Day Light (at Cedar Hill)

Last night I attended the final tour of the season at Cedar Hill Cemetery: Hallowed History Lantern Tour. It was cold!

This afternoon, I returned to the cemetery in the day light. I wanted to walk and see parts of the cemetery that I hadn't encountered during the regular tours.

I parked my car near the flag pole, the usual starting point for tours. I proceeded to walk clockwise along the perimeter roads (see map below).

Map of Cedar Hill Cemetery

View from car at start. Looking west.
Flagpole is to the left (out of picture).

Unusual monument with red tree in background.

Fatima scene.

Divine figure.

One of the more unusual monuments was one that looked a pile of wood logs (see picture below). The medallion on the front reads: "Erected by the Woodmen of the World." The small caption is a Latin phrase, " Dum Tacet Clamat" which reportedly means "Though silent, he speaks." The Woodmen of the World are apparently still in existence, essentially as an insurance company. They were originally a fraternal organization (men only). One of the perks was a tombstone such as the one shown below (there are other shapes you can find on the Internet).

Pile of wood logs grave monument.

Closeup of medallion on the above log pile monument.
"Erected By The Woodmen of  the World"

Another marker had an interesting carving of St. Michael (the Archangel) slaying the dragon (i.e., the devil/satan/evil one, etc.).

St. Michael the Archangel killing the dragon (Satan).

Beautiful blue sky with bright orange leaves (ideal Fall day).

It turned out to be a great walk. The cemetery is much larger than I knew. There is plenty of room for more graves. A truly beautiful place. So many fascinating markers, historic people, and serene grounds. The eastern part slopes upward so that one can see miles in either direction. One could spend eternity exploring this place and its various citizens.

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Links:

http://www.cedarhillcemetery.org
http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2015/10/lantern-tour-at-cedar-hill.html
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~okmurray/wow.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WoodmenLife
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Written Saturday 28 November 2015

Lantern Tour (at Cedar Hill)

On Friday night, October 30th, I found myself walking around a dark, cold cemetery. Happy (early) Halloween? Sort of.

It was another tour of Cedar Hill Cemetery. This tour is called the "Hallowed History Lantern Tour." It is the only night that Cedar Hill Cemetery is open to the public (after dark). The tour involved 10 stops at selected graves where character actors shared their true (yet dark tales).

Like other Cedar Hill tours, I did not take notes (Hey, it was dark!). I brought my camera but I thought that flash photography might be disruptive so my pictures were limited to the available light and turned out pretty dark (surprise).

Earlier Cedar Hill tours were free for me thanks to my "Let's Go Arts" (support) card. Otherwise tours cost $5. However, this Lantern tour cost $15 per person (for everyone). Also had to make a reservation. I think they had groups leaving every 15 minutes between 6 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. My reservation was for 9 p.m. The tour was sold out.

As usual, the tour began at the Flag pole.

I arrived at ~8:35 p.m. The night was cold and dark yet the sky was clear. I was shocked at the large number of cars; I had to drive down a dark drive pretty far to find a spot (along the road). Then to hike back to the usual Flag pole starting place (this is essentially the entrance to the cemetery proper). There were a couple portable lights (powered by portable generators) that lit the area (sort of ala Close Encounters)

After checking in at a tent/booth I had to wait a few minutes for others to arrive (no one I knew). There was probably about 20 in the group (mostly adults oldies like me along with a few college-age couples and a couple teenagers with their parents).

Our group had two women guides, one at the front and one at the rear (to prevent stragglers from getting lost). The route through the cemetery was marked with green glow sticks along both sides of the path/road. It reminded me of an airport runway at night.

Speaking of planes, towards the beginning of the tour, we heard a single engine airplane flying low overhead. There is a small airport nearby. Several people commented that the engine noise sounded like something was not right. It sounded like a riding lawnmower with a bad spark plug. I assume it made it back okay since there was nothing in the news about a plane crash.

This is from Cedar Hill's FB page. Since it was published before the tour
I assume it is from last year (2014) or earlier.

While our guides had large flashlights and many of us had flashlights too, it was still pretty dark. When we arrived at each stop, the guide turned off her flashlight and turned on the portable light and the character actor (in period costume) stepped out from behind the tombstone/marker they were hiding behind. The actor gave a short talk about the particular deceased. The story usually had a twist or dark side.

This is one of my pictures. Note the green glow stick at the foot of the woman
another glow stick is at the left, at her waist level.

One of the stops involved a woman who lost her son in a crewing/rowing accident. At the end of a race, the boats collided and the rowers fell into the river. Her son drowned. She attributed it due to his exhaustion at the end of the race as the reason he was not able to stay afloat.

This gentleman's story involved one of the first major train crashes in Connecticut. "He" was a doctor returning from a medical convention in New York when the train ran into the river because a draw bridge was in the UP position. He was not killed (he was in the first car that did not go into the river) but spent hours treating the injured and attending to the dead.

Even the tour only lasted an hour, I was happy and eager for it to end because I was very cold (there were no bonfires for warmth).

The last station was memorable because it involved a woman who died as a result of a fire works accident. One of the rockets went awry and shot into the crowd instead of going up in the air. Her leg was injured when the rocket exploded near her foot. She was taken to the hospital and it was thought she would survive but for unknown reasons she died a few days later.

Most of the stories involved people who lived (and died) during the 1800s (19th Century).  One of the stories was about artist William Gedney Bunce. Bunce  died on November 5, 1916 when he was hit by a car while crossing the street after getting off a trolley. He was one of the first traffic fatalities in Hartford.

As a safety & insurance professional, my thoughts centered on potential liability for slips, trips, & falls due to walking around on uneven surfaces in the dark. There was also the potential for someone to get lost in the dark while looking for their car after the tour. Now, these kinds of accidents rarely happen but they are possible. Use the buddy system.

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Links:

http://www.cedarhillcemetery.org
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glow_stick
http://cedarhillfoundation.org/notable-residents/william-gedney-bunce
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Written Saturday 28 November 2015

Book Sale (Fading Away)

Book Sale Flyer posted at the site.

This was the first book sale I've been to in ages. For quite a while I have been avoiding purchasing new books based on the (good) advice of my son. My apartment is already filled with books and I have more in storage in boxes. However, I could not help going to this one because I hoped to find some hard to find items at a good price. I was not too disappointed in my final purchases.

I spotted the announcement of this sale in our (on-line) local paper. 1 Day Only. Basically the Sisters of Saint Joseph are cleaning house because they are downsizing. Essentially, they are going out of business. Like many RC orders, they are dying out due to the lack of new enlistees. The young women of today do not need to become nuns/sisters in order to practice the Social Justice ministry that so many of the order fell prey to as a result of Vatican II. It was something of an "estate sale."

View of the Convent from Park Road.

Entrance to the Main Building (and Book Sale).
Note the event sign at the left.

I was hoping to get some good Bible study references including some for my colleague at work, Tony. I was successful in that I was able to get him:

• Jerome Biblical Commentary

• College Bible Commentary - New Testament

• The Dictionary Of The Bible (by John L. McKenzie)

I also got a book about the Eucharist for my mom for her Eucharistic adoration devotion. I also got a book about Marian apparitions, and a volume of Will Durant's Story of Civilization series (which it turned out that I already had).

The major prize for me was an early edition of The Jerusalem Bible.

Note: This is a generic picture.
It is not a picture of the particular volume I bought.

As I was browsing through the collection I was saddened by the thought of so many significant books of theology, religion, and history that were being sold for hardly anything, just to get rid of them. They had a lot of fiction also but I didn't see many classics. However, I suspect that most of the books that were sold went to good homes (where they will be prized).

Before leaving for home, I walked around the front of the facility to take in a somber view. The sisters are trying to develop most of the property into apartment housing. They plan to keep part of the building for the remaining members of their order. Eventually, much of the property is likely to be sold to the developers. How this ends up still remains to be seen since it has to get through various groups in the town government. Sadly and somewhat surprising is that the Chapel is not part of the property that the sisters intend to save; they plan to abandon that to the developers who intend to make it into some sort of community meeting space. I think that is symbolic of why this order is dying.

Chapel at the Sister of St. Joseph property.

While I was looking around the grounds, I ran into one of the sisters who identified herself as Sr. Theresa Mary. Although she said she is a member of the order, she lives in a retirement community about 50 miles away. You could not tell who is a sister although I guessed that most of the silver/white haired women sitting in chairs are members of the order. Sr.TM was dressed in work clothes and, frankly, looked very butch. We had a nice chat but it was quite apparent to me that she was totally committed to V2 and a changing church. She compared the situation to a tree adapting to the seasons. Apparently, the book sale and attempts to develop the property due to the diminishing number of members indicates that this particular tree is not doing very well.

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Links:

http://www.sistersofsaintjoseph.org

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Vatican_Council

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Biblical_Commentary

http://books.simonandschuster.com/The-Dictionary-Of-The-Bible/John-L-Mckenzie/9780684819136

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucharist

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucharistic_adoration

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_apparition

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Civilization

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_Bible

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Written Sunday 29 November 2015.

Artists of Cedar Hill Tour

Today I went on my fourth tour at Cedar Hill Cemetery. The theme for this tour was "The Artists of Cedar Hill." The tour lasted about 90 minutes. The starting point is the flagpole near the beginning of the cemetery proper. Cars are parked on the side of the 2-lane blacktop road. Tour guides are generally volunteers under the guidance of the Foundation Director.

Entrance Gate

Welcome to Cedar Hill

Proceed to the Flagpole for the tour.

The flagpole.

Can you spot me? (Hint: look towards the left).

The tour covered 12 artists (if I remember correctly-I wish I had taken notes). Here are the ones I remember (note: click on the link to go to a biography for the artist):

• William Gedney Bunce

• Ralph Clarkson

• William Baxter Closson

• Katharine Seymour Day

• Helena Smith Dayton

• Albert Entress

• Charles Allan Gilbert

Is this a skull or what? See below.

• William Glackens

• Allen Butler Talcott

• Richard Welling

• George F. Wright

I think George F, Wright is the one without a marker.
This was the last stop of the tour (see below too).

"All is Vanity"

"All is vanity". Licensed under Public Domain via Commons - Wikimedia

This wasn't part of the proper tour but I like the perspective
and the colors. A gorgeous day.

Can you believe I was able to capture these colors?

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Links:

http://www.cedarhillcemetery.org

http://cedarhillfoundation.org/notable-residents/william-gedney-bunce

http://schwartzcollection.com/artists/c/ralph-clarkson

http://cedarhillfoundation.org/notable-residents/william-baxter-closson

http://cedarhillfoundation.org/notable-residents/katharine-seymour-day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_Smith_Dayton

http://cedarhillfoundation.org/notable-residents/albert-entress

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Allan_Gilbert

http://cedarhillfoundation.org/notable-residents/william-glackens

http://cedarhillfoundation.org/notable-residents/allen-butler-talcott

http://www.richardwelling.com/

http://cedarhillfoundation.org/notable-residents/george-f-wright

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Written Friday 27 November 2015

Start of 15th Sound Tigers Season

Schedule Magnet given to Home Opener attendees.

After my success of attending last year's opener, I was resolved to again attend this season's Sound Tigers home opener. Since I haven't heard from my son in over a month and don't know anyone else who likes hockey let alone the Sound Tigers, I once again made the trek alone. Ha!

My ticket.

Once again, I bought my ticket (see above) at the gate. Once again, I sat in Section 100. This year I had to pay more in order to sit about where I usually sit (down near the glass). This year, they restricted the cheapest seats to literally the top row of the end sections (see pink in the diagram below). They also limited the best (and most expensive) seats (at the glass) to a single row (see "red" in the diagram below; the "other" red - for sections 105-106 & 114-116 is actually supposed to be orange). The Green rows are the next expensive section but only consist of 3 rows (where they exist). The Orange sections are really the best because you get a good view of the entire rink; naturally, these seats are fairly expensive ($36/$39). The arena management raises ticket prices $3 the day of the game at the box office. If you buy online, you save the extra box office fee but have to pay a different fee for buying online. "Six of one, half dozen of another."

Seating sections for Sound Tigers games.

View of arena before start of game (courtesy of Sound Tigers).
Section 100 is at upper right.

View from my seat of warm-up.

When I first starting accompanying my son to Sound Tigers game, we arrived early just to see warm-ups. It is something of a contest to sit behind the net and not flinch when a puck hits the glass in front of you. Another reason to get there early is the chance to catch an errant puck. Today, one shot bounced between the glass and the net and landed practically in the lap of the boy sitting in front of me in the front row. Richard has something of a collection of these plain black practice pucks.

Near the end of warm-up, the entire team gathers at the goal until they knock the puck in.

When I first arrived, I did not sit in my (assigned) seat but went farther down the row so I was directly behind the goal. Unfortunately, just before the start a young father with his little son and daughter arrived. So I had to move to the right, to my actual ticket seat. (Both kids were clearly too little to understand the game. I am perplexed why a parent would bring such small children to the game (and they were decked out in team paraphernalia). And where was the mom/wife? I kinda felt sorry for the guy, trying to care for two small kids. Thank God they were well behaved.)

(In contrast to my neighbors to the left, was the "family" in front of me. I couldn't figure them out. It was a bi-racial couple: oriental woman with white man (he looked like he could be a short cop). The boy appeared to be about 13 while the girl was younger (10?). The children were flanked by the adults, with the males at the left and females at right. I didn't see any wedding rings. The woman seemed to be sometimes confused by the game. The boy was clearly a big hockey fan.)

(I can't help but people watch. I wonder what about their story. I hope things work out for them. They all look like nice people.)

National Anthem time.

Fairfield County Children's Choir (Courtesy FCCC)

Like last year, the Fairfield County Children's Choir sang our country's national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner". I think they do a wonderful job. The sing it briskly and with pride. Of course, I sing along. Sadly, most people stand mute. The Arena no longer displays the lyrics since the custom is to be entertained by the virtuoso singer rather than celebrate the song and our country.

The team introduction was pretty lame this year, especially considering it is their 15-year anniversary. Gone is the gigantic inflatable tiger arch with the fog. It was a pain to set up and take down but it looked impressive.

Tonight's game was against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. We used to play them quite a bit several years ago but then the divisions changed. They were always tough. But tonight, the Sound Tigers scored first! It was close for much of the game until near the end. After the Tigers scored their third goal, the Penguins pulled their goalie with a few minutes left. This resulted in an empty net goal by the Tigers. The final score was 4-1 in favor of the hometown Sound Tigers!

Congratulating the goalie at the end of the game.

For refreshments, I skipped the usual chicken tender combo. Instead, because I wasn't very hungry, I got a hot dog. To my surprise, it was not only quite filling, it was also spicy hot. I didn't find it very enjoyable. I won't be getting one of these next time I'm at a game here.

Later, I succumbed to the temptation of a packet of Cracker Jack. It's been a long time since I had this. When I was a kid, Cracker Jack came in a little rectangular box with a real (solid, 3-D) prize inside. Now, it comes in foil-like bag with a crummy flat prize (I got a NY Yankees sticker).

 

During the second Intermission, they had the usual "Chuck-a-puck" contest. The price remains at $5/bag of pucks. I'm not sure what the prize was. I didn't play (It's a waste of $5). They only award a single prize now. It used to be that the three closest pucks got something. Tonight, you had to get the puck inside the tire at center ice. They also did T-shirt toss during intermissions.

Cleaning up the Chuck-A-Pucks.

So it was with a glad heart that I left and headed home. My team had won. The crowd was good. It was nice to see some familiar faces: the head usher at the gate, the beer man, the camera man, and Storm. I missed seeing the long-time president, Howard Saffan. He was always nice to us. He got let go in June.

Goodnight. See ya next time!

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Links:

http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2014_10_12_archive.html
http://www.soundtigers.com
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/six_of_one,_half_a_dozen_of_the_other
http://www.singfccc.org
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner
http://www.wbspenguins.com
http://theahl.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1014699
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracker_Jack
http://www.ctpost.com/sports/article/Saffan-out-as-Sound-Tigers-team-president-6303203.php
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Written: Sunday October 11 and October 18, 2015.