PECANS IN THE CEMETERY (oldie but goodie)

Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg hosts many notable trees, both mature and newly planted. Trees include a pecan where children swing and play, many sugar maples that are spectacular in fall color, an allee of Atlantic whitecedar, a large grove of sassafras, a serviceberry, and a 10 year-old weeping willow that appears to be 100 years old! The newly planted trees – and there are several hundred of them – reflect many unusual or “old fashioned” varieties which are rare by today’s standards. All of the trees in the 26-acre cemetery arboretum are botanically labeled and are listed in our free Horticultural Guide booklet. Old City Cemetery is a Virginia Historic Landmark on the National Register of Historic Places. Located at 401 Taylor Street, the gates are open daily from dawn to dusk and admission is free.

PECANS IN THE CEMETERY

On the outskirts of a small town, there was a big, old pecan tree just inside the cemetery fence. One day, two boys filled up a bucketful of nuts and sat down by the tree, out of sight, and began dividing the nuts.

"One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me," said one boy. Several dropped and rolled down toward the fence.

Another boy came riding along the road on his bicycle. As he passed, he thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery. He slowed down to investigate. Sure enough, he heard, "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me."

He just knew what it was. He jumped back on his bike and rode off. Just around the bend he met an old man with a cane, hobbling along.

"Come here quick," said the boy, "you won't believe what I heard! Satan and the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls."

The man said, "Beat it kid, can't you see it's hard for me to walk.." When the boy insisted though, the man hobbled slowly to the cemetery.

Standing by the fence they heard, "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me."

The old man whispered, "Boy, you've been tellin' me the truth. Let's see if we can see the Lord."

Shaking with fear, they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see anything. The old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter and tighter as they tried to get a glimpse of the Lord.

At last they heard, "One for you, one for me. That's all. Now let's go get those nuts by the fence and we'll be done."

They say the old man made it back to town a full 5 minutes ahead of the kid on the bike.