A Virtual Tour of Ross Bay Cemetery

I can clearly see them now, 20-odd years later: the two older ladies in the back row as they turned to each other, their faces puckered as if they’d just sucked a lemon.

As entertainment convener for the Cowichan Historical Society, I’d just announced that the next month’s speaker would be John Adams of the Old Cemeteries Society, Victoria.

It was the idea of talking about cemeteries that distressed these ladies.

Ooh, morbid!

Well, I beg to disagree.

I’ve spent 100s of hours, driven 1000s of miles, visiting cemeteries throughout southern B.C. and on the island. To coin a phrase, I’ve never met a cemetery I didn’t like.

Some, of course, have been standouts. My favourite, for a variety of reasons, is our own St. Peter’s, Quamichan.

But, much as I’m drawn by the peaceful settings, usually of trees and other greenery amid a surround of pavement and traffic, it’s the stories that appeal to me. I mean, seriously, if the headstones and family monuments were meant to be private, why do they write on them?

Hence the title of my 2012 book, Tales the Tombstones Tell: A Walking Guide to Cemeteries in the Cowichan Valley.

But it’s some of the wonderful stories of Ross Bay Cemetery that I’m going to tell you about in next week’s Chronicle.

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PHOTO: —https://www.findagrave.com