Ernest and Sally Horvath are planning a romantic dinner for two at the President James Garfield Monument. The Monument is in Cleveland, OH's, Lake View Cemetery.

The Horvaths won their special evening (which includes a carriage ride through the graveyard) through an essay contest sponsored by The Lake View Cemetery Association: "Why I would like to spend an evening with President Garfield and the first lady." The Garfields will be dinner guests in spirit only, as they are both — obviously — dead.

We applaud what we see as a new promotional trend for cemeteries: the exploitation of dead inhabitants for the amusement of the living.

The Horvaths' winning entry explained how Ernest proposed to Sally at the Garfield Monument in 1949, and concluded: "It would be magically elegant to celebrate our actual 49th wedding anniversary on June 25th with President and Mrs. Garfield."

James Garfield, oddly enough, was 49 when he was fatally wounded by an assassin's bullet. [06/21/1998]

February 10, 2012