Book Reivew: Eternal Prairie

Book

Eternal Prairie: Exploring Rural Cemeteries of the West
written by Randy Adams

From the weathered, handmade crosses in prairie filed sot the ornate monuments of urban cemeteries, grave markers are personal commemorations of the loss that also represent a wealth of history, symbolism, faith, and art.

Randy Adams has spent years exploring and photographing the homesteads, small towns, churches, and cemeteries of the rural prairies. In Eternal Prairie, he looks at the social history, traditions, and significance of the huge variety of grave markers on the prairies, and the stories that surround the people, monuments, and mourners he encountered on his journey.

RANDY ADAMS is a writer and photographer with a fascination for the vanishing structures, artefacts, and fold art of the prairies. He was born and raised in Edmonton, AB, and presently resides in Nanaimo, BC.

Review

Unlike Miller's Remember Me As You Pass By (review), Adams book does cover rural cemeteries of the prairie provinces with highlights of Albert, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan burial grounds. But like Miller, he also tends to focus on the notable cemeteries and markers that he encountered in his travels.

Offering some visually stunning photographs, a headstone in the rain, and other unique markers such as wrought iron crosses in the Catholic cemetery at Prelate, SK by a local blacksmith and abandoned churches the images allows readers to see in either black 'n' white or colour, what Adams saw in his excursions.

An informative and visually appealing book that lets one see unique markers and cemeteries, Adams provides history and personal experiences with cemetery caretakers and those who erect the markers in memory of those who died.

Source: Adams, Randy. Eternal prairie : exploring rural cemeteries of the west. Calgary: Fifth House Publishers, 1999.

Book Review: Remember Me As You Pass By

Book

Remember Me As You Pass By: Stories from Prairie Graveyards
written by Nancy Millar

Nancy Millar learned two things as she explored Alberta’s graveyards: graveyards contain our history, and our history is never boring!

In this lively and most unusual history book, you’ll – learn about the real Sam McGee who lived and died in Alberta; discover why babies died in the bad old days; look at the differences between men and women in the graveyard; learn about the changing style in gravemarkers.

Nancy Millar’s refreshing perspective offers up an intriguing and very personal look at history that touches us all.

Review

Remember Me As You Pass By: Stories from Prairie Graveyards by Nancy Millar is interesting and while I definitely recommend it for anyone from Alberta or genealogy in the province, I confess to expecting more from the prairie provinces because of the subtitle "Stories from Prairie Graveyards" which would have been much more accurate to state "Stories from Alberta Graveyards".

The cover blurb of course does specify Alberta, but that isn't much help when you're looking for titles using keywords such as "cemetery" and "graveyard" to learn more about them in a library catalogue.

One way that I relate to how Miller chose to present her subject is that for me, the first and strongest draw to cemeteries has always been the markers. The ultimate footnote in the story of life. Only as I've started transcribing cemeteries have I become interested in learning the stories of the "permanent residents." Though of course, with Miller stating to have visited 250 some cemeteries while researching, only a small fraction of the most interesting stories were included in the book.

I do wish though that Miller had devoted more to "look[ing] at the differences between men and women in the graveyard; learn about the changing style in gravemarkers" as promised by the blurb. It's why I really wanted to read the book in the first place, to learn about those sort of things.

All in all though, I doubt any taphophilia would mind vegging out with this book.

Source: Millar, Nancy. Remember me as you pass by : stories from prairie graveyards. Calgary; Glenbow, 1994.