Paul and I walked through Tower Grove Park this afternoon, trying to cheer ourselves up after having to put Blue, our possibly 17 year old blue tick coonhound, to sleep. He was a part of our lives for twelve years, having been rescued from despicable conditions by the Humane Society and adopted by us in 2003. The park was teeming with people, children, dogs, joggers, kick ball players, picnickers, and the sky was. . .well, blue.
I spotted a small tombstone-looking marker under a tree, and took a photo. When I got home, I googled possibilities for the inscription and found conflicting stories. The most likely is from Jerry Berger, former St. Louis newspaper columnist, who said that the marker was placed by Henry Shaw to commemorate an oak tree planted in honor of a niece from England who was visiting, hence the word "oak" at the top. Her name was Eliza Hoole (or Poole or Moore). The oak tree eventually died, and park employees tried to plant another, although I don't think there is an oak tree on the spot at this time. Just another symbol of impermanence, memories and the passage of time.
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