PARK AND CEMKTERY 
:340 
The official business of organizing was also transacted and 
visits paid to John Ball Park and Fairplains Cemetery. 
Oak Hill Cemetery was visited on the second day and the fol- 
lowing officers were elected : 
President — Frank Eurich, superintendent Woodlawn ceme- 
tery, Detroit. 
Vice President — J. W. Burns, superintendent cemeteries, 
Port Huron. 
Secretary and Treasurer — Eugene Goebel, superintendent 
Oak Kill Cemetery, Grand Rapids. 
It was voted to hold the next meeting at Detroit one day 
before the convention of the national association. The fol- 
lowing executive committee was appointed: M. H. Winters 
and A. W. Blaine, Detroit, and J. M. Burns, Port Huron. 
The Coribention at Washington and the N, E. C. A, Outing. 
As the time for holding our convention draws nigh, we na- 
turally turn our eyes towards Washington with pleasant an- 
ticipations. I say pleasant, because our conventions have al- 
ways been harmonious and where harmony prevails, in any 
of the walks of life, good results are sure to follow. The 
good influences of our association have been felt all over our 
country and in cemeteries that have never been represented at 
our convention. It is a matter of surprise to me why the 
superintendents of some of our smaller cemeteries are not 
present at our convention. I am aware that their salaries will 
not admit of them paying their own expenses and they should 
not if they were. The education that a superintendent gets at 
our convention, the cemetery over which he has charge gets 
the benefit. It is money well spent by the directors of any 
cemetery to send their superintendent to our convention. It 
is no junket, but a business transaction that will bring best 
results. 
Whatever business a man may be engaged in his ideas are 
broadened and he is kept out of ruts by mingling with others 
of the same business. Our cemeteries are dear to everybody, 
precious ones lie there, and loving hands place flowers upon 
their graves, and those having charge of these sacred grounds 
should not let a few dollars stand in the way of bringing 
them as near as possible to a state of perfection. Let us 
have a good attendance at Washington, and let every superin- 
tendent do all he can to increase our membership. Our as- 
sociation is in its infancy, and the good work will go on. 
By invitation of Superintendent Floyd, who is vice-president 
of the New England Cemetery Association, about twenty su- 
perintendents in and around Boston with their ladies visited 
him at Evergreen Cemetery, Portland, Maine, July i8. We 
left Boston in the steamer Gov. Dingley at 7 :4s P. M. on Mon- 
day, and after a most pleasant night on the boat we arrived at the 
pier at 3 o’clock on Tuesday morning and at 8 o’clock were 
met by Superintendent Floyd, and treated to a trolley ride 
around the city. At noon we sat down to a sumptuous ban- 
quet at Rivertown Park, and after that were driven through 
the grounds of Evergreen Cemetery. It was the unanimous 
opinion that Mr. Floyd might well feel proud of the grounds 
in his charge. We were then treated to a steamboat ride down 
Portland harbor and landed at Peak’s Island where we visited 
a pretty summer theater called the “Gem” and it was rightly 
named. After the theater we held a meeting on a hillside 
nearby when several new members were added to our associa- 
tion, and after giving Mr. Floyd, his son, and his directors a 
vote of thanks we returned to Portland and embarked in the 
steamer for Boston, arriving at our homes Wednesday morn- 
ing, more than pleased with our outing, and with the most 
pleasant recollections. 
Lynn, Mass. William Stone. 
* * * 
The annual report of Newton Cemetery, Newton, Mass., 
marks the fiftieth anniversary of the corporation. First pur- 
chase of land in 1855 was 22 acres; the grounds now comprise 
aliout 1 15 acres. The report contains a historical sketch of the 
cemetery and some of its chief officers, present and past. 
1'he treasurer’s report shows expenditures of $32,428, which 
leaves a balance of $14,432 for the year. The perpetual care 
fund now amounts to $151,279. The late John S. Fargo left 
a bequest of $!0,ooo, the income of which is used to keep the 
chapel and conservatory in perpetual repair. During the 
past year a complete set of new plans of the lots has been made 
designating all interments, monumental work and trees on the 
grounds. This, with a card index of interments and lot own- 
ers, gives a very complete set of records. The report is illus- 
trated with a number of fine halftone views, and contains 
liy-laws, rules, and a catalog of proprietors. 
^ ^ ^ 
THE LATE CHARLES S. BELL. 
Mr. Charles S. Bell, the veteran superintendent of the Lex- 
ington cemetery, Lexington, Ky., died July 29, in his eighty- 
second year. The end had been expected for several days, 
and he met the final summons with resignation. Mr. Bell 
was the creator of the Lexington cemetery. He had been 
superintendent since its foundation in 1849, a period of more 
than fifty-five years, and under his direction the cemetery, 
which was the first in America to be modeled along the park 
plan, has grown into one of the most beautiful “Cities of 
the Dead” in the country. Mr. Bell was born August 14, 1823, 
in Dumfrieshire, Scotland, and near the historic town of 
Dumfries. At 14 years of age he began an apprenticeship at 
gardening, where he stayed eighteen months and was em- 
ployed as assistant to the gardener at Drumlanrig Castle. He 
next went to Liverpool, and was employed in Skirvings 
nurseries, then the largest in the world. Later he decided 
to come to America. After a short residence in New York, 
where he was employed as gardener for many handsome estates 
on Long Island, he went to New Orleans, Mobile and other 
Southern cities, where he followed his profession. He then 
went to Cincinnati, and during his residence there married 
Miss Margaret Smith, a former acquaintance in Scotland. 
While in Cincinnati, Mr. Bell was employed to come to Lex- 
ington and take charge of Mr. Henry Duncan’s place on the 
Maysville pike, now known as Hamilton Place. When the 
cemetery company was organized he was made superintendent 
and held that place up to the time of his death. 
Lexington’s beautiful cemetery was his life work and from 
the beginning until his death his hand and brain had been 
constantly employed in, its upbuilding and beautification. Mr. 
Bell was a valued citizen of the community, a splendid, sturdy 
character, gentle, modest and just in all of his dealings. 
Mr. James Nicol, for several years Mr. Bell's assistant, has 
been elected superintendent. Mr. Bell’s death makes it par- 
ticularly fitting to urge once more, as has been suggested in 
these columns, that the Lexington Cemetery be named after 
its founder. Mr. Bell’s modesty prevented its remaining dur- 
ing his life, but no more fitting memorial could be given him 
than to associate his name with the beautiful tract which it 
was his life’s work to beautify. It is to be hoped that this 
matter will be taken up locally. 
