Memorial Day is over, but the mowing lingers on. Windham’s crew is being especially challenged this year by the frequent rain and infrequent sunshine.
The town has a couple of dozen cemeteries ranging from tiny to huge, and every one of them requires at least some “hand mowing”. Weed whackers are used to get close to the upright gravestones. Dead shrubs, flowers and broken containers and other rubbish is hauled away.
A couple of weeks ago, I was talking with some of the men who keep our cemeteries neat and clean – or try to. One of them mentioned what a mess it was to clean up the graves when dogs have been allowed to wander through the old yards.
“Not just messy, it’s unhealthy, you wouldn’t believe it!” exclaimed one man. “Don’t people know it’s against the law?”
Since January, 2000, the town of Windham has had a law that forbids walking dogs in public cemeteries – or having a picnic, or “horseplay” – anything which is not in keeping with the dignity a graveyard deserves. And after dark, people aren’t allowed in cemeteries under the care of the town.
This cemetery ordinance also regulates the type of decoration which can be placed on a gravesite. There was a time when it was common for family members to tend a relative’s gravesite by handclipping the grass and keeping things tidy, but that is seldom practiced today. More often, people visit the graves once or twice a year, and many of them choose to use fabricated (plastic or silk) floral arrangements.
“That’s okay, if they put them in a container which won’t get broken by a weed-whacker or mower”, say the cemetery workers, “but those glass vases – they can shatter and cut us up pretty good!”
In fact, glass containers are prohibited, according to the town’s ordinance. Artificial flowers must be placed in containers – like boxes or baskets. Otherwise, the flowers can easily be shredded.
There are thousands of gravestones in Windham’s cemeteries, some dating back to the mid 1700s. Each one represents a person who was loved, and whose descendants wanted them remembered and respected. Caring for all of these memorials is important to us all, and requires much careful attention by our Public Works Department. Adhering to the ordinance will help.
For copies of the town’s Cemetery Ordinance, contact David Dickson at Windham Town Hall.
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