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Illustration by Juliana Neufeld
I knew that there were many activities and projects that I wanted to do when I retired. Spending time in a cemetery did not figure on my list at all. As it turns out, these visits are a highlight of my week and have both soothed and enriched my soul.
I am a volunteer with the Ontario Genealogical Society, Essex Branch in Windsor, Ont. We meet weekly (weather permitting) at Windsor Grove Cemetery. Windsor Grove is 157 years old and home to many famous and even infamous individuals, including Gordon McGregor, owner of Walkerville Wagon Works, who worked out a deal with Henry Ford to establish Ford Motor Co. in Canada, union activist Charlie Brooks and Frederick Seagrave, who invented firefighting apparatus. It’s also the final resting place for Harry Low, Windsor’s notorious rumrunner during Prohibition.
Birding in Guatemala taught me to stay present - no matter where in the world I am
Volunteers have been meeting for 15 years to document and digitize the names and dates on grave markers for an online database. We clean and restore grave markers, as well as obtain information for records about those buried in the cemetery. Headstones are monuments to our ancestors and long before the digital world, they told the story of lives lived. The oldest grave in the cemetery dates back to 1866. Floods, weather and years of tree and plant growth have affected these fragile headstones in many ways. The work involves cleaning with special materials and, in some cases, probing and digging up lost markers. Many of the headstones are made of porous marble and granite and tend to be fragile, in disrepair and, sadly, often illegible. Being able to read the information on a grave marker allows families to visit, find markers they may not have seen in years, and helps historians and genealogists.
On my first day as a volunteer, Rose, an expert in cleaning headstones, knelt in front of a marker and demonstrated how to remove loose dirt and moss with a soft brush. She then gently scrubbed the heart-shaped marker with water and a mild soap, and eventually we could read the name on the headstone. “Hello Charlotte,” Rose said quietly. This humble gesture resonated with me.
Sometimes we work in pairs, especially when probing and digging, but often it is just me alone at a grave every Thursday morning. It’s peaceful, no one argues with me or annoys me. I have conversations with the dead.
My volunteer colleagues are pleasant and share the same interest in local history and genealogy. In the words of one volunteer: “It’s time to get our Genealogy-chi on.” In Chinese culture, chi is the energy of the universe. It flows through all living beings and connects us energetically, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I thought it was a perfect analogy for what we do.
The most exciting part of this work for volunteers is finding or identifying information on markers that would otherwise be lost. Charlotte was no more than 22 when she died in the 20th century. I wonder what killed her. Consumption? The flu? Or childbirth, perhaps?
My interest in cemeteries is taking me to Guatemala in November to attend the Barriletes Gigantes, or Giant Kite Festival, which honours the dead in the town of Sumpango. Locals create and fly giant kites made from paper, cloth patches and bamboo frames. These kites, which can be up to 20 metres in diameter, are flown as part of the Day of the Dead celebrations in a graveyard. The event is a visual spectacle, but also a deeply spiritual and communal experience, with people gathering to remember and to celebrate their loved ones. Markers and graves are cleaned and adorned, and families enjoy picnics on or near their ancestors’ final resting place. As I prepare for the trip, I wonder – why don’t we have annual celebrations in our cemeteries and graveyards? Why are so many North Americans afraid of them?
There are more than 20,000 souls in Windsor Grove Cemetery. My soul is happy to join them once a week. Maybe one day the volunteers will throw a party there.
Gisele Seguin lives in Windsor.