The Moose Jaw Cemetery is filled with history that highlights the city’s origins. Touring the cemetery is a fascinating experience, but not everyone is able to attend a tour. Fortunately, the Moose Jaw Branch of the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society is bringing the tour to you.
The organization will host a special “virtual tour” of the cemetery on Tuesday, March 26 at 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Public Library.
“It is based on the cemetery tour that is put on by Heritage Moose Jaw and Tourism Moose Jaw. They passed along the written portion of the tour to me, and I have brought in some of the pictures of gravestones that we have,” said presenter and club member Susan Gardner, adding that the local group has spent some taking pictures of all the grave markers in the cemetery.
“I have augmented the presentation with a few other pictures to make it a bit more interesting, too.”
In addition to information about the people buried in the cemetery, Gardner will highlight the symbols used on some of the headstones.
This virtual tour is a great option for those who are unable to walk through the cemetery because of mobility issues, or anyone who wants to avoid the muddy spring conditions.
“A lot of our members would probably not do the tour itself. This way, we are bringing the tour to them.”
Gardner says that cemeteries are a great resource for genealogists.
“We want to preserve the history. We have a lot of inquiries from people looking for family members who are buried in our area. I know that, for myself, there are tombstones in England that I have never visited but I have pictures of.”
The event is open to the public. There is no cost to attend.
Visit the Moose Jaw branch's website or Facebook page for more information on the group and its activities.
