"Somewhere beyond the sink hole,

past the magnolia, under the live oaks,

a boy and a yearling

run side by side,

and are gone forever."   

-   Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, The Yearling

ELLA  
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By John Weilert 

EVERY SO OFTEN, Elmwood Cemetery is privileged to host a variety of educational projects for young people. One that's always interesting goes like this: the kids are taken on a tour of the grounds for the purpose of reading epitaphs on the gravestones. These inscribed tributes to the dead can reveal quite a lot. After the tour the students gather in Armour Chapel, and the project moderator leads a discussion about what these epitaphs say. The exercise eventually beckons each student to consider "What would you want your epitaph to say?"

This week we are doing it for real.

Sunday evening, August 4, Elmwood's beloved mascot, Ella the deer, was found dead. Ella had been shot, her body lying near Armour Chapel.

Ella was an improbable gift to us. During Memorial Day weekend of 2011 we discovered her as a newborn, curled up in the courtyard of a family mausoleum. Her mother had wandered into Elmwood from who knows where, and given birth. Several months on, the mother deer was killed by a car outside the cemetery. The fawn was left on her own. We were profoundly lucky to have Anita Gorman to turn to. Anita has been a long-time friend of Elmwood, and she wasted no time getting us the advice of wildlife biologists. Their conclusion was that we had two choices, both fraught with risks. First, we could try to relocate her to the wild. The problem with that, they explained, was deer are not easily transportable, and are subject to dying from fright. Moreover, the chances of survival in the wild for this young orphan were quite small. The second choice was to keep her at Elmwood, and let her adapt to the 43 acres of habitat. There was plenty to eat in the way of grass and leaves, and we were cautioned to avoid trying to tame her. Even then, they warned, the Elmwood option involved the hazards of traffic, feral animals, and interference by people. Her chance for survival was probably better than in the wild, but still --- improbable.

Elmwood has always had something of a flair for the improbable. After our cemetery was organized in 1872, it became the second non-sectarian graveyard in the city. Elmwood opened its grounds for families of different faiths and ethnicities at a time when such tolerance was not widespread. That policy flourished. And a century later, when Elmwood was close to being full, and income from the sale of graves dropped to a trickle, keeping the gates open appeared improbable. Thanks to the hard work and generosity of Elmwood's families and friends, the gates stayed open. So, what would we choose for our newly found fawn?

We chose Elmwood. She was a perfect fit!

Our new resident was dubbed Ella, which just sounded right. She adapted well to her home, and her innate ability to live off the land kicked right in. But she was alone, and it wasn't long before she took an interest in humans. She'd stand at a distance, her curiosity about us evident. When we moved about the grounds, she'd follow. We let her take it at her own pace, and the distance she kept began to shorten. Ella was growing to love people. and they loved her back. As she grew from fawn to doe her people skills grew right along with her.

Ella knew her priorities. She stayed close, comforting the bereaved at graveside, celebrating weddings in Armour Chapel, sharing company with military honor guards at veterans' burials, and always welcoming officers of KCPD East Patrol when they dropped by. It wasn't long before news of our skinny little inner-city deer began to get around. People came just to see her, take her photo, and maybe even get a chance to touch her. Art classes sought her out as a subject for paintings or drawings. She basked in the glow of attention.

One fine autumn day Ella raised the improbability bar. She was grazing peacefully, yet only a few feet away sat a small golden dog. Ella greeted us as usual, but the dog was fearful of humans, and retreated. Ella sensed her fear, and moved back to comfort her. It was clear that Ella had taken the bewildered dog under her wing.   The two became inseparable. Ella seemed to take this extraordinary friendship as if it were the most natural thing in the world. But winter was coming, and we knew the little dog could not survive living outside in the months ahead. At our request, our friends at Wayside Waifs intervened, and found the dog a loving home. Ella remained at her friend's side until the moment the dog was rescued.

And now we must write her epitaph. Ella has earned her place of rest at Elmwood, the only world she knew. Her wonderfully improbable life becomes a worthy chapter in the narrative that is our cemetery.

For the countless ways in which so many reciprocated Ella's goodness, we thank you.

To Elmwood's families and friends, we will continue to take the improbable in stride, and together we will keep the gates open.

And, to the shooter: How will you be remembered?

John Weilert

President, Board of Trustees

Elmwood Cemetery Society

PHOTOS BY BRUCE MATHEWS 

THE ARMOUR CHAPEL  

DOORS

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By Bruce Mathews

Armour Chapel Restored Doors

Detail of restored door and handle

FINALLY, through the generosity of Elmwood friends Mary Davidson Cohen and Jim Bernard, and the expert craftsmanship of Eric Haynes with Superior Woodcraft, the main doors to the Armour Memorial Chapel have been restored to their original grandeur. The result, as shown in these photos, is more than could have been expected. Not only has the woodwork been completely restored, but the beautiful hardware as well. The original lock has been rebuilt and for the first time in who knows how long, we can actually lock and unlock the chapel with a key that does not work a padlock. How cool is that?

Eric has now taken the side doors, leading to the lower level of the chapel, into his shop where he is hard at work on them.

Next up, the roof, which by the way, we have reached the halfway mark toward our fundraising goal. So, if you would like to help, donations are always welcome. Just designate your donation to help fund the new roof for the Kirkland B. Armour Memorial Chapel.

PHOTOS BY BRUCE MATHEWS 

WHERE DID I COME FROM?

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If you have an ancestor buried in Elmwood Cemetery, we would like to hear from you. The Elmwood Cemetery Family History Project has been created to share information and perpetuate the life stories of those buried here. Family histories, stories, biographies, family photos are treasures meant to be shared.

The Kubis-Spangler Familt, circa 1915 Courtesy of Glenn & Nadine Kubis

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FAMILY HISTORY PROJECT 

TO ASSIST GENEOLOGISTS, family members and historians, the Elmwood Cemetery Society is compiling a family history project. The project includes information on the more than 36,000 individuals buried in Elmwood, along with their ancestors/descendants who are not. The family history project includes birth, marriage, death and burial dates/locations, biographies, family genealogies, and sources of information. It is, like all genealogical undertakings, a work in progress. You can view the project at www.ElmwoodCem-KC.org.

To submit materials, or if you have any questions about this project, please email Elmwood Cemetery Society board member, Bruce Mathews, [email protected].

ELMWOOD GIVES BACK

 PHOTOS BY BRUCE MATHEWS

  

IF YOU THINK that Elmwood owes its current state of beauty to the scores of volunteers who offer their toil and sweat each month you are absolutely correct. But, from another perspective, in its own unique way Elmwood is able to give back to the community. The lives of each person who contributes their time and energy is enriched by their volunteerism. This collection of images from just one of the monthly volunteer work days this summer illustrate the many ways the lives of Elmwood's friends are touched.

 

 

Faculty adviser Judi Wollenziehn from Bishop Miege High School, along with student members of "The Graveyard Shift", place yet another new marker on the grave of a child which had not been marked in almost 100 years. When a student or Boy Scout can play a role in helping to perpetuate the memory of complete stranger, especially a child, their lives are changed forever.  

 

Volunteers Randy and Leslie High pick up limbs from a dead and dangerous tree which had to be removed.

 

Regular volunteers David "Pete" Petersen, Jim Taylor, Loxie Stock, and Richard DeHart assist ECS board members Paul Benson and Bruce Mathews clear away debris from dead and dangerous trees that had recently been cut down by Mike Mathews, assistant golf course superintendent at Mission Hills Country Club.

 

Boy Scout Phillip Maggio, Troop 262, becomes the 29th scout to earn his Eagle rank by completing his service project in Elmwood. Phillip was aided by other members of the troop as well as his parents, friends and scout leaders.

 

Of course, Ella was on hand to sidewalk superintend.

 NEW ELMWOOD CEMETERY BOARD MEMBERS   

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 FROM THE ARCHIVES 

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by Bruce Mathews