First up was a marvelous tour of the Concord Cemetery of Sleepy Hollow (which causes lots of confusion to tourists who are bad at geography/history/literature). Leading our tour were guides Alida and Richard. Richard does historical portrayals of Henry David Thoreau at Walden Pond, but he was himself that day.
Being a bit of a historian, and more well-read than the average bear, I'm a tough customer when it comes to historical tours. We've actually had to correct some guides at famous spots who were unknowingly giving out false information. But these two not only knew their material thoroughly (and Thoreau-ly), they made it entertaining and instructional. When you get the chance to go to Concord, I highly recommend Gatepost Tours for a wonderful afternoon in a graveyard. It's a fun time learning about our country and those who were major voices in our history.
And if you're a writer, you're going to get ideas for so much material! Stories abound, and mysteries, and lost lore aplenty.
The graveyard is the final resting place of many famous people- check out below for a few of the ones we visited.
Henry David Thoreau
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Louisa May Alcott
Daniel Chester French (Sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial and many other famous pieces)
After the tour, we repaired to the Colonial Inn for a hearty lunch, and then were treated to a panel talking about historical mysteries.
A great day seeing fellow authors and learning a lot. Here's Ray Daniel, Julie Hennrikus, and Sheila Connolly:
Barb Ross with Cheryl
Thanks to those who set it up, notably Sharon Daynard, VP of the SinC/NE chapter.
Indeed, it was a marvelous day despite the rain. So glad everyone came out anyway. Met some new people there and that made it even better.
ReplyDeleteYes, would have enjoyed nicer weather, but the company was great, as were our tour guides. Lunch was nice, too!
DeleteDale,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this great synopsis of our SinC tour, lunch and panel. The rain made the tour even MORE atmospheric, and we practically had the cemetery to ourselves. Well, and the dead, of course. So many interesting facts emerged and the panelists had lots of cool thoughts about writing historical mysteries. A day well spent.
Judy, yes, I've rarely had such a good time in cold, wet rain, but that was great. Nice that we could chat with our guides and learn so much. I had a book signing that night, which made for a long day, but still was glad to have spent the time so well in Concord.
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