A Description Of Cemetery Visit

Cemetery Visit

The cemetery visit was very beneficial to me as I needed to do some research for my own family needs as well. Which is why I decided to visit the City of Mesa cemetery located on Central Avenue and Brown. Mesa cemetery was established in 1883 extending over 55 acres of land and built after a smallpox outbreak killed approximately 44 people. The City of Mesa Parks, Recreation, and Commercial department operate the cemetery. My first impression was that it was peaceful and welcoming from the atmosphere and decorations to the staff that assists you.

The cemetery is divided into five specific burial locations with their own separate landscaping and rules where caskets are placed below ground. The North View section is the newest of the five built in March 2013 with the ability to hold 1,400 plots that are allotted the option of either upright or flat gravestones. Trees that line the road border this area. Olive, fichus, ash and pine trees shade the Heritage section, which is the oldest area built in 1988, where only flat gravestones are permitted. The Garden section is decorated by rows of Italian cypress trees and only authorizes flat gravestones as well. Another region known as the Original section has olive, Italian cypress, and citrus trees that line the graves with a mixture of flat and upright gravestones. The fifth section is the Rolling meadow section that has a variety of trees to shade the area over both flat and upright gravestones. The only locations where infants can be buried are in the Garden and Heritage section with the use of only flat gravestones for infants. But what if you or your loved ones decide cremation is the path for you?

The Mesa cemetery provides three different options when it co...

... middle of paper ...

...the small things that create a cemetery. From the first person buried way back in the 1800’s to the scattering gardens that are offered today this is a not only a burial but a place to share and remember the loved ones that have passed away. Comparing the City of Mesa Cemetery to the ones in the reading I think the big change came from what is put on the gravestones being more meaningful rather than informative like the details such as name, age, how they passed, etc. The one thing I didn’t like about the visit is the fact that I felt disrespectful to the others around me that were there in mourning or simply to visit their loved ones. Although I know they thought I was there for the same reasons, to me I just felt an inner guilt of being there for my schoolwork but I eventually gained a sense of ease because the visit truly helped me with my own personal decisions.