Visit A Cemetery Day


Because I am a cemetery junkie, I especially wanted to highlight this obscure holiday.  The last cemetery I visited was Pioneers Rest, located slightly east of downtown Fort Worth.  A few of the instrumental founders of Fort Worth and Tarrant County are buried there, people such as General Tarrant and Major Arnold.  In addition to their gravesites, there are other memorials to these people strewn across the city.  Cemeteries are fascinating and contain a lot of significant history.  Wherever I travel, I always make it a point to visit the local burial grounds.  For example, I visited two of the three cemeteries in and around Leakey and Rio Frio, Texas.  One was dedicated to the Hispanic-American culture in the area.  I really enjoy reading the dates and inscriptions on the headstones.  Many date back to the early 1800s and tell a short story of the person interred.  For me, the most interesting ones include those specifying military service.  So far, I've found quite a few from around the time of the Texas Revolution and the Civil War.  As the dates become more recent, then the ones from World War I and II abound.  Be sure to take the time to visit a cemetery.  The tour doesn't have to take place today, but be sure to celebrate those who have gone before.  Happy holiday!



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