THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 25, 1995 TAG: 9505230126
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT McCASKEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Picnicking in a cemetery.
Unusual?
Today, perhaps, but in Victorian times the practice was a celebrated ritual.
The tradition is making a comeback in Norfolk at the first Elmwood Cemetery Decoration Day on Monday.
``Victorians were extremely sentimental about death,'' said Margaret Elinsky, director of Norfolk's Hunter House Victorian Museum, which is sponsoring the event. ``In those times it was an honor to have a lovely stone or plot, and the tending of the grave was obligatory. It was considered a duty of the women. After seeing to the gravesites they'd relax for a bite to eat.''
The museum will provide picnickers with old-fashioned box lunches, as well as flowers and greenery for decorations. There also will be a memorial service and tour.
Elmwood Cemetery, on the north side of East Princess Anne Road between Monticello Avenue and Church Street, is the chosen site because it was established in 1853 during the heyday of the Victorian period. The cemetery contains rich funerary art and ornate statuary associated with the era, Elinsky said.
Elmwood is the resting place of the Hunter family, who founded the museum, and of many other old Norfolk families, including the Seldens and the Grandys.
The day in the cemetery is an extension of the Victorian experience, said Elinsky, a Norfolk native who also has relatives at Elmwood:
``Victoriana is riding a wave of popularity right now,'' she said. ``People can associate with the period because it wasn't that long ago. It was the time of their grandmother and their great-grandmother.''
The Victorian era lasted from 1837 until 1901 in England during Queen Victoria's reign. The period is characterized by detailed and often excessive architecture and very proper social attitudes, with a strong sense of order tempered by a good dose of sentimentality, Elinsky explained.
``We're trying to perpetuate the Victorian tradition,'' said Elinsky, 38, who is president of the Tidewater Victorian Society, which is co-sponsoring the day. ``This is the first time Hunter House has had a memorial observance at the cemetery. Hopefully, it will become an annual thing.''
At 240 W. Freemason St., the museum was opened in 1988. Eloise Hunter, who died in 1965, requested a foundation be established and set aside part of her estate for that purpose.
The home remains much as it was when built. The exterior of brownstone, granite, brick and copper is fashioned in Romanesque Victorian style with an abundance of archwork. Inside is furniture dating to 1830, detailed woodwork and original paintings by artists from the Hudson River Valley school. The ``inglenook,'' a raised fireplace on the landing, is the ``jewel in the crown,'' Elinsky said. Tours are offered from Wednesday through Sunday.
Several dozen people are expected to take part in the day in the cemetery, mostly docents from the museum and members of the Tidewater Victorian Society. But the affair is open to the public, and Elinsky is encouraging anyone to come out, including children.
``It's not a scary thing,'' she said. ``Family visits to the cemetery were a typical part of Victorian family life. The event will help recreate Victorian lifestyles.'' MEMO: The fee for Elmwood Cemetery Decoration Day is $5, with reservations
requested. Call 623-9814.
ILLUSTRATION: In Victorian garb, Joan Reynolds sits on a bench at Elmwood
Cemetery.
by CNB