyDeleteI have been following your blog and Prescott is on our list of places to see when mom and I hit the road in April.
jan -- on my short sojourn in Tennessee, my niece and I found not one but three family cemeteries, something I had not been aware of.
ReplyDeleteqd -- thanks
azlaydey -- but then you lived in SV for many years, didn't you?
triangleforge -- welcome to Walking Prescott! Tho I've passed the cemetery many times, it's never been at night, so I haven't seen the ghostly lights.
impEx -- I've done posts on a couple of other cemeteries; you might want to check them out by entering "cemetery" in the search box.
A real "boot hill". I enjoy browsing around graveyards and this was an interesting wander. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteavus -- I've never been really big on graveyards but they do make interesting history -- and photos, too. There are a couple more in the ara that I hope to visit. Actually, several, both in town and out in the countryside.
ReplyDelete