No Camels, Er, Unleashed Dogs Allowed in Cemetery
Katie Mercer, The Province (March 25, 2010)
This is normally the sort of story I’d tweet, but after my columbaria tour one sweltering Vancouver Saturday, I have a soft spot in my heart for Mountain View Cemetery. In an effort to get visitors to actually read (and hopefully heed) a sign, the City of Vancouver got silly:
No elephants.
No camels.
No dogs without leashes.
Dogs with leashes = OK.
According to the Province article,
“I hope the ‘no elephants’ policy provides a gentle reminder to others to keep the leash on their dogs,” [cemetery manager Glen Hodges] added.
The cemetery is the only one in the Lower Mainland that officially allows dogs on their grounds.
Hmm, I wonder about leashed camels…
The sign was designed by cemetery booster and civic historian John Atkin, who in small-world coincidental fashion was my tour guide last summer. For those in Vancouver he recommends an upcoming, day-long forum at Mountain View on April 24: The Final Disposition: De-Mystifying Death, Funerals, Cemeteries & Ceremonies. From the cemetery’s homepage:
A forum designed to address practical and philosophical matters on dying and death. Discussion begins with hospice care and continues with the role of funeral homes and cemeteries. Alternative options such as green burial and the importance of ritual and ceremony will end the day.
Wish I were there!
4 replies on “Elephants? No. Leashed Dogs? Check.”
Greetings from Wales.I,m trying to locate my late uncle,William Millan .Born Scotland 1901.Died 9 )ct 1934 Buried in Mount View
12 Oct 1934.Listed as returning solder of 1914-18 War.He emigrated from Scotland to canada in 1927.Can you help?
Hi, Edward,
I was able to find a directory and maps on Mountain View’s website. The directory confirms William Millan’s date of death as October 9, 1934, and states his place of burial as HORNE2/*/16/001/0013.
Here’s the main map on their site, and here are maps on which I marked your uncle’s grave:
Overview map (the blue arrow points to the general location of the grave).
Close-up map (the red arrow points to the exact lot).
It looks like he rests beneath the shade of a large tree. 🙂
Unfortunately I no longer live in Vancouver, so I’m unable to get a photograph for you. If you’re interested in something like that, you might contact Mountain View to see if they provide such a service, or if they can put you in touch with someone who does.
Here are some general photos of Mountain View.
I hope this helps! Have a great day.
Meg Holle
I do live in Vancouver, and I’m going to be up at Mountain View some time in the month of December, so I’ll take a photo and send it to you, Meg, and you can forward it on to Edward if you like.
That would be wonderful, Old Mortality! Thanks!