Weeds take over old family plots
By KEN SANDS
Of *he Emerald
“Dead End" proclaims the
roadsign on 25th Avenue next to
the Masonic Cemetery and Univer
sity Street. An old dirt road
branches off of 25th and curves
v uphill toward the Hope Abbey
Mausoleum.
The cemetery lies to the left,
largely covered by grass and
weeds. Tall fir trees shade the
family plots. Weathered head
stones and the tall grass line the
plots. To the passerby, it looks like
an ordinary overgrown graveyard.
But closer inspection reveals the
oldest cemetery in the county,
with many of Lane County’s most
prominent citizens in its mulch.
In 1856, the Masons of Eugene
formally opened the graveyard.
Eugene Skinner, the founder and
first resident of Eugene, was
buried at the top of the hill in De
cember of 1864. Such notable
families as Condon, Hendricks,
Spiller, Friendly, Patterson and
Chambers have plots somewhere
in the 10.1 acres.
“It may be in the middle of town
now, but it’s an old country cemet
ery,” says Alice Adams, the unof
ficial cemetery historian and
bookkeeper, “and the plot owners
have deeds to the land." Under
Oregon Law, no one else can do
anything, constructive or destruc
tive, to the land. Most of the
cemetery residents have no rela
tives, so many of the gravesites
are overgrown.
Between the plots run eight
foot-wide “alleys" and
10-foot-wide “streets" that are
maintained by the Masonic Tem
ple.
“There are three trustees from
the lodge taking care of the main
tainance,” Adams says.
In May 1852, 22-year-old
Elizabeth Parsons was the first
recorded person buried on the
land. She must have recom
HH
Emerald Photo
This headstone has escaped the tall grass and the trampling commuters to become part of what could be
considered a very historic cemetery.
mended the plot highly because
the cemetery became a leading
corpse hangout. The “Standing
Graveyard Committee" of R.W.
Underwood, A.A. Smith, and
Skinner set the original price for
the plbts at $15, but later reduced
cost to $11.
Eugene’s mule drawn streetcar
system was extended to the
cemetery so bodies could be
transported easily. With this
added corpse convenience, more
bodies were attracted to the
grounds.
In 1912, the Association of the
Owners requested that a
mausoleum be built. The Portland
Mausoleum Company built the
Hope Abbey Mausoleum at the
base of the porous hill for $40,000.
A rare example of formal Egyp
tian architecture, the mausoleum
is listed as one of the Historical
Sites and Buildings in Oregon.
Once decorated with a copper
door and beautiful window grates,
the mausoleum was ripped apart
for fun and profit. Graffiti now
mark the backside of the green
building, and the 10-foot-high
spire now sports a coat of red
paint.
Two small screens on the bot
tom of the massive doors provide
the only light for the crypt in which
both Susan Campbell and Prince
Lucien Campbell are entombed.
Neither vault was ever paid for,
and Susan Campbell’s vault has
no inscription. The bank has yet to
reclaim the vaults.
pass***
Similarly, the condition of the
graveyard has deteriorated as
fewer relatives remain to care for
the property. The community
cleaned the cemetery thoroughly
as a bicentennial project two
years ago. Since this housekeep
ing, the graveyard has become
more popular. Two weeks ago two
people were buried, and the
number of burials has increased.
Some consider the landscape
inappropriate fortheir grave, while
others like Adams want to be
buried there.
“I wouldn’t care if trees grew up
over my grave, because it’s wild
and pretty that way,” she says.
The streets and alleys are now
used to bury people without a fam
ily plot, and Adams says many
people inquire about spaces.
“It's still an active cemetery,
and it’s not a commercial ven
ture," Adams says.
Many relatives have recently
requested that the lodge care for
their plots, but the lodge has funds
for only 12 sites. So the number of
uncared-for lots increases, as the
relatives cannot continue mainte
nance. Adams knows of many
families that care for the grave
sites, but relatively few receive
constant and adequate care.
“It's theirs, and they don’t have
to do anything to it," she laments.
Vandalism is also a very big
problem. Stones are intermittently
broken or knocked over, and
sometimes stolen. Several stones
have turned up as home decora
tions, while many of the stones
have weathered considerably and
are impossible to replace.
People in the community use
the cemetery as a park. The coun
try atmosphere stuck in the middle
of a city provides a relaxing place
to have picnics and enjoy corpse
company.
But without relatives to keep the
plots well groomed, the cemetery
will get messy. And the relatives
are running out.
“There are people who want to
make sure their lots get mowed
off, but can’t do it themselves,"
says Adams. When the corpses
run out of relatives to act as plot
caretakers, they have to put up
with some minor indignities.
For example, corpses who
spent their entire life cutting their
hair are subjected to long grass on
their stomachs. When this hap
pens, the corpses are helpless to
call a barber.
Adams has no solution to this
problem. Until she does, she ad
vises corpses to keep a large sup
ply of relatives in stock.
Ifs not Woody.
Ifs not Diane.
Ifs the look.
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