I was the first to arrive and drove my car around the park. In a short time you lost site of the road and traffic and found yourself in a quiet woodland setting. I finally weaved my way back to the Visitor’s Center. You can park on any of the side streets in the cemetery without a blue center line.
The others arrived shortly and I went inside the visitor center to get a park map (50 cents). We waited a while for others to show but then decided to take a short walk around. Only five Romeos made the cemetery walk (Ed DeShuytner, Joe Lapiana, Joe Loduca, Jim Terlizzi and Mark Ryan). We later met Steve Winter at the restaurant. We waited for Joe Pignatiello but he didn’t show.
With the map in hand we could see the different path names and important monuments to look for. We also noticed all the groomed lawns, trees, bushes and flowers. There were quite a few maintenance workers tending to all the gardens. They were cutting grass and fertilizing trees and plants with modern landscape equipment. There were workers on most every path that we walked. It must be quite a task taking care of all the acres of park land.
As we strolled along the cemetery paths we stopped at large and small monuments to read the inscriptions. The monuments were of different shapes depicting the time periods since it opened in 1831. There were Roman and Greek sculptures as well as Victorian influences. In addition to the monuments, there were chapels along the way. We entered one chapel with the ornate interior design of pews, center and side alters and balcony. A paper sign was at the entrance announcing the name of a recent deceased that would have services at the chapel later that day.
Joe Loduca pointed out the monuments with the earlier plain obelisk shape and then ones fashioned after with Victorian adornments of wreaths and flowers. A large Egyptian Sphinx statue measuring about ten by twenty feet square and ten feet tall was set on a large plot designating deceased American Slaves.
As always Joe Loduca told funny stories of his days in the monastery and also working for a time in a cemetery digging graves. He said that he had a position of authority in that job and had “hundreds of people under him”. He also said that the reason there are fences around the cemetery was that “people were dying to get in”. I seem to remember these jokes from 3rd grade.
You can see some more history of the cemetery and some of the famous people buried there are listed below and at the web link. Some of the names that you will recognize are: (Longfellow, Bulfinch, and Lowell).
Mt. Auburn Cemetery
http://www.mountauburn.org/?gclid=CMGF9cjQyakCFQ495QodIXILNw
History
Mount Auburn Cemetery has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the Department of the Interior, recognizing it as one of the country's most significant cultural landscapes. Founded in 1831, it was the first large-scale designed landscape open to the public in the United States. Today its beauty, historical associations and horticultural collections are internationally renowned.
Our founders believed that burying and commemorating the dead was best done in a tranquil and beautiful natural setting at a short distance from the city center. They also believed that the Cemetery should be a place for the living, "embellishing" the natural landscape with ornamental plantings, monuments, fences, fountains and chapels. This inspired concept was copied widely throughout the United States, giving birth to the rural cemetery movement and the tradition of garden cemeteries. Their popularity led, in turn, to the establishment of America's public parks.
Famous Residents
Mount Auburn is the final resting place of thousands of distinguished people. Here are a few:
• Nathaniel Bowditch (1773 - 1838), navigator and mathematician
• Phillips Brooks (1835 - 1893), rector of Trinity Church, Boston, Episcopal Bishop
• Charles Bulfinch (1763 - 1844), architect
• Mary Baker Eddy (1821 - 1910), religious leader
• Buckminster Fuller (1895 - 1983), architect, visionary
• Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840 - 1924), art patron
• Charles Dana Gibson (1867 - 1944), artist
• Asa Gray (1810 - 1888), botanist
• Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809 - 1894), author and poet
• Winslow Homer (1836 - 1910), artist
• Julia Ward Howe (1819 - 1910), reformer and author
• Harriet Jacobs (1813 - 1897), author and abolitionist
• Edwin H. Land (1909 - 1991), inventor, photography pioneer
• Henry Cabot Lodge (1850 - 1924), U.S. Senator
• Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. (1902-1985), U.S. Senator
• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), poet
• Amy Lowell (1874 - 1925), poet
• James Russell Lowell (1819 - 1891), poet
• Bernard Malamud (1914 - 1986), novelist
• Josiah Quincy (1772 - 1864), Mayor of Boston
• Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin (1842 - 1924), civil rights leader, journalist
• Charles Sumner (1811 - 1874), abolitionist and U.S. Senator
We got to the restaurant about 12 noon and found Steve waiting inside. We ordered drinks and then placed our meal order. The drinks came quickly and included a pitcher of beer, a martini and a non alcoholic beer. We ordered the meals off the lunch and regular menu. The average prices were $9.95 to $15.95 and quite reasonable with large portions.
The conversation was lively as usual. Steve said he was taking a trip to Germany for 20 days and was excited about the adventure. We wondered when Mike Z. would be joining the group for lunch. Various teaching a superintendent positions were discussed. We talked some more about the cemetery tour and maybe returning again. We also discussed a fishing trip which could be a day trip to the cape out of Boston or Gloucester.
After a while talked about the next lunch and thought about eating at The BYC in Marblehead but needed to call Paul Girard first. Otherwise we decide on Michael’s in Newburyport. Jim T. will find out and let everyone know by email or carrier pigeon. Which ever method you prefer.
You can see some photos at the link below …….. https://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/Romeo62011#
Comments are always welcome…. markryan82@comcast.net
