|
The Country's Oldest (and likely the world's oldest)
pet cemetery, Friendship Grove was
originally owned by Mr. Frank Myers. Mr. Myers purchased
the 43 1/3 acres of land for use as a burial grounds
for his own dogs. Mr. Myers eventually extended the
privilege of pet burial to his friends.
Following Mr. Myers death in 1937
the property was turned over to the Steuben County
Humane Society who agreed to be responsible for the
cemetery's up-keep.
In 1935 Mary Agnes Leahy and James
Houlihan erected and dedicate the now familiar life-sized
statue of an American Indian on the cemetery grounds
in honor of Mr. Myers.
Mr. Walter Mason, Humane Officer
was the first caretaker of the cemetery following
its transfer to the Human Society. His responsibilities
included seeing to every aspect of the cemetery's
upkeep and function from mowing the lawn to digging
the graves. Mr. Mason's expertise in record keeping
became world famous and he received requests for information
from pet cemeteries around the world for an explanation
of his burial record keeping system.
Friendship Grove holds the remains
of some famous dogs including; Baron Von Schnapks,
a German Police dog and mascot of the U.S.S. Lexington,
and Mr. Bum, mascot of the U.S.S. Texas. The graves
of each dog are decorated with US Military honors.
Though originally intended as the
final resting place for dogs only, the cemetery's
800 to 900 plots now include cats, canaries, a horse
and a lion.
Adapted from an article by Bob
Oaks appearing in the Evening Tribune 9/21/1988
|
