Sebak: WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE.

NO WAY AROUND IT.

MANY OF US WILL END UP IN A CEMETERY SOMEWHERE.

EVERY CEMETERY HAS ITS OWN LITTLE STORY TO TELL.

IT MIGHT SOUND WEIRD, BUT I LOVE WALKING THROUGH A CEMETERY.

SO, I'VE BEEN COMING ONCE A WEEK FOR THE LAST FORTY YEARS.

Sebak: THE THING ABOUT CEMETERIES IS THAT THEY ARE EVERYWHERE.

WE'RE ALL COMING HERE SOONER OR LATER, RIGHT?

WE JUST DON'T BURY PEOPLE AND FORGET ABOUT THEM.

WE TAKE CARE OF THEM.

Sebak: IN THIS PROGRAM, WE'RE GOING TO VISIT JUST A FEW.

Kevin: "CEMETERY" IS MORE FOR BEAUTY.

"GRAVEYARD" IS JUST LIKE PEOPLE ARE BURIED THERE, AND IT'S NOT REALLY MEANT FOR DECORATIONS OR ANYTHING.

Bauder: YOU'D COME ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON, AND YOU WOULD BRING YOUR PICNIC LUNCH AND HANG OUT.

Sebak: WE'RE GOING TO CELEBRATE CEMETERIES AS PLACES WHERE YOU CAN FIND HISTORY AND ART, NATURAL BEAUTY.

YOU CAN GO TO CENTRAL PARK, AND IF YOU IMAGINE IT WITH HEADSTONES, IT'S A CEMETERY.

Born: I SEE THIS AS ANOTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT AND UNDERSTANDING THE HISTORY OF THIS COMMUNITY.

SebaS WE APOLOGIZE IF WE DON'T GET TO YOUR FAVORITE CEMETERY.

WE PROBABLY DON'T.

LIFE'S SHORT, ISN'T IT?

I'M NOT QUITE TO THE POINT WHERE I KNOW MORE PEOPLE IN CEMETERIES THAN ABOVE GROUND.

Man: NOT EVERYBODY NEEDS TO BE COMMEMORATED, BUT CERTAINLY NO ONE WANTS TO BE FORGOTTEN.

Fisher: I KNOW A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE.

THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD FRIENDS UP HERE.

TO ME, THEY'RE ALL MY FRIENDS.

Sebak: SO, WE'RE GONNA CALL THIS "A CEMETERY SPECIAL."

IT'S NOT THE CEMETERY SPECIAL.

WE COULDN'T BE COMPREHENSIVE.

THERE ARE TOO MANY CEMETERIES TO SQUEEZE INTO ONE HOUR.

THERE'S CERTAINLY NOTHING SPOOKY ABOUT A CEMETERY.

THAT'S TOO MUCH TELEVISION.

[ LAUGHS ] YEAH.

"A CEMETERY SPECIAL" WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

THANK YOU.

Sebak: WE DEDICATE THIS PROGRAM IN MEMORY OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BURIED IN ALL THE CEMETERIES THAT WE VISITED.

WE DIDN'T INTEND TO DISTURB OR DISHONOR ANY OF THE DECEASED.

AND PERHAPS OUR PICTURES AND WORDS WILL LEAD TO A VISIT OR TO A MEMORY OF SOMEONE WHO WAS ONCE LOVED.

THERE ARE MANY TRADITIONS AND BELIEFS THAT PERTAIN TO OUR SO-CALLED FINAL RESTING PLACES.

HUMAN ATTITUDES AND OPINIONS, AS WELL AS OPTIONS FOR DEALING WITH OUR BODILY REMAINS, HAVE CHANGED THROUGHOUT HUMAN HISTORY AND WILL CONTINUE TO CHANGE.

THIS IS ALLEGHENY CEMETERY IN PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLNIA.

Roberts: ALLEGHENY IS 300 ACRES.

WE STARTED OFF AT 100 ACRES AND GREW TO 300 ACRES, WHICH IS THE LIMIT OF OUR CHARTER.

SO, IT'S A NONPROFIT INSTITUTION THAT HAS BEEN SELF-PERPETUATING SINCE 1844.

Sebak: TOM ROBERTS, PRESIDENT OF ALLEGHENY CEMETERY, KNOWS WHY AMERICANS STARTED ESTABLISHING THESE BEAUTIFUL, SO-CALLED RURAL-GARDEN CEMETERIES IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 19th CENTURY.

THE CHURCHYARDS IN THE CITIES OF AMERICA OR UNITED STATES WERE GETTING OVERCROWDED, AND THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO OR HOW TO DO IT.

SO THE CONCEPT CAME -- LET'S MAKE A CEMETERY PLACE DISTANT FROM THE CHURCHES AND INDEPENDENT FROM THE CHURCHES, IF YOU WOULD, AND A SELF-PERPETUATING LANDSCAPE THAT WOULD HAVE ITS OWN BEAUTY AND ITS OWN APPEAL.

Sebak: BETH ROARK IS AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT CHATHAM COLLEGE IN PITTSBURGH WHO OFTEN BRINGS HER ART CLASSES HERE.

Roark: IT'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL SPACE.

ONCE YOU ENTER THE GATES, IT'S LIKE YOU'RE NOT EVEN IN THE CITY ANYMORE.

I MEAN, IT'S A PROTOTYPICAL RURAL CEMETERY.

IT HAS THE WONDERFUL SCULPTURE.

IT'S GOT ALL THE MONUMENTS, THE MAUSOLEUM, BUT IT ALSO STILL MAINTAINS A LOT OF ITS NATURAL QUALITIES, WHICH IS WHY IT WAS PICKED IN THE FIRST PLACE.

IT WAS BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO BURY PEOPLE IN NATURE ONCE AGAIN.

Roberts: WE ALL WANT TO BE REMEMBERED.

A CEMETERY IS A PLACE TO BE REMEMBERED.

AND WHETHER YOU HAVE A VERY SMALL MARKER OR LARGE OBELISK OR WHATEVER, THAT'S ONE WAY OF BEING REMEMBERED.

Roark: IF YOU LOOK AROUND, THERE'S TONS OF MONUMENTS THAT ALLUDE TO IMMORTALITY.

LIKE THE OBELISK IS A SYMBOL OF IMMORTALITY.

INSTEAD OF ABOUT MARKING A PLACE OR TEACHING A LESSON LIKE EARLY GRAVESTONES WERE, THESE WERE ABOUT THE FUTURE AND ABOUT HEAVEN AND IMMORTALITY.

Sebak: AND BETH HAS MADE A SPECIAL STUDY OF SCULPTED CEMETERY ANGELS, ESPECIALLY THIS ONE, FIRST ERECTED AROUND 1890.

Roark: THE PORTER ANGEL -- IT'S THE MOST DRAMATIC ANGEL IN THE CEMETERY.

IT'S GOT A 9-FOOT WINGSPAN, AND IT'S TURNED GREEN.

IT WAS OBVIOUSLY BRONZE AT ONE POINT WITH A HIGH COPPER CONTENT, AND IT'S AGAINST A GRANITE CROSS.

IT'S A RECORDING ANGEL.

RECORDING ANGELS USUALLY -- THEY COME FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION, THE ONES THAT WRITE OUR DEEDS IN THE BOOK OF LIFE, BUT THIS ANGEL'S WRITING ON A TOMBSTONE.

IT'S BENDING OVER WITH ITS FINGERS LIKE THAT.

IT ALSO HAS KIND OF AN INTERESTING STORY.

ORIGINALLY IT WAS MARBLE.

IT WAS COMPLETELY MARBLE.

IT WAS A TOURIST ATTRACTION IN PITTSBURGH, AND THE PITTSBURGH AIR JUST GOT TO IT.

IN THE 1920s, THE WINGS FELL OFF.

SO THE FAMILY PAID TO HAVE ALL OF IT SHIPPED UP TO NEW YORK AND RECAST IN BRONZE.

Sebak: WELL, ANGELS ARE OFTEN WORTH CHECKING OUT IN OLD CEMETERIES, ALONG WITH THE GRAVES OF ALL SORTS OF FAMOUS PEOPLE, WHO CAN BE FASCINATING EVEN AFTER DEATH.

Roberts: THE TOP OF OUR LIST IS STEPHEN FOSTER, AMERICA'S TROUBADOUR, WHO WAS BORN IN LAWRENCEVILLE.

HE'S BURIED HERE WITH THE REST OF HIS FAMILY.

WE HAVE JOSH GIBSON, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE NEGRO LEAGUE.

ALL THE MAGNATES OF PITTSBURGH -- THE MELLONS, THE HUNTS, THE CARNEGIES, THEY'RE ALL REPRESENTED HERE IN THE CEMETERY.

SO, THERE'S A LOT OF COOL MONUMENTS, IF YOU WILL.

WE HAVE ONE -- IT'S A SHARK'S HEAD.

IT WAS DONE FOR A YOUNG PERSON WHO DIED WHO REALLY LOVED THE "JAWS" MOVIE.

WE JUST HAVE SO MANY STORIES, AND THEY'RE JUST KIND OF FUN TO TELL PEOPLE.

Sebak: WELL, A CROWD OF PEOPLE HAS GATHERED HERE IN ALLEGHENY ON A SUMMER DAY -- A FEW MUSICIANS, SOME CIVIL WAR RE-ENACTORS, SEVERAL SERIOUS HISTORY BUFFS FROM A MILITARY MUSEUM IN PITTSBURGH CALLED SOLDIERS & SAILORS MEMORIAL.

THEY'RE ALL HERE WITH MEMBERS OF THE HALL FAMILY, WHO HAD AN ANCESTOR NAMED E.Z.

HALL.

WE KNEW HE EXISTED, BUT WHERE HE WAS BURIED AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF HIS DEATH WERE NOT KNOWN.

WE HAD THE LETTERS.

Steven: I WAS AWARE THAT WE HAD A RELATIVE IN THE CIVIL WAR BECAUSE WE HAD THE LETTERS.

Tom: AND THE LETTERS ARE FASCINATING, AND I LOVE HISTORY.

HE WAS AGAINST SLAVERY.

HE MISSED HIS FAMILY.

AND WE ALWAYS KNEW FROM OTHER LETTERS THAT, YOU KNOW, HE FOUGHT IN A LOT OF BATTLES.

Steven: GOT WOUNDED IN THE LEG IN PETERSBURG.

HE DIED FOUR DAYS LATER OF GANGRENE.

HE WAS WOUNDED, AND HE DIED.

AND HE WENT FROM WASHINGTON, D.C., WHERE HE WAS SENT TO THE HOSPITAL AND DIED, TO DEXTER, MICHIGAN, WHERE HE WAS FROM.

WHEN HE GOTO PITTSBURGH, HIS BODY WAS SO DECOMPOSED, THE CONDUCTOR SAYS, "OFF HE GOES!"

AND THEY BROUGHT HIM HERE TO THIS CEMETERY.

Grant: IT'S JUST ONE OF THOSE QUIRKY THINGS.

THE FAMILY DIDN'T KNOW WHERE HE WAS BECAUSE THERE WAS NO E.Z.

HALL REGISTERED IN THE CEMETERIES.

Tom: JUST BY INCREDIBLE LUCK, I WORKED WITH A WOMAN NAMED SUSAN DUVAL WHO IS FROM PITTSBURGH.

Steven: SHE SAID SHE KNEW AN ELDERLY GENTLEMAN HERE IN PITTSBURGH, AND HE USED TO WALK THESE CEMETERIES, AND HE MIGHT BE ABLE TO SHED SOME LIGHT ON THIS.

Tom: SHE MENTIONED IT TO ROZENE FROM THE SOLDIERS & SAILORS HALL AND ALSO BILL REYNOLDS.

Steven: HE FOUND THE GRAVE.

OUT OF ALL THIS, HE FOUND THIS GRAVE.

I DIDN'T FIND IT.

IT WAS NEVER LOST, REALLY.

BUT I LOCATED IT.

AND HE TOLD TOM THAT HE THOUGHT HE FOUND THE GRAVE, AND THEY CHECKED THE RECORDS.

THE HEADSTONE WAS MARKED "E.Z.

HAIL."

Tom: SO WE INVESTIGATED FURTHER AND WENT TO THE DAYBOOK AT ALLEGHENY.

AND SURE ENOUGH, IT WAS "E.Z.

HALL," H-A-L-L, FROM DEXTER, MICHIGAN.

Grant: SO WHOEVER GLANCED AT IT THOUGHT, "OH, OKAY, 'E.Z.

HAIL'" AND WENT AHEAD AND CARVED THE STONE.

NOBODY DOUBLE-CHECKED IT.

Tom: BUT APPARENTLY HE GOT TO ALLEGHENY, WHICH WAS, YOU KNOW, THE RIGHT PLACE TO BE, 'CAUSE IT'S A BEAUTIFUL CEMETERY AND WAS PUT IN PROPERLY, AND IT WAS MARKED -- MARKED IMPROPERLY -- BUT MARKED.

Steven: TOM WROTE TO THE V.A.

IT TOOK FIVE YEARS FOR THE V.A.

TO GIVE US A NEW HEADSTONE.

Larry: WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED IT?

THAT WE WOULD BE HERE HAVING THIS EVENT IN A CEMETERY AND REDEDICATING THIS TOMBSTONE FOR A DISTANT RELATIVE.

Tom: THIS IS A CHANCE TO HONOR HIM AND REALLY PAY YOUR RESPECTS TO THE CIVIL WAR AND A SOLDIER'S LIFE.

Steven: HE'S BEEN ANONYMOUS FOR 138 YEARS.

NOW WE FOUND HIM.

THAT'S THE STORY.

Sebak: WELL, IF YOU GET INTERESTED IN THE STORY OF AMERICAN CEMETERIES, YOU WILL EVENTUALLY WANT TO GET TO BOSTON, TO MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY, WHERE BILL CLENDANIEL IS PRESIDENT.

Clendaniel: YOU COME IN THROUGH THE GATES AND YOU'RE IN A DIFFERENT PLACE.

IT'S AN OASIS IN OUR HECTIC LIVES, AND I'VE TALKED TO MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE COME HERE NOT BECAUSE THEY'RE BURYING SOMEONE, BUT THEY JUST WANT A QUIET PLACE TO COME AND DEAL WITH THE ISSUES THEY'RE DEALING WITH.

AND THIS IS THE PLACE THEY THINK ABOUT.

Sebak: THERE ARE 175 ACRES HERE, OVER 5,000 TREES.

AND BREE DETAMORE HARVEY, WHO IS THE ORIENTATION CENTER COORDINATOR, OFTEN GIVES TOURS.

Harvey: WHAT WE ARE DRIVING THROUGH NOW, THIS REALLY HILLY TERRAIN OF THE CEMETERY, IS WHAT IS HISTORICALLY REFERRED TO AS THE SEVEN HILLS.

WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS THE HIGHEST OF THESE ORIGINAL SEVEN HILLS, AND THIS IS CALLED MOUNT AUBURN.

AND THIS IS THE HIGHEST POINT IN THE CEMETERY.

AND IT IS FROM THE TOP OF MOUNT AUBURN THAT YOU CAN SEE THE CITY OF BOSTON.

Dr.

Linden: DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE CEMETERY IS LOCATED 4 MILES FROM THE CENTER OF BOSTON, IT STILL WAS A PRIMARY BOSTON INSTITUTION.

Sebak: THAT'S DR.

BLANCHE LINDEN, WHO WROTE THE BOOK CALLED "SILENT CITY ON A HILL," THE HISTORY OF MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY.

Dr.

Linden: THIS IS, FIRST OF ALL, THE FIRST DESIGNED PICTURESQUE LANDSCAPE OF ANY SORT IN THE UNITED STATES, COPIED AFTER THE MODELS OF 18th-CENTURY ENGLISH GARDENS.

IT IS THE FIRST CEMETERY IN THE UNITED STATES.

BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF MOUNT AUBURN, PLACES WHERE YOU PUT THE DEAD WERE CALLED BURIAL GROUNDS, GRAVEYARDS, CHURCHYARDS.

Heywood: MOUNT AUBURN WAS THE FIRST BURYING PLACE THAT TOOK ON THE NAME "CEMETERY," DERIVED FROM A GREEK WORD THAT MEANS "SLEEPING PLACE."

Sebak: JANET HEYWOOD IS THE VICE PRESIDENT HERE AT MOUNT AUBURN.

Heywood: THE ECONOMIC BASIS OF THE CEMETERY WORKED BECAUSE PEOPLE PAID FOR THE RIGHT TO BURY THEIR FAMILIES HERE IN THIS PERMANENT PLACE OF BURIAL.

Clendaniel: FORGET CEMETERY.

IT WAS JUST A PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO COME IN 1831 AND THEREAFTER TO WALK AROUND.

AND THAT IT WAS DESIGNED -- TREES WERE BROUGHT IN TO BEAUTIFY IT.

THERE WERE PATHS.

YOU COULD LOOK AT MONUMENTS.

YOU COULD LOOK AT ART -- NO ART MUSEUMS IN THOSE DAYS.

Dr.

Linden: OH, THIS BECAME INSTANTANEOUSLY FAMOUS ACROSS THE WHOLE COUNTRY AND ACTUALLY INTERNATIONALLY.

IT BECAME ALL THE RAGE.

THIS WAS BOSTON'S CHIEF TOURIST ATTRACTION AFTER IT WAS FOUNDED IN 1831.

AND, IN FACT, THE EXAMPLE OF MOUNT AUBURN WAS USED IN THE CRUSADE TO TRY TO GET THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATURE TO INCORPORATE A CENTRAL PARK FOR NEW YORK CITY.

ONE FAMOUS QUOTE WAS, "WHY NOT HAVE IT ALL, BUT WITHOUT THE GRAVES?"

Sebak: SO IT'S NOT OUTRAGEOUS TO SAY THAT MOUNT AUBURN HAD AN INFLUENCE ON EVERY MAJOR PARK IN AMERICA.

THIS IS AUBURN LAKE HERE.

AND THIS IS A GREAT BIRD-WATCHING SPOT.

THERE ARE A LOT OF PLANTS PLANTED AROUND THE LAKE THAT ATTRACT THE BIRDLIFE.

A LOT OF THE BIRDERS CALL THIS SPECTACLE POND SINCE IT'S A FIGURE-EIGHT-SHAPED POND.

Clendaniel: WE HAVE THREE MAJOR PONDS, AND ANY OF THE AREAS NEAR THE PONDS -- THAT'S WHERE I WILL BE BURIED -- MEAN A LOT TO ME.

YOU GET MORE WILDLIFE THERE.

YOU GET THE LIGHT EFFECTS ON WATER.

AND IT'S ALSO A PLACE THAT PEOPLE LOVE TO COME.

AND I LOVE THE IDEA OF RESTING HERE AND HAVING PEOPLE COME AND ENJOY IT FOREVER.

Dr.

Linden: IT WAS MEANT TO BE MORE THAN A CEMETERY -- A HISTORICAL REPOSITORY FOR, REALLY, THE NOTABLES NOT ONLY OF BOSTON, BUT OF NEW ENGLAND TO BE BURIED HERE, AND THE LITANY OF NOTABLES WHO ARE HERE GOES ON AND ON.

Clendaniel: HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW, WHO'S BURIED HERE, LIVED DOWN THE STREET.

HE HAD A WHOLE CLUB OF MEN THAT GOT TOGETHER PERIODICALLY, AND THEY'RE ALL HERE.

IT'S A GREAT WEB OF INTERESTING PEOPLE.

Harvey: THIS MEMORIAL IS FOR MARY BAKER EDDY, WHO IS THE FOUNDER OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST.

THE MAIN -- THE MOTHER CHURCH, I SHOULD SAY, IS IN DOWNTOWN BOSTON STILL TODAY.

THIS IS A PILGRIMAGE FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT .RE CHRISTIAN SCIENTIS WHEN THEY DO COME TO BOSTON, THEY WILL MAKE A PILGRIMAGE OUT TO MOUNT AUBURN TO PAY THEIR RESPECTS TO MRS.

EDDY HERE AT THE CEMETERY.

Heywood: I THINK IN A REAL SENSE, PEOPLE COME TO THIS PLACE THAT REPRESENTS A PERMANENT REMEMBRANCE OF THE PERSON.

AND THEY'RE PAYING TRIBUTE TO THAT PERSON, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF THAT PERSON'S FAME OR BELIEF OR NOTORIETY, IF THEY WERE A NOTORIOUS PERSON, RUBS OFF ON THEM.

Dr.

Linden: MOUNT AUBURN, PARTICULARLY IN THE LAST DECADE, HAS BEEN DISCOVERED AS A MUSEUM WITHOUT WALLS, AS AN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE.

Heywood: AT LEAST TODAY WE KNOW THAT THIS IS A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE COME TO MAKE MOMENTOUS DECISIONS.

I'VE HEARD STORIES SINCE I'VE WORKED HERE THAT PEOPLE BRING THEIR LOVED ONES HERE TO PROPOSE.

A FRIEND OF MINE ACTUALLY TELLS ME THAT SHE DECIDED TO GET DIVORCED HERE.

SO IT WORKS BOTH WAYS.

Clendaniel: WE HAD THIS INCREDIBLE PHENOMENON WHEN THE RED SOX FINALLY WON A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.

PEOPLE FLOCKED HERE WITH THEIR MEMORABILIA OF THE RED SOX.

THERE WERE LITTLE BALLOONS ALL OVER THE CEMETERY BECAUSE PEOPLE WERE COMING TO TALK TO THEIR PARENTS, THEIR GRANDPARENTS, AND IN SOME CASES, THEIR CHILDREN WHO HAD NOT SURVIVED TO SEE THIS VICTORY.

AND IT WAS SUCH A PART OF THEIR LIVES, THE LOGICAL PLACE TO COME WAS THE CEMETERY WHERE THEY WERE BURIED.

IT MAKES US STILL VERY RELEVANT TODAY.

Sebak: WELL, THERE IS OFTEN GREAT RELEVANCE IN TOMBSTONES.

BUT LOOKING AT THEM MAY MAKE ALSO YOU WONDER WHAT THEY'RE MADE OF.

Patton: IN EARLY AMERICA, THEY USUALLY MEMORIALIZED WITH SLATE.

YOU'VE SEEN THOSE SLATE UPRIGHTS.

THOSE ARE CALLED TABLETS.

IN THE 1820s, 1830s, THEY MOVED INTO MARBLE.

IT'S STILL MUCH SOFTER THAN GRANITE, SO IT WEATHERS.

BUT IT WAS AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, WHEN CUTTING TECHNOLOGY HAD IMPROVED, THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO BRING THE PRICE OF A GRANITE MEMORIAL DOWN TO A PLACE WHERE THE AVERAGE PERSON COULD AFFORD IT.

Sebak: TODD PATTON KNOWS A LOT OF THE HISTORY OF CEMETERY MEMORIALS BECAUSE HE WORKS FOR THE ROCK OF AGES CORPORATION IN CENTRAL VERMONT, WHERE MUCH OF THE GRANITE COMES FROM.

Patton: WELL, YOU'RE IN GRANITEVILLE, VERMONT, WHICH IS IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF BARRE TOWN.

AND THIS IS THE E.L.

SMITH QUARRY.

IT WAS NAMED AFTER ITS FOUNDER, EMORY L. SMITH, WHO OPENED THE QUARRY IN 1880.

IT WAS PURCHASED BY THE ROCK OF AGES COMPANY IN 1947.

TODAY IT IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST DEEP-HOLE GRANITE QUARRY.

IT IS NEARLY 600 FEET IN DEPTH AND COVERS ABOUT 50 ACRES IN SURFACE AREA.

AND FROM IT WE GET BARRE GRAY GRANITE, WHICH IS ONE OF THE FINEST GRAY GRANITES ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

IT'S ONE OF THE MOST HOMOGENEOUS GRAY GRANITES ANYWHERE.

THAT PIECE PROBABLY WEIGHS, I WOULD SAY, 35 OR MAYBE 40 TONS.

MANY OF THE BLOCKS THAT COME OUT WE CALL SAW BLOCKS, AND THEY'RE ABOUT 5x10x5.

AND THEY ARE WELL SUITED FOR CUTTING THE UPRIGHTS FOR MEMORIALS THAT WE DO.

PROBABLY IN THE VAST MAJORITY OF CEMETERIES IN THE UNITED STATES, THERE ARE ROCK OF AGES MEMORIAL PRODUCTS.

OUR CRAFTSMEN'S CENTER IS OUR MAJOR PRODUCTION SITE.

IT'S ABOUT 250,000 SQUARE FEET TODAY, AND IT HOUSES A VARIETY OF ARTISANS WHO ARE VERY SKILLED.

AND THERE ARE A NUMBER OF LOCAL CEMETERIES THAT SHOW AND DISPLAY THE CRAFTSMANSHIP OF ROCK OF AGES.

AND ONE SUCH CEMETERY IS HOPE CEMETERY, WHICH IS PROBABLY THE BEST KNOWN OF THE BARRE CEMETERIES.

AND IT'S JUST AN ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL CEMETERY IN TERMS OF ITS NATURAL BEAUTY.

BUT IT HAS VERY UNUSUAL, HIGHLY CONTEMPORARY, AND HIGHLY PERSONALIZED PIECES.

THERE'S A LIVING ROOM CHAIR.

WHEN THE WOMAN'S HUSBAND DIED, SHE WANTED TO REMEMBER THAT WAS HIS FAVORITE CHAIR AND SO SHE HAD IT REPRODUCED IN GRANITE.

THERE'S A SOCCER BALL FOR A SOCCER COACH.

THERE IS A CUBE THAT IS VERY DELICATELY BALANCED ON ONE OF ITS VERTICES.

THERE'S A RACECAR.

VERY UNUSUAL PIECES IN HOPE CEMETERY, AND IT'S VISITED BY THOUSANDS OF VISITORS EACH YEAR.

Sebak: IF YOU GO TO HOPE, YOU MAY MEET SHELLEY IBEY, WHO WORKS IN THE OFFICE THERE.

SHE OFTEN GIVES TOURS.

Ibey: I USUALLY START OUT WITH THE GATES.

THE GATES WERE ACTUALLY MODELED FOR BY A LOCAL GIRL.

AND SHE IS NOW BURIED IN THE CEMETERY.

SHE MODELED THE GATES WHEN SHE WAS 15 OR 16 YEARS OLD.

Sebak: THE CITY OF BARRE'S DIRECTOR OF CEMETERIES AND PARKS, DWIGHT COFFRIN, IS IN CHARGE OF HOPE.

HOW MUCH FARTHER WE GOT TO GO?

ABOUT ANOTHER FOOT AND A HALF.

Coffrin: WHEN PEOPLE ASK ME WHAT THE MYSTIQUE IS AND WHAT'S THE DRAWING CARD, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS LOOK AT THE MONUMENTS.

NO MONUMENT IN THIS CEMETERY IS THE SAME.

Cecchinelli: SURE, IT'S UNUSUAL BECAUSE -- I DON'T KNOW.

WHAT CAN YOU SAY?

THE SCULPTORS AND, YOU KNOW, THE FLOWER MAKERS, THE ORNATISTI, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, THE CARVERS, THEY WERE THE BEST.

Sebak: GIULIANO CECCHINELLI, WHO CAME FROM CARRARA, ITALY, IN THE 1960s, SCULPTED MANY OF THE UNUSUAL PIECES HERE.

BUT HIS FAVORITES ARE OFTEN THE OLDER ONES.

COME AND FEEL THE THICKNESS OF THIS.

IT'S THINNER THAN PAPER.

AND THAT WAS DONE WITH THE OLD TOOLS.

INSTEAD TODAY THEY GOT CARBIDE.

THEY GOT DIAMONDS.

THEY GOT... A LOT QUICKER, BUT IT'S NOT AS GOOD.

AND LOOK AT THE ACORN.

THE ACORN IS MISSING.

YOU JUST GOT THE CUP THERE.

WHEN THE CEMETERY WAS FIRST ESTABLISHED IN 1895, IT WAS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO BE A SHOWCASE FOR BARRE GRANITE.

Sebak: WELL, GRANITE WORKERS ARE OFTEN REGULARS HERE.

ALAN ROGERS IS RETIRED FROM ROCK OF AGES, WHERE HE SPECIALIZED IN MAUSOLEUM DESIGN.

Rogers: I COME OUT, AND I TEND TO THE FLOWERS AFTER I GET THEM PLANTED, AND I'LL MEDITATE A LITTLE BIT.

MY WIFE PASSED AWAY, THEN I NATURALLY WANTED TO PUT UP A NICE MONUMENT, SO I WAITED A YEAR, THEN I DESIGNED THIS ONE.

MY WIFE WAS IN THE MEDICAL FIELD, AND SHE HAS THE MEDICAL EMBLEM BETWEEN HER DATES.

I WAS A PAST MASTER OF THE MASONS.

I HAVE A PAST MASTER'S EMBLEM BETWEEN MINE.

Coffrin: I'VE BEEN TO A LOT OF CEMETERIES I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED, ESPECIALLY THE ONES WITH THE FLAT GRASS MARKERS.

IF YOU'RE GONNA MEMORIALIZE SOMEBODY, LET THEM EXPRESS A MEMORIAL.

A FLAT GRASS MARKER DOES NOTHING.

Cecchinelli: OVER THERE IS QUITE A UNIQUE ONE UP THERE.

SEE, TWO PEOPLE IN BED.

EVEN THAT AT THE TIME WAS KIND OF SCANDALOUS, YOU KNOW, BACK IN THE '50s.

AND THEN RIGHT BEHIND THERE, THERE IS A MAN DYING OF SILICA.

SEE, SUPPOSEDLY THAT'S HIS WIFE.

THAT'S A FULL ROUND STATUE.

BUT THIS IS ELIA CORTI, SEE, IN 1903, AND HE DIED OF A GUNSHOT WOUND AT THE LABOR HALL IN GRANITE STREET.

THEY CLAIM THAT, YOU KNOW, HE WAS THERE TO HEAR A SPEAKER, A FAMOUS SOCIALIST SPEAKER AT THE TIME.

AND HE GOT INTO A SCUFFLE, AN ARGUMENT.

THAT'S WHAT THEY CLAIM, BUT WHO'S TO SAY?

IT'S A STORY.

YOU KNOW, IT'S A... A CEMETERY, FOR ME, IS JUST LIKE A BOOK, EVEN BETTER THAN A BOOK, 'CAUSE IT GOT SO MANY STORIES DIFFERENTIATE FROM ONE TO THE OTHER ONE.

IT'S NOT INEQUALITIES BECAUSE EVERYBODY IS DEAD, 6 FEET UNDER AND LOOKING UP.

THERE IS NO THE RICHER, THE POORER, THE SMARTER, THE BRIGHTER.

IT'S AN EQUALIZER.

Sebak: MAYBE MONUMENTS ARE JUST ONE WAY THAT WE CAN GIVE THE DEAD SOME INDIVIDUALITY.

OUT IN CALIFORNIA, MARK FONTANA RUNS THE BUSINESS HIS GRANDFATHER STARTED IN 1921.

Fontana: WE DO ALL KINDS OF MEMORIALS.

IN MOST AREAS OF CALIFORNIA, THERE ARE FLAT STONES, BUT IN COLMA, IT'S TRADITIONAL UPRIGHT STONES.

SO EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE SECTIONS OF CEMETERIES THAT ALLOW FLAT STONES, YOU FIND THAT MOST PEOPLE OPT FOR THE UPRIGHT STONES.

Sebak: THIS TOWN OF COLMA IS JUST SOUTH OF SAN FRANCISCO.

Fontana: IT'S AN UNUSUAL TOWN IN AS MUCH AS IT'S PRIMARILY A CEMETERY TOWN, SO THE BUSINESSES THAT HAVE BEEN HERE THE LONGEST ARE MONUMENT COMPANIES, FLORIST COMPANIES, AND CEMETERIES.

Sebak: THE CEMETERIES ARE HERE BECAUSE NO ONE GETS BURIED IN SAN FRANCISCO.

THE CEMETERIES IN SAN FRANCISCO WERE CLOSED AND ACTUALLY MOVED TO COLMA.

WE HAVE 17 CEMETERIES IN THIS VERY SMALL PHYSICAL AREA AT THE FOOT OF MOUNT SAN BRUNO.

WE'RE GENERALLY 500 TO 1,000 PEOPLE ABOVEGROUND AND 4 TO 5 MILLION PEOPLE UNDERGROUND -- PRETTY INTERESTING COMMUNITY.

IT ALL STARTED BACK, WAY BACK IN THE EARLY 1900s, WHEN THE CEMETERIES OF SAN FRANCISCO WERE OVERGROWN AND WERE NOT BEING TAKEN CARE OF.

AND THE CITY FATHERS BANNED BURIALS IN THE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO.

Seavey: ACTUALLY 1901, THEY STOPPED, LEGALLY STOPPED BEING ABLE TO MAKE BURIALS IN SAN FRANCISCO, AND THEY WRANGLED THROUGH UNTIL THE MID-'30s, WHEN FINALLY THE CITIZENS OF THE CITY VOTED TO EVICT THE DEAD.

Varner: NOW, THAT TOOK SEVERAL YEARS TO ACCOMPLISH, BECAUSE, OF COURSE, THERE WAS OPPOSITION.

THERE WAS LAWSUITS.

Sebak: KEN VARNER IS PRESIDENT AND C.E.O.

OF CYPRESS LAWN, ONE OF THE BIGGEST OF THE 17 CEMETERIES IN COLMA.

KENT SEAVEY IS A HISTORIAN WHO HAS RESEARCHED AND WRITTEN A LOT ABOUT CYPRESS LAWN.

Seavey: THE FINEST VICTORIAN-ERA GARDEN CEMETERY WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.

AND IT HAS MORE PROMINENT CALIFORNIANS AND WESTERNERS THAN ANY OTHER CEMETERY IN THE WEST.

Varner: YOU KNOW, THE HEARSTS ARE BURIED HERE.

THE CROCKERS ARE BURIED HERE.

THE VARIOUS FAMILIES, WELL-KNOWN FAMILIES OF SAN FRANCISCO ARE BURIED HERE.

Seavey: THERE'S A CHILDREN'S SECTION FROM THE INFLUENZA EPIDEMIC OF 1918.

IT'S VERY POIGNANT AND SAD BECAUSE THERE ARE ALL THESE LITTLE LAMBS LINED UP IN THIS SINGLE SECTION THAT INDICATE HOW DEVASTATING THAT EPIDEMIC WAS HERE IN SAN FRANCISCO.

Sebak: IF YOU WANDER AROUND CYPRESS LAWN, YOU MAY MEET BARBARA COLLIER, WHO COMES BY ABOUT ONCE A WEEK.

SHE APPRECIATES A GOOD CEMETERY.

HUMAN BEINGS SEEM TO BE TAUGHT TO BE AFRAID OF DEATH.

AND ONE OF THE WONDERFUL THINGS ABOUT CEMETERIES IS THAT EVERYBODY'S DEAD.

AND IT REMINDS US THAT WE, TOO, ARE GONNA CROSS OVER AND DIE, AND WHEN IT'S IN A BEAUTIFUL ENVIRONMENT LIKE THIS, THIS IS A WONDERFUL LIFE LESSON.

THE FEAR OF DEATH AND "WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE" COUPLED WITH THE NATURALNESS OF NATURE AND BEING HERE AND KNOWING WE'RE DECOMPOSING IN THE GROUND AND IT'S ALL WORKING FOR SOME ONE WHOLE, I LIKE TO BE REMINDED OF THAT.

I MEAN, IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS.

SOME PEOPLE GO TO CHURCH.

SOME PEOPLE LIKE MEDITATION.

SOME PEOPLE GO TO THE MOVIES.

SOME PEOPLE LIKE THE BALL GAME.

IT BRINGS ME TOTAL JOY -- TOTAL, TOTAL JOY.

WHEN I LEAVE HERE, I AM ALWAYS MORE POSITIVE IN WHAT I GO BACK TO IN LIFE.

Sebak: IF YOU'RE LUCKY, YOU MAY ALSO MEET JUSTYNA TO AND HER FAMILY AT HER MOTHER'S GRAVE.

To: WE COME HERE PERIODICALLY.

WE DO NOT FIX ANY DATES, BUT USUALLY WE'LL COME CHINESE NEW YEAR, CH'ING MING, AND WHENEVER THERE'S SOME FESTIVAL.

WE COME HERE INSTEAD OF GOING SOMEWHERE ELSE.

WE BURN THIS BECAUSE MY MOTHER BELIEVED IN BUDDHISM, AND WE BURN THAT BECAUSE SHE USED TO DO THAT.

WE FOLLOW HER CUSTOM FOR HER.

AND SHE LOVED FLOWERS, SO WE TRY TO GROW FLOWERS, BUT SOMEHOW IT... FROM TIME TO TIME, WE NEED TO CHANGE.

AND ACTUALLY THIS SPOT WAS PICKED BY MY MOM WHEN SHE WAS SICK.

SHE TOURED AROUND SEVERAL CEMETERIES, AND SHE PICKED THIS ONE.

ACTUALLY, WE OWN A LOT OF LAND HERE.

WE WANT TO BE CLOSE TOGETHER AS A FAMILY, SO I BELIEVE MY BROTHER, MY OLDER BROTHER HAS ALREADY BOUGHT SPOTS HERE.

ME AND MY HUSBAND HAVE BOUGHT ANOTHER SPOT HERE, AND MY SISTER HAS A SPOT THERE.

SO IT'S GUARANTEED NOBODY WILL BE SURROUNDING MY MOTHER.

WE HAVE SPACE TO COME TO PAY OUR RESPECT.

Sebak: WELL, THERE IS A NEW PART OF CYPRESS LAWN KNOWN AS HILLSIDE GARDENS THAT'S JUST A FEW BLOCKS AWAY.

AND IT'S BEEN DESIGNED TO ACCOMMODATE MANY OF THE AREA'S DIVERSE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITIES.

Varner: OUR ASIAN FAMILIES HAVE DESIGN STANDARDS.

NOW, TODAY THAT'S CALLED FêNG SHUI, AND SO WE DESIGNED THE HILLSIDE GARDENS ACCORDING TO THE PRINCIPLES OF FêNG SHUI.

FêNG SHUI IS BASICALLY THE MANAGEMENT OF WHAT THEY CALL THE "CHI," WHICH IS THE LIFE-FORCE.

Sung: EVERY PLACE, THERE'S A CHI.

WHEN YOU COME HERE, IF YOU, "WOW, SO GREAT," THAT TELLS YOU THE CHI IS GOOD.

Sebak: FêNG SHUI TEACHER EDGAR SUNG HAS BEEN WORKING A LOT WITH KEN VARNER AND THE FOLKS AT CYPRESS LAWN.

ESPECIALLY FOR CEMETERIES, FêNG SHUI IS VERY IMPORTANT, BECAUSE EVERYBODY LIVES ON THIS WORLD, RIGHT?

YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR PARENTS.

WHEN THEY DIE, THEY BECOME WHAT?

BECOME YOUR ROOT.

SO WHERE DO YOU PUT YOUR ROOT?

IN THE DIRT.

WHEN YOU BURY THEM IN THE RIGHT PLACE, FêNG SHUI IS GOOD AND THE WATER AND THE SUNLIGHT AND EVERYTHING IS GOOD, SO THE TREE WILL GROW VERY LUSH.

IT'S VERY IMPORTANT.

LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, MY HUSBAND'S FATHER IS A SPECIALIST IN GETTING PEOPLE IN A GOOD CEMETERY FOR FêNG SHUI.

AND HIS GRANDKIDS, LIKE MY HUSBAND AND THE BROTHERS, THEY ALL HAVE GOOD WIVES.

[ LAUGHTER ] Sebak: WELL, IF YOU CAN CONSIDER LAUGHING IN A CEMETERY, YOU COULD THINK OF HEADING FOR KEY WEST, WHERE THERE'S FUN, A DAILY CELEBRATION OF THE SUNSET, AND AN OLD CITY CEMETERY WHERE RUSSELL BRITTAIN IS THE SEXTON, THE OFFICIAL IN CHARGE.

Brittain: EARLY MORNING AND EARLY EVENING ARE VERY NICE.

IT'S QUIET, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE ROOSTERS, WHICH ANNOUNCE THEIR PRESENCE ALL DAY LONG.

Sebak: THERE ARE WILD ROOSTERS HERE THAT OFTEN RAISE A RUCKUS.

Brittain: WELL, IT'S NOT GONNA BE OF ANY USE.

THEY'RE NOT GONNA WAKE UP ANYONE.

Sebak: WELL, IF YOU'RE AWAKE ON A TUESDAY OR A THURSDAY MORNING, YOU MIGHT CONSIDER TAKING A CEMETERY TOUR WITH GEORGE BORN, WHO WORKS WITH THE HISTORIC FLORIDA KEYS FOUNDATION.

THERE IS AN ACTUAL BURIAL HERE.

THERE IS A MARKER THERE FLUSH WITH THE GROUND, WHICH INDICATES THAT SOMEONE'S ACTUALLY BURIED THERE, AND THEN TWO BOX TOMBS BUILT ON TOP OF IT.

SO THAT ALLOWS A LITTLE MORE USE OUT OF THESE OLD FAMILY PLOTS.

I'LL JUST POINT OUT A COUPLE INTERESTING MARKERS HERE.

WE HAVE THIS COUPLE, AUSTIN AND TINA GRIFFIN, WHO ARE, OR WERE, HUSBAND AND WIFE.

THEY HAVE THE SAME DEATH DATE, HOWEVER, AND THAT'S BECAUSE OF A MURDER/SUICIDE, WITH MR.

GRIFFIN DOING THE DIRTY WORK.

Brittain: THE CITY ITSELF DOESN'T LIST THIS AS A TOURIST ATTRACTION, BUT WE WELCOME TOURISTS TO COME HERE AND VISIT QUIETLY, SOLEMNLY THE REMAINS OF OUR FAMILIES AND TO REVIEW SOME OF THE HISTORY THAT'S HERE.

WE HAVE HERE THE MARKER FOR WILLIAM CURRY, WHO IS PROBABLY THE BEST EXAMPLE OF A HORATIO ALGER RAGS-TO-RICHES STORY IN KEY WEST.

HE CAME OVER HERE FROM GREEN TURTLE KEY IN THE BAHAMAS, AND HE BUILT A HUGE FORTUNE.

HE BECAME FLORIDA'S FIRST MILLIONAIRE.

Brittain: THERE'S PROBABLY 75,000 PEOPLE WHO VISIT HERE A YEAR.

OVER THE LAST YEAR, WE'VE HAD EVERY STATE IN THE UNION AND 23 COUNTRIES VISIT HERE.

WHEN I TELL THAT TO OTHER CEMETERY MANAGERS, THEY JUST CANNOT BELIEVE IT.

I'M MAINLY INVOLVED IN ARCHITECTURAL PRESERVATION, BUILDINGS OUT IN THE HISTORIC DISTRICT.

BUT HERE IN THE CEMETERY, WE SEE THESE CORRELATIONS BETWEEN THE BUILDINGS OUTSIDE AND THE FAMILY PLOTS IN HERE.

THIS IS THE HARRIS FAMILY PLOT.

THERE IS A NOTABLE LANDMK IN TOWN CALLED HARRIS SCHOOL, WHICH WAS NAMED FOR JEPTHA V. HARRIS WHO'S BURIED HERE.

ANOTHER HARRIS, J. VINING HARRIS, BURIED HERE, MARRIED FLORIDA CURRY, WHO'S THE DAUGHTER OF WILLIAM CURRY.

AND TOGETHER THE HARRISES BUILT THE SOUTHERNMOST HOUSE, WHICH IS A GREAT LANDMARK IN TOWN, BIG QUEEN ANNE-STYLE HOUSE ON THE END OF DUVAL STREET.

WELL, THIS IS THE JEWISH SECTION, AND THERE ARE GRAVES IN HERE DATING BACK TO THE 1890s.

THERE ARE SOME INTERESTING BURIAL TRADITIONS WE DON'T FIND ELSEWHERE.

AND THE PLACEMENT OF STONES ON THE GRAVES IS PROBABLY THE MOST PROMINENT OF THEM.

EXACTLY SO.

IT MEANS THAT SOMEBODY HAS COME TO VISIT THEM.

AND ACTUALLY, YOU MAY NOT HAVE NOTICED, BUT THERE IS A CONVENIENTLY LOCATED BUCKET BY THE FRONT GATE OF STONES FOR PEOPLE TO DO THAT.

Brittain: WE'RE IN THE CARIBBEAN BASIN.

WE HAVE A VARIETY OF CULTURES, PEOPLE WHO HAVE MOVED INTO THIS AREA.

AS A RESULT, SOME PEOPLE PREFER TO BE BURIED IN THE GROUND.

SOME PEOPLE PREFER NOT TO BE BURIED IN THE GROUND.

Sebak: WELL, AMONG THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE LIKE ESPECIALLY IN THIS CEMETERY ARE THE EPITAPHS.

Brittain: WE HAVE A NUMBER OF FUNNY EPITAPHS.

PROBABLY THE MOST FAMOUS IS THE ONE FROM PEARL ROBERTS, WHICH SAYS, "TOLD YOU I WAS SICK."

I WOULD BE REMISS TO TAKE YOU THROUGH THE CEMETERY AND NOT POINT OUT THE MOST FAMOUS EPITAPH IN HERE.

B.P.

ROBERTS WAS A WAITRESS IN TOWN AND EVENTLY A BIT OF A HYPOCHONDRIAC.

BUT SHE GOT THE LAST WORD.

A LOT OF THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE CEMETERY, THE PUNCH LINES, THE ONE-LINERS, THE HUMOROUS EPITAPHS THAT ARE IN HERE THAT PEOPLE EXPECT TO SEE HERE WHICH DRAW PEOPLE IN -- BUT THERE'S A BALANCE THAT I THINK NEEDS TO BE STRUCK BETWEEN THE HUMOR OF IT AND ALSO PAYING RESPECTS TO WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY DEALING WITH HERE, WHICH IS A BURIAL GROUND WHERE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE MEMORIALIZED.

AND I THINK THAT SOMETIMES GETS FORGOTTEN IN THE QUEST FOR A SNAPPY ONE-LINER.

Sebak: WELL, CHIEF CARL SNIDER FROM THE NAVY REGULARLY VISITS THE MILITARY SECTION HERE TO REPLACE FLAGS.

THERE'S A SPECIAL MEMORIAL TO SOME OF THE SAILORS WHO DIED WHEN THE BATTLESHIP MAINE, YOU REMEMBER, EXPLODED IN 1898.

Snider: BASICALLY A BOILER EXPLODED.

I'M A BOILER TECHNICIAN MYSELF.

THAT'S MY JOB.

SO I WOULD HAVE -- HAD I BEEN ON THE MAINE, I WOULD HAVE LIKELY BEEN ON WATCH AND LIKELY PERISHED ALONG WITH MANY OF THEM.

YOU KNOW, BUT ALL THESE PEOPLE, SOME OF THEM DIED NATURAL DEATHS LONG AFTER THEIR SERVICE.

SOME OF THEM SERVED -- DIED DURING THEIR SERVICE, BUT THEY ALL RAISED THEIR RIGHT HAND EITHER VOLUNTARILY OR IT WAS A TIME OF DRAFT, BECAUSE THEY WERE TOLD TO, AND THEY ALL SERVED THEIR COUNTRY.

AND I THINK THEY SHOULD BE HONORED FOR THAT.

IF YOU LOOK AROUND, NOT ONLY THIS PLOT, BUT ALL AROUND THERE, THE OLDER THE DATE, THE LESS THEY GET VISITED, BECAUSE THERE'S FEWER PEOPLE THAT REMEMBER YOU.

AT ONE POINT, WE'RE ALL GOING TO HAVE WEEDS GROWING AROUND OUR TOMBSTONES.

IT'S GOING TO BE A MATTER OF, IS THERE GOING TO BE SOMEBODY THAT THINKS ENOUGH OF US, OR THOUGHT ENOUGH OF US, TO KEEP THEM TRIMMED DOWN.

Sebak: IF YOU'RE CONCERNED ABOUT THE TENDING OF GRAVES, YOU MIGHT BE HEARTENED BY SPENDING MEMORIAL DAY IN A SMALL TOWN.

Duprey: WE TRY TO PRETTY THINGS UP.

WE'VE GOT OUR BANNERS.

EVERYBODY SHOWS THEIR PATRIOTISM WITH FLAGS AND BUNTING.

Bauder: YOU'RE IN WATERLOO, NEW YORK.

IT'S IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FINGER LAKES.

WE HAVE A NICE, QUAINT LITTLE DOWNTOWN WITH A NICE BUSINESS CENTER.

Duprey: PEOPLE SAY IT REMINDS THEM OF A LITTLE NORMAN ROCKWELL VILLAGE.

SMALL-TOWN, USA.

[ LAUGHS ] Sebak: HERE IN WATERLOO, IN 2005, DAVE DUPREY AND JANE SHAFFER ARE COCHAIRS OF THE TOWN'S BIG MEMORIAL DAY CELEBRATION THAT'S JUST HALF OF THE TOWN'S DOUBLE OBSERVANCE CALLED "CELEBRATION/COMMEMORATION."

Duprey: WELL, THE CELEBRATION NORMALLY CONSISTS Shaffer: WE HAVE A WONDERFUL ARTS-AND-CRAFTS SHOW THAT'S GOING ON.

WE HAVE WONDERFUL FOOD VENDORS WHO ARE HERE IN WATERLOO.

Sebak: AND THERE'S A CAR SHOW.

Bob: IT'S WORKED OUT.

AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S GOT BIGGER AND BIGGER.

WE'RE OUT OF PARKING PLACE RIGHT NOW, SO... AND MY FAVORITE PART OF THAT IS THE WOODIES.

WOODIES WERE BUILT HERE IN WATERLOO IN A FACTORY, AND THIS HAS BECOME THEIR ANNUAL NATIONAL RALLY.

Bill: THEY USED TO BUILD WOODIES HERE IN WATERLOO.

AND THE FACTORY, OF COURSE, HAS LONG SINCE CLOSED.

AND THEY PUT TOGETHER THIS CELEBRATION WITH ANYBODY WITH A WOODY.

THEY INVITE US HERE TO COME PART OF THE CELEBRATION.

OVER AT THE BACK OF WILLIAMS STREET, WE ALSO HAVE THE NEW YORK LIGHT INFANTRY, AND THEY HAVE LIVE CANNON FIRING SEVERAL TIMES DURING THE DAY.

FIRE!

CASE SHOT!

1,400 YARDS!

Sebak: THE GROUP IS CALLED REYNOLDS' BATTERY "L," AND AVE BAUDER IS ONE OF THE REENACTORS.

CLEAR.

Bauder: SINCE MEMORIAL DAY WAS A HOLIDAY THAT WAS BASED ON HONORING CIVIL WAR VETERANS, WE FEEL IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT A CIVIL WAR UNIT BE HERE.

'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT MEMORIAL DAY IS, INDEED, ALL ABOUT.

Duprey: MEMORIAL DAY ON MAY 30th IN WATERLOO WITH THE TRADITIONAL EVENTS IS ALWAYS HELD IN ITS ENTIRETY BY THE VETERANS IN A VERY SOLEMN WAY.

Bauder: IN WATERLOO WHAT HAPPENED IS, IN 1866, A GROUP OF TOWNSPEOPLE GOT TOGETHER AND SAID, "WE NEED TO HONOR AND DECORATE THE UNION VETERANS THAT ARE BURIED IN OUR CEMETERIES."

Duprey: AND THEN THAT WAS REPEATED THE FOLLOWING YEAR AND THE FOLLOWING YEAR, AND IT WAS ALWAYS A VILLAGE-WIDE COMMEMORATION.

Bauder: BY A DECREE OF CONGRESS IN 1966, SIGNED INTO LAW BY LYNDON JOHNSON, WATERLOO IS RECOGNIZED AS THE BIRTHPLACE OF MEMORIAL DAY.

Duprey: FIRST THING IN THE MORNING, THERE WILL BE MARCHES TO THE CEMETERIES WHERE THE GRAVES WILL BE DECORATED.

THERE'LL BE A MASS SAID AT ST.

MARY'S CEMETERY.

Sebak: THE OPEN-AIR MASS IS CELEBRATED BY FATHER WILLIAM LAIRD FROM NEARBY SENECA FALLS.

Fr.

Laird: IT'S THE FIRST TIME THAT I'VE DONE SOMETHING LIKE THIS -- REMEMBERING, OF COURSE, OUR VETERANS WHO HAVE DIED AND GAVE THEIR LIVES.

Sebak: WHEN THE MASS IS OVER, FATHER LAIRD WALKS OUT INTO THE CEMETERY WITH HOLY WATER.

Fr.

Laird: IT'S A TRADITION THAT WE HAVE CALLED BLESSING THE GRAVES, WHERE IT'S JUST A REMINDER THAT THE TIES THAT BIND US IN OUR FAITH AREN'T BROKEN BY DEATH BUT RATHER THEY STILL ENDURE IN TERMS OF THE RELATIONSHIP THAT WE HAVE WITH THOSE WHO HAVE DIED -- AND ALSO THAT WE PRAY FOR THEM, AND THAT THEY PRAY FOR US, TOO.

Duprey: AT MAPLE GROVE CEMETERY, THERE WILL BE THE POSTING OF THE COLORS, A 21-GUN SALUTE, A LAYING OF A WREATH.

Paul: WELL, WE COME OUT TO HONOR THE VETERANS.

I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT THIS MEMORIAL DAY.

AND, I MEAN, I'M A VETERAN MYSELF, AND I HONOR THE ONES THAT GAVE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE.

Ken: IT IS A GREAT DAY HERE.

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT AND THINK ABOUT EVERYBODY AND WHAT HAPPENED AROUND YOU, IT'S JUST -- SIT HERE AND BE HERE AND THINK ABOUT IT.

IT'S JUST GREAT TO DO IT.

Bauder: MEMORIAL DAY IS FOR THOSE SOLDIERS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES, AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT THAT IS WHAT THIS HOLIDAY IS ABOUT.

WE HAVE VETERANS DAY.

THAT HAPPENS IN THE FALL.

VETERANS IS WHEN YOU HONOR VETERANS AND PEOPLE THAT SURVIVED THE WAR.

BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WATERLOO WAS THAT FIRST PLACE AND HAS CONTINUED CONTINUOUSLY TO BE THAT PLACE WHERE WE REMEMBER THOSE PEOPLE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES.

Ken: BEING THE BIRTHPLACE OF MEMORIAL DAY, WE TRY TO MAKE IT BIGGER.

YOU KNOW, IT'S -- THE GUYS -- EVERYBODY'S GETTING A LITTLE BIT OLDER, AND YOU DON'T GET THE CROWD WE USED TO HAVE.

BUT WE GET A GOOD CROWD DOWNTOWN.

WE GET A BEAUTIFUL CROWD DOWNTOWN.

BOY SCOUTS, GIRL SCOUTS, VFW, KOREAN WAR VETERANS, THE MARINE CORPS.

VFW, AMERICAN LEGION, AND... Shaffer: BEING A COMMUNITY OF 8,000, YOU WERE USUALLY IN ONE OF THOSE ORGANIZATIONS, SO... Ken: IT'LL BE QUITE A PARADE.

Bauder: I THINK THAT CURRENT NATIONAL EVENTS AND INTERNATIONAL EVENTS HAVE PROBABLY MADE PEOPLE THINK A LOT MORE ABOUT MEMORIAL DAY.

Ken: IT IS VERY SPECIAL.

IT'S VERY SPECIAL TO A LOT OF US -- JUST TO, YOU KNOW, SALUTE OUR HONOR AND SHOW OUR RESPECT TO THE MEN AND WOMEN THAT PASSED BEFORE US.

AND TO HAVE THIS SMALL TOWN OF WATERLOO, NEW YORK, BE NAMED THE BIRTHPLACE OF MEMORIAL DAY, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE PROUD OF... AWFUL PROUD.

Sebak: WELL, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT ANNUAL TRADITION, WHAT STRIKING MONUMENT, OR FAMOUS GRAVE IS GOING TO BRING PEOPLE TO A CEMETERY.

IN CLEVELAND, OHIO, LAKE VIEW CEMETERY HAS BEEN ATTRACTING PEOPLE SINCE 1869 MARY KROHMER IS DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY RELATIONS THERE NOW.

Krohmer: PROBABLY THE MOST-VISITED MONUMENT IN LAKE VIEW CEMETERY IS THE MONUMENT FOR THE 20th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, JAMES A. GARFIELD.

GARFIELD ACTUALLY WAS ASSASSINATED.

HE WAS SHOT IN THE BACK BY A DISGRUNTLED OFFICE SEEKER ABOUT FOUR MONTHS AFTER HE WAS INAUGURATED.

THE PRESIDENT'S COFFIN IS THE ONLY PRESIDENTIAL COFFIN THAT IS ON FULL DISPLAY.

ALL OTHER PRESIDENTS ARE BURIED OR ENTOMBED.

Sebak: FROM THE GARFIELD MONUMENT, YOU CAN SEE A HUGE OBELISK NEARBY.

Krohmer: THAT'S THE FAMILY MONUMENT FOR THE ROCKEFELLER FAMILY.

MR.

ROCKEFELLER HELPED FORM THE STANDARD OIL COMPANY.

HE WAS THE FIRST BILLIONAIRE OF THE UNITED STATES.

WHAT'S INTERESTING WITH MR.

ROCKEFELLER, IT WAS RUMORED THAT HE GAVE OUT OVER $35,000 WORTH OF DIMES TO PEOPLE.

AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE PEOPLE WHO DO LEAVE MONEY ON HIS HEADSTONE TODAY.

Sebak: ON THIS SUNDAY, ON THE EDGE OF ONE OF THE CEMETERY'S PONDS, A GROUP OF CLEVELANDERS IS GATHERING.

CARL STOKES BRIGADE IS THE NAME OF THE GROUP.

Krohmer: AND THEY CARRY ON THE TRADITION OF CARL B. STOKES, FORMER MAYOR OF THE CITY OF CLEVELAND.

Ann: HE WAS A GREAT, GREAT MAYOR, AND WE ALL LOVED HIM TO DEATH.

Genevieve: WE GATHER HERE ONCE AGAIN TO COMMEMORATE THE LIFE AND WORK OF A VERY GREAT BLACK MAN, THE HONORABLE CARL BURTON STOKES.

Ann: WE WILL PRAY, AND WE'LL SAY A FEW WORDS ABOUT HIM.

AND HE EVEN REPRESENTED THIS COUNTRY IN SEYCHELLES AS AN AMBASSADOR.

Jim: HE COULD BE ANGRY, TOO.

HE COULD BE SPITEFUL.

[ LAUGHTER ] THAT WAS MY MAN BECAUSE I ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT HE WOULD DO WHAT WAS HONEST AND WHAT HE FELT IN HIS HEART.

Alton: LIKE I SAY, I PROBABLY WOULDN'T BE HERE IF IT WASN'T FOR HIM.

THAT'S ALL I CAN SAY.

I COULD WRITE A BOOK, THOUGH.

BUT THAT'S IT.

[ LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE ] THANK YOU.

Ann: WE LOVE HIM.

WE COME OUT HERE SO THAT HE WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN.

YES.

Krohmer: ONE OF THE LESSER-KNOWN PEOPLE THAT SOME PEOPLE COME TO VISIT BUT BASEBALL FANS WOULD RECOGNIZE IS RAY JOHNSON CHAPMAN.

AND HE GOES BY HIS NICKNAME -- "CHAPPIE."

CHAPPIE PLAYED FOR THE CLEVELAND INDIANS, AND AT A GAME IN NEW YORK IN 1920, WAS STRUCK IN THE HEAD BY A PITCH BY CARL MAYS.

AND HE'S THE ONLY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER TO DIE BECAUSE OF AN INJURY DURING A GAME.

INTERESTING -- FANS COME TO HIS MONUMENT AND LEAVE INDIANS MEMORABILIA.

Sebak: WELL, YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO CUT FLOWERS, BUT MARILYN BRANDT IS THE CEMETERY'S HORTICULTURALIST.

AND IN EARLY SPRING, EVERY YEAR SINCE 1940, THE CEMETERY HAS CELEBRATED WHAT'S CALLED DAFFODIL SUNDAY.

Brandt: THE BIG YELLOW ONES -- THOSE ARE THE ONLY ONES I KNOW.

THOSE ARE KING ALFREDS.

Mario: MY DAD WAS JUST STOPPING BY HERE TO LOOK AT THE DAFFODILS.

HE LOVES LOOKING AT THEM.

Sebak: YEP, CEMETERY FLOWERS ATTRACT PEOPLE -- LIKE MARIO AND ANTHONY BELFIGLIO AND THEIR DAD, GRANT SEGAL.

Segal: WE TRY TO COME AND SEE THE DAFFS EVERY YEAR.

MY DAD'S A REPORTER FOR THE PLAIN DEALER.

Segal: I WRITE A LOT OF ARTICLES ABOUT THIS CEMETERY.

SO THERE'S A LOT OF HISTORY HERE AND A LOT OF NATURE AND A LOT OF THINGS TO WRITE ABOUT.

WE TAKE PICTURES HERE.

Sebak: [ Chuckling ] THAT'S WHY THE SLUSARSKIS ARE HERE.

Man: SMILE FOR A COOKIE?

[ WOMAN LAUGHS ] SOME PEOPLE, LIKE JANET SORZ, HAVE MADE THIS A TRADITION.

Sorz: WELL, I'M ON MY 45th ANNUAL TREK TO DAFFODIL HILL.

AND I BROUGHT ONE OF MY DAUGHTERS AND GRANDDAUGHTER HERE.

AND WE TAKE OUR ANNUAL PICTURES.

[ LAUGHS ] Sebak: DOUG OSTER, THE BACKYARD GARDENER, MET US THERE, TOO.

HE'S A SYNDICATED GARDEN COLUMNIST AND PICTURE EDITOR FOR THE PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE.

Oster: LAST TIME I WAS HERE, I WAS ABOUT 10 YEARS OLD.

AND WE WERE HERE TO VISIT MY GRANDPARENTS' GRAVE.

AND THEN WE CAME OVER HERE TO DAFFODIL HILL, AND, FOR SOME REASON, I WAS JUST SPELLBOUND BY IT.

I WAS THINKING ABOUT THE DAFFODILS.

THEY'RE PRETTY.

Mario: IT'S VERY INTERESTING OF A CONTRAST ON THE HILL AND AS YOU SEE DIFFERENT ROWS AND DIFFERENT COLORS OF DAFFODILS.

I HAVE SLIDES, AND EVERY TIME WE LOOK AT THEM, THE KIDS SAY, "OH, THERE'S DAFFODIL HILL."

[ LAUGHS ] IT'S LIKE WE KNEW WHERE WE WERE.

USUALLY APRIL 15th.

BUT BASICALLY IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR.

THIS IS DAFFODIL HILL TIME.

Oster: I CAN REMEMBER MY BROTHERS AND I RUNNING THROUGH THESE FLOWERS AND UP THESE HILLS.

I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT A DAFFODIL WAS AT THE TIME.

I HAD NO IDEA.

Sorz: WINTER IN CLEVELAND -- YOU'RE READY FOR THIS.

Sebak: SO, HOW MANY DAFFODILS ARE THERE?

27.

[ LAUGHS ] Mario: I DON'T KNOW.

MAYBE ABOUT 100, 200.

A LOT.

Sorz: OH, I FORGET HOW MANY THOUSANDS OF BULBS THERE ARE.

Brandt: IT STARTED IN 1940 BY A GENTLEMAN NAMED DR.

WILLIAM WEIR.

HE DONATED 6,000 BULBS.

AND WE'RE NOW AT 100,000.

100,000?

WHOA.

Ed: A LOT OF HISTORY HERE, TOO.

THERE'S A LOT OF MAUSOLEUMS, AND THERE'S A LOT OF HEADSTONES THAT ARE INTERESTING, THAT GO WAY BACK.

AREN'T ELIOT NESS' ASHES IN THE POND?

I THINK HIS ASHES ARE IN THE POND.

Sebak: YES, THE REMAINS OF ELIOT NESS -- ONCE SAFETY DIRECTOR HERE IN CLEVELAND, AUTHOR OF "THE UNTOUCHABLES" -- WERE DEPOSITED IN ONE OF THE SMALL PONDS HERE, ALONG WITH THE ASHES OF HIS WIFE AND SON, IN 1997.

A MONUMENT WAS PUT UP NEARBY SO THERE'S SOMETHING PERMANENT TO SEE AND TOUCH.

Oster: IT'S NOT JUST THE DAFFODILS.

IT'S ALL THE FLOWERING TREES... I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT'S SO FASCINATING ABOUT THE PLACE IS THAT EVEN THOUGH IT'S A CEMETERY, PEOPLE COME HERE FOR HAPPY REASONS, TOO.

Sebak: WELL, THERE ARE COUNTLESS REASONS TO VISIT A CEMETERY, EVEN IF FUNERALS ARE RARE.

IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA, AT THE HISTORIC OAKLAND CEMETERY, FOUNDED IN 1850, KEVIN KUHARIC IS OFFICIALLY THE RESTORATION MANAGER, BUT HE DOES LOTS OF THINGS TO GET VISITORS IN HERE.

Kuharic: WE'VE GOT SOME FAMOUS PEOPLE BURIED HERE, WE HAVE SOME PEOPLE WE DON'T EVEN KNOW THEIR NAMES BURIED HERE, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE WHAT I CALL "CHARACTERS" BURIED HERE.

Sebak: THE ODD THING ABOUT OAKLAND CEMETERY IS IT'S ESSENTIALLY FULL.

THE ONLY BURIALS ARE FOR FAMILIES WHO OWN PLOTS HERE.

Kuharic: WE'RE MORE A PARK THAN A CEMETERY.

WE'LL ALWAYS BE A CEMETERY, BUT JUST HAVING 12 FUNERALS A YEAR, THAT'S 12 DAYS A YEAR.

SO ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS, THE TYPICAL VISITOR IS NOT RELATED TO ANYONE BURIED HERE.

THEY'RE HERE OUT OF CURIOSITY, THEY'RE HERE OUT OF AN APPRECIATION FOR HISTORY OR ART AND ARCHITECTURE -- OR JUST WANTING TO GET AWAY, JUST WANTING TO COME TO A PEACEFUL PLACE.

Avery: IT IS OWNED BY PEOPLE WHO PURCHASED LOTS MANY, MANY YEARS AGO.

Sebak: JOHN AVERY IS DIRECTOR OF THE HISTORIC OAKLAND FOUNDATION.

THE LAST LOT WAS SOLD AT OAKLAND CEMETERY IN 1884.

THE FOUNDATION IS A FRIENDS GROUP OF THE CITY OF ATLANTA, AND OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS IN THE RESTORATION OF THE CEMETERY.

Kuharic: WE BELIEVE WE COULD GET THROUGH OAKLAND, WITH SUCCESSFUL FUND-RAISING, IN ABOUT 10 YEARS -- GET THROUGH ALL 88 ACRES AND HAVE THIS RESTORED TO ONE OF THE PRETTIEST CEMETERIES IN THE U.S.

WE HAVE A LOT OF CIVIL WAR BUFFS WHO COME THROUGH -- BOTH CONFEDERATE SUPPORTERS AND UNION SUPPORTERS -- BECAUSE WE HAVE BOTH CONFEDERATE AND UNION SOLDIERS BURIED HERE, SO IT'S INTERESTING TO BOTH SIDES.

MY FAVORITE THING IS THE LION, AND I LIKE HOW IT REPRESENTS ALL THE DIFFERENT UNKNOWN CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS.

Kevin: I LIKED LOOKING AT THE LION, WHICH IS RIGHT THERE.

Kuharic: THE LION OF ATLANTA, WHICH WAS CARVED IN 1894 BY T.M.

BRADY, IT COMMEMORATES THE UNKNOWN CONFEDERATE DEAD AND THE LOST CAUSE, THE CONFEDERACY.

Avery: I THINK THE NUMBER OF UNION SOLDIERS IS 16, AND THERE ARE 6,900 CONFEDERATES.

Kuharic: EVEN THOUGH OAKLAND IS VERY OLD, AND WE DON'T HAVE MANY FUNERALS, WE DO STILL HAVE SOME.

AND THIS IS ONE OF THE MORE RECENT ONES, FROM ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO.

THIS IS MAYOR MAYNARD JACKSON.

HE WAS THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN MAYOR FOR THE CITY OF ATLANTA.

NOW, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT HE'S BURIED AT AN ANGLE.

WHAT DO WE SEE, THIS DIRECTION, THROUGH THE TREES?

THE CITY.

EXACTLY.

AND SO HE CAN SEE THE CITY SKYLINE THERE.

THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO THE FAMILY.

WE HAVE SOME FAMOUS PEOPLE BURIED HERE.

WE HAVE 5 CONFEDERATE GENERALS, 6 GEORGIA GOVERNORS, AND 26 ATLANTA MAYORS.

AND SO YOU CAN HOBNOB WITH THE RICH, FAMOUS, AND DEAD, FOR SURE.

THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS -- MARGARET MITCHELL.

SHE WROTE THE NOVEL "GONE WITH THE WIND."

MARGARET MITCHELL LOVED OAKLAND.

SHE WOULD WALK THE GROUNDS, AND SHE WOULD HEAR A LOT OF THE STORIES OUT HERE, LIKE YOU'RE HEARING TODAY.

AND SHE WOULD WEAVE THESE STORIES TOGETHER, AND PART OF THAT BECAME HER BOOK.

MANY PEOPLE ON THEIR WAY FROM ATLANTA TO AUGUSTA EACH YEAR FOR THE MASTERS COMES BY OAKLAND TO PAY HOMAGE TO BOBBY JONES FOR GOOD LUCK.

Kuharic: ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO, A PHENOMENON STARTED WHERE GOLFERS STARTED TO TEE UP GOLF BALLS ON HIS GRAVE.

AND SO, WE STARTED NOTICING GOLF BALLS, GOLF TEES, GOLF CLUBS.

WE WANT ACTIVITY.

OUR THOUGHT IS IF IT'S NOT USED, IT BECOMES A DINOSAUR, AND IT WILL NOT BE SAVED.

Sebak: SO OAKLAND HAS HOSTED EVENTS LIKE AN ARTS FESTIVAL IN 2005.

IT FEATURED DANCERS, ALONG WITH DRAMATIC READINGS AT THE GRAVES OF MARGARET MITCHELL AND OTHER LOCAL WRITERS.

THERE WERE AFRICAN-AMERICAN POETS IN THE HISTORICALLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN SECTION OF THE CEMETERY... GUARDIANS OF PARKING LOTS AND LOBBY DESKS... THERE WAS SOME WACKY GRAVEDIGGER COMEDY... LET'S TALK ABOUT EPITAPHS.

YES, EPITAPHS.

Sebak: 10 DAYS OF PERFORMANCES, LECTURES, SCULPTURES, AND INSTALLATIONS ALL CALLED "ARTS IN THE PARK," COORDINATED BY KEIF SCHLIEFER AND SU SCHWENCK.

"ARTS IN THE PARK" IS A WAY FOR US TO BRING OAKLAND TO A NEW SET OF PEOPLE.

IT'S ANOTHER WAY TO GET PEOPLE IN THE GATES TO SEE WHAT OAKLAND IS AS WELL AS A WAY TO GET TODAY'S ARTISTS TO RESPOND TO THE ART THAT'S ALREADY HERE.

Schliefer: IT WASN'T REAL HARD TO FIGURE OUT.

IT'S JUST A MATTER OF CONNECTING THE DOTS.

IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO, AND IT'S A LOT OF FUN.

Sebak: WELL, HAVING FUN HERE CAN ALSO MEAN HAVING FRIED CATFISH ACROSS THE STREET AT THE RESTAURANT WITH THE PROVOCATIVE NAME.

Schwenck: I LOVE SIX FEET UNDER.

[ LAUGHS ] SIX FEET UNDER IS -- FIRST OF ALL, IT'S JUST A GOOD RESTAURANT.

AND SECOND OF ALL, COME ON, IT'S CALLED "SIX FEET UNDER" ACROSS FROM A CEMETERY.

IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT.

THE FOOD DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE CEMETERY, BUT THE CEMETERY HAS REACHED OUT, AND THEY'RE DOING AN ADOPT-A-PLOT PROGRAM, WHICH IS TO RAISE MONEY FOR THE CEMETERY BECAUSE THEY DON'T GET A WHOLE LOT OF FUNDING.

Avery: IT'S A PUB AND FISH HOUSE.

THEY TRY TO DO NOTHING MORE THAN LIVE UP TO THAT, AND THEY DO A WONDERFUL JOB.

Scott: AND THE PLOT THAT THEY'VE ACTUALLY PICKED OUT FOR US IS KIND OF SIGNIFICANT.

THE GENTLEMAN'S NAME IS CORNELIUS HANDLEITER, AND CORNELIUS WAS THE FIRST ATLANTA CITIZEN TO SERVE RAW SEAFOOD -- OYSTERS AND SHRIMP AND SUCH.

AND HE'S DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET, AND WE TAKE CARE OF HIS GRAVE.

I KIND OF IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO BE BURIED HERE, TO BE LOOKING DOWN FROM HEAVEN AND SEE YOURSELF IN SUCH A WONDERFUL PLACE WHERE EVERYBODY VISITS, AND THEY WOULD ACTUALLY NOTICE YOU.

Kuharic: AND IT'S A SYMBOLIC LANDSCAPE.

IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE HEAVEN ON EARTH.

IT'S KIND OF FUN, THOUGH, TO LEARN, BUT IT'S ALSO KIND OF WEIRD TO THINK ABOUT IT -- HOW YOU COME AND YOU KNOW THAT YOU'RE ON TOP OF DEAD PEOPLE.

Sebak: YOU KNOW, BEING AWARE OF THE DEAD IS WHAT MAKES A CEMETERY POWERFUL.

Dermot: WELL, THIS IS THE BIRCH HILL CEMETERY, WHICH IS JUST OUTSIDE OF FAIRBANKS, ALASKA.

Terrence: IT'S SORT OF A ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE PLACE.

IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN.

AND THE TOWN AND THE CEMETERY SORT OF REFLECT EACH OTHER IN THE HOMEGROWN AND SORT OF IMPROMPTU NATURE.

Sebak: WE TALKED TO MANY FOLKS HERE.

A NEWSPAPER COLUMNIST NAMED DERMOT COLE, HIS TWIN BROTHER TERRENCE COLE, WHO'S A HISTORY PROFESSOR... DAVID JACOBY, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR FOR FAIRBANKS AND THE SEXTON HERE.

WE MET ALASKA NATIVE ELDERS THE REVEREND TADGE FRANK AND HER HUSBAND, RICHARD FRANK... KAREN ERICKSON... I GIVE UP ON THAT.

...A COURT CLERK WHOSE HOBBY IS CEMETERIES... ATHABASCAN TRIBAL CHIEF STEVE GINNIS, WHO'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE INTERIOR REGIONAL HOUSING AUTHORITY... AND ALSO DEPUTY DIRECTOR PETE WILLIAMS, WHO'S VOLUNTEERED A LOT AROUND HERE.

SCOTT FISHER IS AN EPISCOPAL PRIEST WHO'S CONDUCTED FUNERALS HERE SINCE 1991.

Fisher: IT'S A PLACE FILLED WITH COMMUNITY.

IT'S A PLACE FILLED WITH MEMORY.

IT'S PLACE FILLED WITH HISTORY.

Terrence: THIS WAS ORIGINALLY A HOMESTEAD, AND IT BECAME THE CEMETERY -- I THINK IT WAS DONATED IN THE LATE 1930s, EARLY 1940s.

IT'S VERY IMPORTANT.

IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO OUR NATIVE PEOPLE BECAUSE IT'S LIKE SACRED GROUND.

THIS IS WHERE WE BURY OUR DEAD.

JUST A VARIETY OF FOLKS -- PIONEERS THAT WENT OVER THE CHILLICOTHE TRAIL AND ARE BURIED HERE, FOR INSTANCE... BUILT FAIRBANKS, PIONEERED ALASKA.

A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN LEADERS.

A LOT OF THEM HELPED THE FAMILY.

I KNOW THIS LADY THERE.

I PROBABLY DID HER FUNERAL.

I REMEMBER HARVEY DYING UP THERE.

WHEN THEY DIE IN THE WINTER, THEY STORE THEM UP AND PUT THEM IN THE GROUND IN THE SUMMER.

Jacoby: THOSE THAT HAVE DIED OVER THE WINTER ARE STORED IN OUR CRYPT.

THEN COME SPRINGTIME, OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE EVERYBODY IN THE GROUND BY -- INTERRED BY MEMORIAL DAY.

Dermot: IN THE SUMMERTIME, THE GRASS AND WEEDS GROW HERE LIKE CRAZY.

Fisher: SOMEBODY DROVE OUT THE ROAD AND PICKED OUT THOSE WHITE ROCKS AND SET THEM AROUND THE GRAVE OF WHOEVER-THAT-IS BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT THAT WOULD HELP TO MARK THAT PLACE.

THAT'S HOLY GROUND.

I LIKE COMING UP HERE AND SEEING PEOPLE WHO HAVE LEFT BIRDS OR STUFFED ANIMALS OR HOCKEY STICKS OR FISHING POLES.

IT'S VERY COLORFUL.

IT'S LIKE A CARNIVAL.

Fisher: SOMEBODY OVER THERE HAS GOT SNOW SHOES OR SKIS OR SOMETHING, I THINK I REMEMBER SEEING.

THERE'S A GUY THAT WAS A SUPERINTENDENT IN ONE OF THE SCHOOLS, AND SOMEBODY CARVED THIS FENCE WITH ALL THESE KIDS AROUND IT OVER THERE.

Tadge: THEY HAVE ACCESS TO FLOWERS AND A LOT OF THINGS NOW.

WE HAVE THE MONEYS TO BUY THESE THINGS, AND SO WE PLANT FLOWERS OR WE PUT THIS OR THAT ON THERE.

WE'RE IN WHAT WE CALL THE GENERAL THREE SECTION.

IT'S FOR ALL THE EVERYDAY FOLKS, AND THEN OF COURSE YOU HAVE THE MOOSE AND THE ELKS AND FOLKS LIKE THAT THAT HAVE A SECTION.

WE HAVE A VETERANS' SECTION.

WE HAVE A JEWISH SECTION.

WE HAVE A PIONEERS OF ALASKA SECTION.

Fisher: THIS IS A BLEND OF ALASKA NATIVE AND WHITE PEOPLE.

AND THEN THERE'S A SECTION SET UP OVER THERE.

Jacoby: IT'S CALLED THE ALASKA NATIVE CULTURAL BURIAL GROUND.

AND IT'S DESIGNATED STRICTLY FOR THE ALASKA NATIVE COMMUNITY.

Ginnis: IT'S NOT MEANT TO BE DISCRIMINATORY -- YOU KNOW, BURYING NON-NATIVES OVER THERE AND BURYING NATIVE PEOPLE OVER HERE.

WHAT THE REAL INTENT OF IT WAS, AT LEAST THE WAY I UNDERSTOOD IT, IS THAT MANY OF OUR NATIVE PEOPLE COULDN'T AFFORD A PLOT, SO HERE WE SUPPORT EACH OTHER.

Williams: MOST OF OUR FOLK COME FROM OUTLYING AREAS.

AND WE'RE SEEING A HUGE INFLUX OF PEOPLE COMING INTO FAIRBANKS.

AND A FEW OF THOSE FOLKS DON'T HAVE FAMILY BACK HOME ANYMORE, AND SO THEY'RE BEING BURIED HERE NOW.

Tadge: I KNOW IN THE VILLAGES IT'S IMPORTANT WHERE THEY PICK THE GRAVESITE.

AND THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL SPOT.

IT'S VERY BEAUTIFUL.

Fisher: THE PREDOMINANT ALASKA NATIVE VALUE IS RESPECT.

YOU HAVE RESPECT FOR ELDERS, YOU HAVE RESPECT FOR THE LAND, YOU HAVE RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER, YOU HAVE RESPECT FOR THE DEAD, SO YOU BURY.

WE BURY IN THE WINTER.

I DON'T CARE HOW COLD IT IS.

Williams: WE BURY OUR FOLK YEAR ROUND.

AND SO WE DON'T PUT THEM IN STORAGE, SO TO SPEAK, OVER THE WINTER.

Ginnis: THIS GRAVE HERE -- THEY USE BACKHOE.

BUT ON THESE GRAVES -- LIKE THE NATIVE GRAVES, IT'S ALL DONE BY HAND -- SHOVEL AND PICK.

YEAH, IT HAS TO DONE, THOUGH.

Ginnis: WE GO DIG THE GRAVE, GET IT READY, GO THROUGH THE CHURCH PROCESS, BURY THEM, HAVE OUR POTLATCHES.

WE CELEBRATE LIFE.

TO US, THE PERSON'S NOT DEAD... ...JUST GOES TO ANOTHER LIFE.

Fisher: I THINK FOLKS ARE VERY CLOSE.

YEAH, THE FANCY CHURCH WORD IS "COMMUNION OF SAINTS," BUT I DON'T THINK THAT MEANS... I THINK FOLKS ARE VERY CLOSE INDEED.

Richard: WE ALSO INFORM OUR YOUNG PEOPLE TO RESPECT THE SACRED GROUND.

Fisher: PEOPLE NEED TO REMEMBER.

MEMORY IS WHAT HOLDS US TOGETHER, I THINK.

Ginnis: WHEN I GO HOME, I GO VISIT WITH MY MOM... AT THE GRAVEYARD.

JUST TELL HER I'M DOING FINE, YOU KNOW.

I KIND OF VISIT WITH HER.

[ CLEARS THROAT ] YEAH.

DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU BELIEVE AND WHAT YOUR BELIEFS ARE, THIS COULD BE THE END OF THE TRAIL OR IT COULD BE THE BEGINNING OF A NEW TRAIL.

IT'S A GOOD PLACE TO JUST COME AND SIT... AND REMEMBER.

Sebak: WELL, OBVIOUSLY CEMETERIES CAN BE POWERFUL PLACES... PLACES THAT MAY FORCE YOU TO THINK A BIT.

Collier: IDEALLY WHAT WE LEARN FROM CEMETERIES IS WHAT'S IMPORTANT IN LIFE.

WORKING HERE ALL THESE YEARS, I THINK I FEEL MORE OF THIS AS A NATURAL PROCESS.

Terrence: THE GREATEST VALUE OF CEMETERIES IN THE LONG RUN IS THAT AS THE MEMENTO MORI OR THINKING ABOUT WHAT LIFE IS AND WHAT IT IS NOT.

Roberts: THIS IS HOW YOU END.

Collier: I FEEL LIKE, TOO, THE DEAD ASK TO BE VISITED.

I MEAN, THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT HONORING THE GREAT TRANSITION WE CALL DEATH.

Roberts: BUT ALSO THAT IT ISN'T THE END... THAT YOU JUST DON'T GO IN THE GROUND AND NOBODY EVER THINKS OF YOU AGAIN AND NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOU OR WHATEVER... THAT IT GOES ON FROM HERE.

Sebak: WELL, WE MAY NEVER KNOW.

BUT WALKING THROUGH A CEMETERY CAN REMIND YOU OF YOUR INEVITABLE END, AND THINKING ABOUT THAT CAN MAKE YOU APPRECIATE A BIT MORE ALL THE BEAUTY AND WONDERFULNESS AND EVEN THE OTHER PEOPLE ALL AROUND YOU.

IT JUST HELPS KEEP YOU ON YOUR TOES.

"A CEMETERY SPECIAL" IS AVAILABLE ON VIDEOCASSETTE OR DVD.

TO ORDER, CALL PBS HOME VIDEO AT... 1-800-PLAY-PBS REMEMBER, MR.

SEBAK SAID JUST PRETEND THAT THEY'RE NOT HERE.

I SHOULDN'T EVEN TELL YOU THIS.

YOU'RE STILL ROLLING, AREN'T YOU?

[ LAUGHTER ] AND IF WE STAYED OUT TOO LATE, WE WENT TO A MOTEL.

SAY, "HI, KEVIN."

Coffrin: IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN BUYING A LOT UP HERE, I CAN GIVE YOU A HECK OF A DEAL ON A MAUSOLEUM LOT.

Sebak: HOW DO YOU SPELL CAITLIN?

C-A-I-T-L-I-N.

LEFT, SLOW A LITTLE BIT.

LEFT.

AND YOUR LAST NAME?

SLUSARSKY.

HOW DO YOU SPELL THAT?

UM...MMM.

To: MY FATHER USED TO BE VERY HANDSOME.

[ Laughing ] HE IS THERE.

THERE COULD BE A DEAD ARM SOMEWHERE OVER THERE.

THIS IS THE OUTTAKES PART.

YOU GOTTA PAY YOUR TAXES, AND YOU'RE GONNA DIE.

[ ROOSTER CROWS ] RENEE, I'M GONNA SLAP YOU.

WE ALL SHARE THE CAMARADERIE OF HAVING WOODIES THESE DAYS.

THAT'S IT.

[ INHALES SHARPLY ] "A CEMETERY SPECIAL" WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING R AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

THANK YOU.

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