[Magdalen] cemetery plots...

[Jim Guthrie]

From: Raewynne Whiteley

>My parish has a cemetery. Assuming the costs includes perpetual care, it's
>actually pretty low.  Cemeteries cost a surprising amount to run -
>maintenance of grass, trees, roads, administrative costs, etc.  We don't

I remember when the St James cemetery was put a a "business like basis" finally 
separating the associated expenses from the church expense (for example, the 
cost of administration by the parish secretary was not being credited to the 
cemetery expense, etc.)

The size of the cemetery was almost doubled in size a few years ago, and the 
parish owns enough land to expand it again someday. My high school friend Ed 
Conklin is buried near the back of the original property, because he wanted to 
be buried as close to the railroad as possible. His gravestone features a 
Pennsylvania Railroad K-4 exiting a tunnel, which caused quite some 
consternation when it was installed <g>. (Ed died of cancer before he was 30. We 
used to go antiquing together, along with another late friend from St. James, 
Mike Sambach).  Ed and I would do battle to get to railroad ephemera and 
memorabilia. Mike collected old records -- 78s and cylinders and the machines to 
play them, so there was no competition there, but we digress . . . ..

In the older section at St. James ,  I knew or know the history of more than 
half the people buried there, and have done walking tours for cemetery buffs.

Cheers,
Jim Guthrie