This Saturday, April 2, I’ll be hosting a party on the Cemetery Travel Facebook page from Noon to 3:00 PM Pacific to celebrate the successful Kickstarter for Death’s Garden Revisited.
Some of the contributors will stop by to discuss their favorite cemeteries and the stories they added to the book. There will be cemetery-focused prizes and lots of like-minded souls.
The Miller monument at Woodlawn Cemetery, Colma, California. Photo by Loren Rhoads.
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been interviewing the Administrators and Moderators of some of Facebook’s dozens of cemetery groups. There seems to be a group for every interest, from lovely photographs to history to cemetery wildlife.
In case you missed any in the series, here are links to each of them:
Grave of Mary C. Forbes, with her footstone in place at the Marshall State Historic Park. Photo by Loren Rhoads.
Q: There are a lot of cemetery aficionado groups on Facebook. What sets yours apart?
A: From my experience, many of the cemetery groups on Facebook are all about the photos. So is The Cemetery Club’s group — it only makes sense — but the most important aspect of our group is the community.
When I started the group years ago, it was to network with fellow taphophiles. I was working on my book Cemetery Walk and wanted a way to connect with a variety of people who all had some sort of interest in cemeteries. Eventually the group, which I consider a partner to my website www.TheCemeteryClub.com, took on a life of its own. We now have more than 1700 members from all around the world who share photos, ask each other questions, give advice, and promote a general sense of camaraderie. It’s a really great community and I certainly can take very little credit for that.
I would like to thank everyone who has been with me since the very beginning: TC, Iris, John, Tracy, Matt, Jason, Amy, Doug, and so many more (you know who you are!). On the days when I get overwhelmed by life, work, my many projects, and wonder if all the effort is worth it… I see a post in the group that reminds how passionate my friends are about gravestones and history. It reminds me that I’m not the only one who loves gravestones and everything they (literally) stand for. It may still seem an odd hobby or passion to some — though not nearly as many think it’s as weird as they used to — but it means a whole lot to us.
Q: Do you have a policy about what is appropriate to post?
A: My policy is pretty basic: Be kind, considerate of others, and don’t be a blatant salesperson. I have no problem with people promoting the work they do, a book they’ve written, etc., but anything spammy won’t last long. Obviously the phony FB profiles who are trying to sell shoes get the boot really fast. Others who over-promote themselves, yet don’t contribute to the group in any other way, don’t last very long either.
Q: How old is your group?
A: I think it dates back to 2005 or 2004. I wasn’t able to find a start date on Facebook.
Q: Is your group open to new members?
A: Yes! The group is always open to new members. We’ve been growing in leaps and bounds. It seemed like it took forever for us to hit 1,000. That was okay, since we had quality posts. In the last nine months or so, it’s really taken off. As far as criteria, you just have to be a real person and not just a fake spam profile. All are welcome. The more people we can get interested in our cemeteries and history, the better.
Q: Are you a member of any other cemetery groups?
A: I am a member of a number of cemetery groups. Unfortunately, I just don’t have the time to contribute to any of them. It’s tough enough to keep up with my own! Besides, you’ll find the same taphophiles are members of a bunch of these groups. I do my best to keep my social media life simplified. I do social media during my day job, too, so while I may not always be out there on my own channels, I’m usually networking in some way with someone.
St. John’s Cemetery, San Mateo, California. Photo by Loren Rhoads.
Mission Statement: Each Sunday morning, Dorothy posts the Weekly Theme. Members of the group then post as many cemetery photos as they can find fit the theme. Members are encouraged to go out to cemeteries to look for the week’s theme, search the internet, or draw from their own photo collections as long as the photos they post have to do with the theme and are from a cemetery.
Q: There are a lot of cemetery aficionado groups on Facebook. What sets yours apart?
A: The scavenger group started because a lot of members of the Cemetery Oddities group wanted to do weekly themes. Carole Lynn and I thought people might think they could only post what the theme was — we didn’t want to change anything about Cemetery Oddities. That group is so much fun the way it is!
Q: Do you have a policy about what is appropriate to post?
A: Since my group is like a game, we do have rules you have to follow to play along.
We require that you only post something that fits the weekly theme, but we’ll allow questions and requests for help with cemetery stuff. Anything goes, so long as it’s not upsetting other members. No selling of any kind, though.
Q: Are you a member of any other cemetery groups?
A: I am a member of quite a few groups, but I usually only post in the ones that I help to run. It gets to be too much otherwise. I will like and comment on other groups’ posts, though.
The Dodge mausoleum, Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit. Photographed by Loren Rhoads
Q: There are a lot of cemetery aficionado groups on Facebook. What sets yours apart?
A: Ours was created to acknowledge VINTAGE mausoleums and vaults, primarily late 1800s, early 1900s. There are other mausoleum groups, but most of them include the huge mausoleums or modern-day mausoleums.
Q: Do you have a policy about what is appropriate to post?
A: We don’t have an actual written policy about what is appropriate, but we won’t tolerate photos or posts that are disrespectful to the dead in any way.
Q: How old is your group?
A. We were established in 2011.
Q: Is your group open to new members?
A. Yes, we are open to new members. There are no criteria, other than a love for vintage mausoleums and vaults.
Q: Are you a member of any other cemetery groups?
A. I belong to 33 cemetery groups and have “liked” many other pages. Cemeteries are definitely my passion!
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