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72 | SIGNATURE MONTANA Ellen Baumler, retired after 26 years as the interpretive historian at the Montana Historical Society, continues her mission to tell Montana's stories. She is the author of many books on various Montana topics. Much of this article is from her most recent work, The Life of the Afterlife in the Big Sky: A History of Montana's Cemeteries, from the University of Nebraska Press, 2021. Zinc, or "white bronze," was a popular alternative to stone. Manufactured between 1874 and 1914, the hollow, bluish metal was lightweight, durable, and easy to ship. Hillcrest has some stunning examples. At the same time, Germany developed a process of burning a photograph onto porcelain. e 1915 tombstone of lile Marjorie Macone is a poignant example. Symbols such as lambs, angels, and fraternal and military emblems further color the landscape and provide details about the deceased. Mausoleums add architectural interest and provide above-ground interment. e elegant twentieth-century Morony Mausoleum stands at the hill's crest, overlooking Milwaukee Avenue. Constructed for the family of wealthy John G. Morony, who died in 1915, Morony's wife built the mausoleum for her husband, herself, and other family members. Only two or three, however, are entombed there. Mrs. Morony married again, moved away, and is buried elsewhere. Cemeteries inspire research and preserve community history through snapshots of individual lives. Every person has a story and death makes every story poignant. Dr. Armistead Mitchell, for example, was a rough- and-tumble gold rush doctor who once amputated a man's arm with a butcher knife in a Bear Town saloon. In 1877, he and a partner founded Warm Springs Hospital to care for the mentally ill. Dr. Mitchell was known for his brusque bedside manner, sometimes perceived as insensitive. He was far from it. In 1893, his son Hugh suddenly became ill while at college in Chicago. e parents reached Hugh's bedside just before he died. Dr. Mitchell brought him home for burial at Hillcrest. Several years later, when the family dog died, Dr. Mitchell had a small place dug at the foot of his son's grave and buried the dog there. "Ike" had been Hugh's cherished companion. Historic Hillcrest Cemetery chronicles the shi from urban to rural burials, the advent of locally produced tombstones, and formally planned grounds that signal civic maturation. Upright imported white marble tombstones, obelisk style markers, and an enclosed family plot survive to recall community roots. ese elements embody the broad paerns of community transition. More importantly, the cemetery provides a microcosmic view of Deer Lodge and is the steward of its history where there is unlimited potential to discover its stories. S MT A Japanese tombstone, one in a row of Japanese graves, recalls Deer Lodge's Asian community. Landscaped driveways along with artful tombstones and planned sections inspire visitors. Portraits in porcelain are sometimes included on tombstones.

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