Snowy Stairway to Grant Wood

Just two weeks ago the overnight snow lightly dusted the three stairs to Iowa's most famous painter, Grant Wood's grave. Today, the first day of Spring has seen most traces of snow melt away.Time to paint en plein.

Lighting Iron and Stone

Light and shadow make enormous contributions to classical forms of iron and stone. Late afternoon fall sunlight washes over these fence and gate components at Riverside Cemetery in McMinnville, Tennessee (some seven degrees south of 42N.) 

Snowy GAR Gravesite

Last week's snow almost buried the headstone of a veteran of the Civil War and Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) member in a small cemetery south of Lisbon, Iowa. The GAR, a fraternal and political organization dissolved after the last living Civil War vet passed, however GAR is supported today by other groups dedicated to preserving the gravesites of Civil War veterans. This particular grave is located close to the authentic Gettysburg Battlefield boulder which was officially secured and transported to Lisbon's cemetery in 1916.

Decoding the Handshake Tombstone

A weathered handshake symbol on a local 42N cemetery headstone is a fairly common site on older markers. This particular headstone is made of white marble and shows the effects from years of temperature extremes and freeze/thaw cycles - plus organic visitors. Granite seems to stand the test of time better than marble around here.

So what does the handshake symbol signify? Two answers. The first is the depiction of a greeting of the departed to a more heavenly existence. The other answer appears commonly when a married couple is buried together. Cuffs sometimes show masculine and feminine characteristics. There may be other answers. Let me know. Know that.

No Digging Here

Apparently digging is prohibited at this cemetery. Must be full. Know that.

EVP From Mt Vernon Iowa Cemetery Haunting

EVP stands for electronic voice phenomena. This definition is a standard for anyone who watches the SciFi Channel's Ghost Hunters. It refers to the ability to hear ghostly sounds that are usually unheard by human ears at the time of an audio recording. Interesting. So off to the Mt. Vernon - Lisbon, Iowa's cemetery with our team to see if we could get EVPs on our first attempt. Though it was mid-afternoon (not nighttime) one day last summer we walked the cemetery with a voice recorder in hand asking questions and listening.

Listen to or download the file here.

Upon review of the recording we distinctly heard the following:

Investigator: "Is there anything that you wish to say?"
EVP: "No" or another interpretation is "Get Out" which may start before the question audio ends.

Listen closely to hear the soft response to the first question. Our follow-up question and the none response is included for you to hear the background noise as a comparison. We don't know what we captured but it certainly was quite the find for first time ghost hunters. We plan to check the site out again. Read more about the account here. Know that.