I plan to post a series of photographs of cemeteries for Halloween and All Saints Day. Cemeteries are part of our history and culture; these photos are meant to be respectful images honoring the dead--but if a ghost or two appears, I won't be unhappy!
Sweet Olive Cemetery, the oldest African American cemetery within Baton Rouge city limits, is on the National Register of Historic Places. For years it was neglected, overgrown and even dangerous (think twisted ankles, not ghostly encounters!) Volunteers, including trusties from the parish prison, have made much progress cutting down weeds and recording the burials.
The inscription of the tombstone on the right reads, "Fanny Bonaparte. Wife of Handy Bonaparte. May 1865. March 1920. 55 years." Just think: Fanny was born right after Emancipation, most likely to parents who had been enslaved. What stories she must have told. . . .
