Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-21

Lawn Cemetery association was organized.
AT the present time the interments in this
largest of Omaha cemeteries number over
11,0O0. Yet only twenty acres" approx
mately, have been sold to 5000 lot owners
and for single graves. The tract is opened
and improved only as the demand may re-
quire, and much OF the 800 acres is still
under cultivation as farm land.
Forest Lawn can well be taken as a
high type of modern burial place, and as
such merits some description. It lacks any
columbariums, and has no creamatory, but
1t has several more Of less elaborate maui
soleums and hundreds OF tombs of costly
construction and most beautiful design
The receiving vault is the equal Of any in
the country Of similar size, and is used
quite extensively. Herein almost a hundred
caskets may be placed. the rental being 50
per month for each catacomb. There Is one
casket in the receiving vault that has a
touching story attached. 1t contains the
remains OF an only son of an Omaha couple,
one of the parents not being willing even
yet, after five years, that the body shall
be consigned to earth. The ultimate design
is to erect a mausoleum In which 1t shall
rest with the bodies of the parents after
their race is run.
FEluter CAary the rlrsts
A printer, w ]. Clary, was the first per-
son whose burial took place In Forest Lawn
cemetery, on November IL, 1886. and a brief
story attaches here. ]. H. Brackin had
been the owner Of the 800 acres comprising
Forest Lawn, and had sold the land to the
cemetery association for 500 an acre, He
went to California, where he died, leaving a
, request that he be buried near an old oak
tree on an elevation at about what was the
southern limit of his cultivated land. The
tree was found, and is yet standing, and
close by is the grave wherein the pioneer
rests, under the sod OF what was once a
field he plowed and reaped in strength and
pride. His grave is No. l on the record.
Talking of the burial of Clary on that
bleak autumn day almost a quarter of a
century ago, Superintendent Craig said; Il
remember II as we'll as If II was yesterday.
Clary's mother was heart-broken, and her
grief was greatly added to by the lonely
! and God-forsaken look OF the spot where
the grave was dug. Not a tree or a shrub
was anywhere near the grave, nor even a
blade OF green grass. The ground had been
only recently plowed, and altogether it
looked an unfit place to bury any human
being, The mothers anguish was so keen
that many were compelled TO walk away
from the scene, myself among others"
Today the Typographical union lot, where
Clary's grave is, has as pleasing an appear
ance as almost any in the cemetery. 1t
was one of the very first purchased after
the new burying ground was put on the
market. Not very far away is the highest
point in the cemetery, 100 feet above the
level OF the main entrance.
over omaha First Mayor.
over the grave of Jesse and Sophia Lowe
stands a monument Of classic beauty. Cut
from Italian marble, this monument was
one Of the notable designs exhibited at the
Philadelphia exposition Of 1876. 1t is topped
by an exquisitely modelled female figure,
with the star of hope on her brow, and the
general scheme OF the sculpture is pleasing
to a degree. The die bears the inscription,
Erected by the wife and children Of Jesse
Lowe, commemorative Of his life OF virtue
and honor"
Further inscription tells that Mr.. Lowe
was the first mayor OF Omaha The Lowe
lot is one Of the most frequently visited in
Forest Lawn. because Of its location and
the ornate shaft that marks II. Unfor-
tunately. like all other marbles I'm this
climate, the Lowe monument is showing
signs OF disintegrstion. although It has been
redressed twice since placed in position
something over twenty years age.
After passing the entrance. and Just back
OF and above the receiving vault, is the
plot dedicated TO the Grand Army OF the