Forest Lawn may receive national recognition

By Jessica Hardin

jhardin@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

Throughout his life, Boardman resident Tom Masters recognized the uniqueness and beauty of Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

Growing up across the street from the park, he remembers exploring the creek along Market Street and playing in the fountain near the park’s entrance.

Today, he treasures the park as the final resting place of his parents and grandparents. Following in the footsteps of his father, he now serves on the park’s board.

After a lengthy process, the park is about to receive the recognition Masters thinks it deserves.

With the help of Donna DeBlasio, director of Youngstown State University’s Center for Applied History, and April Caruso-Richards, one of DeBlasio’s former students, Masters nominated Forest Lawn to the National Register of Historic Places. The register, which is overseen by the National Park Service, is the official list of the country’s historic buildings, sites and other objects worthy of preservation.

On Sept. 21, the governor-appointed Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board voted to recommend the nomination.

The final resting place for more than 20,000 people, Forest Lawn features rolling green hills and bouquets that sprout from grave markers level with the ground.

“It’s about life,” Masters said. “When you lose someone, you want a calming environment.”

The lack of elaborate monuments and gravestones, in addition to giving the park an inviting feel, offers a sense of equality among those interred there.

“In the old cemeteries, the above-ground markers, there was competition. [Hubert Eaton, who founded the memorial parks,] didn’t think there should be competition. Really, death is an equalizer. When you’re dead, if you’re poor or you’re rich, it’s over,” Masters said.

“It’s also a lot easier to mow,” said DeBlasio.

A stone chapel built in 1935 sits in the middle of the park. It features ironwork and stained glass, and its stonemasonry matches the arch found at the park entrance.

The register does not typically list cemeteries, but Forest Lawn presents a unique case.

Tom Wolf, communications manager at Ohio Historical Connection, explained that “the whole thing is a work of art,” due to its association with notable landscape architects William Pitkin Jr. and Seward Mott and because it is representative of the memorial park movement.

At this point, Forest Lawn Memorial Park’s nomination will be forwarded to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. The council has 45 days to make a determination.

For Masters, the nomination isn’t just about national recognition; he wants to show the community one of its treasures.

“We’re trying to get the place recognized and preserve it. A lot of people don’t know what they have here,” Masters said.