CEMETERIES--NEW MILFORD, PA, AND NEWTON HILL

For some odd reason I like to visit cemeteries, and look at the dates and names, and wonder what these folks did for a living.  I wonder if they had a happy life, and if they had more successes than blunders.  People fascinate me.  Their stories fascinate me.  When I look at a year book, I want to see names, even if I don't know the person.  To me, collages in year books without names are worthless.  While I was living in New Milford, PA, I went to the cemetery for a little visit.  New Milford is in the Endless Mountains, which are not as rugged as the Rockies, but still they are steep.   For the life of me I do not know how they ever got a horse drawn hearse up the side of that mountain, but they did.

This photo does not do justice to the steep incline of the cemetery, but I do believe the incline is 35 degrees or maybe even 45 degrees.

This is a more level part of the cemetery.  I really appreciate the way they marked the veterans' graves.  Pennsylvania is so patriotic.

 This is a World War I veteran's grave.  As you can see, WW I is not on the marker anywhere, probably because no one dreamed there would be another one.  

Sadly, there was a second world war, all because of the maniacs in power in Germany, Japan,  and Italy.

The Spanish American War is commemorated with a cross.  I had forgotten that it lasted four long years.  Don't you know that was some tough fighting in the heat and humidity and mosquitoes?

There is no date on the Vietnam marker.  It is still fresh on the memories of lots of people, though.

And of course, the Civil War.  There were no CSA markers in that cemetery, only GAR, which stands for Grand Army of the Republic.

This Civil War veteran made it through the conflict and lived a long life.

I don't know if all these men were in the GAR, probably, since they died about the end of the war or a few years after.  Wouldn't you like to know their story?

Daughters of the American Revolution have their own special marker.  I did not find a marker for the Korean War but I am betting Pennsylvania has one.

Some of the tombstones are massive and last for a long time.

It is common to have the date of death and the age at death on the old headstones.  We don't know this man's birthday, but he was born in 1751, and he lived to be very old for that day and time.
Newton Hill Cemetery was right beside the Central Compressor Station fence on Turnpike Road near Montrose, PA.

Newton Hill Cemetery is a very small, country cemetery;  it almost feels private.

The most ornate headstone there belongs to the Molenko family.  I would love to know their story, where they came from, and what they did for a living.  The headstone next to it is for Theresa and Stanley Bogusinski.  Names are so fascinating for me--what nationality is Bogusinski?  I don't think they have any kin in West Texas, maybe in Montana.

This is the most intriguing of all the headstones in the Newton Hill Cemetery.  Surely this is not a joke, but why would anyone put up a marker like this?  It goes to show you that you  never can tell what you will find when you wander around in a cemetery.