Jacksonville Cemetery

We spent the morning trudging up and down the mountain side exploring the old cemetery. Time seems to stand still while wandering through the bramble of old headstones and I often wondered what these peoples lives were like, what hardships did they face, and did they face the same day-in-day-out trials that we are faced with today? I think that our lives were probably very similar in many ways.

The view from the top of the mountain down into the town. It was much higher so I used my telephoto in order to get a better picture of the little church below. The large flat building just beyond the blue church is our Inn.

We saw deer foraging for their morning meal.

Hubby saw this guy and said, "let's take a closer look!" "I don't think so," says I. This guy didn't look intimidated in the least bit. I thought he looked like he wanted us for breakfast.
Do you remember the old Japanese Deer Park in Buena Park? They had to close down after several years because some of the deer were known for attacking children. Well guess what...I was one of those kids. One minute I'm staring in the eyes of a sweet doe eyed deer telling him that he has had enough of my cookies and that some of the other deer should have a chance to eat cookies too and the next thing I know I'm face down in the dirt with a sweet little deer pounding his hoof prints into the back of my head. Not only did he leave his hoof print, but he ripped a chunk of my hair out of the back of my head and tore a giant hole in my beloved blue and white sailor dress.
So when my husband says, "let's take a closer look," I'm going to think twice. "No thank you dear, I'm at a safe distance right here! You go look if you want to."

Two of his friends who were sweetly cleaning each others faces and ears.

The cemetery was divided into several different sections. There was a Jewish, Catholic, and then a general area. The Jewish and Catholic sections were separated from each other by white markers. It was a tradition to place memorial stones on the headstones and many of the headstones were completely covered. It reminded me of when Joshua led the children of Israel across the Jordan and they placed memorial stones in the center of the river stream.

I don't remember the story behind this headstone, but I thought the statue looked as if she were pleading with the heavens above. What was her request, I wonder?
Sweet hubby thought she looked down right creepy! Silly man.

There were so many children's graves dotted through out the cemetery.

Many of the grave sites had fresh Christmas wreaths placed beneath them. It made me wonder how many generations of families had never left this beautiful valley and why should they want to wander from such a serene place?

We spent several hours wandering about the grounds, but there was so much more to see and do that we decided to head back into town for a little window shopping and lunch.