The Washington herald., 1913-08-03
Lawn PARTIES
AMONG GRAVES.
Picnies Held IN Cemetery the
Latest Fad in St.
Louis.
GAMES ARE INDUCED IN
Hostess On Many Of These 0ecaissS
b Wife Of he Assistant SupeEia- (.
teadent Of Interments. .;

st. Louis, Aug 2-Lawn parties in q
cemetery constitute the very newest
North Side social thrill.
The young folk make merry In the
subdued lightNof parti-colored japanese
lanterns. and. occasionally, seek diver
sion by strolis among the white and
ghostly monuments for the dead.
So popular are these neighborhood
fetes that an invitation to spend an even-
Ing In Bellefontaine Is rarely declined.
The graveyard is especially favored for
church society festivals. largely because
Of the hospitality of Mrs. Francis G. Bur-
CESS. wife of the assistant superintend-
ent Of interments.
One Of these picnics was given by an
intermediate Christian EndesYor society
Monday night. Passers by from other
parts of the city were amazed at the
spectacle of girls and boys and their
chaperons enjoying themselves with
music and games under the picnic lamps
In the burying grounds. Residents OF
that neighborhood, however. have become
20 accustomed to such affairs that they
took 1t as a matter of course.
Find Nothing Depressing.
Mrs. Burgess. who is a member OF q
senior Christian Endeavor society, had
charge Of the affair, which has been pro-
nounced a distinct social success.
Whether 1t was because they have be-
come infected with her genial philoso-
ply or whether 1t was the natural heed
lessness of youth, the guests did not
appear to find anything depressing in
their proximity TO the hosts who have
found their last resting place beneath the
lawns of Beliefontaine.
Mrs. Burgess has spent virtually her
whole life within the confines of the
cemetery. Her father. w. l. Graydon.
became superintendent of interments
when he was twenty-one years old and
has lived there with his family. wife
and seven children. Mrs. Burgess ex-
planned something of her philosophy
Wednesday. q.
I'VE never realize" she said.. "thst
We We're living in an unusual place. We
often listened in wonder to people who
asked us il We weren't afraid to live
there. My mother used to say. There
Is less to be afraid OF here among the
dead than among the living downtown
From infancy we were taught to dis
regard ghost stories We used to tease
other children in school because they
believed in spooks. \ large tree OBJ
structed a direct view of the tombs
Just as our early training taught us to
he skepticai about the supernatural. so
sight of the graves.
Would Not Haunt Cemetery.
'If people did arise from the grave
they would haunt their old homes. not
the cemetery. To me 1t seems only
place where Gods work in pre-eminent
where his handiwork. the flowers,
bloom. have learned to love the GEM
etery's beauty, not to regard its sad
aspect. When funeral procession
passes, often say to myself: There's
some other poor heart as sad as mine
has been.' II we had ever had any
fear of the supernatural, our belief in
Christianity would have overcome II.
Mrs Burgess says even the bleakness
of winter does not fill her with desola-
ton. She thinks autumn the finest sea-
son. She says she often walks alone
among the graves in the evening.
She is a good-humored young woman
who smiles often. She laughingly spoke
of her fathers old horse as the only
member OF the household who seemed
to be alarmed about ghosts.
When he first came here he used TO
shy at every turn of road" she said.
but he, too. has lived 1t down and Is
more at home here now than anywhere
elseD