MEMORIAL PARKS

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 148, 18 March 1939, Page 8 (Supplement)

MEMORIAL PARKS

Transformation Of Cemeteries THE FOREST LAWN IDEAL Following' upon the reference m these columns, the other day to the subject of transforming cemeteries into beautiful restful parks illld t ' Ui . 1 ‘ ,r J“u playgrounds, It is learned that in Japan.’ where they reverence their dead ■ evei-v bit as much as do European people;’if not more, the idea of a jumble of tombstones flanking narrow [>aths IS unkonwn. Like the American modern idea of .making cemeteries memorial parks with some claim to aesthetic beauty, the Japanese ceine,'teries are .far-extending parks, with groves of trees, and here and there a picturesque temple ; but always a p'ace that, invites visitors rather than repel.-. Mention was made in the earlier article of the Los Angeles burial place, known as Forest Lawn. 200 acres of sweeping lawns, trees, lakes, lovely statuary hnd an exquisite chapel. Bruce Barton writing of tins in Los Angeles gives me a finer thrill than Forest Lawn. The cemeteries of the world cry out mens hopelessness in the face of death. Their symbols, are pagan and pessimistic, their damp precincts add a final horror to the .grief of. parting; their upkeep is neglected! their very atmosphere is oppressive. No wonder that men shun them even in. the sunlight, and pass by with eyes averted on the other side. Forest Lawn is different. Here every tree and shrub and flower proclaims that ‘life is ever lord of death, and love can never lose its own. Here happy, couples come to be married in the Little Church of the Flowers. Here sorrow sees no ghastly monuments, but only life and hope. I like the statues of little children, stepping gaily into life like new souls into Heaven. I like the statues of beautiful women; and most of all I like big Moses, that giant among men, who did his work and lay down to slumber unafraid, sure that the God to whom he had talked would talk with him again. “Visitors come from everywhere. I could wish that they might go home to remodel their own cemeteries after the pattern of Forest Lawn —a noble resting place for the departed, and a perpetual life for those who live. Not till that happens will we be able to call ourselves a truly Christian nation. For we worship a Master who loved and laughed: to whom little children flocked. and in whose presence sick people found new health and joy. A. Master who on the very night before His death could say, ‘Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.’ and ‘Because I iive. ye shall also live.’ Surely if this faith is real to us our burying grounds should proclaim it in accents of beauty and power. The followers of a triumphant Master should sleep in grounds i”ore love'v than where they have livpark so beautiful that it seems a '•tf'b bit above the level of this world, a first sten toward Heaven.”

■ Attached to this ideal in cemeteries is a crematorium, which has. as an adjunct, a beautifully designed columbarium. where people so minded may keep the ashes of their dead in neat marble or glass-fronted niches, which are usually adorned with bronze wall vases for the reception of flowers. How Forest Lawn Was Created. On New Year’s Day, 1917, a man '• stood on a hilltop overlooking the small cemetery of some 55 acres, which had just been placed in his charge. He saw no buildings; only a patch of lawn and a few straggling headstones. Beyond the scant dozen acres of developed ground the hillsides rose, sere and - brown. In that moment a vision came to; the man of what this tiny “God’s acre” , might become; and standing there, he made a promise to the Infinite. When he reached home he put his promise into words and called it "The Builder’s Creed.” Today Forest Lawn’s 200 acres are eloquent witnesses that the builder kept faith with bis soul. The creed is as follows: — • “I believe in a happy eternal life. ’ "I believe that those of us left behind should be glad in the certain belief that those who have gone before have entered into that happier life. “I believe, most of all, in a Christ that smiles and loves you and me. “I therefore know’ the cemeteries of today, ate wrong because they depict a i) end, not a beginning. They have consequently become unsightly stone yards full of inartistic symbols and depressing customs: places that do nothing for humanity save a practical act;)(nd that not well.. •'“I therefore prayerfully resolve on tlitsWeiv.Year’s Day. 1917. that I shall endeavour tp build Forest Lawn as different'. as unlike other cemeteries as sunshine is unlike darkness, as eternal life unlike death-. I shall try to build Forest liawtr as a ■ great park, devoid of misshapen, monuments and other customary signs. Of earthly death, btjt tilled with towering trees, sweeping lawns.- splashing fountains, singit'fg Turds. beautiful statuary, cheerful flowers, noble memorial architecture w'ith Interior full of I'ght and colour, aiid 'redolent of the world’s liest history a fid romances. ”1 believe that these things educate and uplift a community. I’FoCest l,:iwn shall become a place where, lovers, new and old. shall love tp stroll and watch the sunset’s glow planning for the . future or reminiscing of-the past:' a nlace where artists si ndy and sketch : where school reach , ers bring iui.ppy children to see the th’ngs they road of in books- where little i-hiirchvs -inv’te triumphant in the knowledge that 'from their ni'lpits only words of love can tie snokett where ' nieoiurial'za'ion of hived -mein‘sen’tit it red marble and motorin' glass shall be encouraged but .••■nt "oiled b v acknowledged artists; a ola -e w!>or< the sorrowing will be soothed and strengthened because it will he God’s garden. A nlace 'hat will he undented bv an immense nubile "tire fund tin prliii-’nnl of which can never tie ex ponded only the income therefrom used to care r <o- -md perpetuate this Garden of Memory “This is the bii’ldor's dream: this js the builder's creed.”

(Poultry Notes on Page 5 of this section).