How many people are dead in that cemetery?

At a recent visit to Sturbridge Village, Marash Girl decided to take the official "tour" of the main street in the village.  The tour started in front of the cemetery, next to the Congregational Meeting House, and began with the tour guide saying, "The first question everyone asks me?  'Is anyone buried in this cemetery?'  The answer is, 'No!'"  
"But where do the authentic grave stones come from, then?" asked Marash Girl.
"Folks donated the grave stones to Sturbridge Village . . . " the guide answered.  
Marash Girl asked, "Why would folks donate gravestones of the dead to Sturbridge Village?"  
"Oh, they're only the foot stones of the graves!"  
None the less, it made Marash Girl wonder!

Tour guide at Sturbridge Village

The experience brought to mind a joke that Peter loved to tell every time he was driving past a cemetery, which was often enough!  

Here's the joke:

"How many people are dead in that cemetery?"  Folks in the car who had never heard the joke before would venture a guess . . . "200?  400?"

Peter would laugh and answer, "All of them!"

If he were with Marash Girl at Sturbridge Village last week, and asked the question, he would have laughed when the tour guide would have said, "None of them!"

Footstones in "pretend cemetery" at Sturbridge Village

Photo Credits: Marash Girl