Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Tombstone iconography: Faithful dog at Last Chance

Animals rarely appear as tombstone adornments, but do pop up now and then at gravesites. 

This faithful hound sits at the outherwise unmarked grave of Leonard Frederick "Fred" Exley in Last Chance Cemetery, located in far southwest Lucas County. Mr. Exley, who reportedly was a noted coon hunter, died May 11, 1998, at the age of 86.

Last Chance was a pioneer village located astraddle the Mormon Trail just south of the cemetery, never more than a wide spot in the road but with an interesting and long-lived name. Last Chance Christian Church, located nearby, survived well into the 20th century.

There are a variety of theories about why the name "Last Chance" was selected, but no one really remembers now, more than 150 years after it was applied.

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