Spirits Alive at the Eastern Cemetery | eNews, January 2015 Late Edition

18th & 19th Century New England Mourning Practices

Saturday, January 31, 2015
1:30 PM
Maine Historical Society

"Post Mortem Mourning Practices in 18th and 19th Century New England" will be presented by Libby Bischof, Associate Professor of History at the University of Southern Maine. She will explore by-gone cultural practices demonstrating grief at the passing of a loved one that included for women, a year of wearing only black clothing, or for men wearing a black arm band.

Our cosponsor, Maine Historical Society, will exhibit a collection of mourning artifacts!

Our lecture series is open to the public and free. Donations of any amount are gladly accepted at the door. All funds will be used for stone conservation in Eastern Cemetery. Seating is limited, and visitors will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you can't make this one, there are 2 more opportunities in our series. Find out more about the February and March offerings.

Portland’s History Docents Program

Train to Be a Proper Volunteer at a Portland Historic Site

History lovers! The Portland’s History Docents (PHD) Program is a collaborative effort of 8 organizations that have joined forces to provide a 9-week training program for new volunteer guides at each organization’s respective site.

Guide trainees gain information and instruction on local history, art, architecture, and public speaking. In return, PHD graduates are asked to commit to a year of volunteer time at one of the sponsoring sites:

• Eastern Cemetery (Spirits Alive)
• Evergreen Cemetery (Friends of Evergreen)
• Fifth Maine Museum
• Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad
• Portland Observatory (Greater Portland Landmarks)
• Wadsworth-Longfellow House (Maine Historical Society)
• Tate House Museum
• Victoria Mansion

Classes start March 5. Visit Greater Portland Landmarks volunteer page for details on times, dates, costs and contact information.

Subterranean Celebrities

Who is buried in the Eastern Cemetery?

We try to highlight a person (or their grave marker) who resides in the Eastern Cemetery in each issue of eNews. There are over 4,000—some say up to 7,000—possible stories buried in that sacred ground. Is there someone there you'd like to know a bit more about? Is there a stone that interests you? Do you have information on someone we could highlight as a Subterranean Celebrity? Let us know, and we'll try to add them to a future issue.

For now, if you'd like to visit past celebrities, an index of Subterranean Celebrity profiles has been added to our website. As always, there is also an index of past issues of eNews at the ready as well!

Shop with Amazon and Spirits Alive Gets a Donation!

Shop through AmazonSmile and Spirits Alive gets a donation

If you're an Amazon shopper, here's an easy way to support your favorite historic Maine cemetery!

1. go to smile.amazon.com
2. enter Spirits Alive in the box
3. choose the non-profit in Portland, Maine from the list

Voila! A portion of all of your purchases through smile.amazon.com will go to our efforts to support, conserve and promote this historic outdoor museum! Thank you!

$5 Friendships Help Us Help the Eastern Cemetery

Support the Eastern Cemetery with your giving

For only $5, you can help Spirits Alive keep the Eastern Cemetery alive for generations to come and join as a Friend. Through your support, you can help us, an ALL-VOLUNTEER organization, to continue to:

• Keep the gates open – encouraging the community to explore its open and safe green space
• Offer education about the cemetery and its residents to the public – through tours, lectures, and events
• Encourage and support the city in keeping the site clean and safe for visitors of all ages
• Preserve this incredible outdoor museum and sacred historic landscape

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