Question: This group gathered for a special project. Hairstyles and attire date the photo but several of the faces are easily recognizable today. Can you identify any of the people in the photograph and do you know the nature of their project?
Last week’s answer: The tall iron gates seen in last week’s photo are found on the south side of Tappan Street. They sit mere feet away from the edge of the road where they are mounted on a white cinder block building which bears a black cross on its facade.
The white building was originally erected to be used as a receiving vault for St. Mary’s Cemetery. The gates cover what had been the vault’s entrance. Their presence at the cemetery predate the vault by almost 20 years.
Located at the western edge of the village, St. Mary’s Cemetery is comprised of two adjoining parcels. The original section, the easterly part, was only three acres. Purchased in 1881, the area is accessed by an unpaved perimeter road that winds over and around the roots of tall old pine trees which shade the stones. The center of the parcel is the nucleus of the lots which radiate outward to the perimeter.
In 1927 the burying ground was enlarged with the addition of an 11 acre parcel immediately adjacent on the western side. At that time improvements were made to the original section.
A formal entrance was built in 1928 with brick pillars and iron gates opening into the unpaved lane from Tappan Street. The cement caps on the pillars were unable to withstand the stresses of winter and were soon replaced with marble slabs topped with crosses.
The white building was erected in 1946 to be used as a receiving vault as well as for cemetery services in inclement weather. After that use was discontinued, the large iron gates that had formerly flanked the main entrance were mounted over the vault doors.
In 1988 the newer section of the cemetery was consecrated. The area was surveyed and lots were laid out in linear fashion beginning at the west side of the vault. A landscape design was developed for the center section whose focal point is a large statue of Our Lady of Grace. The vault had been repurposed as a garage to house grounds equipment.
Burials in the original area include 24 Civil War veterans as well as veterans of other wars. Six priests are also interred there. Father Thomas McLaughlin, who served St. Augustine’s parishioners from 1973 until 1990, is interred in the newer section.
Though rarely noticed by passersby, the iron gates stand today as silent sentinels honoring those whose remains rest in its sacred grounds.
Randy Burrows identified the Tappan Street location in a phone message.
Email your guess to [email protected] or leave a message at 315-434-8889 ext. 310 with your guess by noon Friday. If you are the first person to correctly identify an element in the photo before the deadline, your name and guess will appear in next week’s newspaper, along with another History Mystery feature. History Mystery is a joint project of the Museum at the Shacksboro Schoolhouse and the Baldwinsville Public Library.
