The Sherburne History Center held the second of the 2019 Winter Lecture Series this week. 

 

The presentation featured genealogist and SHC Executive Director Mike Brubaker. Brubaker spoke on the art and architecture of cemeteries. There is more to tombstone design than just names and dates; the designs on headstones and graveyard statuary tell stories of their own. 

 

For example, animals often symbolize innocence and are often found on the graves of children. Anchors, crosses, and crowns are symbols of Christianity, while things in threes, like the points on an ivy leaf, symbolize the Trinity.  The popularity of different designs and symbols has changed over the years.

 

The Winter Lecture Series will continue on the fourth Wednesdays of February and March, at 2 p.m. The next presenter is SHC Program Coordinator Karah Hawkinson, who will present Feb. 27 on World War One. 

 

The March 27 program features teacher Renae Elert speaking on Alice Paul and the fight for women’s suffrage.

 

The lecture series is free, and all are welcome to attend.