Forest Cemetery offers area for pet burials
September 18, 2003
by Jennifer Swanson
The Oskaloosa Herald
Forest Cemetery has talked about opening a
section for pet burials since 2001, said cemetery manager
Marilyn Lane. But the deaths last spring of two of the
cemetery's popular geese moved the issue to the forefront.
Now the two geese, Ike and Mike, are the first
animals buried in Forest Cemetery's new Garden of Eternal
Companions, just north of the north cemetery pond, behind the
speaker's podium.
The two gray geese with bright orange beaks
were exceptional honkers, friendly and very popular with
children and others who came to the cemetery to see cemetery
birds, which include ducks and swans as well as several wild
Canada geese.
Lane said someone saw the geese on the south
pond last April, then went to get her children to visit the
birds. But when they arrived back at the pond some 45 minutes
later, Ike and Mike "were just lying there, side by side, like
they were asleep."
"Everybody was just sick," Lane said. "And the
kids were so attached to them, because they were the really
friendly ones."
The deaths were never investigated; cemetery
staff believe someone must have killed the geese. But they have
now been laid to rest in a place of honor, just north of the
north cemetery pond.
Lane said many people had been asking her
about providing a section for pets at Forest Cemetery. "There was no place to bury their pets, and
they felt like there was a need for it," Lane said.
But as word got out that Forest had a pet
cemetery in the works, Lane said a couple of people complained
about the idea. One woman told her, "I just want to go on
record as saying I'm against it," Lane said.
To avoid offending people by burying animals
in areas where people are buried, Lane and the staff chose the
area north of the north pond, behind the speaker's podium. The
area lies between two roads, and no humans are buried there,
Lane said. Lots are sold in various sizes, ranging from 2-by-2
feet for cremated remains, to 4-by-3 or 4-by-4 feet for dogs and
other larger animals. Someone wishing to bury a large animal
such as a horse would simply buy multiple plots, Lane said. Lots
range in price from $100 to $175 each, depending on size.
People can purchase upright or flat headstones
in an area that has room for more than 1,800 plots.
But people won't have much choice about the
exact location of their pet's grave, at least not yet. Lane said
she will fill in the pet cemetery by alternate rows. That way,
if someone has more than one pet, the animals can be buried
close together.
"We like the nature look," Lane said of the
location, which is bordered by the pond on the south and woods
on the north. "We hope to have a gazebo and a flower garden
someday." People could scatter a pet's ashes in the flower
garden, Lane said.
Lane added that people have many
misconceptions about Forest Cemetery. Some believe it is owned
by the city, while others believe it is a privately owned,
for-profit business.
Actually, Lane said, Forest Cemetery is a
non-profit, tax-exempt organization. It has embarked on a
program to pave roads, remove unsightly or dead bushes and
trees, and begin a replanting program - all of which is
constrained by the cemetery's budget.
While Forest has perpetual care money
invested, the cemetery can use only the interest on that money,
which has dwindled to nearly nothing with today's low interest
rates.
Still, Lane said, she is proud of her
cemetery, which has been in place for 143 years since this past
August. She said people come to Forest from all over
the United States doing genealogy research, and many tell her
Forest is the prettiest and best-maintained cemetery they've
seen.
"We get a lot of compliments," Lane said.
(From The Oskaloosa Herald, September
18, 2003)
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