Friday, April 1, 2016

#AtoZChallenge - About the Maple Grove Cemetery


It seems pretty appropriate that my "A" post is the story of how the Maple Grove Cemetery came to be! 

We moved into this house in 2002, but I didn't really decorate much until 2008.  I'm not sure what the inspiration was, but I had the ghost & Jack-o-lantern blowmolds and decided to make some cheesy headstones out of plywood (most of which are still being used!)  

2009 found me researching and building a full-sized toe-pincher coffin.  

2010 was a turning point, I discovered the wondrous wealth of information known as the HalloweenForum!  

2011 finally earned the cemetery an actual name.  

And there have just been tweaks & improvements since then. 
2008 -  It looks so quaint!
I clearly had just set it up, since the leaves are green and still on the trees.  
This would have been taken in very late September / very early October since I won't set up until after my daughter's birthday on 9/28. 

The story behind the name?  When I was a kid, we spent a lot of weekends and some summers up north (I just wrote about it recently) at "The Farm".  It is an 1890-era farmhouse on 120 acres on the edge of the Isabella Indian Reservation (of the Saginaw Chippewa tribe).  There is an old one-room schoolhouse about 1/2 mile away at the corner called Maple Grove so the name carried on to our place, just because that's just what the old timers did.  I was always fascinated with that little place, so when it finally clicked that I have 2 huge maple trees in my front yard here......Maple Grove Cemetery was born!

2011 - the first sign

2015 - with the new sign.  Amazing how good an old bed headboard looks!
These were actually taken at Halloween.
The daytime one was 11/1 and the night one probably a couple days before since it rained on the big day. 

People think I'm odd since Halloween is never far from my thoughts.  
I'm always looking for ideas that would fit in the cemetery. 

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22 comments:

  1. Great A-Z Challenge start to 1st April. @CazsBooks http://cazgreenham.blogspot.com Welcome Aboard Greenham's Yacht dropped by

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    1. Thanks! I like your variety theme, too. Good luck!

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  2. Looks spooky :) and I love the personal relevance of the name.
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

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    1. I told the hubby that if we ever move, we'll have to find a new house with maple trees because of this!

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  3. Your Halloween cemetery looks amazing! It's always fun decorating for Halloween :)

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    1. Thanks, I enjoy it a lot. I get home from work before the school bus drives by with the elementary kids & its fun to see all the little faces pressed against the windows!

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  4. Such a neat idea! And I love the name (it's Maple Syrup Season!!!!)
    Now that I have a brand new house (not new, just new to me) I want to decorate it for Halloween, one of my favorite celebration, so I'll come back to steal (borrow) some ideas!
    The name of my cemetery would be Lilac Grove or Indian Chestnut Tree, based on the trees we have.
    :D

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    1. Those are both great names! I recommend checking out the HalloweenForum, but its really easy to lose a couple hours, looking at the threads.
      There's a house on the next street over that has their maple tree tapped, but I'd be afraid to do these old ones I have. Maybe the much younger one in the back yard? Something else to think about!

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    2. I'll totally go there to gather some ideas (procrastinate)!
      You can totally tap an old tree, it's really not bad! Cutting a branch is a bigger trauma to the tree. It's pretty easy to do, and fun to make your own syrup!
      Thanks!

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  5. This looks fantastic, especially at night when it's all lit up :) I don't think it's weird to enjoy and decorate for Halloween at all
    Debbie

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    1. Thanks! I've been really working on getting the lighting right at night!

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  6. I love it! I love Halloween. It's such a fun time of year.

    Stormy’s Sidekicks!

    @LGKeltner from
    Writing Off the Edge
    Parallels

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  7. I've thought of doing a tombstone in our yard, but it's never quite felt right. I think I know why now - you need more than one! A cemetery never has just one tombstone! I'll have to think about a few options before next Halloween ;)

    Tracy (Black Boots, Long Legs)

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    1. You definitely need more than one! I just sort of fell into decorating and it's addicting!

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  8. Oh, how fun. How long does it take you to set up nowadays?

    Liz A. from
    Laws of Gravity

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    1. It takes about a week because I don't do it all at once. 1st day is the fence & stones. Then the human skeletons. The lights. The blowmolds. Like that. But last year the hubby & I took the Monday after H'ween off work and it took us 6 1/2 hours to make it look like the cemetery never happened.

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  9. I love that you are as passionate about all things Halloween as I am about Christmas (I do a monthly countdown on the 25th of the month). This is going to be a fun series to follow :)

    Molly @MyCozyBookNook
    My Cozy Book Nook
    Revising Life after 50

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    1. I definitely don't do as much outside for Christmas. I do more inside then.

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  10. Love this post! I passed on the A to Z Challenge this year but you've inspired me to get my act together for next year - now to think of a theme.

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