Not long ago I stopped at an old cemetery in Sterling, MA. I'd passed it by many times. It was a head-turner, slate stones! I pulled in one day and parked in the middle. There were children playing in a yard that abutted the cemetery: three little girls. They came into the cemetery when they saw me wandering through the headstones. They watched me. I watched them. They started to play hide and seek among the stones. The older one clearly knew where the little ones were and pretended she didn't so that the game would last longer, would be more fun. I like her. I could feel she was a good sister to them, or friend.
It was nice for me to have others there enjoying the cemetery. I wandered away from them.
Down at the other end of this cemetery I cam across a headstone shared by three other children-Sarah, Thomas and James. These three together sharing a stone all died within a week of one and other over two hundred years ago. Maybe they played hide and seek nearby before they got sick from some illness that today wouldn't take their lives.
Chocksett Cemetery, Sterling, MA
Sarah, Thomas and James Sawyer
Children of Mr. Thomas and Abigail Sawyer
Sarah Died Sept. 26, 1756, Thomas, Sept. 28, 1756 and James Oct. 3, 1756
Their ages ranged from 6 to 17.
Have you been to spider gate cemetery? I think you will enjoy it. It's near Worcester.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have! It's really nice, great setting in the woods. Did you notice how the stones to the left and right all face inward toward the center walkway? But there are a couple stones to the far right that face the stone wall. I have been curious about those. I wrote and they suggested that they had fallen and were simply put back incorrectly.
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