Fall
has arrived in Tennessee! Its arrival
brings colorful landscapes, pumpkin patches, hayrides, football games with
tailgate parties, and pleasant walks in the park. This is the perfect time of year to pay our
respects to our deceased family and friends by visiting and cleaning cemeteries. Historical and genealogical groups often plan
cemetery walks that are educational and informative.
Four
generations of my family are buried in historic Hollywood Cemetery located at
406 Hollywood Drive in Jackson, TN. My
earliest memories include visiting the grave of my Maness grandfather who died
before I was born. This beautiful
cemetery was founded in December 1886 when a group of people incorporated as
Hollywood Cemetery and purchased fifty acres from Robert Hunt. It was placed on the National Register of
Historic Places in 2002.
Hollywood
Cemetery Association’s President/CEO Don Thomson said, “Hollywood Cemetery is a
jewel in our community. We are 128 years
old, and we have over 10,600 Jacksonians buried here. It is a beautiful location with such unusual
memorials and headstones that I like to consider the cemetery an outdoor
museum.”
Among
the oldest graves are Mollie Langford (1858-1887) and T. F. Lewis
(1843-1887). After the cemetery was
started, a few interments were relocated from other cemeteries to Hollywood
Cemetery. These included two infant
daughters of L. B. Hefley. Gladys Hefley
was born 18 July 1812 and died 20 April 1813.
Mary Hefley was born 8 April 1817 and died 3 May 1817.
Hollywood
Cemetery is the final resting place for many US veterans from most of the
American wars. Spanish War Veteran
William Alexander Gravette (1802-1888) has a simple marker only stating his
name. Confederate Veteran John F.
Baxter’s marker includes “Sgt Maj
Co I 44 Tenn Inf, April 28, 1833 - July 14, 1907.” Jesse C. Lemmons (1900-1927) was wounded
while serving in World War I. He is
remembered with an almost life-size “doughboy” statue at his grave. Obed Dubart Gobelet (1888-1918) died of
pneumonia while in service to our country during World War I. There are many graves of World War II and
Korean War veterans, including my daddy and his three brothers.
On
the Sunday prior to Memorial Day, Hollywood Cemetery Association remembers and
honors the US servicemen and women who made the supreme sacrifice by being
killed in combat. A special program is
held at the cemetery’s front entrance at 2:00 p.m. Flags are placed on veterans’ graves by
Woodmen of the World. The 18th
annual Memorial Day observance will be held on Sunday, May 24, 2015.
Joe
Exum serves on the Board of Directors; and he has the challenging
responsibility of maintaining the burial records which include full names,
birth dates, death dates, burial dates, burial location (section and lot), funeral
homes, veteran information, etc.
This
extensive information can be obtained by searching the cemetery’s website. If your loved one is buried in Hollywood
Cemetery but not listed on the website, please contact the website
administrator with the correct information.
Submit a death certificate, obituary, and/or grave marker photo and
location to prove your information. The website will soon include a database of lot owners. Over 1,500 lots are still for sale.
In
1988, Mid-West Tennessee Genealogical Society and Jackson-Madison County
Homecoming ’86 Steering Committee published Records
of Hollywood Cemetery. This was a
huge project with volunteer employees of Jackson Utility Division, members of
Mid-West Tennessee Genealogical Society, and other interested individuals
reading the cemetery and recording the findings. In 2004, MWTGS published Records of Hollywood Cemetery (update 1986-2003). This book is still available for purchase,
and both books are available in the TN Room of the downtown Jackson library.
Volunteers
have created memorials and posted photos for cemeteries throughout the world on
FindAGrave.com. These memorials are
especially nice to remember people who died before obituaries were posted
online. Family historians often find
memorials for ancestors on this site.
Volunteers have created over 8,000 memorials for Hollywood Cemetery.
One
local volunteer is Cristie Wright. She
spends many hours photographing and recording cemeteries in West Tennessee and
even Destin, Florida. She has created
over 19,500 memorials and posted over 8,200 photos on FindAGrave. Most of her memorials are for burials in
Hollywood Cemetery.
Ms. Wright said, “I guess most
people don’t think of a cemetery as being ‘beautiful’ or ‘peaceful,’ but those
are the first two words that come into my mind when asked to describe Hollywood
Cemetery, especially in the fall. Fall
is my favorite, following closely by winter.
Even though I’m not really a big fan of snow in general, I do love it
when snow blankets Hollywood Cemetery.
But all of those trees turning yellow and orange in the fall…it is
absolutely beautiful.”
Barbara
Haney Shepard also enjoys fall colors as she visits Hollywood Cemetery and
captures images of the colorful landscape, family graves, Jesse Lemmons' WWI doughboy,
the Mercer family's weeping woman, and the Caldwell-Butler family’s cross
monument.
Claude
Bailey Jr., Associate Professor of Biology at Jackson State, has inventoried
the trees at Hollywood Cemetery. He
said, “There are over seventeen species of trees in Hollywood Cemetery. Many of
the water oaks, willow oaks and cherry bark oaks are quite large and old. There are many sugar maples on the site, and
many line the lanes around the cemetery.
With all the sugar maples blushing tones of red/orange/yellow in the
fall, there's lots of color. Scattered
dogwoods would also add a purple/reddish accent to all the sugar maples. There are also a few evergreens like American
holly (with red berries), eastern red cedars, several sweet bay magnolias
(semi-evergreen), and a southern magnolia which would continue to contribute
the ‘greens’ through fall and winter months.”
Hollywood
Cemetery Association mails a newsletter twice a year. To receive the newsletter or to make a
donation, contact administrators through the website; through US mail at PO Box
3975, Jackson, TN 38303; or with a phone call to 731/422-4316.
Mr.
Thomson stated, “We are Jackson's largest and most beautiful cemetery. We desperately, desperately need people to
donate to Hollywood. We are a 501(c) (13)
organization, so any donations are tax-deductible. Given the fact that a great percentage of
locals have family members or friends buried in Hollywood, they have a personal
reason to support Hollywood.”
Fall
is the perfect time to clean cemeteries by removing limbs and weeds and by
cleaning grave markers. When visiting
Hollywood Cemetery on a weekday, talk with Harold Scott and the maintenance
staff as they are working to keep the grounds beautiful. They can give you cleaning and safety
tips. Mr. Scott advises to beware of bees
and wasps when changing flowers in vases.
He also said vases are often broken in the winter when drain holes
become clogged; rain collects in vases, freezes, and causes vases to break.
As
a genealogy challenge and as a kindness to a deceased person, photograph a
marker that appears to be “alone” or without nearby family members. Research the person’s life and create a
memorial. The person’s descendants might
live in a distant state, and you could hold the answers to their family
mystery.
Invite
a friend to take a walk or a drive through a cemetery. Don’t forget your camera and be aware of your
surroundings when visiting any cemetery.
There is no need to drive to the country to see fall colors. A trip to Hollywood Cemetery inside Jackson’s
city limits will provide a beautiful and peaceful landscape. Maybe I will see you there.
“It is said that a person never really dies as long as
just one person remembers.” Author unknown
Published in The Jackson Sun on September 28, 2014
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