Connecticut western news., 1911-06-29
WANT RECEIVING VAULT
 LOWER CEMETERY

laudabIe Efforts of Mrs. Corbt, Presi-
 dent of Cemetery Association in
 Behalf of Worthy Object.
 Canaan people who visit the Lower Cemetery cannot fail to be impressed by the excellent condition in which it is kept. In the opinion of those who have had opportunity to note the conditions during long term of years past. the cemetery has never, in all its history, shown evidence of such careful atten- tion as since Mrs. Corbit, as president of the Cemetery Association, has taken personal direction of the work of i'm provement, and especially the present season, when "God's acre" shows the cumulative results of the work of these past half dozen years and the skillful gardening of the present sexton, Alex Boinay, who is deyoting much of his time to beautifying and improving the place in accordance with Mrs. Oorbit's 8 ideas and suggestions.
 It has been said that the condition of a community's burial ground is safe index of that commumity's civilization. That being true, the Lower cemetery bears ample testimony of marvellous ad- vancement in the civilization of Canaan during recent years. It will not tax even short memory to go back to the time when rank weeds and wild grasses over-ran the graves; when the paths be- tween the sections were hidden head stones were lying flat upon the mounds 1; graves were caved in and sunken, fences were dilapidated and going into decay, the drives were ill-defined cow-paths, and everywhere were evidences of neg lect and-save>h here and there in indivi- dual instances-of forgetfulness and dis respect for the dead
 All this is happily changed. Dis. order has given way to systematic and tasteful arrangement of drives, paths, well kept burial plots, erect headstones, trimmed foliage, mown lawn relieved here and there with flowers and bloom ing shrubs. The dismal, gruesome place of death and decay has been transformed into garden spot, suggestive of rest and peace and hope. .4. ..@
 It is now the ambition of Mrs. Corbit -an ambition shared by many others l interested in carrying forward the good work-to see receiving vault construct ed, on the west side of the cemetery, a convenience that is established in other towns of less pretension and less public spirit than Canaan, and she has prepared paper for the signatures of such as fa- vor the project and are willing to sub scribe to the necessary fund for consum- mating It. The advantages of receiv- ing vault will appeal to all who will give the slightest thought to it. The day is inevitably coming when no public ceme. ] tery will be wit bout its receiving vault and Canaan should not be the last to adopt this necessary convenience. Mrs. Corbit has procured plans for vault that would be adequate to any require ment, containing receptacles for more. than dozen bodies, should the inclem. encies of weather or the convenience of families make it necessary to give tenn. porary sepulture to that number an adequate inner room where commit ment services may be read and heard by immediate mournezs porte-cochere for the protection of casket, bearers and mourners in stormy weather, and the entire structure designed along artistic and appropriate architectural lines. Such vault, constructed in marble, may be built at cost of about $1, TOO, and Mrs. Corbit is confident of the read mess of the people of Canaan to contri- bute their share toward the accomplish ment of this desirable object.