Many pleasant surprises at Pleasant View Cemetery

Many things surprised and pleased me here, but most of all the care and consideration.

Our visit to Pleasant View Cemetery in Sherwood, Oregon just kept getting better and better. Pleasant View did in fact have a pleasant view, perhaps of a large horse property.

Then there were nicely made and humorous signs.

Then there were a couple of zinkers of a style I hadn’t seen before — and one of them had actually been repaired. This is not easy to do, because zinc.

Then there was a memorial for Duncan the dog. Not 100% sure if this is a cenotaph or if Duncan’s earthly remains are really here, since most people cemeteries don’t allow animal interments, but I’m pretty sure that they are. It just seems like that kinda place.

Then there was a marble lamb that had most of its ears intact (only slightly chipped), which is rare.

All the marble memorials had been scrubbed sparkling clean and glowed with an almost eerie light. One of the cemetery caretakers has a passion for, and a clue about, cemetery restoration and how to do it right! That’s extremely rare.

There was a large, clean, current, coded map of burials, and another bulletin board with neat, clean information on it. At a lot of cemeteries, this information is years out of date, water-stained, and faded beyond readability. Not the case here.

The cemetery website, http://pleasantviewcemetery.org/, is also a pleasant surprise — well-organized, informative, community-oriented, and up to date. Really excellent work there Charlotte!

The very best surprise was last: a shed with volunteer supplies, all neatly organized and ready for anyone who wants to clean and maintain memorials — with detailed instructions. Wow!

During our short visit, a few community members came by — someone on a bicycle, someone on a horse, and someone walking a dog. Pleasant View is a cemetery as it should be — clean, well-organized, community-oriented, and attractive. Their volunteers have set the bar high and their enthusiasm and respect for their ancestors and community are what every community cemetery can aspire to. Well done!

---

Stump and Lamb explores personal growth and meaning via travels to pioneer cemeteries of the West.

This post was originally published at michellerau.com.