Vandals damage 36 headstones in historic Helena cemetery
By ALANA LISTOE IR Staff Writer
Vandals damaged more than 36 headstones in the historic Benton Avenue Cemetery some time over the weekend. The cemetery board has no money to make the repairs. A small reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the culprits
This is an amazing grave yard right near the campus. I walked through there several times at school. The old grave markers have sucha variety of colors and textures as they mark the lives of Helenans long gone. I spent time photographing those stones for class and got some great results.
There's something peaceful about visiting an old grave yard. Looking at the stones and thinking about the lives of people who lived and died forty, sixty, or even a hundred years ago. There are wll known people in these graveyards, but also plenty of unknowns or civilians. People who had family at one point, and friends who buried them under that stone marker. That piece of granite is, for most people, their only stab at immortality. It can remain for hundreds of years in a way that street names and family legacy cannot.
They are places for deep thought about big issues like life and death, and about the smaller trivia that fills all our lives. Depending on your perspective, you are alone, or just among silent companions.
Of course, I'm not sure I'd recomend a walk late at night...
1 comment:
Who thought there were vandals in Helena? Sad.
But that cemetary under the A train el? Let's desecrate that.
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