I have been doing genealogy research for years and thought I was
familiar with all the terms used in genealogy and in cemeteries. However, I
encountered a new word this week at the FGS conference: columbarium.
Thanks to Stanley Clarke, I now know that a columbarium is a place where cremation
ashes, or cremains, are stored or buried.
Several months ago I mentioned the introduction of the Oregon
Burial Site Guide, compiled by Dean H. Byrd, co-compiled by Stanley R. Clarke
and Janice M. Healy. However, I had not seen this new reference book
myself until this week’s conference, where I spent some time turning the
pages of this huge reference work. This 1,216-page tome has got to be the ultimate
reference on burial places in Oregon. The amount of information and trivia in
this book is almost overwhelming. To be sure, the Oregon Burial Site Guide
does not list all the people who are buried in these cemeteries. (Such a publication
would fill tens of thousands of pages!) However, the Oregon Burial Site Guide
lists each burial place in Oregon and gives information as to its location,
affiliation, and much, much more. It covers the largest cemeteries down to some cemeteries that are
as small as only one grave. The 1,216 pages are crammed with information.
One of the things that caught my eye in the Oregon Burial Site
Guide is a picture of what has to be one of the most unusual burial sites
in the United States. The Tillamook Rock Lighthouse sits on a tiny island off
the coast near Seaside, Oregon. The lighthouse on this tiny rock was decommissioned
some time ago and then was turned into a columbarium.
The rock that supports the lighthouse isn’t much bigger than
the lighthouse itself. The rock has sheer vertical cliffs on all sides that
make it impossible for boats to land. Years ago, passengers were transferred
to and from the lighthouse by a Bos’un’s Chair that would swing beneath
a rope, tethered on one end at the top of the cliffs and at the other end on
board the boat as it tossed up and down in the waves. I bet that was an interesting
ride!
Access today is by helicopter. The scenery at Tillamook Rock is
gorgeous, and it looks like a great place in which to spend eternity.
Tillamook Rock is only one of the thousands of cemeteries, columbaria,
and other eternal resting places listed in this new book. You can find more
information about the Oregon Burial Site Guide at www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/obsg.html
Dick Eastman Online
