Alberta
Graveyards - Continued
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An
example of the languages seen through Alberta's cemeteries.
This white decorated cross is found in the cemetery of the
Romanian Church at Boian near Willingdon, east of Edmonton.
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Scratch
a Canadian and you'll eventually get down to a story of
immigration, except for the native Canadians and even they,
some archeologists say, came from elsewhere. Doesn't matter.
The point is that immigration is told everywhere in our
graveyards, sometimes stated directly, as in "Native
of Denmark" or some such explanation. But more often
than not, it has to be figured out. I began keeping track,
for example, of the different languages, I found on Albertan
gravemarkers. With pictures in hand, I consulted a linguist
at the university who identified some 36 distinct language
groups, but those 36 language groups were in the front lines
of the graveyard only. As time passed and second and third
generations were buried, the language became English. It's
the story in stone of immigration and integration, the story
of the west.
Hong
Chow's Chinese-language marker from Mountainview Cemetery
in Lethbridge
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The
natives were not nearly as keen on immigration, of course.
It changed everything for them. Chief Crowfoot died in 1890
at a time when life for Indians was a little bit Christian,
a little bit traditional and a whole lot confusing. He was
right on the cusp between old and new, and that tension
coloured everything that happened around his death. For
instance, the Catholic priest declared that Crowfoot had
been baptized in the faith and should therefore have a full
Catholic funeral. The Anglican minister J.W. Tims wasn't
so sure about that and said, "Crowfoot died as he had
lived in the faith of his father." The Indian agent
weighed in with the direction that the casket should be
completely buried. The Blackfoot people wanted it to remain
above ground so that his spirit would be free to join the
ancestors. And so on.
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How to break
such a cultural and religious impasse? Compromise, of course.
The casket in the Cluny cemetery was left half in and half out
of the ground for years, covered with a spirit house, but in recent
years, it's been buried completely. The gravemarker is modest;
it just says "Father of our People."
In a lovely
piece of contradiction, it turns out that cowboys - those most
strong and silent of all Albertans - are the ones most likely
to have words and praise upon their tombstones. Go figure. This
is the Cowboy's Prayer which more and more appears in ranching
areas of Alberta:
"Heavenly
Father, we pause, mindful
Of the many blessings you have bestowed upon us.
We ask that You be with us at this rodeo/ And we pray that you
will guide us in the arena of life.
Help us, Lord, to live our lives in such a manner
That when we make the last inevitable ride
To the country up there where the grass grows
Lush green and stirrup high
And the water runs cool and clear and deep
That you, as our fast judge, will tell us
That our entry fees are paid."
Another lovely
piece of contradiction is the epitaph on Harriet Elizabeth Connell's
grave in the Okotoks cemetery. Women, as a rule, don't get many
words on their markers - "Mother" and "Wife Of"
are about as many words as are allowed. And certainly, there's
no nonsense on women's or men's graves. But here's what Elizabeth
says:
"Weep
not for me now
Weep for me never
For I'm going to do
Nothing for ever and ever."
Turns out
it's an old favorite known as the Tired Woman's epitaph.
And finally,
here's my nomination for the most Albertan of all epitaphs. It
belongs to Hulbert (Hullie) Henry Orser in the Earlville Rutherford
cemetery on the edge of a field near Ponoka:
"He
feared God, did nothing mean
Shot straight and stayed clean."
If that isn't
Albertan, I don't know what is.
As for the
best overall graveyard in Alberta? The old one in Banff, close
to downtown at the foot of Sulphur Mountain. It's full of character
and characters. Don't miss it.
  
Nancy
Millar's books about graveyards include Remember Me As You Pass
By, (stories from Alberta graveyards) and Once Upon A Tomb (stories
from Canadian graveyards.) Both are a combination of history,
story and travel. They are available from many bookstores, see
the Links provided, or from Deadwood Distribution, e-mail nemillar@telusplanet.net.
Her other books include Once Upon A Wedding - Canadian history
through actual weddings; The Famous Five: Emily Murphy and the
Case of the Missing Persons, and Once Upon An Outhouse. Also available
from Deadwood or link with www.nancymillar.com.
This story,
with permission from the author, Nancy Millar, was supplied to
us by Canadian Funeral News, a magazine dedicated to the advancement
of funeral service in Canada and is published 12 times per year
by OT Communications. Suite 1025, 101-6th Ave. SW Calgary, AB,
T2P 3P4 Tel: 403-264-3270 Fax: 403-264-3276
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