A Walk in the Cemetery

Arlene Blackman Yolles ♦ October 6, 2023 ♦ 1 Comment

During the pandemic (remember that?) my daily exercise mainly consisted of local walks of about 4 miles.  One of my favorite walks was to a river and then back through the cemetery that abuts my home.

I would start out on streets passing interesting houses and wind down a long road leading to Ford Road and a river that is forever flowing and, in the Springtime, populated by fly fishermen.  Beside the water, I would rest on a bench that someone bought and dedicated to his brother, as the plaque indicates.

After my contemplative rest (who am I kidding?  I would play Words With Friends), I meandered home taking a different route.  This one would pass Willowbrook Cemetery, an old town burying place established in 1847 with Frederick Law Olmstead, the creator of NY’s Central Park, as one of the architects.  Members of the entertainment community, socialites, founding fathers and prominent business people from Westport and surrounding towns are buried there and schools and streets names can be found on their headstones – Hurlbutt,  Coley, Taylor, Bradley. Jesup, Bedford.

The Astronomer and Golden Shadows

The walk through the cemetery is very satisfying.  Often, I see animals and birds fly overhead.  I look over the graves.  One of my favorite marks the resting place of an astronomer, Harold Jacoby. A mausoleum is the final home of Baron Walter Langer von Langendorff, who founded Evyan Perfumes, the creator of the famous White Shoulders fragrance.

After wandering around the Cemetery, I walk down one of its hills and find myself adjacent to my house.  I push aside some trees, and come to my property where my walk ends.