Greetings from The Crematory

I keep discovering postcards of cemeteries in my collection - and now I find a card of a crematory.  I hope it's not an omen. This is the Gardner Earl Memorial Crematory in Troy, New York.

It turns out that this crematory was built by William Earl as a memorial to his son. That may seem a little peculiar. After all, he could have funded a school or other building with more cheerful associations as a way to memorialize his son. But there was a reason behind this choice. It seems that the son, Gardner Earl, a sickly young man, had gathered enough strength to make a trip to Italy when he was in his 30s. I'm not sure what the other highlights of his trip were, but apparently young Gardner was very impressed with cremation methods in Italy. It makes you wonder about his travel itinerary, doesn't it?

So impressed was young Gardner that after his return he drafted a document stating that upon his death he would like to be cremated. His parents had probably faced many worries and a lot of heartache taking care of their sickly son. And now this. When he died a few years later, they had to cart his body off to Buffalo, the closest place where cremation was available. This inspired Gardner's parents to build a crematory in their hometown of Troy, New York in his honor. The building was completed in 1889. It's still strange if you ask me, but at least there is an explanation of sorts.

That said, this building has some amazing details, including Tiffany windows, exotic marble, carved stone and wood,  and decorative copper details on the roof. The chapel and the reception room are simply stunning. The building was designed by Albert Fuller, and has been nominated as a national historic landmark. Oakwood cemetery, the setting for this crematory, is also known for it's beautiful gardens. A number of prominent Americans are buried here.

The back of the card has no message, not even "wish you were here." Sorry, Lisa B.

More Greetings from the Cemetery

If I received a postcard with a picture of a cemetery on the front, I might wonder if it was a bad omen. Here are two cemetery postcards from Springfield and Concord, Massachusetts.

And here's the cemetery in Concord where Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, is buried.

Here are the backs of the postcards.

Greetings from the Cemetery

I understand the reasons for sending a postcard from a hospital or a school, but who would send a postcard from a cemetery?  I would expect the message to read: "Just buried Uncle Bob. We would have invited you to the funeral, but the weather was hot so we had to get it done quickly."
Nope, people just used them to send regular old greetings, with no reference to the cemetery at all.
Here are two cemeteries in Pennsylvania, one in Lancaster and one in Lewisburg.

I like the separate in and out gates and the strangely-pruned shrubs. Greenwood Cemetery, modeled after Victorian cemeteries, looks like a beautiful place for a leisurely walk. President James Buchanan is buried here.

The one below looks more like a park than a cemetery from this viewpoint. Several famous major-league baseball players are buried her, including Walter Allen "Heavy' Blair, Christopher 'Big Six' Mathewson, and Harry Elwood 'Moose' McCormick.

Here are the backs of the cards in the same order.

Special at the Brighouse Cemetery

I bought this postcard along with some other Yorkshire postcards that I posted previously.  I almost didn't buy this one, but somehow the No Dogs Admitted sign convinced me.  I'm not suggesting there's any logic to that; it's just the way it happened.

I looked for some more images of the cemetery and found some nice ones at Malcolm Bull's Calderdale Companion. I also came upon a site that claimed to be the blog of Brighouse Cemetery and had this to say:

Welcome to the blog of Brighouse Cemetery

Hello! Brighouse Cemetery is in business in Brighouse, ENG, and is interested in doing business with you. Contact Brighouse Cemetery to request a deal, get a coupon or to do business.

I am not sure what kind of deals they might offer...half off? Maybe an Early Bird special? Group discount? Whatever the case, don't delay - I'm sure it's a limited-time offer.

Here's the back of the card.