Two Tours

Steady readers of the Curiosity Shop Blog know that I've tracked some long lost relatives to the West Coast. Two of them will be visiting New England next week so yesterday I decided to visit the grave of my Grandfather Hands at Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plains. I'm not sure the West Coast folks have ever been there so I'm planning to show them the site. Genealogists generally consider all cemeteries as tourist attractions, but Forest Hills is above and beyond.

I hadn't visited Forest Hills since my grandmother died in 1967 so I stopped at the cemetery office, an elaborate Gothic structure. A nice young lady welcomed me and quickly confirmed that Grandpa Hands was still there. Great. The next thing I knew she had pulled out the plot map with the record of all the burials, a treasure trove of information for a researcher. She kindly made a xerox. Then out came a large scale map of the cemetery and directions to the site. The map wasn't an office version, it was mine to keep.

I had already donated a dollar for a smaller map with the history of the cemetery on the way into the office. I noticed a glossy book for sale in the office and asked what it was. "Oh, that's our tour book," the helpful woman said. They want you to visit-no dead relatives needed. And Fido is welcome too as long as he or she is on a leash. I could have brought Maggie. She's banned from the Blue Hills Cemetery where the rest of the family is buried.

If the thought of touring a cemetery gives you the willies, you need to know that Forest Hill is one of those garden cemeteries so popular in the mid-19th century. It's old section is one of Boston's premier landscapes with trees more than a century old. The landscaping design is so good it actually influenced Olmsted's plan for nearby Franklin Park. It is also an outstanding collection of outdoor sculpture. Add in the resting places of famous Bostonians, and you have an interesting place for a visit. I bet the birding is good too. Go in the spring or fall and you'll be surprised.

Finding the last of the Hands' was interesting too. The father-in-law of the immigrant ancestor bought the plot in 1900 and over the last 100 years Colemans, Lothrops, and Hands have come to stay. Since my visit in 1967, the grandfather of my West Coast relatives was buried in 1977, and on one side of the stone is an entire Hands family that neither of the newly reconnected sides of the family has ever heard of with the last burial in 2010!

Well, eventually, the trusty Garmin got me home and Maggie made it very clear that she knew it was a beautiful day and I had neglected her through the first half of it. I decided to continue my visits to Trustees of Reservations properties with a trip to Moose Hill Farm. This is not to be confused with the Audubon's adjacent Moose Hill property which is a 2,000 acre wildlife sanctuary-no dogs leashed or unleashed on its 25 miles of trails. What a great choice by Audubon-2,000 acres of unmolested wildlife make Moose Hill a key to the ecology of the whole region including Easton. The Trustees welcome leashed dogs on their farm, but you need to be careful and watch the signs since some of the trails on the two properties connect.

The over 300 acres at Moose Hill Farm mix a large open field, part of which was being plowed for a new Community Supported Agriculture program next year, and a variety of woodland habitats. There are marked trails and a readily available map, but I must admit it was a little more confusing than the Bradley Estate or Signal Hill. We decided to do the field walk which goes uphill at a gentle rate. If you look back from the top of the field, you are rewarded with a great view of the Blue Hills. Moose Hill is the second highest piece of land in the area. While I was thrilled by the view, Maggie got her thrill from the abundant scent marking done by the local coyotes. A large pile of scat had her sizing up the chances of attacking a wild canid-after all in her mind she scared a Bernese Mountain Dog out of the vets on our last visit. Luckily for someone, probably me, nothing bigger than a chipmunk made an appearance. The variety of habitats look like good birding territory, but right now our own Governor Ames Community Park has more birds.

All in all, Moose Hill Farm is a place that will repay repeated visits. Like all the Trustees property I've seen, it is well maintained. I had a nice chat with a staff member who I ran into in the parking lot. She was friendly and enthusiastic and working on making a number of properties universally accessible for people with walkers and wheelchairs. She has already checked out the Easton property. I was heartily thanked for my annual membership unlike a local conservation group that barely acknowledges my existence despite a life membership. Nice people make a difference.