The Town Tomb

While Granpa was working in Manchester, New Hampshire, we lived in Merrimack.  Each day that I took him to work we passed this cemetery.  One day I noticed the inscription on this little building.

It says, "1878 Town Tomb."  Huh?  So, when I got back to the house, I googled it.  Wow!  There's everything from restaurants to Halloween stores - but nothing to explain this picture.

Hmmm, what could it be.  I mean, I've seen family crypts before (Duh!), but a TOWN tomb?  Lets see, we are in the far northeast.  It did take us three and a half days of driving to get here!  Are we far enough north that the ground freezes solid and graves can't be dug?  Do they put caskets in here until the Spring thaw?

Finally Granpa asked around at the hospital, and that's exactly what the deal is.  Why do I find it creepy that there's bodies stacked in there (probably frozen)?  I suppose it's better than to stack them in the barn until the Spring thaw...  Still.  I'm glad I live in Texas where the deer and the antelope play all winter and the ground never freezes!

(From a reader:  Saw your article on Town Tomb. I can tell you from experience it is tough on families. My brothers daughter died in February of 1992 they had a funeral service shortly after her death then they put the body in a tomb until June at which time they had a committal service. Remember I grew up in Maine. A lot of folks now days just have funeral home handle it all.  Can you imagine having a funeral for a loved one then a few months later having a committal service. Linda and I were very fortunate in that are parents died during the warmer months. Every cemetery in our area has a tomb and a few of the larger Churches have tombs.  There was a part of a older TV program called "Northern Exposure" where the bar owner, who was also on the local Cemetery Board went around asking every one how they felt and if they thought they would live thru the winter. If they felt they may not make it he would dig a hole for that person before winter set in!)