Getting into the spirit of the fall season has some grave exhibits

Small pumpkins and miniature scarecrows adorn the headstones in the St. Stanislaus Catholic Cemetery along Scenic Drive. Some figurines, too, and even a few solar-powered bobblehead dolls.

The cooler air and crisp leaves aren’t the only harbingers of fall at the east end of the cemetery, where grave markers lie flat on the ground even with the lawn.

Harvest decorations, signs and other preludes to Halloween combine to mark the unofficial beginning of the holiday season and yet another way some families try to stay in touch with their deceased loved ones. They serve as reminders of the joys of the season they once shared. They bring a bit of life, humor and happiness to a place that otherwise represents sadness and loss.

“They (families) do something for every season,” cemetery worker Daniel Prieto told me. “They put things out at Thanksgiving and Christmas. When Valentine’s Day comes, they put things out for that, too.”

Another man, also named Daniel, knelt at the grave of his daughter who was stillborn four years ago. He cleared away the weeds and grass from around her small marker. While he didn’t bring a Halloween or harvest arrangement, he said those who do see it as a way of sharing the season.

“They’re still here,” he said, meaning the loved ones.

Christmas draws more decorations than any other holiday, with small trees and decorations, ribbons and even some sun-powered lights. Then comes Easter, followed by flags out for Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day.

Halloween, however, stands out because of the fall colors and the changing of the seasons.

“They can put whatever they want out,” said Katie Clemons, who manages the St. John’s Catholic Cemetery in Manteca and also is filling in for Carole Gordon, St. Stan’s manager. “They’ve been doing this for a while. There are even more at St. John’s.”

Exuberant holiday lovers such as Lola Melson might display inflatables for every season in front of her home farther east on Scenic, but the cemetery decorations are found primarily in the Latino area of St. Stan’s. You rarely see similar decorations in the Acacia or Pioneer cemeteries next to St. Stan’s. Nor will you see them in the section of the cemetery dominated by monuments and headstones.

“We do get a lot of people who decorate at Easter, Christmas and some on Thanksgiving,” said Victor Villa, superintendent of Acacia, which is nondenominational. “But we don’t get Halloween.”

But it is not exclusive to Latinos.

Sitting on a bench while on a break in front of the mausoleum Monday, cemetery worker Prieto pointed to a line of scarecrows along the wall, each with a name written on a ribbon.

“They’re all from the same family (the Walkers),” he said.

In essence, they use the pumpkins, trinkets and traditions of one of the most colorful seasons of the year to remain connected in spirit.

This story was originally published October 3, 2016 at 5:56 PM with the headline "Getting into the spirit of the fall season has some grave exhibits."