45 Acres of Precious Real Estate

Today is Memorial Day, one of my favorite holidays.  This affection began when I was in kindergarten and my dad got a new job as Sexton of the Provo City Cemetery in Provo, Utah.  We moved into the house on the corner of the cemetery and the cemetery office was part of our house. 

Each May, in the weeks before Memorial Day the grounds were bustling with activity as my dad and his crew readied this hallowed place for the big day.   Everything had to be green and trimmed.  About a week before, we would begin getting deliveries of flowers.  As they were delivered the name on the card would be searched in the files and the flowers placed on the appropriate grave.  This was something I was able to help with as I became able to read and understand.  The cemetery was laid out like a small town with Center Street running north and south and Main Street running east and west.  So finding the appropriate grave on the index cards in the office and then finding the grave was fairly simple.

But my favorite part of the Big Day was the display of the crosses on veterans’ graves and the Veterans Band that would come and play.  There was an evolution of how the veterans were honored and it continued past the time I moved out when I was eighteen.

I remember flags on the graves, scattered throughout the cemetery.  Then there were crosses with American flags on top.  But it was too easy to miss someone, so they chose a section in the “new” part of the cemetery to line up the crosses and flags.  On each cross there was an attached name plate and they were lined up in alphabetical order.  It was a very moving site, even for someone as young as I. 

They added a wooden monument in this same area where the crosses were.  Next a granite monument was made, an exact replica of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  This then became the center of the current monument.  Next to this are granite stone slabs extending out from each corner.  Names of all veterans buried in this cemetery are inscribed onto marble tiles attached to the stone extensions.  As veterans pass away their names are added and the monument kept up to date.

It was always an exciting day as people from all over would come and, basically, decorate my back yard.  But the importance and reverence of this event were instilled in me from a very young age.  And I will never forget the importance of the day, or those who gave of themselves, some giving the ultimate sacrifice.

Long ago the holiday expanded to honor not just veterans, but to pause to remember loved ones who have passed away.  So the Provo City Cemetery continues to hold a special place in my heart.  My dad was the Sexton there for 26 years.  Then nine years after retiring, it became his final resting place.  Seven years later my mom joined him.  I’m not often there for Memorial Day so my brother and his family usually do the honor of placing flowers on their grave, thus continuing a longstanding, family, Memorial Day tradition.