It’a a Ghost Town near Elko Nevada.
Tuscarora
About 50 miles northwest is a a very small place. And old place once inhabited by the pioneers, cowboys or at the very least adventurers. Have you seen this area? Not sure I would have driven my tent post permanently there. Must have been a tough bunch of people. I mean real tough. No couch watching Bones and eating Dorito chips in that town.
I am always drawn to the cemetery in these places. In there, there is the real evidence of class and style of the people who expired in this dry and unwelcoming place. A wide range of respect for the dead? Probably not. Just evidence of the financial status or position in the community. Here is an example of a headstone that stood about 6′ tall made of solid stone probably imported from Salt Lake City.
A beautiful marker from a man that lost his bride at the early age of 25. A sad story anytime a loved one is lost. What a great epitaph to his love.. “Gone but not forgotten”. Maybe a sure indication of no religious experience tying his marriage or relationship with her to a life after earth? All kinds of questions.
Then there is this headstone…….
A simple wood plate. The person beneath it now unknown to us who visit these days. Probably a beautiful headstone when placed over 100 years ago. Hand carved name, date of birth and date of passing inscribed on the plate. Maybe the work done by a family member or loved one. Why not out of stone? There are several wood headstones just like this one in the cemetery……
Name only. What is the history behind this headstone? Is it a part of another that over time had been vandalized, weathered or just aged? A man? A Woman? Or a Child? This particular head stone really move me to tears. A name not forgotten but a history vanished. What I would give for a journal of this “Hubbard”. Days on a horse? How did they survive day to day? Where did they get water? How many in their family? What games did they play….if at all. It may have been all about survival not fun and games. I wish I knew.
“DOVE” A nickname? A last name? An enduring message?
Look real close. The very faint partial wording of “in Memory “. In Memory of who? Someone important to someone else. A part of a family lineage. A spirit forgotten here on earth. Depending on what one may believe, maybe to return to rise again? Maybe to tell his/her story to others. I love to hear the stories.
Miles R. Dunton. Dien in October 17, 1906. At 57 years old. Same age as me. The fence around his headstone was made by a company based in of Salt Lake City. An ironworks company. The headstone was the nicest one in the cemetery. Mr. Dunton must have had money or the means in his family to provide this beautiful plot. There is a real interesting issue to me with this headstone. It appears to have a place for another person to be inscibed on it. Just left of Mr. Dunton. A place for a partner, spouse, child, or family member? It’s off balance with only his name. The two spires up to one point had to have some meaning as to the design. What happened to the other person? Did they move? Did they lose the means or finances to have their name inscribed? I will never know. Probably no one knows. It’s been over 100 years since Mr. Dunton was buried. Does he have living relatives now?
I stayed until sunset. All my thoughts revolved around who’s footsteps had been there before mine. How many sunsets looked like the one I was witnessing? It was very quiet. Peaceful. Probably one of the true reasons why someone could live to the age of 57 years old back then. They worked hard. Slept well? Ate only to survive not to enjoy. Sat at times and listened to the quiet. No cars, planes, or machines to interrupt the peace. Their stress was how to associate. And how to endure. I learned something in TUSCARORA. We are all people that someday will expire. Our spirits will leave us. Our memories will go with us. What will we leave behind????????