T Stands for Breakfast for Lunch

After a rainy Spring, we finally got a nice day to visit the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery where my parents are buried. We missed a visit Mother's Day, but we made it on July 8, four days after the Fourth of July which would have been my parents' 82nd wedding anniversary.

The grounds are absolutely pristine. The cemetery doesn't allow planting, windchimes, statues or personalizing the grave in any way. I'm pretty sure that after I leave flowers and when we have driven out of site, the groundskeepers swoop in and toss the flowers away.

One of the groundskeepers was in the section I was visiting. He asked if I would put my flowers on the side of the headstone instead of in front as this area was going to be mowed and it would make their job easier. No problem.

When I visit, I always visit Ma's side of the stone (the back) first. She was funny that way. Her nose would get bent out of joint if we didn't greet her first. So I still carry on the tradition. I put the flowers to the side of the stone just as the groundskeeper asked.

The flowers are always for Ma and Dad would have been pleased with that. He wouldn't have minded. He would have just been happy to see us.

Since I can't leave stones or a token to let the folks know we visited, I leave bird seed. If a seed gets blown off the stone and germinates whatever grows is just going to get mowed down. The birds or critters might get a treat, too. The Weebles would have liked that as they enjoyed watching birds at their birdfeeder. In any case, nothing permanent left. No harm, no foul.

After the cemetery, we stop at The Cracker Barrel restaurant on the way home. It was a hot day and we arrived at lunch time. I was hoping for an ice tea and a sandwich, but their lunch menu was pretty much dinner entrees and none of them interested me. One thing you can always get all day at Cracker Barrel is breakfast. We started with beignets, I had a cup of tea and

the blueberry pancake breakfast which came with egg (I had them scrambled) and bacon or sausage. The blueberry pancakes also came with blueberry syrup. Perfect!

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth’s blog to find out what the rest of the T gang is up to. If you want to play, include a beverage or beverage container in your post. Don’t forget to link your blog from Bleubeard and Elizabeth’s page.

The Friday Five Good Things

 Five good things that happened this week.

1. Attended the annual family gathering and met the two grandnieces.

2. I saw a bluebird pair in the backyard. The female flew towards the woods and the male stood guard on the corner of the sunroom roof.

3. I asked the florist to trim the stems for me so the bouquet would fit in the vase at the cemetery. She trimmed them perfectly

4. On the way to the cemetery I saw a man walking along that reminded me of dad with his Bermuda shorts and knee socks.

5. The washer repairman said the leak was from the soap dispenser. It would take a week or so to get the part in. I can still use the washer and I don't have to go to the laundromat. the Little Princess is very happy.

How was your week?

The Friday Five Good Things

 Five good things that happened this week.

1. The day before she had to leave, the Young One and I took a trip to the mall, lunch at Panera, bubble tea, and Crumbl Cookies to take home

2. After taking the Young One to the airport, we stopped for breakfast at IHOP. Then had a shopping spree at Ocean State Job Lot and the Dollar Store.

3. Took a trip to the cemetery to lay a wreath and then stopping for lunch at J. Anthony's Italian Grill

4. Himself's Yarbo arrived.

5. Cleaning and getting ready to decorate after the new television is delivered.

How was your week?

2OLOTR - The Search for Elizabeth Freeman Known By The Name Mumbet - Part 2

When we last left our intrepid travelers, they were wandering around Stockbridge Cemetery looking for the Elizabeth Freeman known as Mumbet. She had been a slave, but in 1781 sued her owner and won her freedom.

A large and beautiful Celtic cross

The back of this stone had interesting glyphs. Were these symbols of things he liked to do? A tree in a pot or bed. Gardening? An eagle with a fish. Fishing, watching eagles? An airplane. Was he a pilot? A horse and rider, but the rider is standing up in the stirrups like a jockey. Did this gentlemen like horse racing? Was he a jockey? A plane. Was he a carpenter? Interested in woodworking. I'm not sure what the other two symbols are. A pitchfork or rake and two animals. The top one looks like a cow. Was he a farmer.

Norwood Penrose Hallowell III. That's quite a moniker. Nicknamed Buck. Was the beloved husband of Marjorie, loving father, son, brother, and grandfather. 

Still no sign of Elizabeth Freeman

We entered another copse

A little lamb marking the grave of a Sedgwick child

and another monument to the Sedgwick children who had passed before their time.

We wandered around. There were a couple of dozen graves in this area and then

We found her. Carved on the gravestone:

ELIZABETH FREEMAN

known by the name of

MUMBET

Died Dec 28, 1829

Her supposed age was 85 Years She was born a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years. She could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior nor equal. She neither wasted time nor property. She never violated a trust, nor failed to perform a duty. In every situation of domestic trial, she was the most efficient helper, and the tenderest friend. Good Mother, farewell.”

Visitors to Elizabeth Freeman's grave have left stones on her grave. A tribute to a remarkable and brave woman.

She as buried in the area known as the Sedgwick Pie, a round dais with the monuments of Theodore Sedgwick, the lawyer who represented Elizabeth Freeman in her case to sue for her freedom and his wife, Pamela. Visitors have left stones on the grave of Theodore Sedgwick.  A testament to a man that took a case in the name of justice.

The other members of the family, including Elizabeth Freeman are buried around the circle "from generation unto generation, are all buried with their heads facing out and their feet pointing in toward their ancestor. The legend is that on Judgment Day when they arise and face the Judge, they will have to see no one but Sedgwicks.” —Excerpt from an interview of John P. Marquand, Jr., Cosmopolis: The Hidden Agenda of Modernity, Stephen Edelston Toulmin, Stephen Toulmin"

If we had paid attention as we were wandering around, we would have noticed this letter S which marked the Sedgwick family plot.

2OLOTR - The Search for Elizabeth Freeman Known By The Name Mumbet - Part 1

Two Old Ladies on the Road traveled to Sheffield, Massachusetts on a beautiful Fall day

Teague had heard of the Ashley Farm and wanted to find out about an enslaved woman, Elizabeth Freeman known by the name of Mumbet. 

Inside this little cabin was Mumbet's story.

"During the Revolutionary War, Patriots spoke of "Freedom" and "Liberty" throughout the Commonwealth [ed: of Massachusetts] But those words meant something very different for enslaved people living in Massachusetts.

The commerce of slavery was deeply integrated into the Massachusetts economy in the 18th century. Many white colonists, including Colonel John Ashley, who owned this house and the surrounding fields in the 1700s, used enslaved laborers.

This story is about Elizabeth Freeman who was enslaved in Colonel Ashley's home. In 1781, during the American Revolution, Freeman and an enslaved man named Brom, sued Colonel Ashley for their freedom and won."

Enslaved men worked mostly in the fields. Enslaved women like Bett "worked in the house cooking, cleaning, spinning, sewing, hauling water and ash, and attending to visitors.

Even during her years in slavery, Bett was well-known in the community for her skills as a nurse and midwife giving her more independence than other enslaved people. This work connected her with other local families including the Sedgwicks, who later supported her suit for freedom"

"While working in the Ashley home, Bett educated herself by "keeping still and minding things" while prominent Sheffield men discussed politics in the study. In this way she heard the words of the 1780 Massachusetts Constitution, which declared that "all men are born free and equal."

"Bett understood what those words meant that she, too, had a right to be free and equal. In 1781, she met with lawyer Theodore Sedgwick and asked her to represent her in a lawsuit. Sedgwick agreed.

Brom, a man enslaved to Col. Ashley's son, also joined the suit. The higher legal and social status of men meant that the case was more likely to be taken seriously with Brom involved.

In May 1781, Brom and Bett sued for the right to own themselves in the case now known as Brom and Bett vs. Ashley. Sedgwick argued that Ashley did not own Bett and Brom because slavery was unlawful under the new [ed: state] Constitution.

On August 21, 1781, Bett and Brom won their suit and their freedom. Other enslaved individuals had won freedom by claiming abuse, but Bett's victory was special. It asserted that the entire practice of slavery - not just the abuse that accompanied it -  was not legal.

Bett's suit did not officially end slavery in Massachusetts, but it did make slavery impossible to defend in court. After the suit, many others were freed including all those enslaved with Col. Ashley. 

After the trial, Bett chose a new name for herself: ELIZABETH FREEMAN"

After the trial Ashley asked Bett to continue to work for him as a paid domestic. She refused and went to work for the lawyer, Theodore Sedgwick. After 20 years, she had saved up enough money to own her own farm. Sedgwick was also grateful for the care Elizabeth gave to his sick wife, that Elizabeth was buried in the Sedgwick family plot in the Stockbridge Cemetery

So we went on a Head Stoner's tour of the huge Stockbridge Cemetery. We drove around and around and somehow found ourselves outside of the cemetery 

overlooking

Naumkeag (I think)

We finally found our way back into the cemetery and got out to see if who we could find. I found this stone for Little Mark. 

We walked around some more and a man jogging through the cemetery noted we were lost and said are you looking for Rockwell? He's over here.

I love how people leave stones as a calling card. There were no stones on the ground so I left a pinecone.

We head to another section still looking for Elizabeth Freeman

This woman had an interesting occupation. Clairvoyant Curator. She was also born a few towns over from where I live now.

Lots of famous people are buried in this cemetery. Like Reinhold Niebuhr. He was a theologian, ethicist, and political commentator thought to be the author of The Serenity Prayer

We wandered into a copse where a family by the name of Hallowell was buried. Lots of fun and interesting carvings. Norwood was a thespian or at least loved the theater.

The sun was starting to go down and we still hadn't found the grave of Elizabeth Freeman.

The Friday Five Good Things

 

Five good things that happened this week.

1. I started feeling better from the sinus cold.

2. I felt well enough to go on the runaway weekend to the Berkshires with Teague, but first a stop in western Connecticut because there was something I really wanted to do.

3. Sightseeing around Stockbridge

4. Head Stoning in the Stockbridge Cemetery and

5. a visit to the Norman Rockwell Museum

How was your week?

T Stands for Convo with Ma

A couple of weeks after Ma's September 2nd birthday, we made the annual trip for a visit. I could just hear her.

"You visit people you don't know, but you don't visit me."

I had to laugh because it was true. In May Teague and I went on a cemetery hop to Watertown to look for a relative of hers, and the last week of August while on our trip to New Hampshire, I talked Teague into visiting the grave of actor, Claude Rains. To make matters worse, I posted the story about Claude Rains on Ma's birthday, September 2.

"Now, Ma, we visit you at least 4 times during the year. We visit sometime between Easter and Mother's Day, around your wedding anniversary on the Fourth of July, around your birthday in September, and shortly after Thanksgiving before the snow flies to bring you a wreath for Christmas.

You are never forgotten. Besides, I never bring flowers to the people I don't know."

I pulled a rose from Ma's bouquet for Dad.

After visiting the cemetery, we stopped at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant for breakfast. I had their version of an Arnold Palmer which is half ice tea and half lemonade. I think they held a tea bag over the glass.

It was still unseasonably warm so no roaring fire in the gas fireplace. (No complaints from me on the hot weather, but Andy had been whining about it. 🎃)

Country kitsch on the walls so you can feel the love.

No matter what time of day you visit, you can get breakfast. I had scrambled eggs, bacon, fried apples, biscuits and gravy, and what I love most about breakfast at Cracker Barrel are the grits. Himself ordered deep fried pickles as an appetizer, but pickles early in the morning are not for me. He thoughtfully ordered beignets. There was also lots of food to take home, too.

No visit is complete without stopping in their gift shop. I was hoping to find some cool Halloween stuff. I mean it was only the middle of September and there was a disappointing table of Halloween stuff.

There wasn't a lot of Fall/Autumn stuff either.

The rest of the store was brimming with Christmas displays. Three months before Christmas! I only took this picture because the hedgehogs reminded me of Tiggy, my friend from Scotland.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

The Friday Five Good Things

 Five good things that happened this week.

1. A fun phone conversation with my young cousin. Talking to hear is like listening to a soap opera.

2. I had a chat with the Young One about a new project she's working on.

3. A beautiful day, we took a trip to the cemetery to visit my parents. On the way home we stopped for a late breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

4. Teague and I went out to breakfast at The Picket Fence Restaurant in Douglas.

5. Teague had extra individual pineapple upside-down cakes in her freezer. She gave 3 to me to take home. Delicious!

How was you week?

The Dumb Trail That I Loved

The week before Teague and I left for our last runaway trip of the Summer, I had been watching a bunch of Claude Rains movies on Tubi.  He's probably best known for playing the title role in The Invisible Man and for his role as Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca starring Humphrey Bogart.  I've loved his performances in a lot of movies Mr. Skeffinton, Now, Voyager, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, but I love him best as Prince John in The Adventures of Robin Hood

Rains has the most delicious voice especially when he's trying to beg forgiveness from his brother, King Richard the Lionheart. John pleads, "But Richard, Richard."

TCM Tribute to Claude Rains, narrated by Richard Chamberlain

If you don't know who he is, you've missed some seriously great acting and films. I got curious about him as I was watching these old movies so read his bio on IMDB.com and found that he had lived in New Hampshire not far from where we were going.

Teague had asked me if there was anything in particular I wanted to do. I told her I did, but it was a dumb trail. I think her brother coined the term dumb trail or they coined it together. A dumb trail thing is usually a tourist thing, that sounds like it will be lots of fun until you get there. And then underwhelming. This is it? Anyways, my dumb trail was only a half an hour north of where we would be staying. Could we head up that way. Sure. Teague's a good sport.

We stopped at a rest area on the way to New Hampshie. This cloud reminded me of the iconic New Hampshire emblem, The Old Man in the Mountain.

Some of the best times I've had with Teague involve a traipse through a cemetery and since we had time to kill before we could check in, we headed to Red Hill Cemetery on Bean Road in Moultonborough, New Hampshire so I could visit the grave of Claude Rains.

The cemetery is tiny and is in the middle of a residential area. We passed the entrance because it looked like a driveway in an empty lot. Turning around we overshot the entrance again and entered a very narrow entrance to another cemetery. Since the two cemeteries were close to each other, we thought maybe the roads would connect. Nope. And there was no exit. Teague masterfully backed her Moose onto the main road and we made our way to Red Hill Cemetery.

From pictures I had seen on Find A Grave, I knew the cemetery was small and the graves would be easy to find. The headstones were distinctive from the other monuments in the cemetery. 

Claude is buried next to his 6th wife, Rosemary McGroarty Clark. She passed 3 years before he did.

Somewhere along the way, I read that Rains designed and wrote the epitaph on his gravestone. I imagine he selected the epitaph on his wife's headstone, too.

"When I am dead, my dearest,

Sing no sad songs for me"

When I Am Dead, My Dearest - Christina Rossetti

the inscription continues:

Father,

In thy gracious keeping.

Leave we now

Thy servant sleeping.

Claude Rains

1889 - 1967

"All things once, 

Are things forever,

Soul once living,

Lives forever

In previous photos, visitors left small tokens of remembrance. There was a Wolfman doll (Rains played the father of Larry who became a werewolf in The Wolfman. Someone had left an Invisible Man figure. There were also flowers, a pumpkin. I was a little disappointed that these type of items had been cleared by the cemetery groundskeepers. Still Claude had some visitors before I got there. There were a few quarters, other coins, and some small stones. I left the roundish, white stone. 

The end of the dumb trail turned out to be there was no exit from this cemetery either. There was an open gate at the far end, but then it looked to be someone's property. Nothing to be done about it so Teague turned the car around as quickly as she could, and we bid a fond adieu to Claude and Rosemary Rains. 

Hey, Buddy? I found some references to Rains' home in Sandwich, New Hampshire: His house is located on Rt. 109 in nearby Sandwich, at the intersection of Little Pond Road and Wentworth Hill Road. We probably went by it or we were very close. Can we go see this, next time?

T Stands For The First Cemetery Hop of the Season

Spring her in Massachusetts has been mostly wet and chilly. Last week, we had the first of Summer like weather so Teague and I decided to do something on our weekly visit.

The weather was my kind of weather. Temperatures pushing 90 oF (32 oC) and an increase in humidity. Just look at that incredible, blue sky Before it got too hot, we headed to St. Patrick's Cemetery in Watertown, just outside of Boston. Teague was looking for a great aunt. 

As is my habit while I help look for the relatives, I visit some of the neighbors and take photos of interesting headstones like the beautiful Celtic cross above.

This little stone belongs to Baby Angelo. The stone is weathered with age and hard to read. Little Angelo didn't make it past his first birthday. I loved the cherub carved in the stone.

As many times as we have visited the cemeteries, I'm always surprised how few visitors have stopped by. I started noticing a few graves with flowers so I took pictures of them. This one had a mix of artificial flowers and someone left a pot of fresh flowers. I wonder if the visitor was there for Mother's Day on May 12.

We searched the area of the cemetery where Teague's relatives were supposed to be buried. We couldn't find a grave. Teague had a map and asked a groundskeeper if we were searching in the right area. He said we were and he couldn't locate the graves.

Teague said it wasn't unusual for her family not to have a stone marker. 

She thought this empty plot was where he relatives were buried.

In between Sullivan and 

Morrison.

This cemetery allows planting and these iris were just about ready to bloom

Another Celtic cross along with a mix of fake flowers and real flowers

Some pretty purple petunias in front of this stone featuring St. Joseph and the Christ child. I also liked the carved lilies on this stone.

I really liked this stone with it's carvings coming out of the rough hewn stone.

Almost like the stonecutter was still working on it.

After the hot work of roaming the cemetery and just past the noon hour, it was time to find some place to have lunch. Since the weather was perfect, my request was some place where we could get ice cream. To me, ice cream is a Summer treat not eaten year round.

Teague consulted Mr. Google and found Cabot's Ice Cream and Restaurant in Newton. Perfect

It was cool inside the small establishment and incredibly noisy. Lots of families with school age children. A surprise mid-week why these kidlets weren't in school.

We started off with some beverages. A Raspberry Lime Rickey for me and Root Beer for Teague. I loved the Pilsner glasses.

I wanted something simple and not something huge. I opted for an egg salad sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and sweet potato fries. I ate half and took the rest home so I could get

an old-fashioned, hot fudge sundae with coconut pineapple ice cream. Teague had a sundae with mint chocolate chip ice cream, caramel or butterscotch topping, and Reese's pieces. The ice cream was a perfect ending to the day.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.