Weird NJ as Catalyst for Cemetery Exploration

So here’s a short blog about my friends at Weird NJ, Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman. Back in the spring of 2016, I had some of my cemetery photography on display at the annual Smithville Art Walk, in historic Smithville, New Jersey. (There’s a link at the end to a blog I posted about that.) Well, Weird NJ was also one of the exhibitors.

During the exhibitor set ups, I strolled over to their table to meet the guys. Extremely gracious and friendly, they knew me, as I’ve had a few items published in their books and magazine. They had all kinds of Weird NJ items to sell spread across two tables – T-shirts, their various books, about a dozen stacks of back issues of Weird NJ magazine, etc. We chatted a bit and then went our separate ways.

Mark Sceurman (L) and Mark Moran in Smithville

That afternoon, being a nerdy superfan, I had to purchase a copy of Weird NJ magazine and get the Marks to autograph it. Hey – everybody else was doing it! They were doing this quite graciously all day long - here's a photo of a young fan getting his photo taken with the Marks behind the Weird NJ table, on the green at the Smithville Art Walk.

As I waited my turn, a woman asked Mark Sceurman if he could direct her to any, um, sites, where she could see .... and he completed her sentence for her - "ghosts?" She nodded her agreement. He laughed and said something like, "We don't have any control over when they appear!" I thought that was pretty funny.

I picked out a back issue of Weird NJ with a cemetery statue on it, paid my five dollars, and asked the Marks if they would sign it. They did and Mark Moran added the speech bubble you see here: "I'm watching you Ed!"

The thought hit me when I was talking with them that Weird NJ magazine might very well have singlehandedly started the trends of cemetery photography and abandoned site exploration. Well, maybe they didn't actually start the trends, but Weird NJ created a forum for people's stories and photographs, so it certainly promoted and helped to broaden peoples' interest in these areas. Their “Cemetery Safari” sections have always intrigued me! The magazine began in 1989 and is published twice yearly. There is also a website for your on-line enjoyment.

References and Further Reading:

The Weird NJ website
The Weird U.S. website
Weird N.J.in Smithville!

http://thecemeterytraveler.blogspot.com/2016/04/weird-nj-in-smithville.html

"Visitations" - by Comic Book Creator Scott Larson

Comic book creator Scott Larsen has a unique and interesting idea. It is one I would like to share with my Cemetery Traveler readers.

Back in the winter of 2015-16, I saw a few of Scott's posts on Instagram. They involved graphic art drawings of cemeteries, so I became intrigued. Scott’s comic book project, Visitations, was created and drawn by him, the writing shared with Len Strazewski. It is set in crime-ridden Victorian-era Chicago. Gracehill Cemetery, a fictitious Victorian graveyard in that city, plays a central role in Visitations. Scott has drawn his versions of actual monuments in actual Chicago cemeteries. Some of them come to life! It’s a fabulous idea. Other real Chicago locations are drawn into the story.

Issue #1 opens with a crime committed in Gracehill, Chicago’s oldest cemetery.

Scott tells me:

"Gracehill is a fictional cemetery based on Graceland and Rosehill cemeteries in Chicago. Both are resting places for many of the city of Chicago founders. Rosehill is in the neighborhood I grew up in and my Great Grandfather is buried there. I recently learned that my Great Great grandparents, who were immigrants from Sweden are buried in Graceland. Working on a genealogy project for my family I went to see their graves and was astounded by the monuments that were in the cemetery. Around this same time I was looking for a new project to work on. The characters, some of whom are based on the monuments, and the plot for the first issue came to me in a dream after I had visited and the story progressed from there."

Scott was gracious enough to send me some photos of himself with some of the monuments he has drawn for Visitations. Maybe my readers recognize some of them? For a good introduction to Visitations, let me quote from Scott’s Indiegogo fundraiser site:

What is Visitations?

"Visitations is a story of Chicago, as witnessed through the eyes of characters residing in the city's oldest cemetery. It's part historical fact, part fantasy horror, and part adventure. As the narrative unfolds, the history of Chicago unfolds as well. From the Great Fire of 1871 to the election of President Barack Obama, Visitations tells a tale of rebirth and the growth of a modern metropolis.

Meet Clayton Blackwood, magician and adventurer living in Chicago at the turn of the century. Blackwood and his ghostly group of friends believe they have successfully robbed crime boss Diamond Jim Colosimo of a cursed object. Little do they know they have the wrong talisman. When a mysterious stranger from Blackwood's past unleashes the horror they were trying to prevent throughout the city, this group of apparitions must leave the safe confines of the cemetery in which they reside and face their worst nightmares."

Scott Larson with one of the monuments he drew into his story

Earlier I mentioned Scott’s fundraising site on Indiegogo. What’s that all about? Issue #1 of Visitations was, for a limited time, available as a free download. A hard copy was also available (for $6, including shipping). However, Issue #2, due out at Halloween 2016, will be a bit more elusive. It’s creation was dependent upon Scott raising $3500 to cover the cost of publishing.

Crowdfunding websites like GoFundMe and Indiegogo may not be such a novel concept in this day and age, but I have to give Scott Larson credit for making this work. People are typically not willing to give you money to fund a project unless they believe in what you’re doing. Scott successfully funded Issue #2 of Visitations this way. He met his $3500 goal.

Gothic architecture never looked so good!

Scott sent me a copy of Issue #1 and it was great fun reading. Its basically to introduce us to all the characters (check out the links at the end to learn more). Now, how would you cemetery enthusiasts out there like to be drawn into Scott’s next comic?! Scott offered, in his Indiegogo campaign, that for contributions over a certain amount (see link for details), he would draw you in as your choice of a cemetery monument or ghost in Issue #2! I donated some money to fund it, so with any luck, I’ll end up a ghost so that I may forever haunt my enemies (one of my secret desires).

Some of Scott's artwork from his Google+ site

Visitations Comic Book Issue 2 “The Great Balloon Disaster”

BE A CEMETERY RESIDENT THIS GOTHIC STEAMPUNK COMIC BOOK SERIES!

I ran a few questions by Scott for Cemetery Traveler readers:

How can someone purchase or download a copy of Issue #1 at this point?

"Anyone who would like to read a digital copy can contact me by email at visitationscomicbook@gmail.com. I'll send that person a PDF of the issue for FREE.

Print copies are currently SOLD OUT. There will be a second printing coming soon. A first print can still be found in 2 Chicago comic shops:

Graham Crackers Comics ( Chicago Loop location) 312-629-1810

Chicago Comics 773-528-1983

Supplies are limited and once they are gone there are no more."

How do you share the writing with Len Strazewski?

"Len is acting as a creative consultant so far. I'm doing the writing and he's helping with the dialogue. He has really helped with the development of the characters. When I took the story to him to get his opinion and he developed the backgrounds and origins for each on the spot (I had no clue what the histories were since the first story came from my unconsciousness). His favorite character is The Entertainer (the headless man) and Len has a story that he will be writing for him that has ties to present day Chicago."

Visitations comic book creator Scott Larson

I hope you will join Scott Larson in his Visitations adventure! Please follow Scott at these links:

    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ScottLarsonIllustration/

    Twitter https://twitter.com/scottjlarsonart

    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/scottjlarsonart/

    Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/100238839086932795882

Sons of the Revolution

Prior to finding this grave marker in a cemetery, I had not heard of the "Sons of the Revolution." As we near America’s Independence Day, the Fourth of July, let’s delve a bit deeper into this. I found it as I was roaming through St. Andrew’s Cemetery in Mount Holly, New Jersey, back in the spring of 2016, when I noticed this bronze plaque at a veteran’s grave. I’ve been drawn to these small bronze memorial markers for the past several years – mainly because they seem to be slowly disappearing as people steal them for scrap.

I had heard of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the D.A.R., but oddly, not the Sons. A fraternal organization, the Sons of the Revolution was formed in 1876 to keep the history of the American Revolution alive, through people with direct lineage to those who fought in the war. There are some links at the end where you can investigate the Sons and Daughters further.

The Sons of the Revolution annual board meeting will be held Oct. 7-9, 2016 at Fraunces Tavern at 54 Pearl Street (near Battery Park, Lower Manhattan) in NYC. This is an awesome place to grab a beer, by the way - it is where Gen. George Washington took his men for beers! This place is steeped in American history. On the eve of July 4, 2016, the museum at Fraunces would be a wonderful place to spend a few hours, if you happen to be in New York City. The tavern is about a block from the port of the Staten Island Ferry, which itself is a wonderful attraction – you glide by the Statue of Liberty!

I was at Fraunces a few years ago and I must say, the period furniture, flags, signed documents, paintings, and sculpture are amazing to see. Rooms upon rooms were filled with artifacts (some of which you can see at this link to Fraunces Tavern® Museum), and the rooms themselves were filled with Wall Street-types at happy hour! It’s interesting to consider this place has been in continuous operation since 1719, making it the oldest restaurant in New York City; Samuel Fraunces purchased the property in 1762.

Fraunces Tavern, from the website http://forknplate.com/2014/10/21/the-7-oldest-restaurants-in-new-york-city/

Not many people think of New York when they think about the Revolutionary War. However, Fraunces’ was a central meeting place for Loyalists during the war. Samuel Fraunces kept the tavern open during the period of British occupation of New York. Once the British were defeated at the Battle of York Town in 1781, the tavern evolved into an American government “headquarters while negotiations with the British concerning their evacuation from the City were underway” (ref.).

 

George Washington in the Continental Army, by C.W. Peale (Ref.)

I was fascinated by the account below, which describes an emotional scene from the end of the war (excerpted from the Memoirs of Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge (1830) in the collection of Fraunces Tavern Museum): 

"On November 25, 1783, British troops left New York City – the last American city to be occupied. This day would later be referred to as Evacuation Day. George Washington led his Continental Army in a parade from Bull’s Head Tavern in the Bowery to Cape’s Tavern on Broadway and Wall Street. New York Governor George Clinton’s Evacuation Day celebration was held at Fraunces Tavern. During the week of Evacuation Day George Washington was in the City, and he made use of the Tavern by dining in and ordering take-out.

On December 4, 1783, nine days after the last British soldiers left American soil, George Washington invited the officers of the Continental Army to join him in the Long Room of Fraunces Tavern so he could say farewell."

Washington then headed to Annapolis where he resigned his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. From there, he went on to bigger and better things. Thanks to the Sons of the Revolution and their bronze grave marker, for giving me the idea to research this piece. Another bit of history as we celebrate the anniversary of our nation's independence.

References and Further Reading:

The Sons of the Revolution

Daughters of the American Revolution  

Fraunces Tavern® Museum  
Fraunces Tavern

History of the Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York