Extensive History of Woodlawn Cemetery

Toledo's Historic Woodlawn Cemetery

LINDA A. JEFFREY, SANDRA DUVAL, KERRI A. HAGAN, BRIAN LESZCZ,
TRACI McCLOSKEY, JAMIE L. WRAIGHT, KYLE E. BANKS, PATRICIA A CROSBY,
MATTHEW IRELAN, DANIEL J. NIESE and BRIAN SPIKE

The founding of Woodlawn Cemetery in 1876 represented the flourishing of the rural cemetery movement in Toledo. Urban planners in America had begun to establish rural cemeteries on the outskirts of cities in the 1830s as one way of addressing the problems of overcrowding, public health risks and lack of leisure space in rapidly growing cities. Many urban graveyards had become offensive - depressing, neglected and crowded - causing observers to describe some as little more than "stinking quagmires." They also failed to provide the dead with a permanent resting place because as cities grew and relatives moved away, land-hungry developers often seized the properties and uprooted the dead. (Note 1)

Beginning in the United States with the establishment of Mount Auburn, near Cambridge, Massachusetts, rural cemeteries proliferated during the 1830s. Careful planning characterized the new burial grounds, which were originally built outside cities on large tracts. Designers emphasized nature and art with landscapes that included winding paths, lakes, gently undulating land, trees and originality of monuments. Americans were able to beautify and sentimentalize the rituals associated with death through the architecture, layout and iconography of rural cemeteries. The lush landscapes promoted inspirational healing as the living paid their respects to the dead while contemplating life in pleasurable natural surroundings complemented by graceful architecture. (Note 2)

Images of hope and immortality prevailed throughout nineteenth century American cemeteries, as angels and personal mementos engraved into stone replaced the earlier skull and crossbones of New England Puritan culture. Attitudes toward death in the United States had undergone significant changes as the harsh views of the Puritans, which emphasized fear and finality, gave way to a gentler spirit. Statues stood on pedestals holding ivy (for memory), oak (for immortality), poppy (for sleep) and acorns (for life). These symbols affirmed belief in continued existence beyond death, while sepulchral art portrayed death as a heavenly finale to life. (Note 3)

Rural cemeteries encouraged the development of family plots where several generations could be interred together. A large family monument identified the area, with each individual's space designated by a smaller stone; those dedicated to marriage featured a shared marker with names side by side. A reverence for the innocence of childhood resulted in elaborate monuments created exclusively for children that included domestic artifacts. Those who died before the age of five were usually represented as babies, unclothed to signify their moral purity. Older children were clothed and portrayed as individuals, with particular attention devoted to facial features on their monuments. (Note 4)

Some reformers believed that rural cemeteries could be culturally and morally uplifting for city dwellers and at the same time instill a sense of historical continuity and social rootedness. Representing America's first large, open public spaces, they served as models for the nation's park systems. Urban dwellers came to view rural cemeteries as public gardens for recreational purposes. Today rural cemeteries have become "pastoral oases in the midst of urban sprawl" as cities have grown up around them. (Note 5)

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Toledo followed the national trend when it developed Woodlawn Cemetery three miles from the downtown, which was outside city limits at the time. The area's first cemetery had been established in 1830 on two acres of land at Madison and 17th Streets. Ten years later city officials abandoned the site. Another cemetery opened on Bancroft and Lagrange, while one at City Park and Dorr Street was sold for back taxes. In 1839, Forest Cemetery, on eight acres of land at Bancroft and Stickney, became the first permanent site for burial of the dead. By 1865 overcrowding called for expansion of Forest or for a new cemetery. (Note 6)

A committee composed of state senator James C. Hall and attorneys William Baker and Darwin E. Gardner met to discuss solutions for the burial problem. They recommended a site in Washington Township because of its "sandy soil, or at least one not underlaid with a stiff tenacious clay; an agreeably diversified surface, combining as many features of landscape beauty as possible; and such proximity to the city as is practicable, having in view a sufficient removal from the smoke, noise and turbulence and the gradual encroachments of streets and population." City council rejected the proposal, however, stating that the site was too far from the city, and instead purchased an additional eighteen acres adjacent to Forest Cemetery. (Note 7)

Ten years later, a group of prominent citizens met at the Boody House in Toledo and selected the Washington Township site for Woodlawn Cemetery. (Note 8) It contained all the requirements for a rural cemetery while remaining close enough to the city for easy access. Its elevation, approximately thirty feet above the banks of the Ottawa River, provided excellent drainage. By damming a deep ravine, developers would be able to create a beautiful lake on the grounds. Also, undeveloped land around the site was available for future expansion. (Note 9) Today the 160-acre cemetery is bordered on the north by Hillcrest Avenue and to the south by Central Avenue; Willys Park marks its eastern limit, with Jackman Road to the west (see fig.1.)

Charter members of the Woodlawn Cemetery Association, organized in 1878, included William St. John, D.W. Curtiss, Henry S. Stebbins, Edward Malone, Herman D. Walbridge, Terome L. Stratton, C.P. Griffin, Henry Phillips, George Milburn, J. Kent Hamilton, Horace S. Walbridge, Charles E. Phillips, George B. Brown, Albert E. Macomber, Charles H. Eddy, E.B. Hall and Benjamin F. Griffin. They elected the first officers, Horace S. Walbridge and Charles B. Phillips as president and vice-president, respectively, and Herman D. Walbridge as treasurer.

Association members proposed to develop the site according to the "landscape lawn plan" promoted by Adolph Strauch, superintendent of Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati since 1859. Strauch had identified problems prevalent in earlier rural cemeteries and sought to avoid the same weaknesses by emphasizing simplicity. He criticized the cluttering of individual lots with objects that included "numerous tin cans, old broken vases, broken pitchers, cracked glasses, lidless coffee pots, lard buckets," iron gates, fences and benches. Strauch believed that this problem, experienced by most rural cemeteries, could be eliminated by less ornamentation of individual lots, restrictions on lot enclosures and conservation of the natural form of the land. Woodlawn became part of the modified rural cemetery movement and at the same time provided Toledo with a large and magnificent park. (Note 10)

One of the original cemetery planners, architect Frank J. Scott, also helped develop Toledo's Old West End, an area where some of the city's most elite citizens once lived. Today it is recognized for having one of the largest collections of late Victorian and Edwardian mansions extant in America. Many of those who lived there now rest at nearby Woodlawn, their monuments and mausoleums as grand as their homes.

Woodlawn's first superintendent, horticulturalist Frank Eurich (1876-1900), had a distinguished career in cemetery management. He had been a member of the staff at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and helped in the construction of its Memorial Hall. In 1887 he also co-founded the Association of American Cemetery Superintendents, to discuss recent trends and developments, as well as problems, in the cemetery business. Having assisted in the creation of twenty-five cemeteries based on Strauch's lawn plan, Eurich translated his ideas to Woodlawn, where he banned boxes, shells, toys, chairs, settees, benches and any other item "considered injurious to the beauty of the cemetery."(Note 11) Much of the original landscaping and extensive plantings on the site, the result of his hard work and vision, gained Woodlawn national recognition as an arboretum.

Eurich created a mixture of national and international flora, both rare and common. The three hundred species of trees at the cemetery include tupelo, ironwood, American elm, purple beech, chanticleer pear, Siberian pea and pecan. He received letters from around the country requesting information on the plantings and he kept up a lively correspondence with superintendents of other cemeteries. (Note 12) Throughout the early years, board members also made a concerted effort to protect birds at Woodlawn. Today the cemetery features two hundred different species that continue to attract botanists, birdwatchers and school children. (Note 13)

Edward 0. Schwagerl, consulting landscape architect and engineer from Philadelphia who had designed the Riverside Cemetery in Cleveland according to Strauch's lawn plan, helped develop Woodlawn's landscaping by drawing early renderings of the site. (Note 14) He also worked with Eurich on details for the "conservatory chapel", which Woodlawn officials dedicated in 1883. It was built on top of a receiving vault where bodies of individuals who died during the winter months were stored. The vault was necessary because the technology to dig frozen soil had not yet been developed at the turn of the century. Financial problems precluded planned additions to the chapel, so that the actual structure was less grand than its conception. (Note 15)

By the late 1880's the Woodlawn Cemetery Association discussed the extension of a streetcar line to the site in order to make the burial grounds more accessible to those living in the city. In 1892 the Metropolitan Street Car Railway Company began to "construct, maintain and operate" a single track along Central Avenue, from the westerly city line to the cemetery gates opposite Auburn Avenue. (Note 16) By 1908, however, the city limits reached the Central Avenue boundary of the cemetery. Urban encroachment, the streetcar and a greater number of automobiles meant increased use of Woodlawn as a park.

Rural cemeteries became so popular that the majority of visitors went there for sightseeing and recreation. Woodlawn officials like those at other rural cemeteries, expressed dismay at the thought that their grounds had become little more than recreational parks. The crowds and the holiday mood that they created prompted the management to pass a series of rules and regulations to restrict the excesses of some of the patrons and protect the ambiance and serenity of the area. Problems cited in the board of trustees' minutes include straying horses, gunshots, loud music, speeding cars and broken glass. In addition, the minutes mentioned that as soon as an open grave became visible, scores of people flocked to the cemetery grounds to watch the burial, especially on Sundays. Officials became disgusted that such a somber occasion provided entertainment for the masses. New rules prohibited children from using the lakes for skating, fishing and swimming. The speed limit for automobiles was set at six miles per hour. (Note 17)

Woodlawn also grew as a business during the early twentieth century, with dealings that ranged all over the country. Cultar Brothers of Onarga, Illinois, provided much of the shrubbery, while Austin-Western Road and Machinery Company in Chicago answered inquiries about earth moving equipment. Cemetery officials invested money to ensure the quality of future operations while relatives of the deceased paid for the upkeep, care and decoration of the gravesites. Lot sales continued, with purchasers from Toledo and elsewhere. (Note 18) Aware of the need to promote the cemetery, the association created an advertising committee in 1922 that developed pamphlets and books promoting the serenity and beauty of the burial grounds. In 1929 Ward M. Canaday became advertising consultant, providing his expertise for free. (Note 19)

As the cemetery developed, the need for internal thoroughfares became critical. Beginning in 1900, cemetery workers laid additional roads throughout the grounds to provide access to newly opened sections. Paving changed from dirt to gravel to concrete as modes of transportation evolved from horsepower to motor vehicles. In 1911, Toledo's first motorized funeral procession took place at Woodlawn Cemetery. (Note 20)

The best intentions of the trustees to provide adequate internal access sometimes lagged behind need, however, as illustrated in a series of letters from Aaron Chesbrough. In 1916 he complained about the lack of a road to the family mausoleum, even though the superintendent had promised that one would be built when the lot had been purchased nearly thirty years earlier. Since that time, on two occasions horses had been required to pull hearse and carriages over tall grass to the vault. He stated that conditions were "unsafe even for people who might walk down there." Chesbrough also pointed out that he believed it would be impossible to drive an automobile to the lot, recounting that on a recent Sunday he had attempted to leave flowers there. "A couple hundred feet from the vault, my car got stuck in the mud and quicksand and it took a span of horses, a derrick and four men a half days time to extricate the car." He requested immediate construction of a road as "none of the Chesbrough family wish to take a toboggan slide over the hill every time they wish to take a few flowers to the graves." When the association met the next time, it agreed to build a road and to reimburse Chesbrough for the expense of removing his car from the mud. (Note 21)

At the turn of the century many construction projects took place. In early 1901 the board of trustees began to discuss moving the administration office from Summit Street in downtown Toledo to the cemetery grounds. By June they had approved the plans and appropriated $3,000 for a new structure to be built just inside the Central Avenue main entrance in 1903. A bell tower dominates the irregular and unusual building, and to this day a tradition of tolling the bell to signal the arrival of a funeral procession continues. Engineers Wyncoop and McGormley built a concrete bridge in 1913 to traverse the lake. In 1915, the Stewert Iron Works Company of Cincinnati erected the two-mile iron fence that surrounds the cemetery. The six stone pillars, three on each side of the entrance, were decorated with ornate ironwork. Large iron gates kept the cemetery private and protected its physical integrity. About 1917 the caretaker's house, a Sears kitset, was added to the site. In 1923 the chapel vault was turned into a crematory, making Woodlawn the first cemetery to offer that service in northwest Ohio. A comfort station, also built in 1923, east of the chapel on the edge of the lake, provided a facility for visitors. (Note 22)

Lloyd Brothers Monument Company, which created many of the mausoleums and monuments at Woodlawn, emphasized individuality of design and style. The Lucas County Civil War monument, dedicated on May 25, 1901, commemorates area veterans. Made of granite in a Grecian needle design, it stands sixty-five feet tall and weighs 32,000 pounds. The memorial is surrounded by 295 graves that are laid out in the shape or a five-point star, the symbol for the Grand Army of the Republic. The cemetery also contains the graves of several Civil War officers, including that of Colonel Henry G. Neubert, who participated in General William Tecumseh Sherman's "march to the sea" in 1864. Neubert's memorial includes a bronze bust and is flanked on either side by a stone bench. The bronze relief sculpture on the pedestal, designed by Neubert himself, depicts the colonel on horseback next to Sherman, both of them looking toward Savannah, Georgia, the march's destination. James B. Steedman, who fought at Chickamauga during the Civil War and rose to the rank of major general, is also buried at Woodlawn. His bronze bust is perched on top of a seven-foot-high pedestal. (Note 23)

John Gunckel's monument, a memorial to the founder of the Toledo Newsboys Association, was dedicated on August 11, 1917, nearly two years after his death. Overlooking a stream a half-mile from the main entrance, the 1,000-ton pyramid stands twenty-six feet tall. It is made of approximately 10,000 small stones and rocks from all over the world, including agates from the Holy Land and rare stones from China, Japan and Alaska that Toledo citizens contributed. Constructed by the Lloyd Brothers from donated materials, the monument contains a copper plate with the inscription: "The newsboys' friend John Elstner Gunckel, 1846-1915. 'There was a man sent from God whose name was John.' Toledo honors: a citizen without reproach, a friend without pretense, a philanthropist without display, a Christian without hypocrisy." For many years, members placed lotus flowers on his grave to honor the anniversary of his death. (Note 24)

Just inside the entrance gates is another unusual monument, erected for Bessie Ludwig. It features a granite replica of the easy chair upon which she spent the last twenty-five years of her life. After the death of her husband, Putnam County recorder and successful oil businessman LeRoy McIntyre Ludwig (1846-1905), she became a familiar sight resting in her easy chair. Supposedly she slept sitting up because she feared that if she lay down she would never get up again. When Ludwig died in 1930, relatives shipped her chair to a Vermont quarry to ensure the carving of an exact replica. Once finished, the chair made its journey to Toledo by rail and was then transferred onto a special car that carried it down the Central Avenue trolley line. Tracks laid into the cemetery allowed the monument, designed by the Lloyd Brothers, to be transported to its final resting place. (Note 25)

Woodlawn Cemetery contains forty-two mausoleums, the last of which was built during the 1950s. They represent the splendor and extravagance of some of Toledo's most wealthy and prominent families. Fashionable and popular at the turn of the century, mausoleums could accommodate several family members. Their construction entailed a major undertaking because granite had to be transported to the site without the aid of modern heavy machinery.

The mausoleums provide eloquent examples of funerary architecture. The Spitzer and Snyder memorials, on opposite sides or the main driveway near the cemetery entrance, complement one another. The grand and imposing Spitzer mausoleum, neoclassical in style, has three levels or granite steps leading up to the six columns, with two doors at the entrance. The Snyder mausoleum is delicate and petite, yet artistically perfect, with four columns and a rounded sculpture design. Other notable mausoleums belong to the Chesbrough, Stranahan, Secor, Berdan and Close families. All of these structures serve as a tribute to individuals who helped to make Toledo a booming city in the early 1900s. (Note 26)

Rural cemeteries in America were not the exclusive provinces of the upper classes. Lots were available to almost anyone who could afford them, but their locations indicated social status, with both "fashionable" and "unfashionable" neighborhoods. Poorer people who could not afford family lots often bought single graves and modest headstones, while the wealthy purchased spacious sites where they could build impressive mausoleums or monuments. (Note 27) Woodlawn Cemetery also reveals the stratification of society in Toledo. Social class is reflected by the pattern of graves radiating outward from premium locations along the lake or on elevated ground. Inexpensive lots are found in less landscaped portions of the cemetery, near the boundary fence.

In later years, Woodlawn set aside sections of the cemetery for specific social divisions, including ethnic groups, "colored" and Jewish. In 1943 Charlie Young created the Yee Hing Hong Association, which maintains four hundred plots for Toledo's Chinese community. Each Memorial Day members gather to pay homage to their ancestors. The ceremony includes food and firecrackers, as well as the burning of incense and fake paper money (for the dead to spend). A large tent is erected near the site and flowers are placed on each grave. Their section is a reminder of the importance of the Chinese community to the growth of Toledo. Other areas are maintained for the Congregation Thome Emorium and the Romany community. The board agreed in 1930 to limit "colored" burials in Woodlawn to a single section. By 1935 the cemetery board included representatives from its Jewish and Catholic constituencies. (Note 28)

The Great Depression of the 1930s hit Toledo hard and forced a large number of firms to close their doors. Woodlawn was able to remain open for business throughout the period, however, and continued to plan capital and business improvements in the early years of economic decline from 1930-1932. These included allocating money for advertising, marking all grave sections and roadways, and building another road. The board also approved a plan to dredge a new lake near Jackman Road and to raise wages for cemetery employees. In addition, the board of trustees discussed the construction of a chapel, crematorium and receiving vault for an estimated cost of $50,000, but did not act on that plan. (Note 29)

Harder times came when the board of trustees passed a resolution during the summer or 1932 to spend as little as possible for upkeep of the cemetery grounds. By December it had cut the office staff and attempted to reduce expenditures on utilities. On February 7, 1933, the board called a special meeting to inform the association's members that drastic spending reductions had to be made, including a twenty percent decrease in wages for all cemetery employees. The association attempted to improve its faltering economic conditions by raising lot prices. (Note 30)

In 1934, economic circumstances started to improve when the association voted to increase employee wages by small hourly increments, as conditions merited. In April 1935 the board discussed the installation of a traffic light at the intersection of Central and Auburn Avenues. Since the city could not afford to provide funds for its installation, the association paid for the light with a donation from Mrs. Clarence Brown. Later that year, the board recommended undertaking an advertising campaign to counter rumors of high prices at Woodlawn. In October 1937 officials began development of the "Babyland" section, set aside for interment of children, as a means to increase business. By December the association could boast that cash and securities assets exceeded $100,000 and that half of the original Woodlawn land had been sold. (Note 31)

Meanwhile, the cemetery faced other challenges. Robbery, vandalism and what was dubbed "trysting" forced the association to erect "no trespassing" signs and to hire a security guard for the main gate. By March 1938 the board reported that the difficulties had been eliminated. A watchman checked all cars attending funerals and issued grave passes in order to eliminate the theft of flowers. He reportedly turned away between ten and twenty drivers every day, usually those who chose to "park in remote parts or the grounds." In September 1958 the board again opened discussion about erecting a new chapel, columbarium and community mausoleum at a cost of $155,000. The board chose a hillside facing Central Avenue for the location, but never proceeded with the plans. (Note 32)

Woodlawn Cemetery's economic growth continued through the years of World War II, with substantial increases in both burials and cremations. Employee wages went up as sales reached an all-time high in 1944. At the end of the war, the cemetery lent the city several acres of land at the corner of Hillcrest Avenue and Willys Park for the construction of temporary veterans' housing. In November 1946 the board reported that seventy percent or the original land had been sold. (Note 33)

Following World War II, Woodlawn once again experienced financial difficulties, necessitating generation of revenues to maintain service at an appropriate level. Cemetery officials had to cash in bonds from the perpetual care fund in order to have enough cash on hand for expenses. In 1950 the association informed the Toledo Metropolitan Housing Authority that effective January 1,1951, it would cancel the lease on the Hillcrest land that contained veterans' housing because it needed more burial space. It agreed to a time extension for the remaining tenants until 1953 and 1954, when workers removed all of the barracks. The focus then shifted to the sales force as the cemetery raised prices in accordance with other burial services in the area. New policies stipulated a minimum amount of yearly sales and formation or a committee to revise the rules and regulations. As profits went up, employee wages increased and the need to cash in bonds or take out bank loans abated. (Note 34)

In recent decades, the cemetery has continued its development programs while dealing with the problems of upkeep. In 1973 a faulty furnace in the crematory caused a serious fire that spread to the chapel above it. In 1979 the Gunckel monument required major repairs, for which cemetery officials solicited the expertise of volunteers. Problems of the changing city also affected Woodlawn. For example, thieves stole the bronze bust of General J. Fuller, which was never recovered. In 1991 Neubert's bust also disappeared, and although an unemployed man searching through trash found the bust and returned it, it needed repairs. In 1993 vandals damaged sixty monuments. During the early 1990's, stricter laws regarding cemetery vandalism made some of these crimes felonies and increased fines. (Note 35)

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Throughout its history, the Woodlawn Cemetery Association has remained dedicated to the rural cemetery movement. It continues to emphasize a landscape of natural beauty and to ensure that only monuments of high quality and artistic design are erected on the property. Its history reflects the development of the rural cemetery movement, as well as the growth and evolution of Toledo. Woodlawn Cemetery succeeded in resolving the city's "conflict between memory and progress and provided sanctuary and stability in a dynamic, energized age." (Note 36)

Notes

Note 1 - Kenneth T. Jackson, Silent Cites: The Evolution Of the American Cemetery (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1989), 119; Stanley French, "The Cemetery as Cultural Institution: The Establishment of Mount Auburn and the 'Rural Cemetery' Movement." American Quarterly 26 (March 1974): 42.

Note 2 - Charles 0. Jackson, Passing: The Vision of Death in America (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1977), 61; French, "Cemetery as Cultural Institution," 59.

Note 3 - David Charles Sloane, The Last Great Necessity: Cemeteries in American History (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991), 46.

Note 4 - Richard E. Meyer, Cemeteries and Gravemarkers: Voices of American Culture (Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms, Inc., 1989), 295.

Note 5 - French, "Cemetery as Cultural Institution," 37-38; Sloane, Last Great Necessity, 46; Jules Zanger, "Mount Auburn Cemetery: The Silent Suburb," Landscape 24(1980): 24-26; William C.Clendaniel, "Rural Cemeteries: Guardians of Our Nation's Heritage," Cemetery Management 55 (January 1995): 6.

Note 6 - Toledo's First Cemetery at Madison, 17th," Toledo Blade, 19 February 1957.

Note 7 - Lucille B. Emch, "Two Anniversaries in Toledo, Ohio, in the American Bicentennial Year: The Hundredth for Woodlawn Cemetery and the Seventy-Fifth for the Lucas County Civil War Memorial," Northwest Ohio Quarterly 49 (Spring 1977): 44 - 45.

Note 8 - In attendance at the meeting: Charles A Curtiss, W.W. Griffith, Richard Waite, WW Lockwood, John Jay Barker, Horace S. Walbridge, Herman D. Walbridge, Frank J. Scott, C.L. Luce, J.N. Viot, H.S. Bunker, H. Arms and M.V. Barbour.

Note 9 - Emch, "Two Anniversaries in Toledo," 46-47; Woodlawn Cemetery (Toledo, Ohio: B.F. Wade Co., 1882), 2. Woodlawn Cemetery Collection (Woodlawn Collection), Canaday Center; University of Toledo.

Note 10 - Blanche Linden-Ward and Sloane, "Spring Grove: The Founding of Cincinnati's Rural Cemetery, 1845-55," Queen City Heritage 43 (Spring 1985): 29-30; Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Convention of American Cemetery Superintendents, 1897,22-23, Woodlawn Cemetery office, Toledo.

Note 11 - Emch, "Two Anniversaries in Toledo," 45-46.

Note 12 - Glenn Firebaugh, "The Trees of Woodlawn Cemetery," 1976 Naturalist Yearbook, Woodlawn Collection: Emch, "Two Anniversaries in Toledo," 48-49; "Letters, 1880-1900" box, Woodlawn Collection.

Note 13 - Woodlawn Cemetery Association board of trustee minutes (board minutes), 1 March 1897, 4 December 1899, 6 March 1922, 5, 15 December 1927, Woodlawn Collection.

Note 14 - Emch, "'Two Anniversaries in Toledo," 45-46.

Note 15 - Woodlawn Cemetery Association, Glimpses of Woodlawn, (18837), Woodlawn Collection.

Note 16 - Board minutes, 10 December 1887, 24 April 1890, 10, 20 May 1892, Woodlawn Collection.

Note 17 - Board minutes, 5 July 1903, 7 September 1908, 7 June 1909, Woodlawn Collection; Description of Woodlawn Cemetery with the Dedicatory Exercises in the Chapel, 21 October 1883, 29-30, Woodlawn Collection; Zanger, "Mount Auburn," 23-28.

Note 18 - " Letters, 1920s" box, Woodlawn Collection; cemetery deed books, Woodlawn Cemetery office.

Note 19 - Board minutes, 1 March 1926, 11 March 1929, Woodlawn Collection. Note Note

Note 20 - Board minutes, 3 October 1900, 6 June 1910, 12 September 1921, 2 June and 8 December 1930, 7 March 1932, 4 June 1934, Woodlawn Collection.

Note 21 - Letter from Aaron Chesbrough to Woodlawn Cemetery Association, 13 June 1916, letter from the Superintendent of Woodlawn to Chesbrough, 21 June 1916, and letter from Chesbrough to Superintendent John Perrin, 19 September 1916, in "Letters, 1910s" box, and board minutes, 6 September 1916, all in Woodlawn Collection. By 1921 Chesbrough was at odds with the cemetery, this time also about the condition of the road. The arrangements made earlier proved insufficient and Chesbrough described the road as impassable. Once again he had become mired in the mud and had to be towed out by one of the cemetery teams. Annoyed and irritated, Chesbrough reminded the cemetery of his family's patience for the past thirty-five years and threatened the association with legal action, saying that he would not put up with "any such damn nonsense"; letter from Chesbrough to Woodlawn Cemetery Association, 3 March 1921. Woodlawn Collection.

Note 22 - Board minutes, 14 February, 4 March, 3 June and 9 September 1901, 4 March, 3 June and 4 September 1912, 7, 18 April, 2 June and 1 December 1913, 7 December 1914,1 March and 1 May 1915, 3 December 1917, 6 March 1922, 5 March 1923, Woodlawn Collection.

Note 23 - Emch, "'Two Anniversaries In Toledo," 43-54; "Memorial Day Marks Woodlawn Milestone," Toledo Blade, 31 May 1976; "Civil War Bust is Stolen from Woodlawn Cemetery," Toledo Blade, 17 December 1991.

Note 24 - The Boy's Club of America, "The Gunckel Monument," Woodlawn Collection; "Lloyd Brothers: Going Beyond the Call of Duty," MB News (August 1993): 26-28.

Note 25 - Sheila Otto, "Remarkable Markers," Toledo Blade Sunday Magazine, 15 May 1977, 5, 8, 11.

Note 26 - Elizabeth Lesley, "Status is Alive Amid the Dead," Toledo Blade, 20 August 1989; ibid.

Note 27 - Kenneth L. Ames, "Ideologies in Stone: Meanings in Victorian Gravestones," Journal of Popular Culture 14 (Spring 1981): 651.

28 - Bud Gauger, "Cemetery is Alive with Blooming Things," Toledo Blade, 2 May 1992; "Memorial Day is a Time for Memories and Mourning," Toledo Blade Sunday Magazine, 29 May 1994, 6; "Wo Kee Fong Body Buried to Await Transfer to China," Toledo Blade, 8 December 1944; board minutes, 23 October 1885, 7 September 1896, 8 December 1830, and President's Report for 1935, Woodlawn Collection.

Note 29 - Board minutes, 30 March, 2 June and 8 December 1930, 7 March 1932, Woodlawn Collection.

Note 30 - Board minutes, 29 June and 5 December 1932, 30 January, 7 February and 7 March 1933, Woodlawn Collection.

Note 31 - Board minutes, 5 March and 7 September 1934, 4 April 1935, 18 October and 13 December 1937, and President's Report for 1935, Woodlawn Collection.

Note 32 - Board minutes, 13 December 1937, 11, 31 January, 4 March and 28 September 1938, Woodlawn Collection.

Note 33 - Board minutes, 4 December 1944, 9 April 1945, 29 April 1946, Woodlawn Collection.

Note 34 - Tana Mosier Porter, Toledo Profile: A Sesquicentennial History (Toledo Sesquicentennial Committee, 1987), 110; board minutes, 13, 21 June 1951, Woodlawn Collection; "TMHA Promises Shift of Families," Toledo Times, 30 June 1950; "Extension South on Housing Lease," Toledo Blade, 19 July 1950.

Note 35 - Toledo Blade, 13 January 1973, 17 October 1979, 19 May and 17, 19 December 1991, 15, 18 December 1993.

Note 36 - Ames, "Ideologies in Stone," 642.