Long Valley Cemetery

Finally a beautiful day so we went for a walk in the local Cemetery.....
Now before you all laugh there is a tradition in America which started during the Civil War which ended in 1865 and is attributed to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.
Such was the carnage and terrible waste of human life that Lincoln revived a tradition from Ancient Greece in that Cemeteries were not just hallowed ground but places for reflection and tranquility for the living.
Our small cemetery in Long Valley is just such a place. In a tranquil setting with many small grave markers from the Civil War, the 1st and 2nd World Wars and the Vietnam War that lie side by side with the original farmers and their families and a tragically large number of small children in the mid to late 1800s.
Jacob S Clawson of the 4th New Jersey Volunteers died on the battlefield at the age of 23 years 4 months and 6 days.
Most of these cemetery 'parks' are immaculately kept and to this day people are frequently seen quietly strolling through and reflecting on what was.........


douglas