Thanks to a generous donor, the Lowell Cemetery Archive acquired a very special and rare item found on eBay. This police badge is for the Lowell Special Police for the Lowell Cemetery and Vicinity, a branch of the Lowell Police created in the 1880s to deal with an increasing problem: the theft of trees and flowers from Lowell Cemetery. Although tied to the Police Department, they were not employees nor paid by the Police. They were privately paid police.

A Lowell Sun article from 1888 announced there were four officers nominated and confirmed for the Special Police in Lowell Cemetery: James Palm, George Downey, W.H. Downing, and Robert A. Mulno. A Lowell City Document shows an 1894 petition to the Board of Alderman from the Trustees of the Cemetery to appoint officers to the Special Police.

During the holidays the number of people cutting down Christmas trees inside the Cemetery was a big problem, even in the 1920s. Superintendent Harry O. Mulno took out several ads in the local papers warning of the severe penalty for those who cut or mutilate any tree or shrub on the Cemetery ground. He warns that the Special Police will be protecting the Lowell Cemetery during the upcoming holiday and will have “No Mercy.”

The Lowell Special Police for Lowell Cemetery and Vicinity were an effective deterrent for thieves, and we are happy to report there has not been a theft of a tree or shrubbery reported in over 100 years.

The U.S. Government did not have a centralized system of marking the graves of soldiers until the Civil War. Simple wooden headboards were issued for those soldiers buried in military posts, but it wasn’t until 1861 when the War Department issued Order #75 that an official system was begun. Commanders of the National Forces had their Quartermasters in charge of wooden markers and burial records.

After the end of the Civil War, it was obvious that wooden headboards were not going to be a good choice for the very large number of fallen soldiers. The cost of supplying the wooden headboards was astronomical They needed to be replaced every 5 years.

By 1873 Secretary of War William Belknap designed what would be known as the “Civil War type” headstone. These marble or stone upright markers have a sunken shield with the soldier’s grave #, rank, name, and state. They were 12” high, 10” wide, 4” thick. They would be used for Union soldiers in National Cemeteries and private cemeteries. They would also be issued for the graves of veterans of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican war, and the American Indian Wars. The design was later approved for the veterans of the Spanish American War (1898). By 1903 the size changed to 39” high, 12” wide, and 4” thick. It wasn’t until 1906 that the design was approved for Confederate graves with a pointed top and without the sunken shield. In 1930 the Confederate Cross of Honor was approved.

After WWI the “General Type” headstone was used for all veterans except those of Civil War or Spanish American War. With a slab design of American white marble, 42” tall, 13” wide, and 4” thick, these stones now listed the soldier’s name, rank, regiment, division, date of death, and state. Date of Birth was added in 1944. One could choose a religious symbol of a Latin cross or Star of David.

By 1936 the rise of garden-style cemeteries, which only allowed flat markers, necessitated a new design of veteran marker. The flat marker was made first of marble, then granite, and finally bronze in 1940. It was redesigned in 1973. It was only in 2001 that one could get a veteran marker for a burial in a private cemetery even if the grave was already marked.

I am not a pro photographer at all… but it’s been a hobby of mine for many years. My father gave me a camera when I was 8 years old and was dismayed that all I wanted to do with it was photograph nature. He wanted me to be the “family photographer.” Instead, I presented him with artsy photos of tree branches and rocks!

My inspiration comes entirely from nature! I love seeing plants and trees in different ways and in different lights during the seasons.

 I’ll be honest, at first what drew me to the cemetery was genealogy! I have a huge family tree that I’ve been researching and when I moved to Lowell 13 years ago, I wanted to find out if I had any relatives buried here and indeed, I do! As time has gone onward, I’ve been so inspired but the history of the graves here and their beauty year-round. It doesn’t hurt that the trees and flowers in the cemetery are such a beautiful complement to the monuments.

 I use an old Olympus Pen (mirrorless interchangeable lens digital camera) because it’s easy to use! Like I said, I’m no pro!

 I think my favorite things to photograph in the cemetery are different ways the light plays on some of the monuments… I really don’t have one favorite!