The Amazing Tombstones of Hope Cemetery

During a family ski trip to Vermont this past week, my husband (bless his heart) readily agreed to a day of cemetery visiting. Our first stop was a cemetery I've long been wanting to see - Hope Cemetery in Barre, Vermont, a place famous for both its granite and its granite carvers. Aside from the usual (but extremely ornate) angels and crosses, grave markers in Hope Cemetery include a full-size armchair, an oversize soccer ball, a biplane, a race car, and a huge cube balanced on one corner. The variety of symbols and sculptures is astounding, although there is one part of Hope Cemetery that is eerily uniform - every one of the 10,000 plus graves is made of the same Barre Gray granite.